LARRY PUGH: Ladies and gentlemen, pleasure to have Chris DiMarco here with us today who shot a 69, had a hole-in-one on 6. Comments, Chris?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I finally got some crystal.

Every one of us knows when we play that hole, it is probably the hardest hole to position on that hole up top. But it just makes you have to go at the hole. It makes you just hit it there, and I hit one of those shots that just was perfect. You could see it in the air, it was the right distance, and it landed just a couple of feet short and barely trickled in. It was just a very perfect shot. It was one of my best hole-in-ones I've ever made, I can promise you that.

I hit a 5-iron, it was 198 I think the distance was, I'm not exactly sure.

Q. How many 1s have you got in live fire; do you know?

CHRIS DiMARCO: That's No. 4. That's No. 4.

Q. First since when?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I made one on TPC the third hole on Sunday probably three years ago, two or three years ago.

Q. Was your family not there? I saw you coming off 9, you were saying they missed it?

CHRIS DiMARCO: My little guy and my wife, we have a new little baby who is three months old. We had to take her to day care. My parents were out there and my brother was out there. They got to see it.

Q. You've had some success at this tournament. What was the same and what was different about today?

CHRIS DiMARCO: The course is playing -- this is the first time since the changes that the course is playing firm, at least the fairways are. You know, if it plays like that, I can compete here, because my ball gets roll. When it's not getting any roll, this course is -- it's too long for me, it really is. I'm hitting 3-woods into par 4s, and trying to hit 2-iron into No. 5, I can't get it close with that.

If I have a great week and everything clicks, obviously I can compete. But with it playing a little bit firmer, I'm getting it out there. I hit 8-iron into 9 today, and last year I was hitting 2- and 3-irons in there. If I can get 8-irons and 7-irons in my hand on 9, then that's fine.

Q. I heard you say earlier this is your favorite course. Why do you like it?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Just because it's The Masters. I mean, how many -- I grew up watching it. When I came here and played my first practice round, I knew on No. 12 that you hit it over the bunker. I knew on certain holes where to hit it. I knew 14 you always hit it left of the hole there, let the slope take it to the thing. From growing up watching it, I can remember being in college, it was like we never moved Saturday and Sunday. We were on the couch the whole time.

So, you know, there's something special about it. Every green, you go out there, you feel something. Just the aura of the place is just magnificent. The course is as good as it gets. It's not the longest course we play, it's not the most difficult course we play, but everything that goes with it just makes this course so difficult.

Q. The last five major championships have been won by people who had never won a major championship before.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I like that trend. (Laughter.)

Q. Do you have a theory? Is that a trend or a quirk?

CHRIS DiMARCO: There are so many good players out here. You're seeing more and more guys not afraid to win. Again, I said it last time I was up here three years ago, you guys make -- it's 72 holes, just like we play every other tournament. Every other tournament we play is 72 holes. It's a little bit bigger stage. Obviously it's The Masters. But still it's whoever gets it in the hole with the least amount of shots in 72 holes just like every other one we play. I think you are seeing guys that are not afraid to do that.

Q. Presumably you're talking about last year and the year before, with the wet conditions being just way too -- the Astrodome for you to play.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, the other thing is, you're hitting 2-irons with mud on your ball. So for me, it's nice to see the ball rolling, nice to hit a clean ball. You know, I can get to some of the par 5s now in 2, and 13 and 15, if I hit a good one on 13, there's a lot of birdies out there for me, where last year, goodness, I mean, I didn't think there was a birdie hole out there.

LARRY PUGH: Chris, we wish you a lot of luck the rest of the week. Thank you very much.