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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

March 25, 2005

Grace Park

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

JOEL LAMP: Grace, thanks for coming in. Nice round today, 4-under par 68, 3-under par for the tournament.

Talk a little about your thoughts now, especially given all of the stuff you've gone through this week.

GRACE PARK: You know, I'm just glad to be out playing, I'm thankful to have finished yesterday's round. My back felt better today. Like I said, I'm just glad that I'm out here playing, not sitting on my couch watching it wishing I was out here.

JOEL LAMP: Let's go over your score card. Birdies on the first and second.

GRACE PARK: I hit 8-iron to about 15 feet and that's a birdie.

No. 2, hit 3-wood just left of the green, chipped up to about six feet and made that for birdie.

No. 6, hit an 8-iron in the bunker and didn't get up-and-down.

9, I hit a lob-wedge to 15 feet for birdie.

11, hit 3-wood and I had like a 50-footer, 2-putted for birdie.

16, hit a wedge to ten feet for birdie.

Q. To what do you credit your improved back? Is it because maybe you didn't expect too much out of yourself?

GRACE PARK: Yeah, I -- well, my game or my back?

Q. Well, why do you think your back feels better; is it because you didn't expect too much out of yourself?

GRACE PARK: It's because I rested, I did what I was told, which was not to play golf, rest it for a couple days, physical therapy, and Advil. I'm so Adviled out.

Q. How much of the limitation was the back today? I mean, are you closer to 100 percent? Are you 90?

GRACE PARK: I'd say I'm about -- as far as my golf game, I'm about 80 percent. You know, obviously I lose some distance off the tee and I'm about half a club shorter than I normally am. What is tough I found especially yesterday is reading putts because I can't really bend over much. I have to go farther than I normally do to kind of see the line. So I'm taking a little longer time on the greens, but it's fine.

Q. Was there a point, whether it be on the golf course or off the golf course when you were in so much pain where you said, "You know, there's no way I'm playing in this tournament?"

GRACE PARK: Even Wednesday I had played 18 holes -- like you mean today?

Q. No. I'm talking about in the past couple days.

GRACE PARK: Wednesday, I don't know how I played the back side. I made it through the first nine holes okay, but I had that sharp pain which just wasn't going away. I didn't think I could make it. I told my parents, they were calling their friends to come over for the week and I'm like, "Don't, I might not be playing." Even Thursday morning, I said, "I'm going to give it a try, but I might be finished after five holes, nine holes."

Q. I think you started to answer Tommy's question in this vein, the expectations were fairly low going into Thursday, and how much do you think that has played into kind of not -- especially the defending champion, not putting too much pressure on yourself?

GRACE PARK: I guess it helped. Look where I am. I feel like I just -- like last week, I was stressing because I could not practice and prepare for last week's event.

Like I said earlier this week, I'll just be thankful to play and that's what I did. I said, you know, I've been playing golf for almost 20 years, practicing every day. It's not going to go anywhere. I'm just going to go out and just bump it around, and luckily I made some good saves and some good birdies and here I am.

Q. You said you were going back and forth to San Bernadino for treatment, did you also have acupuncture there or here?

GRACE PARK: Actually last time I got it was Sunday. So I haven't had it done in four or five days. Just physical therapy here.

Q. So it's not going back and forth to San Bernadino anymore?

GRACE PARK: I'm going to go this afternoon.

Q. So should we assume that Advil is one of your sponsors now?

GRACE PARK: Advil, Alleve, Tylenol, bring it on.

Q. I watched you hit a shot late on the back nine yesterday and it seemed like you almost flinched on a shot where it was well short of the green on the approach.

GRACE PARK: I chunked it.

Q. You chunked it. Is there in the back of your mind that kind of mental flinch at all when you're coming down on shots?

GRACE PARK: No. I chunked it. (Laughter.)

Q. Plain and simple?

GRACE PARK: Yeah. There are times where not so much with those shots, I know that I can't give it all going through, but it's it chip shots where my back pops every once in awhile. So like yesterday I take a backswing and it will pop and I just went (indicating) and quit and made a bogey and didn't get up-and-down. But swinging, no.

Q. Are you at a point now where you can stop thinking about your back and start thinking about winning, or is the back going to be there for the next 36 holes?

GRACE PARK: I'm just going to enjoy myself here. I'm still not hitting any balls after the round. I'm still not putting. I'm extremely exhausted. My back is -- I gave it all out there today, and, you know, I'm just going to have fun, and so far, it's helped.

Q. How amazing is it then that you are where you are on the leaderboard?

GRACE PARK: Nah, I'm not that bad. No, I'm happy. I wish I were a couple of strokes lower even, but I'll take my position.

Q. Being on the clock on 18, did that have any impact -- inaudible -- when they told you to hurry?

GRACE PARK: Oh, that was stupid. It happens. But we knew we weren't out of position. We knew that -- we knew we were fine.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GRACE PARK: No. It happens so much that we just deal with it.

JOEL LAMP: Thank you, Grace.

End of FastScripts.

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