WGC ANDERSEN CONSULTING MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 25, 2000

David Duval

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I'm very pleased to have won, obviously. I think it was a bit of a tough day, a tough match. I enjoyed being out there with Sergio. He's a good kid. He has a lot of flare, plays some good golf. And I believe I played a little bit better, and I think that's why I won. I believe we probably both gave each other one hole. So that kind of evened it out. And in the end, I think I just played better.

DAVID DUVAL: No, I don't believe so. We can handle that once every couple of years, and that's enough.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, it is fun. Like I said, I came in here with a sour attitude a little bit last year, and then kind of got into it and really had fun playing. I wasn't very successful. But with the atmosphere of the Ryder Cup and such, it kind of made me remember how much I enjoyed doing it and playing the matches. There really is a lot to be said for going out and playing. The only person I had to worry about was playing Sergio today. I didn't have to worry about if Tiger was way under par or Davis Love was way under par. That's irrelevant to what I'm doing. It's nice for a change to concentrate on just one other person.

DAVID DUVAL: I think I did. I don't recall having a ton of success there, but I enjoyed it okay.

DAVID DUVAL: It was, and I guess a little bit of it now. You have the Western and the U.S. amateur, but it's kind of disappearing still. To be able to play different formats, it's always good.

DAVID DUVAL: I think -- I believe my first two matches I was beaten in my team matches, and then the match I had -- don't get me wrong, they were fun. The first one I think we were about even par, and got beat, I don't know, four and three by Montgomerie and Lawrie, and they played beautiful in alternate shot. And then we had such a tough match, Davis Love and myself against Jesper and Sergio. And that's the one that was really good stuff. So I believe with Sergio knocking in a 8- or 10-foot putt for birdie to halve the match, to do that, that was something else. And just to be there and be part of it was really neat. And that day was -- that match in particular was like, man, this is cool.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah, you're right, you don't have that opportunity to come back. However, I saw something where Andrew Magee said, was he disappointed? He said he got to go see his kids and stuff now. Man, I'm going to be snow boarding, so I've got the best of both worlds. I can keep doing what I love to do, or I can go do something else I love to do. You don't have that chance to get going, but the next day -- but, hey, that's okay, and that's why you better play good each time.

DAVID DUVAL: His putt on the first hole was -- it was probably about that far (indicating).

DAVID DUVAL: That far (indicating.) That fish was this big (laughter).

I've seen it like you have on the TV. Putts are missing; and I'm sorry, but that's how it is. Let's putt them. And on the third hole we had basically the same putt, actually. We were both maybe two feet, maybe a little less, and with the greens being soft -- they were a lot smoother today. They had less traffic and maybe dried out a little bit. But let's just putt. I'm not in any hurry. I can putt them out, too. I'm not looking for anything to be given to me. And so under those conditions, I think you need to play.

DAVID DUVAL: That was about three feet.

DAVID DUVAL: That helped, certainly, to get down after he made two long putts, and then to -- two holes later, for him to be back down was important for me. I do believe I gave him the gift on 9. And like I said, the other one he returned was on 11, so that kind of balanced out. But that was a good part for me to kind of respond after he made back-to-back birdies, for me to do the same thing.

DAVID DUVAL: I didn't see what they did. I just have seen a few in my matches. Even some of the putts that go in are going in in the air. They're flying in, they're bouncing. Not so much today. But you get it outside 15, 16, 17 inches, you don't know what can happen. So I'm sorry that was an issue. I didn't think that was a big deal.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, it is part of it, I guess. I don't seek to have any gamesmanship, I don't do that kind of thing. I just aim to -- I don't expect any putt to be given to me; so therefore, I hope the person I'm playing isn't expecting me to give them any either. Don't be surprised if you roll it up there pretty close and you don't hear anything from me (laughter).

