THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 29, 1998

Justin Leonard

JUSTIN LEONARD: I have been in this position a couple of times and been able to come out and play well on Sunday and win a tournament -- well, two times before today, so, any time you think you have experience in doing something, you are going to try to draw upon that experience. And having been successful in similar situations, you know, I knew the golf tournament was within reach. It was a matter of coming out, playing well, hoping that the two guys in the last group don't have a great day and, you know, they didn't. They got off to a mediocre starts, and I was able to get off to a good start and hit the ball a little better today than I had hit it the last three days; gave myself a few more chances than I have been and was able to convert on those.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 2, I hit a good drive - hit a 1-iron into the green, to about twelve feet, made that for eagle. 3, I made bogey, I hit a 7-iron just short and left chipped up to about 15 feet, 2-putted. 8, hit a 1-iron from, I don't know, what my distance was, but hit it about a foot and a half, tapped that in for birdie. 10, hit a good drive, a little 8-iron about 20 feet past the hole, made that for birdie. 11, good drive, 3-wood in the front bunker, sand shot out to about ten feet, made that for birdie. 12, interesting par: I drove it right into the bunker, left it short about 40 yards, hit a good pitch shot about five feet, made that for par. 13, hit a good 6-iron, got it down in the bottom tier with the pin, and about 20 feet, made that. 14, hit a 6-iron pin-high about 30 feet right of the hole, made that. And got it up-and-down for par on 15. 16, just kind of a normal par, I had to lay-it-up down there and then pitched it under the tree. 17, was, you know -- I think at that point I had a four-shot lead and with those last two holes it is not safe on this golf course. So, you know, I had a perfect distance for a 9-iron on 17, just trying to hit it really over the left edge of the bunker. I pushed it a couple of feet, but, you know, ended up hitting it ten feet left of the hole. 18, I was just going to hit a 3-wood. I pulled a little bit, but I gave myself enough room and then a solid 8-iron to the middle of the green and, you know, pretty shaky first putt, but I was so worn out from the last three or four holes that, you know, just happy to get it in.

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, I didn't know he shot 65. I knew he shot a very low round and, you know, I knew that John Daly had shot a low round, seeing him at 2-under par. So, you know, the golf course was out there. They have got their normal Sunday pin positions, but there is not really a pin position on any of the greens that are easy. So you are always trying to hit it to a very small area, so I don't know if necessarily the pin positions are harder. I think that, you know, guys were finding out where we need to land it to get the ball close. And, you know, obviously Payne has been playing pretty well and maybe struggling a bit this week. But, he certainly found the right formula today. The same thing with John, I played with him yesterday, and he played pretty solid 'til the last couple of holes. So, you know, seeing a couple low scores, you know, I knew the golf course was out there if you hit the right shots to shoot a low score.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I really didn't think too much about it. You know, going into today I thought a little bit about it, and, you know, knowing that on a very difficult golf course such as this, under hard conditions that, you know, three or four, five shots is not safe. I think that everybody here knows that. So, I went in with a good attitude. I think that -- but once I got on the golf course I really didn't -- I was just really focused on here and what was going on in trying to move up the leaderboard.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think that I was struggling, driving the ball very well and putting very well. Seems like not that my iron-play was unsolid, but, you know, kind of -- seeming like I was between clubs or in trying to fit it into, you know, one of the corners, missing it by three or four feet, catching a knoll, you know, it was little things. It is not like I had a swing flaw that I was working on. It is just in trying to go with some of these -- at some of these pins and play somewhat aggressively, you are going to miss some greens. And, you know, I kind of set the tone for myself on Thursday and, you know, I bogeyed the first two holes, sitting there at 2-over par, and then I kind of -- I fought my way back. That is kind of how the week went along. And, you know, with putting very well and chipping the ball well, and I felt that when I did have an opportunity, I should go ahead and be aggressive and take advantage of it. Today it was nice to go out and hit a bunch of greens and give myself a lot of chances.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I didn't really know. I saw him in the bunker. I guess he must have - and I wasn't watching, but by the crowd reaction - hit it over the green into the water from the bunker. So, I knew he had to make at least 5 there. But it really didn't factor into the way I played 16. I drove it in the right rough. If it had been Thursday or Friday or Saturday, I probably would have taken a 3- or 4- iron and trying to run it up the green. But, having a couple of shots lead at the time, just trying to kind of get it down there, actually hit it too far, but I wouldn't say that what he was doing affected the way I played that hole.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I do. After thinking about it a little bit, you know, on a stretch there from 10 through 15, you know, I guess I 1-putted every green through there. And the only putt that was under ten feet were the putts at 12 and the putts at 15. So, I have been putting well all week and this is -- this is something that I struggled with the last month or so. And, I was home two weeks the week of Honda and my teacher, Randy Smith, had noticed a couple of things in my setup that had thrown me off and those are things that I have been working on. So, a couple of spots last week, but really when I got here, I got comfortable and rolling the ball well. The greens are fast, I look forward to that. And just glad that it carried over into today.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I had gotten the ball too far up in my stance and which kind of through my upper body. A funny angle where I was setting up and everything and I couldn't really square up the blade. I would feel like I was hitting some good putts, but not really making a whole lot. So, that is something that he had really noticed and, you know, I went back two weeks ago when I was at home and watched a little bit of tape from a couple of tournaments where I have really putted well, and, you know, kind of saw what I wanted to see. And, so I have been working, moved the ball back a little bit and it has kind of got my alignment set. Fortunately the hole looked pretty big to me this week.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I mean, I was definitely watching the leaderboards. I think when I walked up to 13, or 11 - somewhere in that, I looked at a leaderboard and all of a sudden Glen Day was at 10-under, and that took me a bit by surprise and Lee was at 7. So, I am not sure what happened or where it happened. It sounded like somebody must have birdied 8 when we were on the 9th green. But I was very aware of what was going on with the leader boards. And, you know, that Len was playing well up ahead of me. Glen was right behind me, and I just felt that it would really come down to those last three or four holes.

