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CHRYSLER CHAMPIONSHIP

October 28, 2004

Kent Jones

PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Kent Jones, thank you for joining us. First round 64, two shots off the lead. You've got a lot to play for this week, 124 on the Money List. You're off to a great start. Some opening comments from you.

KENT JONES: Yeah, it was a good start. I started on 10 and got off to just -- I couldn't ask for a better start really on the first couple holes, so that probably -- I wasn't -- I was a little nervous, probably a little like every tournament. But it probably helped settle me down or get me into the round.

I played solid, putted extraordinarily well, gave myself some chances and made a lot of them, so I'm happy with a good start.

Q. Talk about that start just real quick.

KENT JONES: I hit a good drive on the 1st hole, hit a 9-iron to probably -- maybe a little bit safe, but 20, 25 feet right of the hole. Neal Lancaster had a similar putt to mine, he putted first and then I putted next and made it, so he probably gave me a little bit of a read.

Then on the next hole I hit a good drive and 3-wood and had 15 feet off the fringe for eagle and hit it close and tapped in, so it was kind of a birdie-birdie start just to kind of get the round going.

Q. What is this week like for you? Is it a very tough week, a very stress-filled week?

KENT JONES: I think probably this week has been okay. I think last week was maybe a little bit more stressful. I think maybe that's just because the scores were so low last week and it seems like every week guys are playing well from behind. I think I was maybe a little bit more relaxed this week, and I guess it's a little abnormal in that I'm talking to the media as much as I have the last couple weeks, but other than that, I try to approach it the same.

I've pretty much gone through my same routine early in the week and then have just been going out and fishing a couple hours in the evening over at the Island Course and trying to keep it as much the same as I can.

Q. What's the media like, Kent? Do they come up and start asking you how your year has gone and how things are going and then drop the hammer?

KENT JONES: They come up and say, "Can we ask you something?" "What do you want to talk to me about?" "Well, you're on the bubble." So they pretty much know. I know why they're going to talk to me, so they get right to it.

Q. Does 64 sound even better knowing what you have to play for this week?

KENT JONES: I guess maybe a little bit. I guess obviously it's good any time, but it's nice to get off to that kind of a start, being the last event of the year.

Q. What have you caught over in those ponds over there?

KENT JONES: A few bass, nothing too big.

Q. Anything you put on the grill?

KENT JONES: Well, some of them I probably could have, but I'm just giving them all back.

Q. Are you surprised that there are a lot of low scores? The guys are talking about this being a tough course and the rough and everything.

KENT JONES: I was surprised. Starting off and looking up and seeing 9 and 7 and 6, I thought it was a little surprising. I don't know, I guess this afternoon the course played a bit shorter than -- I played early Tuesday and it played quite a bit shorter today, but for the first ten holes anyway it was perfect weather. I got a little bit of breeze, but perfect weather and the greens are holding. They're not really soft but they'll hit and hold, and it just seems any more if you hit good weather and holding greens, it doesn't matter what the rest of the course is like, the scores are going to be good.

Q. You see 9 and 7, do you start thinking you're going to hear the train from the Magic Kingdom any minute?

KENT JONES: No, I'm surprised. I think, too, this course, you know if you hit it in the fairway you can hit shots to the middle of the green and leave yourself 20- and 30-footers and make pars and not feel bad about it, which I think is the difference from last week. You feel like if you're making pars last week, even if you hit good shots or good putts, you feel like you're losing ground. At least this week if you hit good solid shots, even if you're making pars, you don't feel bad about it.

Q. Were you in a similar position at this tournament last year or had you already made it at this point?

KENT JONES: Yeah, somewhat similar, but I had a bigger cushion, and I actually didn't play in either of these two events last year, so I had to sit and watch. I was probably 19 or 20 going into the last event. I had, I don't know what it was, $40,000 or something like that, so a bigger cushion.

Q. You obviously think when we're talking to you about 125. Do you think about it when you're out there on the course?

KENT JONES: No, not too much really. I mean, people talk to you about it during the week and it's in the back of your mind. You can't get away from it, you know it's there, but once you tee off you've played enough -- guys who have played enough golf are able to block out pretty much anything, so it goes pretty much to the back of your mind and you're just concentrating on what you're doing that day.

