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BUICK INVITATIONAL

January 20, 2005

Luke Donald

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

p> JOE CHEMYCZ: 4-under 68, birdies on four par 5s today, and then the rest of pars. Just talk a little about your round.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, just picked off the par 5s today really. I don't think I've ever done that where I've just birdied the par 5s and nothing else. It's always nice to keep a 5 off the scorecard. Looked very tidy out there but just played pretty solid.

I enjoy playing out here. I've done very well here in the past. And it's nice, the last three years I've started on the North and got off to a good start. But it's nice to start off well on the South, knowing that I've got a round on the North to make some more birdies.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Talk a little bit about the success and how that built some confidence for you on the golf course a little bit.

LUKE DONALD: The last three years I haven't finished outside the Top 20, and I finished runner-up last year and 7th the year before.

So good memories playing here. The course seems to suit my eye. Not sure why I do well that here. I'm an average hitter of the ball. I don't hit it super long, and it's probably the longest course we play all year. I feel like my game is in good order right now and glad to be back here.

Q. The fact that -- inaudible -- being in the playoff with Riley, are we being misled that the idea is all about power here, and not the importance of the short game?

LUKE DONALD: Well, yeah, obviously I think if you can have length and short game, it's going to be a great ingredient anywhere you play.

Short game is important here. I mean, it is a tough course, you are going to miss greens. They tuck the pins even more here than some of the other courses it seems. I don't know if it's just the shape of the greens, but they do seem to tuck the pins pretty well around here, and you have to be patient, even long hitters if you are hitting a 7-iron into a green, it's still a tough shot because the pins are that tucked.

You are going to miss greens, and if you can be patient around here, which I was today, then you can do well.

Q. Did you hit it driver on every hole?

LUKE DONALD: I did. Yeah, driver on 1 -- yeah, driver on every hole apart from the par 3s. You usually throw in a few 3-woods or a 2-iron. So I feel like I'm as straight with my driver as I am with my 3-wood and my 2-iron. I hit driver a lot here. I played with Dennis Paulson who is obviously a long hitter. I think he hit driver everywhere, too.

Q. Do you feel like leader in the clubhouse?

LUKE DONALD: It's a long way to go, first round, but it's a great start for me.

Q. After day one, do you feel like you're almost leading the tournament?

LUKE DONALD: Because I've had a good round around the South Course? Yeah, it's a confidence boost, for sure. It's a great start for me. I think if I had shot anything under par today, I would have felt like I'm still in a great, great spot, and 4-under was really good.

I think this is probably the easiest I've seen it play for some reason. Most of the long holes didn't seem to be playing into the wind which they have done in the past, and I hit 7-iron into the fourth hole which I've never ever come close to hitting 7-iron. It was five yards from the back edge.

It's slightly downwind, rather than in off the left which it usually is, and I'm usually hitting 4- or 3-iron into that green, which is usually a pretty hard green to hit.

Didn't seem to play quite as long as it has done in the past, and conditions were good and there were a few pins you could get at today. I think you'll see a few low scores on the South Course.

Q. What will it be like going to the North? Even if you start over there, do you have to be patient and not feel like you need to birdie every hole?

LUKE DONALD: Well, I do think you need to shoot a good round around there to give yourself a chance to win the tournament and that can put added pressure. You can't get in the mentality of trying to press too hard, that's for sure. There's definitely more chances for birdies out there. The par 5s are more reachable, some shorter holes.

But at the same time, the greens usually putt a little bit harder. So I could see people getting frustrated by hitting a lot of good shots and missing putts out there, because it was quite tough.

Q. (Inaudible.)

LUKE DONALD: Different grass. They just seem to bobble a little bit more.

LUKE DONALD: Bobble, yeah. Bounce.

6, driver, 3-iron, lay up, sand wedge to about eight feet.

9, drive, 3-wood, pitch to about ten feet.

I drove in the bunker on 13. Wedged out and then hit a 7-iron to about three feet.

18, drive, 5-iron, lay up, sand wedge to about ten feet.

6, I could probably reach if I cut the corner and hit a good drive.

Q. Curious if you ever felt in that playoff last year -- playing against a guy who can get home in two and you know there's no way that you can, is that hard to --

LUKE DONALD: I am confident in my wedge game. I have to rely more on that kind of stuff than power. That front left pin, even going for the green in two, I still think I almost had an easier shot from 110 yards or whatever I had than Daly had from the bunker. He just played a phenomenal shot. So that front left pin, obviously if you can hit the green and keep it on the green, you've got an advantage. But it's still two hell of a good shots to do that.

You also bring in more risk by going for the green in two. I was never going to go in the water, my second.

End of FastScripts.

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