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BANK OF AMERICA COLONIAL

May 20, 2004

Steve Flesch

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Steve Flesch, thanks for joining us, 4-under 66 today puts you in great position after one round. Talk about your day, a good one for you.

STEVE FLESCH: Thanks. I got off to a great start, which I think if you can get through the 5th hole here at 1-under par is good, somehow I managed to be 4-under through 5. You know, it's pretty easy, I hit the first green in two and 2-putted for birdie. That's the hole you feel like if you don't take advantage of it, you definitely let one get away, because there are only two Par 5s here.

The first birdie got me off and running and I hit it well all day, kind of stalled 6 through 17 and birdied 18. I hit it well, kept it in play, kept it in the fairway. I putted okay. I didn't really make anything I don't think I should have.

Q. When you get to 3, 4, and 5, and those difficult holes, does the adrenaline get to you a little bit? Is it nerve racking or exciting, because it's a very difficult stretch to get through?

STEVE FLESCH: It's a difficult stretch. I can't say it's nerve racking or you get excited about it. I just think they're just three hard holes to get through. We play a bunch of hard holes every week, but those are three kind of in a string. You realize, hey, you have to take advantage of 1 and 2, because 3, 4, and 5, you don't expect to make birdies on those holes. Even if you can get through there at 1-over you're not doing too bad.

It's Colonial, there are a lot of birdie holes and you have to pick your spots around here. I'm happy at 4-under, for sure.

Q. Like you said, to be 4-under through 5 there, what are you thinking? You know there are other birdie holes out there, did your mind play with you or did you play steady?

STEVE FLESCH: It's funny, Fulton Allem's caddie, when I made the birdie on 5 said, Getcha a low one, meaning, hey, take it really deep or something for the day. Not that that even makes you think about it, but I was hitting it well, and any time you're 4-under through 5 at this place, you know there are a bunch of birdie holes, but I just kept hitting, about 20, 25 feet, and I never really -- I kept hitting it hole high where I had these putts that were breaking 2 or 3 feet from 25 feet, where if you really have the touch on a day like that, you might run in two or three of them, but my speed was a little off.

I can't say I really did anything differently. The only screw up I really had was on 11. I hit it 15 feet from the hole in two, that par 5 right on the fringe, or just in the first cut off the fringe, and was kind of hovering around that bunker. And I took out putter and I knew I should have chipped it. Even though I had the putter in my hand I knew I should be chipping it. It was set up perfect for a chip, and I putted it to get through the fringe, I ran it six feet it by and missed it. That was to get to 5 under. If I had made that to get to 6 or at least made birdie to 5, I think it would have kept the momentum. It was definitely a letdown, but it was just kind of like a stall. I had already stalled a little bit, but that one really put me in kind of neutral. I don't know. That was the only one I really wasted today.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your round. You mentioned No. 1, on the green in two.

STEVE FLESCH: Great drive and 3-iron about 50 feet, 2-putted.

2, I hit a 3-wood and a sand wedge about 18 feet and made it.

3, I drove it way up the left side and had 115 to the hole and hit a pitching wedge about 15 feet and made that.

5, I hit rescue, rescue in there about eight feet and made that. Basically 2-iron, 2-iron.

14, I got a little bit greedy with a 6-iron into the green, pulled it into the green-side bunker, short-sided myself, really easy bogey.

And 15, driver, pitching wedge to about a foot and a half.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Any good par saves out there?

STEVE FLESCH: Not really. No, I just hit a lot of green. Just pretty uneventful, how we like them.

Q. Was it was a lot less crazy out there this time, from a year ago after the first round?

STEVE FLESCH: One of the TV guys just asked that outside. I wasn't on the side of the wave that had the Annika hoopla last year. I was back in my hotel room watching it and it looked crazy out there. If Tiger was here or Ernie or somebody -- I don't think it would be that way for Ernie, but if Tiger was here it would be the same kind of deal. It's definitely quieter. I think this is how everybody thinks of Colonial being, a nice golf tournament, very knowledgeable fans. It's such a classic old style course, it's one of those things where you hit a good shot you're going to get a nice applause for it. Last year there was a little bit more of a buzz in the air.

Q. The circus doesn't quite fit here, maybe a TPC course or something, Phoenix?

STEVE FLESCH: I can't say it was a circus last year. The media attention that it all brought was the most noticeable. There's only so many fans that can fit on this golf course. It's obviously not a big one. This is how we like Colonial, that's why we've been back here so long, and thankfully Bank of America has been with us for a while, too. Everybody likes it here.

Q. One of the things that was made about last year was scoring was down. Kenny shot the record 19-under with two 61s last year. The conditions were perfect for scoring. How are they this year from what you've seen so far?

STEVE FLESCH: There is a perfect answer for that. The greens are perfect and they're soft. Obviously with Colonial not being a long golf course, when it's firm and fast, you're driving it in play, you're going to have a lot of short irons. And the greens, they redid them 2 or 3 years ago, with this heat they have to keep them softer or they're going to lose them. Kenny went 19-under last year, that's why the scores are that low. If they dried out the greens like we normally do, our Tour staff normally does, they speed up the firmness, I'm afraid the members might be putting on dirt the rest of the year and we don't want that to happen.

That's the only reason the scores are lower. The golf course is still perfect. I don't remember if the greens were Bermuda or bent years ago, but I think they were still bent, but the greens are so good, if you get it online they're going in. That's why.

Q. You withdrew last week, how are you this week? How are you feeling?

STEVE FLESCH: I withdrew last week about 50 percent because my back was sore and about 50 percent because my mind was burnt out. I played the Pro-Am last week and was a little bit listless, my back was a little sore, and that night, Wednesday night, actually, before the first round I was kind of laying there thinking, man, I don't want to be this tired for Colonial next week because it's one of my favorites, not to say Byron Nelson isn't one of my favorites, but I've played so much this year, that I was like, I've got to figure out the scheduling, I'm playing too much. So I elected to pull out last week and just got ready for this week, because I like this week so much.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Steve Flesch, thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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