THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 23, 2002

Carl Paulson

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome Carl Paulson, third round leader. He's currently 9 under par for the tournament.

How does that sound to be leading THE PLAYERS Championship after 54 holes?

CARL PAULSON: That sounds great, obviously.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your day, hole by hole, real quick. Not a lot of mistakes today, just one bogey and 3 birdies. Start out with the birdie on No. 2.

CARL PAULSON: Actually, I made an eagle on two. I hit a good 3-wood off the tee and I had, I think, 217 to the front and 240, I can't remember. Anyway, I was just trying to land a 4-iron just short of the green and I landed it just short of the green and it took the slope and rolled up there about two feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Then 10 you made a bogey.

CARL PAULSON: I hit a 3-wood over in the right rough and then hit a 6-iron just short of the green and chipped it up about eight feet short and missed it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: 12, birdie.

CARL PAULSON: I hit a 3-wood and pitching wedge about 45, 50 feet, pitching wedge 50 feet (laughs).

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Number 14.

CARL PAULSON: I hit a driver and pitching wedge about eight feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Maybe talk about your overall day and experience of playing in a leader group, in a tournament such as this.

CARL PAULSON: It was great. There were a couple times when I got a little nervous, but I handled the pressure and executed the shots pretty much like I was trying to. I played 11 terrible again today so, we'll have to work on that one. But I'm pretty happy with -- stuck with my game plan. I didn't get overly aggressive out there, and just waited for my chances, so it was nice. It was fun.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Questions.

Q. You played in the final group on Sunday at Innsbruck a year and a half ago. Anything you can take from that into tomorrow?

CARL PAULSON: Well, I played in the final group probably four, five times since then too, and I have learned a lot of stuff. The biggest thing is you can't, just can't get caught up in everything else that's going on. There's only one person that I can control and, you know, my shots are the only ones that I can have any say over. So I've got to go out there tomorrow and worry about my game.

Q. You were playing with a guy that won 20 times on Tour and another guy won a major Championship. Do you feel like you belong?

CARL PAULSON: Absolutely. Absolutely. It was nice when they introduced Phil, they said 20 wins. That sounded nice. (Laughter) But oh, yeah, absolutely.

Q. Are you going to approach this more conservatively tomorrow knowing that probably just as easy, somewhere near par might do it for you or are you going to play any other different way?

CARL PAULSON: I am going to go come out tomorrow and try and play the same way I have played the first three days, which is not overly aggressive, and -- the course is getting really difficult. I don't know if anybody else has told you guys but it's getting firm and it's a tough, tough golf course.

Q. Sluman said, maybe, I think if I heard him right, you ran a putt 8, ten feet by on the first hole for birdie or something made that one come back. He says he could see almost the sigh of relief...

CARL PAULSON: Absolutely. Nobody wants to have to hit ten, twelve feet by on the first tee and miss it coming back, but I don't know what I was thinking. I thought it was a little bit uphill and when I made my second putt, I walked over the edge of the green. It was downhill. I didn't look at it carefully enough, but it took me a few holes to get the speed of the greens down. I knocked it by probably six feet on the third hole, made it coming back. So I made a lot of key putts today. I made probably a 40-footer for par on 15.

Q. Is that as big as anything else, the birdies -- I mean, the eagle and the two birdies. Were there other moments that were as critical to your round?

CARL PAULSON: That was really big because I had made a gigantic mistake hitting it over that green. That's the only place -- you can hit it 10 yards short of the green and have better chance getting it up-and-down. So that was a big mistake rectified by a long putt.

Q. Carl, if I may, was the key to, possibly, your round today, your driving and the fact that you did put most of your irons in pretty good shape.

CARL PAULSON: Yeah, like -- coming into the greens Tuesday and Wednesday when I played out here, it was pretty soft, but I had played this course before when it was firm and I knew that that would only last for a certain amount of time. So I practiced a lot of shots, knowing where the pins were last year. Last year was the only other time I have played this tournament. You know, either working it into the pin or just keeping it away from all the trouble close to the pin.

Q. Did you live in several different spots in a nomadic military lifestyle?

CARL PAULSON: We lived in Charleston, South Carolina. My dad was teaching at Citadel. I don't remember much before that.

Q. North Carolina.

CARL PAULSON: Cherry Point, North Carolina; Irvine, California; Virginia Beach. My parents moved back out to California when I was in the middle of my senior year in high school, and my dad retired and went back to Virginia Beach.

Q. Was there a time in your life that you thought you would become a marine also?

CARL PAULSON: No. Not really. I don't think my dad would let me. (Laughs).

Q. You identified all the pins for tomorrow, how do they look?

CARL PAULSON: No. I am sure they are going to be tough, though.

