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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AMFebruary 10, 2011D.A. PointsPEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA DOUG MILNE: D.A. Points, great playing today: 7-under, 65. You noted that it was the not the quickest round you ever played, but it was certainly a lucrative round. Just a couple comments on the round today. D.A. POINTS: Wow, it got off to a fortunate start. I hit a horrible tee shot off the first tee and thought it might be out of bounds or in a bad place. I got up there, the lie wasn't great, but I had a clear shot at the green. I hit it in the green and made par and kind of settled any of the anxiety about what it's going to be like playing with Bill and Harris. After I did that, I kind of got a feel for the greens and fortunately hit a nice shot -- I made a key par save on the 3rd hole and made a nice putt. On the 4th hole I rolled in a nice birdie and kind of got a good feeling going. From there, the putter was working real nice. Really my only hiccup was a three-putt, and it was just because I think I just got a little aggressive and hit one too hard and then missed the comeback. Other than that, it was a fun day. DOUG MILNE: I think if I looked at it correctly, this is maybe your fourth start here. Not the best track record here, but you did finish I think top 15 in 2008. D.A. POINTS: Yeah, in 2008, I finished tied for 13th. Finished second in the team. DOUG MILNE: What is it about the whole Pebble Beach experience, this tournament experience, that you like and that you can kind of segue into how was it playing today with Bill? D.A. POINTS: First of all, playing out here, I've been -- for a kid from Pekin, Illinois, I've played Pebble Beach more than I ever probably dreamed I would've gotten to. I've gotten the opportunity to play in the Callaway Invitational several times and play in this tournament, so I feel very comfortable here. I like the peninsula. I like all the golf courses. I feel like -- you know, the course that I felt the least comfortable on was the one I played today. So I'm like, Whoa, wait a minute, that I played this well. I really like Pebble Beach, and Spyglass of course. The conditions are very similar this week to what they usually are in November for the Callaway, so I feel like I have a little bit - I don't want to say advantage, because just when you think you have an advantage you play bad - but I feel like I'm at least familiar with the conditions the way they are. And, you know, I'm very excited to play with Bill Murray. I've wanted to play with him for a few years now. Couple years ago I got to play with Pat Green and Jeffrey Donovan. I like being with those guys, but I was kind of in Scott Simpson's ear. Whenever I would see him, I was like, Hey, you going to play with Bill this year? Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna play. I said, Well whenever you're maybe thinking about giving that up, keep me in mind because I've always wanted to play with him. Bill is from Illinois and I'm from Illinois as well, and we kind of have that in common. You know, and, sure, I know people call his antics or he's a showman while he's out there and making lots of comments and talking while people are getting ready to hit shots. To be honest, I think it really - I say it right now -it really loosens me up and makes me, between shots, not be grinding so hard on what I'm doing. It helps me take a little bit of a breather between shots and joke around with him, and Harris told some really nice stories about playing football against Reggie White and different guys. Stuff like that really helps me. Then I can kind of escape. For five hours and forty minutes while I'm out there, if I'm trying to think about golf, golf, golf nonstop, I'm going to be exhausted by the time the day is over with. I think that really helped. DOUG MILNE: Questions. Q. You said you always wanted to play with him. When did you find out, and did you make a request? How does that work? D.A. POINTS: No, you know, I hadn't. And I thought about maybe I should call and be like say, Hey, if you're looking for somebody to play with him, I put my name in the hat or whatever. But I didn't do that. I just kind of forget about it or didn't really think it would matter if I called. I actually know his caddie, Andrew, pretty well. He worked for a company that sponsored me. He actually played golf at the University of Illinois. Not when I was there, but before I was there. So he and I had kind of become buddies, and I think Andrew might have had something a little bit behind the scenes to do with it. I found out Tuesday night. Tom Shoes put on a nice deal for us players. The PGA Tour Wives' Association kind of put on an event and Bill was there, and so I got to meet him. We talked for a brief second, and sure enough, I wake up Wednesday morning and I've got this message on my phone. He says, D.A., this is Bill Murray. I'm like, Oh, my gosh. I didn't even give him my number. He goes, I got your number from the police department. (Laughter.) Obviously joking. He said, I'm playing this afternoon after the Celebrity Shootout at Cypress Point; would you like to play? I said, Oh, my gosh, I've never played Cypress Point. I thought, Maybe this will be the prefect time for the first time playing Cypress Point with Bill Murray. We played with two lovely ladies that I guess he's played with every year for the last few years, Belle Taylor (ph)and Jane Anderson (ph), I think. We played basically the twilight round at Cypress. Today is my daughter's first birthday, and so I'm like -- this week so far just seems to keep getting better and better and better. I'm having a good time. Q. What was your favorite Bill Murray moment today? I thought one or two holes... D.A. POINTS: He hit some amazing bunker shots. I mean, he hit two or three bunker shots that were just hard bunker shots to inside of four feet. Then he made a great birdie -- coincidentally, on the hole I three-putted, he made a great birdie. You know, it's fun that when he hits a shot he holds his pose for an extend period of time, which is great. Everybody loves it. I love that he does it. Q. Was there any one particular funny quote or exchange between you two? D.A. POINTS: No, we did -- I taught him how to instead of give knuckles, I taught him how to do knuckles wirelessly. So where you don't actually have to bump fists, and then we do that and blow it up. So we do that and that's a lot fun. Q. The wireless blow up? D.A. POINTS: The knuckles wireless, and then we blow it up, yeah. If one of us -- like I chipped in on 16, I think it was. I