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BUICK OPEN

August 1, 2009

Matt Bettencourt

GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN

MARK WILLIAMS: Matt Bettencourt, thanks for joining us in the interview room at the Buick Open. 7-under 65 on the round today, 14-under through three rounds. You had a good rookie year since the Memorial and the U.S. Open, and now here you are at the Buick Open in second. Just talk about your round a little bit.
MATT BETTENCOURT: Yeah. I'm ecstatic. Played really well today. Hit the ball real well off the tee, really controlled my distance as well as my iron shots. Kept the ball under control.
The greens are so quick. They're getting firm, so it's tough to get it below the hole. But I was able to. I was really pleased with the way I hit the ball today.

Q. Talk about the little string you put together there on 6, 7 and 8.
MATT BETTENCOURT: You know, I drove it well. I hit a great 3-wood on 6 off the tee there, and hit a good approach shot, you know, made birdie. And then 7, hit one of the bigger drives I've ever hit there, and hit a nice 5-iron into about 45, 50 feet probably from the hole and hit a good putt to probably within about 12 inches. Actually I thought I made that putt.
And then No. 8, hit a shot to probably, I don't know, boy, that was probably 35 feet from the hole, and hit a good 6-iron, and I thought it went in perfect, and actually hit into the hill and it kind of killed it, stayed below, and I putted it up the tier and it just rolled out right to the center of the hole. It was a perfect putt. So felt good to do that.

Q. Looked like you were interacting with the fans a lot today. Is that just because of how you were playing or is that something you normally do?
MATT BETTENCOURT: It's different at all tournaments. These fans are so enthusiastic out there. I actually love that.
It's pretty cool when you hear your name chanted out there, you know, and probably I would say this is the top two or three tournaments we play all year in enthusiasm. And it's awesome. It's a lot different, a lot of fun. And my hat's off and kudos to all the fans and support in the area. This is second-to-none, it's awesome.

Q. The name chanting on 17, that's a pretty ruckus group out there.
MATT BETTENCOURT: Yeah, it's awesome. I love it. I hit a great tee shot in there, right where I wanted to hit it, probably about 20 feet short of the hole.
I really didn't want to challenge it and hit it long. Get some adrenaline going with all the people up there. And hit a 9-iron in there, and I really thought I made a good putt, not quite enough pace. Just fell off to the left a couple of inches.
Yeah,they're great. Obviously they're going to boo you if you hit a bad shot. Hey, you know what, that's the nature of the beast there, but it's a lot of fun playing in front of these people.

Q. Besides just being fun, is that something you feed off of or it helps you game?
MATT BETTENCOURT: Sure. Everybody does. It's adrenaline. You turn that to a positive, and adrenaline is a powerful great thing, you can really do a lot of great things with it. For me it is.
Probably hit my longest drive of the year at No. 16. I think I hit about 377. So you kind of feed off the people there, too.

Q. Have you had any advice or what's the biggest thing that you've learned since being out here?
MATT BETTENCOURT: You know, one of the biggest things that I learned all year I was struggling at the start of the year, came off the Nationwide Tour, had a lot of confidence going, was fortunate to finish No. 1 on their money list.
It's similar, but a little different out here getting used to the people, and I found myself falling into a routine where I was just missing cuts by a shot or it was pretty close. And Kenny Perry sat me aside and talked to me after about the 9th or 10th tournament of the year and said just stop playing to make the cut. Go out there to win because you have the game to do it.
And that's really stuck with me all year. Since the Memorial tournament that's been all the difference in the world. I've been trying to play to win now instead of just going out there and trying to make the cut. It's really helped me believe in myself that I can play at the top level.

Q. You're obviously going to be in the running going into Sunday. Are nerves going to be a problem? Do you hope you don't get paired with Tiger Woods?
MATT BETTENCOURT: No, I'd love to get paired with Tiger. I think it would be awesome. He's in my opinion the greatest player of all times, and we all want to try to get as close as we can to his level where we can measure up to his level. I don't know that that will ever happen.
But I would love to have the opportunity to play with him. All we're playing against is the golf course. That's what everybody needs to realize. It's not myself against Tiger, myself against John Senden. You're playing the golf course. He's just your playing partner, and it's kind of a circus around it. But it's cool, though. I feed off that. I welcome the challenge.
JOHN BUSH: Thanks, Matt, for coming in. Good luck on Sunday.
MATT BETTENCOURT: Thank you. I appreciate it very much.

End of FastScripts

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