Q. Craig said that he thought it might be a little more comfortable for him playing with you tomorrow since you are both kind of in the same boat. Do you feel that might be better for you rather than playing with Tiger?

CARL PAULSON: I think it is a great pairing. Craig is an awesome guy. We have known each other for a long time, played a lot of golf together on the BUY.COM Tour, so it should be great.

Q. You didn't follow your father's footsteps but did any of his regiment or disciplinary types of characteristics rub off on you? Has it helped you at all out here?

CARL PAULSON: Sure, I think so. Anything you can take from your father and put, you know, use in life is good. But he, you know, he was a great dad. He was -- wasn't like the Great Santini, we talked about the other day. (Laughter).

Q. How many South Carolina guys are out here, anybody?

CARL PAULSON: I think they just like saying, go Cocks^ . Because there can't be many other guys out here. (Laughter).

Q. That's what I am wondering.

CARL PAULSON: But if there are, I am glad they are out. It's nice just to hear.

Q. Since you got Lou Holtz more of us are admitting it.

CARL PAULSON: That's right.

Q. You know on different levels you have always been a good golfer, got to be Player of the Year and the FCC and an All-American golfer and on different levels you have played against the best on different levels. I don't think you are that worried about tomorrow or the level that you are playing on right now?

CARL PAULSON: Well, in my mind I know I am going to win golf tournaments out here and it's just a matter of putting my thoughts together and executing the shots until I win one, and no I am not worried about anybody else. Like I said earlier my game is under my control. Craig's is under his control. Somebody else could come out and shoot 64 tomorrow and you know, take the championship. That's totally out of my control. So all I am going to try and do is worry about myself and I have played with the best players in the world and so just trying to improve every year.

Q. As a pro, can you have recall five putting?

CARL PAULSON: Yes. And if I would have missed the fifth one I would have 7-putted - no question. I was playing in L.A. we were on the 11th hole and it was dead into the wind. I think I hit driver, 3 wood and 5-iron or something crazy. About twelve feet below the hole I putted about eight feet by, and putted it two feet by, then putted it 8 feet by; then two feet by and the 2-footer, I don't know how it went in, but luckily it did. If it would have missed it was going eight feet by, and I might have just (laughter) --

Q. Going like that can that happen on these greens?

CARL PAULSON: It's happened. It happened yesterday and it happened today, so I mean, it's -- obviously it can happen. I don't know if any of you guys were out there today but I was marking some pretty short putts. The greens are bumpy and the last group of the day there's spike marks and ball marks, and sun starts going down you can see every undulation in the green, so, you got to be very careful.

Q. Is it part of the code to just not say anything to Phil? Did you offer a pat on the back?

CARL PAULSON: No. No. I wouldn't want anybody patting me on the back if I 5 putted.

Q. Look away?

CARL PAULSON: After he missed 1, 2, 3 -- after he missed the fourth one -- I am not laughing at him -- I am laughing at what -- Jeff and I were trying to figure out how many he had putted because we kind of weren't -- we were just watching him and he was putting it back and forth. But by the time we had figured out he had tapped in, so....

Q. You have only 5 bogeys out here and given the conditions with the win and everything, do you credit that more to, you said you are not taking a lot of chances, or has is been more about ball striking?

CARL PAULSON: I think both. I have made some real timely putts, like I said, I made that long one on 15. I made a 10-footer on one. About 6-footer on 3. I was actually going for the green on 4. Had a pretty decent lie in the rough. I thought the ground was firm underneath the ball, just chunked it short of the water; got up-and-down from 40 yards, so I have made some timely pars, but you know, to be in this positions that's obviously what somebody needs to do.

Q. You talked about being nervous at times today. Give us an example of the places you were nervous and how you kind of dealt with those in your own mind?

CARL PAULSON: Obviously the first tee I am always a little bit nervous on the first tee. But maybe the second putt on the first hole, but on 11 I just bogeyed 10 and on 11 I had hit a bad 4-iron left of the green and I didn't have a particularly good lie in the rough. I was trying to run it up the hill. I didn't make it up the hill and a little delicate little chip. It was just a little punch-up on top of the hill. It was a little sketchy but I hit a good one about three feet, made it.

It feels good to be nervous and play well. We all want to be in the last group of every tournament and I am sure most people get a little bit nervous when it's coming down the stretch and when you can hit good shots and make pars and birdies when you are in that position, that says a lot about your game.

Q. Last few years a handful of guys were a little short of making this tournament their first one; haven't closed the deal for whatever reason. Any thoughts on why that may be? Would it be satisfying for you if you were the one to be able to break through?

CARL PAULSON: Yeah it would be very satisfying. This is our tournament. This is probably the best runned tournament of the year on one of the toughest courses so it would say a whole heck of a lot.

