THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 29, 1998

Len Mattiace

LEN MATTIACE: Oh, well, I don't think anything big happened out there. (laughter) Well, obviously, started on 17, I was -- I felt people asked me, you know: What about the shot; what happened. And, I thought the club was a 9-iron and I was trying to aim it a little left of the pin right on the corner of the tier and I felt like if I hit it there, great; if maybe the wind takes it a little left, it is somewhere pin-high left. And, I just hit a really solid shot - hit it larger than I wanted. The adrenaline was pumping, and through everything, it was a big shock to me because I thought I hit it the way I needed to hit it.

LEN MATTIACE: I had 140, I think the yardage was, 140 even. I knew most of the day that that hole was playing a little bit down right-to-left - just the way the wind was blowing most of the day. Everybody thinks how is -- How is 17 going to play. When we got out on the tee, at that point it was a little cross, right-to-left. So, taking that into account and knowing that, well, the main breeze is a little right -- a little down, 140, I was trying to land something about 130 and that is kind of a regular 9-iron.

LEN MATTIACE: 101 yards, which is a full L-wedge for me, full sand wedge. And, I hit it good. But, again, I needed -- on that one I needed to be a little bit left of the hole to take kind of the slope to feed it into the hole. It was close. I think it was close to being up around the hole.

LEN MATTIACE: I just hit a bad shot. It is a regular bunker and I don't think I was ready to hit it. My mind was -- I think was somewhere else, and that was disappointing because I just wasn't set trying to hit the bunker shot. Probably didn't commit enough to what I needed to do out of it.

LEN MATTIACE: On the tee ball?

LEN MATTIACE: Well, I remember backing off once. But, when -- I remember backing off one specifically and I wasn't set with my alignment. I was kind of aiming too much at the pin and didn't like it and backed off. That is something that, you know, I don't think much of. But, when I got over the shot I felt really good. I was real confident that I can hit it a little left of the hole.

LEN MATTIACE: Oh, yeah. I am not one to hit 9-irons 160 yards. Some people talk about controlling the distances with the short irons and I do a really good job with it. And, that is why I didn't think to even hit the wedge. But, there is a point where you swing too hard at a shot and it is not going to be good and I did it there.

LEN MATTIACE: I wasn't. I birdied 16 to go to 10-under and I thought, you know, I am right there. I thought maybe somebody was 10 and a 9, but I knew they had to play 16, so they might go to 11 or 10, something like that. So I knew I was right there, but I didn't look at the board until -- well, actually on No. 12 and 13 I looked at a scoreboard and then I knew basically coming in that -- the holes kind of tell you how to play the shots. 14, no one goes at that pin, and 15 you have got to go a little left and 16 -- you know, you play -- it is just -- so I didn't feel like I needed to look at the board and then overthink and overreact to how someone was doing a hole or two behind me; when, who knows what they were going to do on 16, 17, 18. I had a game plan, I thought I'd stick with it.

LEN MATTIACE: When I hit it, I felt good on the tee and yesterday I felt good on the tee as well. When I hit it in the water, my heart came out of my body two or three times because it was disappointing. When you hit a good shot and you get penalized, you get a little shock that: Oh, my God, because you are thinking it is going to be good and now it is really bad. So that was a shock and then I have never hit -- I don't think I have ever hit it in the water there in tournament-play, so, dropping it was new to me and I just had to take a minute or so and kind of regain my composure because everything was going well. I mean, I played the round that I wanted to play today. I was 6-under, right, through 16 holes?

LEN MATTIACE: Yeah. 6-under through 16 holes. And I played the round I wanted to play and thought: Maybe I hit it up there in 17, maybe make a 2 or 3 or something, and 6-under, I was standing on the 18th tee. That is the round I wanted.

LEN MATTIACE: After I hit the shot, I mean, really. I hit the shot and about halfway to the hole I went That is too hard, and I didn't feel it before. If I felt it before, I'd hit a pitching wedge and that is part of the game - decision on the club selection.

LEN MATTIACE: Never. I never thought about it. I thought about -- I think about it before the round. But, I did a good job with that. I never thought about the win and the money and the five-year exemption or whatever it, is five or seven -- what is it five? I don't even know.

LEN MATTIACE: No, I never thought about it. If I thought about it, I don't think I would be at 6-under through 16. But, I didn't think about it at that point either.

LEN MATTIACE: When I basically skulled the bunker shot and was disgusted with myself because I went ahead and hit it and I wasn't ready to hit it. And that is not good. That wasn't a good thing. Maybe -- I just kind of kept it in me a little bit and I didn't get it out of me before I went in the bunker.

LEN MATTIACE: Well, I play it when I am home which isn't much because I play a lot of tournaments. I will play nine holes every day or every other day, something like that. But, I will practice on the back practice area which is great that we have here. I will play nine holes and come out and play -- the course is so different, the course is a little slower and not as firm and fast, so -- but -- so, maybe two rounds a week, three rounds a week total.

LEN MATTIACE: 20 possible weeks, three times a week, 60 times a year - however many years you want to count.

LEN MATTIACE: Yeah. When it has been downwind, ball hits on the green and bounced over, yeah, I have done everything there. Yeah, I mean, in practice I have hit 4-irons trying to hit high cuts playing around and stuff, yeah, in practice and stuff.

LEN MATTIACE: You know, yesterday when I walked to 17, I felt a little bit of emotion that, you know, Wow, this is really happening to me. But, today I didn't think of any of the outside stuff. I was right in my game, and I was happy with that, that I didn't think of the results or who is thinking about what and stuff. The crowd was really behind me, that was nice to see. And it was a great feeling. I remember when I made the putt on 12, I have never -- I have never heard something so loud for just a birdie. And that was great. That is special.

LEN MATTIACE: Birdie on 1, I hit 8-iron out of the right rough about 30 feet; made it up the tier. It was a good putt.

LEN MATTIACE: 4, I hit a pitching wedge to two feet, right down the bowl. And then 5, I bogeyed I hit 4-iron and I hit it fat out of the fairway and came up about 20 yards short of the green, chipped up 30 feet and missed it. 6, I hit a full driver, 3-wood sand wedge to about three feet. Made that. Then birdie on 8, hit great 2-iron right up the center of the green, went about eight feet pin-high left, made it. And 10, I hit an 8-iron on the right fringe, about pin-high, and had a pretty simple chip and chipped it in.

LEN MATTIACE: I was about six steps off the green, so, about 18 feet.

LEN MATTIACE: 11, I hit a driver, 3-wood in the right green-side bunker, about middle of the green but in the right bunker and blasted out about two feet. And then 12, I hit a 3-wood, sand wedge to about ten feet past the hole, large roar there. And then 13, I hit a 6-iron out into the right bunker, blasted that by about eight feet and missed it or about ten feet and missed it. 16, I hit a driver, 4-iron -- (Glen Day enters interview room).

LEN MATTIACE: -- Just left of the green in the heavy grass, chipped it up about 8, 9 feet and made that. And, 18, 3-wood, 9-iron about eight feet, you don't see that often, that hole is playing short and fast, firm and fast. And made that.

LEN MATTIACE: Yes. Committed to play. Give it another go. Trying to get in Augusta.

LEN MATTIACE: Oh, yeah, I will think about it a lot of times. But, I think what is true is true - I hit a 9-iron. I thought that was the club and I hit it solid. I was happy with how I hit it for the most part. And, it wasn't like it bounced, you know, wasn't really close. But I was happy with the execution of it.