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MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIREMarch 23, 2014Jeff MaggertBILOXI, MISSISSIPPI THE MODERATOR: Jeff, congratulations on becoming the 17th player in Champions Tour history to win on your debut. Hard‑fought victory, you and Billy Andrade down the stretch. First win qualifies you for Hualalai on the big island next year and the year after that. You earn 240 Charles Schwab Cup points, so you're quickly into eighth place. Just some thoughts about the week and take us down the stretch, if you could, with Billy. JEFF MAGGERT: Well, obviously Billy played some good golf this week. Yesterday was a fabulous round he shot, and he was making a few birdies early and putting some pressure on us, and I just tried to stay patient. Hit a ball in the water early; the third hole I made bogey, but again, just tried to stay patient. My ball striking was really good all week. Made a nice birdie on 9 and that gave me a little momentum going into the back nine. Made another birdie on 10. And then I hit a really nice shot on the par‑3, the 14th, hit it close. Made another birdie, and then I hit a really nice chip shot on the par‑5, 15th for another tap‑in birdie. At that point I didn't really know what the leaderboard was. I felt like if I birdied 15, I would be maybe in a tie with Billy. Not sure kind of where we stood at that point. I think I might have moved one ahead of him, but I did make the bogey on 16, it was pretty heavy winds in our face there and just thought I had the right club, but I came up a little short. THE MODERATOR: What club there? JEFF MAGGERT: 6‑iron. And hit a good bunker shot from where I was and just let a little four‑ or five‑footer slip off to the low side of the hole. At that point I knew Billy had birdied 15 and we were both 10‑under, and I was just trying to hit a nice lag putt on the 17th hole, wanted to have an easy tap‑in for par. Just one of those things, the ball found the hole. THE MODERATOR: From about how far? JEFF MAGGERT: I would say it was a good 40, 50 feet, closer to 50. THE MODERATOR: What did you hit in there? JEFF MAGGERT: I hit 6‑iron from the tee. Freddie, he hit in front of me and he hit 7. I'm about one extra club than him. Kind of misjudged the wind there, and it caught the slope and rolled off to the left there. I had a similar putt there on yesterday's round, so I felt pretty comfortable with the speed. I just wanted to hit it on a good line, and again, tried to just hit a lag putt up there, and the line was perfect and it was tracking right to the hole and it got up on top of the tier and right in the hole. Q. Thoughts about winning in your debut. JEFF MAGGERT: You know, I had expectations to play well. I didn't know if I could play well enough to win. I've been struggling with my game a little bit. And I just, everything kind of came together this week, the ball striking, really one of the best tournaments ball striking that I've had in a few years, you know, on all my golf events. So that really carried me through. Made a lot of the short putts this week, you know, the three, four‑footers I needed to make if I had them. And then I wasn't making the 10‑ to 15‑foot birdie putts. I just couldn't get the ball to go in. And I was just trying to stay patient and take the birdies when I could get them. Q. Just curious, Jeff. A little more on that putt on 17. Saw you on TV, you were just kind of shaking your head. It went right in the immediate aftermath. Were you just kind of shocked? JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah. I mean you just don't expect to make those. I was really just concentrating on the speed. I wanted to hit it up there and make sure I didn't have anything outside two feet left and make a nice three there. With Billy behind me, you know, I was trying to kind of keep the pressure on him, and then when it went in, obviously that was a huge bonus. I really didn't see Billy's score as he finished. I don't know if he bogeyed‑‑ did he bogey 17 behind me? I don't remember. Anyway, so when that went in, it gave me a two‑shot lead. Q. (Inaudible)? JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah. So that was kind of a big turnaround. I looked at the scoreboard, actually, when I went to the 18th tee, and I knew I was two ahead. So it was a little easier playing the 18th hole. I could play it more conservative.  I just hit my tee shot over to the right and was just trying to hit it in the middle of the green and actually wound up hitting a pretty good shot there. Q. How different has this tour been for you? What was the biggest difference? JEFF MAGGERT: Once you're inside the ropes and playing, a lot of it's the same, but just a lot of great names that I've been able to play the tour with for a lot of years, a lot of them coming up to me and welcoming me to the tour. Some of them are telling me to go back to the other TOUR now. But anyway, you know, it is pretty amazing. I guess that's one of the things that stuck in my mind is just going through the locker room and looking at all the great names that actually play this tour and the records that they've amassed over their career. It is pretty special these guys are out here still playing and playing some very good golf. Q. And with that, I mean you're paired last day, you're one stroke behind, with Fred Couples. I mean what a nice, entertaining way, you know, that last day. JEFF MAGGERT: For sure. Yesterday's round playing with Kenny and Fred Couples again, those two guys have really done a lot on this tour. If anything, it's made me probably focus a little bit harder. I know Fred's back was bothering him the last couple of days. It looked like he was struggling a little bit on some of those swings. So that was unfortunate. I'm sure he was looking forward to having a good weekend, but I just tried to play my game and not pay attention to what the other guys were doing, and I just felt like I could go out and shoot three or four‑under on the golf course today, and that's what happened. Q. I know a lot of attention is obviously on that putt on 17. But you had four birdies on the back nine. You had to be encouraged by the way you played on some pretty clutch holes there down the stretch. JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah. I missed‑‑ I made a nice birdie on 7 and then I missed about a five or six‑footer for par on 8. I was kind of kicking myself, oh, here we go again, we can't get the little putts to get in there. Hit a nice putt on 9 from about 15 feet and made that, then made another nice putt on 10. And that really kind of boosted my confidence that I could go out and make some birdies on that back 9. MODERATOR: Anything else? Jeff, congratulations. JEFF MAGGERT: Appreciate it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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