Q. There was a moment you and Craig were shaking hands, "why not," got the impression you guys somebody maybe used that phrase earlier today or maybe even one of you, what was the background on that?

CARL PAULSON: That question, about nobody winning this tournament for their first time. Somebody asked Craig that the other night and his response was he had thought about it and he asked himself: "Why not." And we were just talking. Kind of giving each other the "why not."

Q. Considering you hadn't won and this is such a hard tournament for somebody to win, should we or anybody else be surprised if your name is on the top of leader board after 3 rounds and if it's still there after 4 tomorrow?

CARL PAULSON: Well, you know probably most people are surprised, but you know, the people that I work with, my coach and myself and my family are probably not as going to be as surprised as most everybody else. Given that it's such a big tournament and you know, I am not so-called household name in professional golf there's going to be a lot of people that are surprised, yeah.

Q. What do you recall out of the final round at Tampa two years ago and how do you think tomorrow might be different if at all?

CARL PAULSON: I recall watching John Huston make 7 birdies on the back nine. (Laughter). I played real well actually. I my score didn't indicate that but on I think 14 through 18 I had very good birdie chances and didn't make any of them. But hit a lot of good putts. Hit the edge a couple of times, and you know, earlier like on 13 or 14 if a couple of those fall, who knows, but that's a different story but John Huston was on fire. I watched the tape finally about three month later and every single putt was dead center perfect speed. He totally deserved to win that tournament.

Q. Do you think it might be any different tomorrow given the nature of the course nature of the tournament?

CARL PAULSON: Well, let me tell you if somebody shoots 30 on the back nine tomorrow that's in contention they deserve to win.

Q. Are you pretty low-key guy by nature; is that your personality?

CARL PAULSON: I like to think so, my wife probably doesn't think so. No, I think so. I mean, I can get fired up with the best of them.

Q. Does that suit your game maybe?

CARL PAULSON: It suits me for this course, it does, yeah. Because you have got to be so -- I mean there's so many difficult shots out there. Every single shot, you have a perfect sand wedge and you look up there and there's a slope here and bunker here and water there, so there's so many hard shots that I mean I have got fired up a couple times today I made long put on 15 it kind of ---

Q. Yeah, you don't let temper get to you?

CARL PAULSON: Well, yeah we do that sometimes. (Laughter).

Q. You are sitting in the chair nice and mellow.

CARL PAULSON: Yeah, I have got a temper.

Q. Did you get much feedback when you wrote the book from (inaudible) other players like it or kid you about it or call you a nickname or anything?

CARL PAULSON: I don't think many of them read it, tell you the truth. I have gotten a lot of you know, a lot of letters in the mail, people liked it. I read -- I have read some reviews of it that they didn't think were so hot on the internet. But it was really cool.

I mean, it was fun to do and it was really cool. Especially when people come out with them and have me sign them at tournaments and I still get it every now and then.

Q. Can you still buy it on the internet?

CARL PAULSON: I think you can.

Q. It is still in print?

CARL PAULSON: I think it is.

Q. Any thought to the Masters, especially over last couple of days as you are in contention?

CARL PAULSON: Not 'til you just brought it up. I am just kidding.

Q. Sorry.

CARL PAULSON: No, obviously that would be awesome, but the goal is to win this tournament. I am not -- this isn't a qualification for the masters. This is a major golf tournament and it will be awesome to win here. Everything else that comes with it, worry about that later if that happens.

Q. Has there been any kind of -- all these final pairings, whatnot, that you alluded to, has there been any consistent theme to that has been holding you back on the last day, any common deal that you have gotten in your own way or out thought yourself or --

CARL PAULSON: No, I don't think so. On the Nike Tour when I was having trouble winning I was getting ahead of myself. I was playing the leader board and you know, when I finally won I had just stuck to my game and played and played and then I won by 6; then next week I won by 4, so if I can just keep myself out of the whole hoopla and who is making a charge and who is doing this, but with the tournaments on tour that I have been in contention, I have never really played a poor round on Sunday, right around even, maybe 1 or two under, one over maybe. But never played -- just shot myself out of the tournament, just hadn't gotten it done, just hadn't made the putts or hit the one good shot that I needed or whatever it was at the time, but...

Q. What has been your best or most memorable moment in golf? What meant the most of you at the time, amateur, pro, anything?

CARL PAULSON: Well probably my first win on the BUY.COM Tour. Those are -- the first time I won professionally other than cue school that one year, a tournament of any significance. I tell what you was really cool was standing in Hilton Head last year with a chance to win the tournament on the 18th fairway or it ended up to get into a playoff, but -- and going right at it and hitting a pretty good shot and just hitting about 3, 4 yards too far, but that's an awesome feeling and something that I want to recreate more of.

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