BUICK INVITATIONAL

February 13, 2004

Billy Mayfair

BILLY MAYFAIR: The last two days I've hit it better than I have all day.

Q. (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well I love Valencia. I loved Riviera. I think it's a great golf course. Any time you get a course usually around 10 under is going to win a golf tournament, there is a lot of history there. It's a famous golf course. I think if you watch a movie of the old Three Stooges, they're on Riviera. It's an historical course. I enjoy playing there. It's probably my favorite tournament on the West Coast.

Q. (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: I just think you've got to work the ball both ways. You have to hit it left, you have to hit it right off the ties, you have to hit it long. I found out the 18th hole is playing even longer than ever, and then you have some tough greens to putt there. They get bumpy and spongy a little bit. It's hard to make putts there.

Q. (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: Obviously Phil has been playing wonderful this year. I spent time with him in the off season. He's been working hard on his game. He was disappointed after last year. I'm happy he got off to a great start. I'm sure he's tired. Fatigue is probably the biggest factor here. Phil is playing very, very well here in San Diego. He's probably more tired than he'll admit, but he's off to a great start.

Q. Talk about Vijay's streak.

BILLY MAYFAIR: No. 2 player in the world and catching Tiger real quick. We all have off weeks. There can be another factor there. Just being tired. He probably won't admit it. If you play three or four weeks competitive, in contention to win, it's going to catch up to you.

Q. (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: You have so take time off. I don't think Phil came out to the golf course until Wednesday. Just spend time at home and all that, that's the best way to get away from fatigue. Just rest as much as you can.

Q. Unless someone makes a run early in the day, you'll be up by four (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, I mean, the nice thing, there's only one guy up there. You only have one guy to catch. It's not like there's five or six guys four or five shots ahead of me. As hard as the South Course is playing, anyone within 5, 6 shots of the lead going into tomorrow going into Sunday, I mean has a great chance of winning. It's a hard golf course out there. Stewart played great, and if he keeps playing well, he's going to be hard to catch.

Q. A couple of years ago Tiger was 4 for 4 (Inaudible.) What do you think has happened?

BILLY MAYFAIR: I think he's still playing great. It's hard to win majors. It's very difficult to win majors out there. Obviously it's probably the best one that sets up for him. He can hit it so far there and the rough isn't that high for him. It's hard to win majors out there. He's had a great year so far. It's hard to win majors. It's hard to win out here on the PGA TOUR, period.

Q. Why do you think there's so much concern?

BILLY MAYFAIR: Guys are trying to catch up. I mean, not only are guys, veterans like myself that are trying to catch up with him, these young kids coming out of Tour School are getting better and better every year. This is my 16th year. I think this class was better than last year. Last year was pretty doggone good. Plus you have got foreign players coming over and playing. It makes a big difference.

Q. You played the North Course. Do you have to prepare yourself mentally to go back to the South?

BILLY MAYFAIR: A little bit tonight maybe. This afternoon I might go out and hit putts on the putting green where the greens are like they are on the South. They changed greens there a couple of years ago, so just hit a few putts on there and get familiar with those greens again and get ready to go tomorrow.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your round. Started with a birdie on the first hole.

BILLY MAYFAIR: I hit a 4 wood just left of the green about 20 yards left of the green and chipped up there about 10 feet and made that for birdie.

2, I hit 3 wood off the green and had a sand wedge in from about 85 yards and hit about 15 feet short and made that for birdie.

9, I hit driver, 3 wood about 10 yards short of the green and chipped up about eight feet short of the hole and made it for birdie.

11, I hit a real bad drive to the right and was in the rough and punched it back out and hit it in there about 15 feet, and missed that for my only bogey of the day.

12, hit a 5 iron in there about 15 feet and made that.

14, I hit 3 wood to just off the edge of the green and chipped in there about three feet from the hole and made it for birdie.

15, sand wedge into maybe 15 feet from the hole and made that for birdie.

17, I hit a 6 iron in from 180 yards downhill and hit it in about six feet from the hole and made that.

18, I hit a 4 wood into the green from 225 yards, hit a little bit long, back edge to 30 feet and 2 putted there.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Any final comments about going into the weekend?

BILLY MAYFAIR: It's great to play on the weekends. I've missed the last couple of cuts. And to be up there in contention, like I said, I feel I'm hitting the ball good and making some putts. We'll see what happens on the weekend.

End of FastScripts.