home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 19, 2006

Pat Perez

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to thank Pat Perez for coming by, currently in second place for the tournament. Pat, an up-and-down round for you today. Just get you to comment on how things went.

PAT PEREZ: Terrible compared to yesterday, that's about it.

JOHN BUSH: Tough start to the round, if you can take us through real quick, starting with a bogey on 1.

PAT PEREZ: Hit it in the water and made 5.

5, hit it left, buried in the bunker, got up and down, 5.

6, hit it short, chipped on and missed the putt.

JOHN BUSH: How far was the putt?

PAT PEREZ: Ten feet.

JOHN BUSH: Birdie on 7.

PAT PEREZ: Driver, L wedge, eight feet.

10, water, drop, 2 putt, bogey.

11, chipped up, two feet, missed it.

12, birdie, 7 iron, four feet.

14, the par 5, driver, 3 iron, wedge, 12 feet, birdie.

15, 5 iron, L wedge, about 15 feet.

16, driver, 7 iron about 30 feet.

18, driver, 4 iron, drop, 2 putt.

Q. You must feel some vindication, though, because it could have gone the other way. You came back in tough conditions.

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, you know, I guess. Not really, but I guess.

I still haven't played a decent round in the wind, so it doesn't feel that good. I played four rounds this year, and three have been in the wind and I've shot over par every time.

Q. Describe the wind conditions. What was it doing, was it playing differently than Pernice was saying it was blowing from a different direction.

PAT PEREZ: It started and stopped and started. I don't know, it just howled out there. You get out on a couple of holes, I hit two drives 238 on the back nine and, you know, it's just hard where the pins were, it was just hard to get them close.

Q. Have you talked about the decision, if you had to do it over again, the second shot on 18?

PAT PEREZ: I'd hit it every day. I would never think twice about laying up. Only had 4 iron. We should be able to hit 4 iron to the green. It's a pretty big green.

Q. How much of this today was the fact that it was the wind, and how much was that you just didn't play as well as you played yesterday?

PAT PEREZ: Actually, I didn't play that bad today.

Q. So most of it was just the wind conditions?

PAT PEREZ: A lot of wind. This course is so much different than any other one. It's not even close to PGA West. And the wind tunnel, it howls here. The greens are hard. The course is brand new, so it's not responsive to spin or anything. It's just completely different.

Q. Is there something about the course, a general characteristic, is it the water that you have to drive the ball really well here?

PAT PEREZ: No. You don't have to drive it all that great. You've just got to keep it you've got to keep it on the right side of the wind. You've got to really play the wind and really think about where you're going to hit it and land it and have it roll. It's a lot tougher.

Q. If you didn't play as well as you liked, is it something you can just kind of discard and get over with and kind of move on?

PAT PEREZ: Oh, I can't wait to get to Bermuda Dunes tomorrow. I can't wait. (Laughter) I'm pissed because of the 6. But in 20 minutes when I'm eating, I'll be just fine because I can't wait to play the next two.

Q. Do you feel like this course with the wind kind of throws a wild card into this tournament? That you kind of had all these very similar courses and now you've got this thing out in the middle of nowhere?

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, it's definitely going to throw a wrench in it, in the scoring. Because it could blow 70 miles an hour at any time, and if you're in that wave, then you've got screwed.

Q. And that's basically what happened today, because it may not blow as hard as it did today the rest of the time.

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I don't know how hard it blew yesterday. You look at the scores in the top 22 last night, there wasn't one guy at this course. You look at the scores today, I saw the guys that were out there playing in our wave and they were even, 1 under. I was 1 over. The guys on the board just weren't making a move. Everyone else is 4 under, 5 under. It's hard to be grinding, making pars and just seeing these guys making birdie after birdie on the other courses. I'm glad I have this one out of the way early instead of playing it Saturday and Sunday.

Q. If 18 doesn't happen and you just make a routine par, would you feel differently about this round than finishing?

PAT PEREZ: To grind back and birdie those holes into the wind and downwind and crosswind and then you have no wind on 18 to make 6, it's just so beyond unacceptable, I just can't believe it.

Q. Did you play this course in a practice round?

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I played about two holes and left. I actually played 9 and left. I couldn't stand it. The wind was the flags were almost coming out of the hole it was blowing 80 miles an hour on Sunday. I said, 'We're out of here.' That gave me a good enough sign of what could happen during the week.

Q. Do you think that this course fits in with the general feel and playableness of the other courses?

PAT PEREZ: I won't comment on that. Honestly, I don't think it does, but, you know, we're here and we're going to be here, so everyone is going to have to deal with it.

JOHN BUSH: Pat, thanks again for coming by.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297