MCI CLASSIC

April 15, 1999

Jeff Maggert

JEFF MAGGERT: Okay. Had a good started, obviously, on the front 9. I was 5-over on the front. I birdied the first two holes. Then made a bogey on No. 3. Then I birdied -- had a good stretch there. I birdied 5, 6, 7 and 8, four birdies in a row. I had I guess -- then I made one birdie on the back 9, 14. So, you know, my short game was great today. That was the difference between shooting a good score and shooting around par. I putted very well and chipped the ball very well. It was very windy today, and it was tough to hit the ball on the green a lot. I missed a few greens today. But I was missing them close to the edge of the green and close to the hole. I had some pretty easy chips. I holed one from off the green on the 8th hole, so, really the short game was kind of the key to my round.

JEFF MAGGERT: Not really. Other than my golf game has kind of been in a mini slump here the last few weeks. But it has been a lot of fun. Obviously, you know, to get back in the winner's circle this year has been great. But I want to do some more things this year. I was a little frustrated, especially after missing the cut last week at Augusta. And I felt like this would be a good week to maybe turn some things around. This is a good golf course for me, and I have played some good tournaments here. So I haven't lost any confidence, really, in my game. I feel like I am still playing pretty well. I just need to go out and stay patient and try to shoot some good scores.

JEFF MAGGERT: Not yet. I am still deciding, I guess. But I haven't really done anything different than what I normally do. I took a couple of weeks off after the Match Play. Probably my game suffered a little bit. I didn't come out as sharp as I was. Starting with last week I had four tournaments in a row, playing this week, next week and then in Houston, so I feel like this will be a good stretch for me to kind of get my game back at a good level and feel like I can give myself a chance to win some tournaments here the next few weeks.

JEFF MAGGERT: It is. When it is windy like this, it is very difficult to tell the direction of the wind. Especially when you get out away from the water in the trees. The wind seems to swirl around a lot. The greens are very small, so it is difficult to hit the greens when the wind is blowing like this. But, you know, it is manageable. It is not blowing hard enough where the scores are just going to sky rocket. The golf course is in great shape. The greens are perfect. The greens are pretty soft, so you are able to hit some shots in there and hold it on the green. I was a little bit surprised. I thought the scores were pretty good this morning. When I woke up this morning the wind was blowing pretty hard. And I had thought 2- or 3-under might be a pretty decent score this morning. But the course was pretty soft and the greens were manageable, and I think that is why the golf scores were pretty good.

JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah, a little bit. But the greens have pretty good pace. But, really, the only greens that are unprotected from the trees are really the last three holes, 16, 17, 18. The rest of the course, when you are on the green, there is a lot of tree cover around the greens, and you really don't feel the wind while you are putting. It plays havoc on some of your approach shots, because as soon as the ball gets above the tree line, it is pretty windy, and the wind tends to swirl around in some of the areas around the greens. So club selection is difficult when it is windy here. The greens are very small. These are the smallest greens we play all year. It is easy to hit good shots and miss greens around this course. I didn't hit very many greens today. I probably only hit about half the greens. I was close to the hole most of the time with some pretty easy chip shots. But it is difficult if you are shooting at pins to hit a lot of greens.

JEFF MAGGERT: Drove the ball well today. Really the only -- I don't think I was in trouble any off the tee. The only hole that I had a little bit of trouble was 16. I drove it kind of under some limbs of the tree there that sits in the middle of the fairway and had to hit kind of a low shot under some branches. But I made a nice save out of the bunker there. I made about a -- hit it in the waste bunker, then got it up-and-down and made about a 20-footer there to save par. Other than that hole, that was about the only hole I struggled on. All of my chip shots were, you know, up there, a foot-and-a-half, two feet from the hole with tap-ins. So I never really had to make a lot of putts for par. I was fortunate enough to make a few birdies along the way.

JEFF MAGGERT: You know, at home certainly people have been -- you know, they -- I don't know if they recognize me more, but they are more apt to come up and talk to me and congratulate me. I haven't seen a lot of changes. Even out here, it has been fun. The guys out here, you know, that I have known a long time have all congratulated me. It is good to hear from your peers. And I feel like I am trying to put that behind me right now and try to get on with things. I want to play some good golf the rest of the year. I want to get on the Ryder Cup team. I need to get off my can and start playing some better golf. Certainly the last three tournaments were not good outings for me, and I would like to, you know, play a little bit better and start getting up there with a chance to win on Sundays.

JEFF MAGGERT: I don't know, really. I haven't played well at Augusta. I had one good tournament there; finished tied for 7th one year. The first year I played I was leading after two days, but it has been a struggle there for me. I can't pinpoint one thing. The greens are so difficult and I just haven't been able to really hit the ball -- probably my ball-striking with the irons is probably the biggest factor there because I just -- I don't feel like I have been sharp any year that I have been there and I have missed a lot of greens there and I struggle to get the ball up-and-down. Always seem like I have got so much pressure on my putting when I play at Augusta that I just -- I haven't done well there. I need to -- if I can just hit the ball better there from the fairways I maybe can play a little better. That is last week now, so, I am not going to worry about it too much; worry about it next year.

JEFF MAGGERT: Definitely so. I drive the ball very well. This course is very tight. The greens are small and I am a pretty good ball-striker normally with my irons, although I didn't do that well last week. I feel like I am struggling a little bit with my ball-striking still, but I feel like I have kind of turned the corner and I am kind of getting my game back on track. Hopefully I can make a little bit more improvement each day as the tournament goes on.

JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah, there is some strategy and club selections certainly on some of the tee shots and makes you think -- you know, when it is windy like this it makes you think a little bit more all the way around.