VERIZON BYRON NELSON CLASSIC

May 11, 2001

Scott Verplank

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, today I didn't hit it quite as solid as I did yesterday, but considering the conditions and situation and all that, I actually played okay. I bogeyed the first hole after pulling it in the left trees off the tee, so I just stayed patient and was kind of waiting for some putts to start falling, and finally they did and I made a few birdies.

SCOTT VERPLANK: It was drying out in spots. It still wasn't totally firm or anything. The greens weren't, but it's drying out, with the heat and wind blowing a little bit. The downwind holes were running out. So it makes it a little tougher to hit it in the fairway and a little tough to keep it on the green where you want it.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, you know, yeah. If you go out there and you expect the same things to happen the next day as it did the first day, then yeah, you're going to struggle with it, but I think after a while you kind of realize that nothing is -- each day is different and you feel different. Just like today, I got out and just yanked it right off the first tee with a 3-wood, and then, well, that was completely different from yesterday. So I made a bogey and just -- you know, you just go out and just was trying to do the things that I do best.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah. I wasn't real great up to that point and I made a pretty nice putt on seven, made a real nice putt on eight and I kind of felt like I'm getting in a little rhythm now and rolling the ball a little bit better and actually had some really nice looks at it for the next four holes before I made another one on 13.

SCOTT VERPLANK: My third shot. It was about 60 yards, I believe. I hit a pretty sorry second shot, a little lower and a little left of where I wanted it, hit it in the rough and stopped.

SCOTT VERPLANK: I think yesterday I made just a couple more putts than I made today, but I drove it okay today. I hit a couple of not very good shots. I hit some nice iron shots. You know, I was hitting it at the hole which is good and I had a lot of 10- to 12-foot birdie putts, and like I made the putts on seven and eight, but the next four holes were a lot easier and a lot closer than those and I finally made another birdie on 13, but I hit a heck of a lot better putt on 12 that didn't go in. So at least I was putting at it every hole. I was hitting it in the fairway and hitting it up around where you can make it.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Absolutely. I like to play with the lead every day. No, yeah, that's great. It's still -- we're only halfway through the tournament, so all I can do is do the things that I do best, which is drive the ball on the fairway, keep getting myself chances to make birdies and hopefully knock a few of them in. So you know, I'm really not that concerned with what anybody else is doing right now. There's no reason to be concerned about it.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Very little.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I didn't know that, but I did see when I was walking off the 18th green I saw that he was like 9-under or something. What did he do?

SCOTT VERPLANK: So obviously there were some good scores this afternoon. The golf course is still -- you can still shoot good scores on it.

SCOTT VERPLANK: If it rains tomorrow -- I mean I saw a forecast that said it was very light wind and a chance of rain. If that happens, then yeah, scores are going to be better, I would sure think. I mean usually when you take wind out of the equation, the scores are better.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Why not?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, probably not just because, I mean, being from here and Byron's been so nice to me, and anything with his name on it would be -- it would be pretty cool. I mean you know, I'd like to win any tournament, but this would be pretty cool if I happened to pull it off here.