Q. There's a lot of dead time out there, isn't there? I've heard guys say that.

KENT JONES: There's a lot of dead time, but I think once you get out there playing, you kind of get in the routine of what you normally do when you play, and you're not -- I don't think you're thinking about the Money List most tournaments or most times you play.

Q. The stress level is no different for you this week than it was maybe a month or two ago?

KENT JONES: Well, it may be, but I think because I've been right there for the last six or eight weeks, maybe I'm just accustomed to it now because it's been like that for a while now, so I think it's not like it's all of a sudden there this week. It's been there, so maybe I've just adjusted a little bit.

Q. Have you been checking where you are each week number-wise because it seems like there's been some incredible fluctuations.

KENT JONES: And guys have been talking about it because guys would get to a number and say, well, okay, you're safe, and then all of a sudden after two weeks you wouldn't be safe. It's so different from last year when it seemed like guys around the number didn't play well and the number barely moved, and this year so many guys have played well from behind the number that it makes big jumps every week, $30,000 or $40,000, which you wouldn't expect. I think a lot of guys have been -- have had their eye on it, and I think a lot of guys months ago thought they locked it up and now they're in a position where they're not.

Q. Will you look at the scores?

KENT JONES: Like on the scoreboard?

Q. Yeah, do you read the paper in the morning and go through the scores?

KENT JONES: Yeah, somewhat.

Q. This week at all do you look and see what Olin did and what Craig did and what Glen Day did?

KENT JONES: Yeah, I have no idea what they did.

Q. Is that something you look at, to see what the guys are doing behind you?

KENT JONES: I might. I'm not going to make a point to, but who knows, maybe I'll go look at the computer later or something.

Q. Do you feel like making the cut is going to be enough or do you think you have to go beyond that?

KENT JONES: I would think no. It might end up being that way, but you can't count on it just because it seems like every week it's moved so much, you just have to expect that. Everyone says, well, it's going to slow down, it can't keep doing that. Well, it has, it's done it every week, so I don't know why this week would be different. With a big purse, too, that makes a difference.

Q. Are you trying to win this week?

KENT JONES: Yeah, I think -- honestly that's probably not my focus starting out the week probably. I think I'm more about trying to control myself and play solid and see what happens, trying to play as good as I can. I think with this start, it gives me a chance. I'm not going to think about that, but if I get to the weekend or to Sunday, then I think that's what your focus becomes.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could touch on your round and then take one final question. We talked about your start on 10 and 11. Only bogey of the day came on 13, par 3.

KENT JONES: Yeah, I hit probably my worst shot of the day there, missed the green short right, chipped it up, not a poor chip but maybe eight feet short and misread that putt. I missed that putt.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What did you hit in there?

KENT JONES: 6-iron.

Then 16, hit a good drive, 7-iron, maybe 18 feet I had left, and Neal was on my line there and I got a good read. I probably wouldn't have played as much break as I did otherwise, and I made that putt.

Then No. 1, hit a poor drive, double-crossed there, but got lucky, kicked down into a bunker. Could have been over in the trees. Got it out, wedged it on and made probably a 20-footer.

And then 4, 5-iron, again, probably 20 feet. I just missed a short one on 3, which was lightning fast.

Then 4, I hit a good putt but I hit it too hard, but it went in. I would have probably gone well by, so it was a little bit lucky.

5, just 3-wood off the tee to get in play, laid it up actually too close to 70 yards, a so-so wedge to probably 15 or 18 feet and made that putt.

Next hole, driver, solid 6-iron to the middle of the green and ran in like a 30-footer, so I made like three nice putts in a row there.

Then 8, just a 3-iron, just trying to hit it to the middle of the green, and it kind of rolled back there nice to about 12 feet, rolled that one in.

Q. Sounds like you had about four putts in that 20- to 30-foot range.

KENT JONES: Yeah, I made some nice putts.

Q. How many strokes did Neal help you on today?

KENT JONES: Just a couple off the top of my head. He gave me a couple nice reads there.

Q. He didn't talk to himself today, did he?

KENT JONES: Not too much. Nothing beyond normal.

Q. He's within 125 now, isn't he?

KENT JONES: Yeah, I don't know how far he moved up. I think he's solid, though.

Q. Like 111, I think.

KENT JONES: Yeah.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you very much, Kent.

End of FastScripts.

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