MICHELOB CHAMPIONSHIP AT KINGSMILL

October 5, 2001

Carl Paulson

CARL PAULSON: Started off on the first couple of holes. I hit a couple of really bad shots, so I made a couple really key up-and-downs on 10 and 11 for par, kind of settled myself down, but 13 I hit a 6-iron about 15 feet and 14 I hit a 3-wood and a 9-iron about five feet. Those first two holes were more important. (Laughs). No. 1 I hit a 2-iron and pitching wedge to about ten feet. 4, I hit just a completely horrible hole from start to finish. Hit 3-wood left and hit 8-iron short of the green, chipped it about ten feet short and missed the putt.

CARL PAULSON: Driver, pitching wedge about five feet. 7, driver, 4-iron just off the back of the green chipped it down there about eight feet, made it. Driver, 6-iron 45-footer.

CARL PAULSON: Like I said, this morning I was a little tense out there in the range warming up and it wasn't exactly how I liked it, but a little help from Tommy my caddie kept me real patient and just waited for some good things to happen. Finally settled down a little bit and started hitting some good shots and I putted very well today, throughout the whole day. Very pleased with where I stand.

CARL PAULSON: Andersen.

CARL PAULSON: He used to caddie for Tommy Armour III for a long time. He was looking for a bag when I was. He's an excellent, excellent caddie.

CARL PAULSON: I didn't hit one shot the way I wanted to, let us put it that way. Normally on every hole you have at least one shot that's acceptable and there really wasn't one on that hole. Bogey wasn't all that bad, I guess you are right.

CARL PAULSON: No. Just that time of year. But I have been playing awfully well and at the end of yesterday I got a little squirly with my swing and worked on it last night, felt pretty good. It wasn't real bad this morning. Just wasn't like it had been the last four weeks where I have just been really tearing the cover off the ball. But three or four holes of really good pars and I settled down and really started to hit it well and did everything pretty well the rest of the way in.

CARL PAULSON: I am staying here, yeah. That tunnel, can't take a chance with that tunnel.

CARL PAULSON: We have played well paired together before. Mikey is a little bit further down on the money list than I am and he needs a good week or a couple of good weeks, so it's nice to see him playing well.

CARL PAULSON: We have known each other for a long time. We have played against each other in college; on the Nike Tour a couple of years together. Pretty good friends out on Tour, so yeah, there's a certain comfort level absolutely.

CARL PAULSON: I am not real sure. I grew up on Bermuda and a lot of the tournaments are Bermuda grass. Our high school golf was in the fall. I don't know. I definitely play better in the fall though I have been working on playing better in the spring and summer. I started to. I have had some good tournaments now which is a good step, but I am just comfortable this time of year. The courses we play and it starts cooling down. Probably my favorite season; maybe that has something to do with it.

CARL PAULSON: No, I have been stroking it real well. I worked with Rotella Monday. Had a little tension in my stroke in my arms; trying to loosen some of that tension up and let everything go, just be a little bit more free with the putter and it has been working very well. But I have been putting well before that too. So it nice to see some putts going in.

CARL PAULSON: That little bit of wind out here, a 10 mile an hour wind out here is like a 20 mile an hour wind somewhere else. It just swirls and comes up-and-down through the hills and over the trees and hills and trees and wind normally don't mix together too well for us. It's going to be kind of nasty this weekend and looks like it is going to be a grinder's weekend, I am pretty happy about that.

CARL PAULSON: Seemed like I have before, yes.

CARL PAULSON: Yeah, knocking in a 6-iron.

CARL PAULSON: No, that was great. That was great. Obviously a tough putt, a little bit of a double-breaker. That's the kind you like to cozy down there and you know, tap it in if you got the right line it goes in, that's a bonus.

CARL PAULSON: I was trying to make it. But my -- the most important thing on that putt was the speed for me.

CARL PAULSON: Yeah. Just staying patient for me right now is the biggest key. I have been swinging so well and hitting the ball so well, you know, last weekend on Saturday I played about as good as I did on the first two days and I just didn't make any putts and started wearing on me a little bit and Sunday I made absolutely nothing, so I think it was just kind of building up. I am just going to hit the putter best I can and put it in the rearview mirror.