was a long chip, so we did a -- because it was so far away, we weren't going to run across the green to high five, so we just did that. It worked out. Q. Does Murray tell you beforehand, If it gets a little wild, let me know? Did he give you any kind of let me know what's okay for you? D.A. POINTS: No. You know what, and he felt bad. The one hole that I three-putted, I got up over my putt and he started talking to me about how he just made a putt and how Harris just made a putt and how easy this should be. You know, I backed up and I wasn't even -- it didn't bother me at all or make my nervous anything, I just hit two bad putts. But, yeah, I talked to Tim Herron about it who's played with him some; I talked to and Jesper Parnevik about it. They're like, He's just going to do it. Just back off and just know that it's going to happen. You know, Tim said, Try to get your stuff done while he's off in the gallery talking to people. To be honest with you, today I didn't even think about it. It was almost like I was out there -- it was like yesterday when we were playing at Cypress Point. He wasn't as animated yesterday, but we were just hanging out. It was like playing with my buddies. It was nice. Q. Were you through the green in two on 10? D.A. POINTS: Yes, I was. Q. Did you hear about Cejka's albatross. How amazing is that? D.A. POINTS: It's really amazing. I'm 34 year old; I've been playing golf for 33 years, basically, 32 and a half years, and I've never had one. I've had four hole-in-ones, and I think about all the eagles on par-5s I made; hole-outs from the fairways; I've never had an albatross. So that's a really, truly, amazing shot. Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: You know what, not great. I'm going to try to blame my caddie, but I flagged it on 15 and it air mailed the green in the back bunkers. And then 16 I hit one in the right greenside bunker, and I said, I'm just going to have to make two the hard way. I hit a bunker shot, and it rolled right up to the edge of flag and stopped. But other than that, it was good. It was a lot of fun. It was really an amazing play. Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: You know what, they're the fastest fairways I've ever played on. If you wanted to putt on the fairways, they're that good. The fairways are so tight, sometimes you sit club your down and you're like, I don't even know how I'm going to get my club on it. They're so nice and tight. I know they've had a little bit of an issue with a couple of the greens, but fortunately today my ball didn't have too may issues with 'em. It rolled pretty well. Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: You know what, to be honest, like I said -- I even kind of told my wife last night. I said, You know, I know this might be a little bit of a chaotic week with him maybe acting up to the crowds. I've been playing good golf lately, and if I have a bad week, I'm not worried about it. I'm like, You know what, I'm just going to try to have fun with him and just be open to that as opposed to being out there -- because generally I'm a real competitive person, so I don't like to play bad. But I'm going to try to - even the next three days, two or three days - I'm going to try to just go with the flow. If he starts really acting up, I'm just going to try to join in and maybe they'll help us be better. Q. So you think other players want to play with Murray, like you're trying to get in there, or some players you think don't want to play with him? D.A. POINTS: You know what I've had, I've had a couple guys go, Oh, you got the short end of the stick. When they said that, I was like, Really? There are a lot of amazing celebrities here, and I'm not going to try to compare him to one over the other. But in my eyes, he's one of biggest and most amazing celebrities here with the career he's had and how much he loves golf. He's good. When we played yesterday and I never played with him and I watched some of his shots, and I'm like, Man... So when somebody says I got the short end of the stick, I just don't feel that. Q. So you found out Tuesday night, and then you saw him at the event? D.A. POINTS: I found out at like -- somebody texted my wife and said, Hey, I hear you're playing with Bill Murray. I'm like, Really? Then when I got there, they had the pairings, and I just happened to watch him -- catch him as he's walking out. I was with my daughter and my wife, and I just introduced myself real quick and we just said, Hi. He was nice enough -- I guess he got my number from his caddie - yeah, from the police - and called in invited me in play. It's been really nice. Q. He called you? D.A. POINTS: He called me. I still have the message. He called in the morning, probably 8:30. I was on the course at Spyglass playing. That's why I didn't get it. Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: Oh, sure. I mean, happens lots. Like I was excited last year. On Sunday I played at Torrey Pines last year with Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson. Rickie is a great, upcoming player, and Phil being one of the best in the world. I was excited. That say I was like, I want to beat these two guys. I don't care what place I finish. I want to beat these two guys. I beat Phil and Rickie beat me. But I get excited for stuff like that. If you don't -- and I played with Tiger last year at AT&T, the other tournament, the National. Played with him on Sunday. You know, I want to play with the best and be one of the best, so I get excited to play with... Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: Yes, I was. Because, again, when someone -- when I have looked up to someone since I was a little kid -- you know, the only other person, like if I got to play with Mr. Palmer or Mr. Nicklaus or Mr. Watson, I would maybe -- maybe that I could compare. That might be a little more exciting. It's a big deal for me. I'm excited. Q. (No microphone.) D.A. POINTS: Definitely. Definitely. Q. Did he change as the round went on? D.A. POINTS: I think his caddie is a good player. Like I said, he's a good friend of mine. I think he was like, All right. D.A.'s playing good. Even if he didn't say that, I could just kind of feel him. And Bill and I were doing all right as team I think. I don't know where we stand. I don't know, maybe 11- or 12-under or something like that. We shot 59, so whatever that is. 12-under. So I think he was like, All right, pro is playing good; you're playing good; let's get halfway serious about it. DOUG MILNE: All right, D.A. Good playing. Thanks for coming in. End of FastScripts |
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