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MAYAKOBA GOLF CLASSIC AT RIVIERA MAYA - CANCUN

February 28, 2009

RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO

NELSON SILVERIO: Welcome, Mark Wilson, Bo Van Pelt, our co-leaders after 54 holes. Talking to Bo on the way in, apparently you have been battling since high school.
MARK WILSON: Yeah, we knew each other way back when. Both Midwest boys.
NELSON SILVERIO: Opening comments on the round, Mark.
MARK WILSON: Yeah, I didn't play great early on. Had a couple weird things happen. The very first hole I hit a chip shot that landed on Bo's golf ball on the green, ricocheted off the green. Instead of having a short birdie putt, ended up making par. Kind of a weird start.
But hung in there pretty good. Made a bogey and made a birdie afterwards. Our whole group kind of came together on 13, kind of coming in, then had a little more excitement the rest of the way in.
So excited for tomorrow.
NELSON SILVERIO: Bo, thoughts on the round?
BO VAN PELT: Yeah, just didn't get off to a quick start, but felt like I was hitting the ball pretty good. Hit a bunch of good fairways and greens. Hit a bad drive on 9. Was lucky to make bogey. Could have made a lot worse.
Then played pretty solid on the back nine, like Mark said. Made a good birdie there on 13, 15. Had a good par save on 17. Kind of kept the round going. I had a good chance, Mark and I both did, on 18. We had short clubs in our hands. Both of us, we would have liked to have made birdie there.
Good to finish the way we did. We both had some momentum towards the end of the round.
NELSON SILVERIO: Questions.

Q. Bo, can you talk about the 9th hole. By the end of the hole you were laughing because of the way it turned out for you.
BO VAN PELT: Yeah, I'd been driving it great all week. That's the first really bad drive I hit. I thought I might get lucky over there. I was hoping for it, but it didn't happen. I got about what I deserved (laughter).
Really I didn't have a good option. My caddie and I were trying to figure out some way to just pitch it out to where I might get the next one on the green. You know, I could have taken unplayable and kind of gone way back over on the other fairway on 4. I thought I could get it back out to the fairway. I ended up hitting it about a foot.
Then I really had a shot the next one to get it on the green. I just miss-hit it pretty poorly. By the end of the time, I was just laughing because I was very lucky to make five. I hit a really good shot in there with a wedge. Basically had a tap-in five. I walked to 10 in a good mood. Could have been worse.

Q. The other big reaction was on 18. Looked like you had that putt.
BO VAN PELT: It came off the putter like I wanted. I thought it was going to break about the way it did, about three-quarters of the way down. I thought at the bottom it would stay a little straighter. It looked really good to me from about a foot out.
After hitting a good drive like that, I wanted to make birdie there on the last hole. I was hoping for that one to go in. But it was a good putt anyway.

Q. Mark, can you talk about on 16, your chip in? There was a lot of laughter afterwards.
MARK WILSON: The reason I chipped it, I was right off the green. Normally I'd putt that, but there was a big ball mark in the way. I would have had to have gone three feet right of the hole if I was going to putt it. Thought I'd just chip it. I chipped it good.
Kevin's mark was just sort of outside my line, I thought. I thought if I hit it left of his line, I'd probably make it. It was tracking right in there. It broke just left of his mark. Looked like it might have hit it, and went further left, but then it sort of straightened up and went in the hole. Kevin thought he had an assist there. I told him, no, it would have gone more in the center if it hadn't hit it.
It was hard to tell. But it sure looked like it grazed it and went a little left, but not enough to miss the hole. So it was a good break that it went in after hitting kind of a lousy shot from the fairway.

Q. Was it the conditions or the way you were playing that you didn't get into a groove until the second half of the back nine? You were solid, but it seemed like the birdies didn't start to come.
MARK WILSON: Those holes on the front were kind of into the wind, were tougher holes. Yeah, weren't getting anything kind of happening. We all missed the short putts. Kind of the way it was.
13th hole kind of turned it around for us. We all made birdie there.

Q. Mark, your first victory was in a playoff. Will that serve you well tomorrow, being it will be a playoff atmosphere?
MARK WILSON: You can't think that. 18 holes, so many guys are in it still. If we start playing against each other, guys are going to steamroll right past us. It doesn't become really match play until there's a playoff.
But if that happened, yeah, it might help me out. But we've all been in playoffs and stuff. Playoffs are a good situation because there's kind of nothing to lose at that point. Second place is the worst you can do, which we're all pretty happy with, so might as well go for the win.

Q. You have a couple hours before tomorrow's round. What are your plans for the rest of the evening?
BO VAN PELT: I've got three kids here with me. My family is here with me. It will be pretty tame, I think. We've been going to bed pretty early. They've been hitting the pool all day.
The Van Pelts haven't seen the latter part of 8:30 all week. It will be pretty boring (laughter).
MARK WILSON: My family is at home, but it's still going to be an early night, I'm sure. Probably in bed by 10. I've been staying in Playa del Carmen. Probably walk down to 5th Avenue, grab something to eat at the restaurant Chicago. Since I'm from there, might be fitting to go there. Go to bed early.
It's the PGA TOUR 2009, not 1970. A little bit different.
NELSON SILVERIO: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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