THE NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

March 25, 2000

Chris Johnson

CHRIS JOHNSON: I had a good time. The course is in really good condition, and it's not firming up as much as I thought it would. I think they are plenty firm, but it's very fair. I'm just happy to be where I am. I didn't hit the ball very well coming in and I didn't save some pars -- I didn't save par on 14 and 15, but was able to save par on 17 and 18; so that kind of makes me finish with a little better taste in my mouth. I'm very blessed to finish where I am and I'm very thankful that I have a lot of people praying for me to make sure I -- make sure things are going well. Bogeyed the 1st hole. Hit into the trees on the right and chipped out. Didn't hit it really -- I had a pitch on the green; left it a little short and nearly made the putt, but didn't. The putt was about 20 feet. No. 4, I hit an 8-iron to probably about 25, 28 feet and I made that for birdie. No. 6, I 3-putted, probably from 30 feet. On the back side, I hit into the bunker on the left on No. 10; hit 6-iron to about 12 feet and made that for birdie. And on 11, I hit the green in two, 2-putted about 35 feet. Bogeys on 14 and 15. 14, I hit to the left of the green and pitched on, had about, I don't know, maybe a 15-footer; did not make that. On 15, I had 9-iron to the green. Buried it in the bunker and got it onto about 15 feet and didn't make that one, either. So those are my bogeys.

CHRIS JOHNSON: That's basically -- that's what you're thinking of. The main thing is I just have to play my own game. I want to make sure that I don't allow someone else's game to influence mine. I had a great time out there. Karrie played great. It was fun seeing her hit iron shots at the pin all day long. And I love seeing excellence, and I think it's good for the tournament. The gallery loves to see excellence, and I think it makes everyone play a little bit better and concentrate a little bit more. It was a good group to play with. I don't think -- it's just a matter of, you know, you can't make up -- you're not going to make up all those shots on the first hole. You just go out there and play your round, and basically everyone else is playing for second place, but you want to go out there and place play your best.

CHRIS JOHNSON: I think that goes back to the saying that you hear people say every now and again. "Oh, this course isn't so tough if you hit it in the fairway; if you hit it on the green, it's not so tough." And it gets really tough when you hit it in the rough and you miss the green into the rough. She's hitting some really good shots. She's hitting some courageous shots. When you're playing with confidence, you're playing a different course to some extent than the rest of us, maybe.