Q. You were through 9 at the delay?
JERRY KELLY: I was on the 10th green. It was about a seven-footer that I made coming out of the rain delay, so that started me out good.
Q. Were conditions more bearable making the kind of run you did to start the back nine?
JERRY KELLY: The wind was still there. It would probably make you wonder because there was so much earlier, but the birdie countdown, I would say the greens were a little -- I want to say not as consistent coming back out. The field looked like it took a little bit of water and it didn't. 18 was one that it just ran right off of.
Q. I know it's early in the tournament, but what are you thinking about now?
JERRY KELLY: Tiger is a challenge every single week. He's the man you've got to beat. He's No. 1 in the world, No. 1 on the money list and he often finds himself right there where we're looking at. I know I want to go after him. I mean, there's no surprises there. It's no surprise that I want to go get him.
Q. There's talk in the media about him being in a slump.
JERRY KELLY: He said it best. What he has done, when he went on the streak, that's not the norm. That was extraordinary, what he did. That was amazing. Now, three wins out of ten or so tournaments, that would be probably more than the norm. He is not in a slump. He says he's hitting the ball great. Golf happens to all of us, it just happens to some of us more. That is the game. He is not going to be perfect every week. He is perfect very often. He is as close to perfect as anybody has ever seen golfing.
Q. Jerry, that putt on 18 that hung up --
JERRY KELLY: It couldn't stop there. It was straight downhill.
Q. Was there a time when you wouldn't have smiled walking around that ball, that you would have reacted differently?
JERRY KELLY: Yeah, probably. I probably still am unhappy walking off the green but I can look back and say I played well, and I executed shots on that hole that I came up a centimeter short.
Q. (Inaudible).
JERRY KELLY: It's got a lot to do with it. It depends how you come out. Some days when I'm hot, I can play very well. Other days when I'm hot, I don't play very well. Some days when I'm calm I play well, some days when I'm calm I don't play very well. I'm an up-and-down kind of guy and I've got to gauge that. I always try and find that median there.
Q. Do you just try and keep your emotions inside or are you seething inside?
JERRY KELLY: When I'm not playing well I'm absolutely seething. It's frightening. I'm so close to turning red you can't imagine.
Q. Did you watch the leaderboard out there and know where you were at?
JERRY KELLY: Absolutely.
Q. Does it affect you when you play?
JERRY KELLY: Makes me want to go get him. It affects me in a good way. I enjoy being up there, in the hunt. I say hey, Kelly looks pretty good with those names.
Q. Even though this isn't a Major, can you simulate with the names up there, what it takes to go after those?
JERRY KELLY: I don't think so. I think the Majors are a different animal. I've always said a Major is no different than any tournament to me. It's true.
I'd win any tournament, I'd win any tournament just as much as I'd win a Major, but Majors are different. I've just got to recognize it. I guess you've got to recognize the Majors are different before you can accept them as a different animal and find a way to get out.
Q. After the rain delay Tiger classified the greens as more clumpy. Did you find that at all?
JERRY KELLY: They were longer than I've ever seen them. I don't think I got a putt outside of seven feet to the hole on the front side. I said I was going to bang them on the backside and I banged one on the back and then I lost it. They were slow, which means there was a lot of grass, which means a lot of footprints. I guarantee that ball stopped because people stepped on the edge of the hole.
Q. Talk about the pins being a little bit more tucked for an opening round.
JERRY KELLY: Good pins for Thursday, no question. There were some tough ones out there. It was not a gimme golf course. The ball is going so far and so straight, and when it's hot it goes even farther. This course should not surrender that many scores that low, but technology has ruined a lot of things.
Q. With the rain delay as long as it was, you got your round in, you won't have to worry about going into tomorrow?
JERRY KELLY: Absolutely. It's nice to come out at the normal time instead of going back and having to settle in. It's much more comfortable.
Q. Your first day with a new caddie. Did he bring anything to the table?
JERRY KELLY: Absolutely. It was pretty impressive. I really enjoyed the banter we had back and forth.
He's a pro himself. He can see a lot of the shots that I'm trying to hit, and he understands my mentality when I don't do something that I like. I was kind of mad at a couple shots, and he's like hey, great shot, and I thought it was a pretty good shot, it just wasn't perfect. I've just got to relax.
Q. Have you played on mini-tours together?
JERRY KELLY: He was on the PGA Tour in 96. He's a good player.
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