DAVID DUVAL: I don't know what else I can say -- I think I've answered it the same way three or four times. I think it's a combination of a lot of things of why I'm enjoying the format more and more. I wish I could keep on and give you a better answer, but I don't have anything more to say about it.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, yeah, for me it did, because I haven't -- there's been -- I haven't had very many photographers out there with the matches I've been in. Haven't had many writers. And today it was, there was a lot more. I guess it was a more important match in someone's eyes. I thought the first couple were important for me. So the atmosphere changed. And then you're dwindling down to fewer and fewer players, too. And that just enhances it. And then you have, I think, two players who have a pretty high profile in the game, and hey, enough said. That's kind of some of the neat things when you look early on before the tournament starts. You look at possibilities. Third round here, if they go this and that: Hey, we can have a neat little match here, and this one here. And a few of them panned out. And I think that's what got people excited.

DAVID DUVAL: It would be great fun; I would very much embrace it. However, I don't even know who I'm supposed to play tomorrow. I was asked yesterday when I got done who I was playing today, and I didn't know because I hadn't looked in the draw and gone through it. I'm going to be a little more concerned tomorrow. And we've got to get up earlier and do 36. We'll get to that tomorrow afternoon.

DAVID DUVAL: No.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah, it did. I enjoy playing and doing well, and he had had some exciting things going on and had done some tremendous stuff at the PGA, but I'm pretty good in this game, too, still. And in the end, that might be a very accurate statement. It might be Sergio and Tiger as a rivalry, and I might not be involved. But right now I think I'm -- I could be just as much a part of it right now. And I think for me, certainly I think, had I lost to Sergio today, I would have been further cast aside. And I think it would have been -- there would have been a lot of: "See, that's what we're talking about." So did it make it more exciting for me to win in the end? No, it didn't. I was just excited to be here and play good. But certainly I think the fallout could have been a little greater had the results been different.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I believe I've played pretty well all year. The tough thing about it is that last year is what's freshest in most people's minds. So they compare with what happened on the West Coast for me to what happened last year. If you look at that, I'm going to have a hard time in any year doing anything greater. So I believe -- I feel like I've played well. I simply -- I believe my wedge game was bad and my putting was poor for the first several events. And I believe that stuff -- those parts are starting to turn around. And I think that's why I've been a little more consistent. I believe I've been under par every match. And I think that's why I'm kind of starting to get a little bit better and getting back to where I think I should be. And I don't know how important the fitness stuff plays a role, but, it's just something to do and I'm going to go do some later.

DAVID DUVAL: Let me think. I made three birdies, a bogey, three under -- I think I was three under.

DAVID DUVAL: A lot of times.

DAVID DUVAL: It depends on if I have plenty of time to rest and recover. If I'm teeing off at 1:00, I can go do stuff at 7:00 in the morning, and I've got five hours or so to recover. I've worked out afterwards and stuff this week, just simply because the timing is not quite right. I believe I've teed off at 11:00 every day, right in that area. So I've been doing things afterwards.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I wasn't excited about the lie I drew, nor the fact that it was a little bit on a downhill. It was a hard shot. I really felt like when I hit it there -- I didn't expect the ball to be there. I expected it to be more of a flat lie. It's a forced carry, and the ball is going to hit on the green and pop up there and stop. However, I had it where I was in a tough spot, and I believe I hit a very good shot. And then more importantly, I think I hit a better putt to knock it in and stay up. I think that was what was really kind of -- kept the match in my favor, I believe. Because that would have been a breath of fresh air for me to give one away like that to him, that late.

DAVID DUVAL: No, I don't.

DAVID DUVAL: The second hole I was about four feet, maybe. I didn't have to putt. He made a 6. The 6th hole I was 10 feet. The 7th hole I was probably 12 feet. I bogeyed the 9th. I hit out of the bunker to about 8 feet. The 12th hole I hit out of the bunker to about probably six feet, seven feet. 14, I made a bogey. I hit out of the bunker to 12 feet. Then the last hole I hit a wedge to three feet.

DAVID DUVAL: I was, actually. And none of them were normal stances or lies or anything.

DAVID DUVAL: Yeah. I guess the one on 2 wasn't bad. That was kind of normal. Every other one was a nasty stance, where I had a foot in the bunker and one out.

DAVID DUVAL: Did I know how close he had hit?

DAVID DUVAL: I knew it was certainly within 10 or 12 feet.

DAVID DUVAL: I'm still trying to -- on those type of shots, when I play well on my wedges, which I'm starting to do, I'm trying to knock them in. So to answer your question, I'm trying to get it closer, I'm not trying to leave it just outside his or anything like that.

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