BELLSOUTH CLASSIC

March 30, 2001

Steve Flesch

STEVE FLESCH: Yeah. Actually the holes I played yesterday, I played exactly the same today. I guess it wouldn't have mattered if we restarted where we were. Just hit a lot of good shots today. It was really, really wet out there. The course played pretty long. Just hit a lot of good iron shots, made a few putts. It was that simple.

STEVE FLESCH: Yeah, you know, when I played the ProAm Wednesday, the greens were extremely firm, almost as firm as we usually see them like Saturday, Sunday. That early in the week, it's kind of strange to see them that firm. You had trouble getting the ball close to the hole. I don't know, we probably got over an inch of rain. They're still very quick. You know, the greens are perfect out there. Now they're just a little bit more re -- actually, they're a lot more receptive to your shots. I wouldn't say they're really soft. They're soft enough to where you can go at the pins. If we get a couple of days where it doesn't rain anymore, they'll be back to being nice and firm. They're perfect. There's nothing wrong with them.

STEVE FLESCH: My day off usually consists of doing a lot of nothing. I played the whole Florida swing. I had a couple of things I needed to do with taxes and all that Monday when I was home. I flew back to Atlanta Monday night so I could go play Tuesday morning over at Augusta because I've never been there. Flying from Jacksonville, through Atlanta, Cincinnati, back to Atlanta, 20 hours, then driving over to Augusta was so much running around, then I played a ProAm on Wednesday with a rain delay, sitting around. You know, just kind of never got any downtime. Yesterday, I wasn't -- even though I came out early, getting up every morning at 5:00 three days in a row, it was just -- I needed some sleep, I needed a little bit of rest. When they called it yesterday, I just took advantage of going home, getting a nice nap in the afternoon, watched a movie in the evening, then just got a nice sleep again. I don't know how much of a day off it was for me. I got a nice nap, but I still had to get up early. It was just a day away from the golf, even though I played two and a half holes. I wouldn't say that was a normal day for me. It just kind of, you know, helped relax me a little bit.

STEVE FLESCH: Uhm, it's hard to pinpoint stuff like that. I also play well in New Orleans, but there's nothing that I find particularly appealing about the golf course there. You know, it's just one of those courses that I think if you're a pretty good iron player, and usually the greens are perfect, you're going to give yourself a lot of birdie opportunities. Holes like 7, 8 and 9 out here are pretty difficult holes to get the ball close on. If you're a good iron player, you can get the ball on the greens, it's a big advantage. Some of those shots are a little awkward enough to where, hey, guys are going to miss the greens. They're tough ups and downs. I've always struck the ball pretty well here and I think I've putted well. It's just one of those courses that might suit me.

STEVE FLESCH: When I played Augusta on Tuesday, it wasn't particularly hard and fast either, but I knew they have another week to prepare. When I came over and played the ProAm here Wednesday, it was really firm, the greens were really fast. I thought it would be a great tune-up. I was a little disappointed that we got all that rain because now all the holes are playing so long, the only thing you're getting out of your tee balls is how far you hit it in the air. The greens are fairly soft right now. Yeah, hopefully we can get a couple days where we don't get any rain and it will firm up quite a bit out there. I don't think it's really going to get warm enough to do that right now.

STEVE FLESCH: I heard they might make a shortcut to 60 players and maybe try to play 36 on Sunday. It's all speculation. I guess it depends on what the weather's doing. That's fine with me. I love playing 36-hole days. I think it's just up to the weather what they decide to do. I know Monday won't be a popular decision for guys that want to go over and play Augusta. I think our obligation right now is to this tournament, to the sponsor. It's kind of out of you're hand. See what the weather does.

STEVE FLESCH: I'm sure, yeah. BellSouth, all the sponsors, it's up to them. If they want to play 72, and I think the weather is decent on Monday, it's in our bylaws that we're supposed to play. We usually don't go to Monday if the forecast isn't any good. Nobody wants to sit around for an extra day. If we're playing Monday, I'll be here. I think it's the player's obligation to do it. I entered this tournament expecting to play and complete it. I'm not going to pull out just because I'm playing the Masters next week.

STEVE FLESCH: Absolutely. I have every right not to play here if I don't want to. If I wanted to go over to Augusta, make sure I was there Sunday, practice all the way through the week, then I shouldn't have come play here. I came here for a reason, and that's to play the tournament.

STEVE FLESCH: I've only played it once. I always said I never was going to go to Augusta until I was playing it. I had some chances to go watch practice rounds when I first turned professional. I hate watching golf. I knew if I went there, it would just get under my skin that I wasn't playing, so I always told my family and friends, "I'm not going until I get a chance to play it." If I retire from the game, still never played it, I might go see it. Tuesday was the first time. I can see where experience played a huge factor. Yesterday during the rain delay, I was picking Davis Love's brain, "Where on 3 do you want to be?" Went through pretty much all 18 holes, got some insight. Hopefully I'll get to play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday out there, check it out quite a bit more. The undulations on holes lying 10 and 18, I probably watched 25 Masters on television, but you don't realize how downhill 10 is, how uphill the second shot is on 18. You just got to get there and play it and see. You're going to have to make some mistakes to learn the hard way, "This isn't a place you want to be." I'm trying to soak it all up. John Huston and Davis were talking about it quite a bit yesterday. I had my ears wide open.

STEVE FLESCH: I really don't have much to compare it to because that was just the first time seeing it. I can see where a lot of holes, without that rough, would be more difficult because your ball would run off into the pine needles, like left on 2, a ten-yard patch of rough. Without that, there's a creek down there that they said balls would run into all the time. Now that rough holds it up. Holes like 9, that little bit of rough along the left edge makes it harder because you don't shoot it down to the crosswalk. What I saw on TV, what I saw -- what I have seen on TV, what I saw on Tuesday, it's hard for me to judge whether that rough is different from what I've seen in the past. It's hardly rough. It's an inch long. It's just enough rough to where your ball might get hung up and not roll down the hill on 10. You might have to think about, "Is this ball going to jump a little bit or not?" I think you have to figure out the greens more than anything. They don't need many trees at Augusta because the combination of the slopes, undulations, is good enough defense.

STEVE FLESCH: On the back, 15 I hit a driver in the left, 7-iron about 15 feet, made that. That putt probably broke about four feet. I birdied 18. I laid up, hit a pitching wedge to about ten feet, made low right-to-lefter there.

STEVE FLESCH: 5, the par 4, hit a great drive down there, cut a 9-iron about eight feet, made that. 6, the par 5, I hit a sand wedge in there about five feet below the hole, made that. 7, I got a little bit fortunate. I drove it in the left side of the fairway. That pin is way over on the right shelf. I really was just trying to get it in the middle of the green. Hit my 5-iron straight instead of cutting it. Hit and ran to about four feet from the hole, made that. My bogey on 8, I just miss-hit a 5-iron a little bit, came up short of the green, kind of hit a poor chip and a poor putt.

STEVE FLESCH: Thanks.