JUSTIN LEONARD: It affected the way I played, say, the last three holes. If I am a shot or two back on 16, I am going to try to hit it on the left side of the green. 17, I can't really make a better play than I did there. And 18, you know, maybe I hit driver there, but so I think that, you know, watching the leader boards definitely affected the way I played.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't have a schedule. You know, I am just trying to find ways to improve and get better, that is my main goal every year. Seems like the more, you know, the more I think I have learned, the more I have to learn. Last year with the British Open and coming close to the PGA and the Ryder Cup I had a lot of information there that I needed to digest during the off-season. And, I think that this week just adds to some of that. Again, you know, it seems like it is just a constant learning experience. I thought a couple of years ago that maybe I was at the steeper end of the curve. And, I am beginning to figure out that I am not anywhere near it.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I knew on the 16th green that I had a four-shot lead because Len was the under -- I figured out that he had to make at least a 5 there. So I knew when I was on 16 that I had four shots.

JUSTIN LEONARD: He asked me -- he said: Was that Len over there? I said: Yeah, I think he just made a number. I said, I think we have got four shots.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I went up there because it was the closest phone. I wasn't like, you know, picking out my spot or anything. I was just making a quick call. I was in the little family dining room. I turned around a corner and there was a phone. I didn't have any little premonitions there.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, there is a reason why the major championships are labeled that. The history of the events, the venues, the importance that the players put on them. So, I don't think this is not a major championship. However, it is definitely in a class just below because of the golf course, the strength of the field, the conditions we play under, and the importance that the players put on this event puts it just in that next category. I wouldn't be surprised - I mean -- I am 25 -- hopefully, I am going to be around for a long time - if somewhere along the lines this tournament may gain that stature. But, again, they are two different things. But, I think with the importance that the players put on this event, makes it very special for me to have won it.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yes.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, there were a couple of things swing-wise that I wanted to focus on. And I think I have done a very good job with those. It is a lot about -- not so much setting down and, you know, saying this is what I need to do. But, more or less going through a day or a week and say: What could I have done differently that would have helped me out. It is all the way from, you know, hitting another bag of 5-irons, to signing that kid's autograph, to going to a movie instead of hitting balls for another hour. It is just, for me, it is finding out how I get myself playing the best I can. And, the right amount of relaxation, practice, goofing off and being serious, you know, I like to do all those things, so finding that combination, I think, is something that I am looking for.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I mean, I am just glad both those guys hit it close Phil and Tom and they weren't on the green for very long. I took my time walking over there because you don't want to sit there sitting on that tee and think about it too much. Fortunately I think we had 123 to the front and 16, so, it was just -- or no, 18, something like that. It was a perfect 9-iron. Yesterday I had a little 8-iron on the back edge. I felt that I was feeling pretty good and confident with things and so it was just a great distance for me.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, it wasn't a big 9-iron. I think I could have, if I went ahead and really hit it hard, I could probably have gotten that club over the green, so, Bob said, "Listen, it is nothing fancy, just a solid 1". And, you know, I was just trying to hit it just over the left edge of the bunker. I happened to push it about three or four feet and it ends up perfect.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, if I hadn't have been able to win at the Kemper Open, I don't know what would have happened. I think I pulled on that a lot during the British, especially on Saturday night, not so much during the round, but on Saturday night before I was going to sleep and realizing that I was still in the golf tournament and, you know, so doing the same last night and this morning, you know, I'd sure -- it is fun to be able to make up ground like that, to shoot really good score on Sunday when, you know, the trophy is right there on the back, 18th green waiting for somebody to come get it. So, it is a lot of fun. I hope I win a lot of different ways, because they are all very special in their own way. But it is really fun to be able to go shoot a low score on Sunday when I have to do that.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Maybe a little bit. I think that, you know, I am a pretty serious person. But, there is times when the cameras aren't on when I am out there on the golf course that I am having fun. I mean, I had a lot of fun at the British Open during that last round. But, once I get within 20 or 30 yards of my golf ball, I go back to golf. But, today I did have a lot of fun and I think that a lot of that goes to my caddie, Bob, and in how comfortable he and I have gotten with each other. We are figuring out what works and how we make each other reach that kind of performance and so, I owe a lot of that to him.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Same driver that I switched to in April of last year. The only thing I can think of that is different is, you know, my workout regimen, and I have been working out pretty hard since January last year. So it has been about 15 months. And, I am really -- I saw it paying off last year, but I think I have really, you know, my strength has probably doubled. Not saying I am going to hit the ball twice as far, but I am definitely hitting the ball further. I feel better after rounds. Playing 36 holes last week at Bay Hill on Sunday, I felt great coming down the last couple of holes. Still swinging as hard as I could. And, so, I really see that paying off. It is something where if I would have started working out pretty hard and then struggled, I probably would have dumped it to tell you the truth. But, to see myself playing well and doing that, you know, I am not going to become some hulk or something, but I am definitely going to try to get myself in the best shape I can be in and I am getting towards that.

JUSTIN LEONARD: It was really a lot of fun. You know, unfortunately with the crowds, I couldn't really find them a whole lot. I think I saw you guys behind the 11th green and gave you a little nod and that was really the last time I was able to see you. But, you know, it is fun having them here, not just to watch me win. Sure, that is great. But, you know, to go out to dinner with them and to help -- just help load the car and get, I mean, check out of the hotel, and make different kinds of arrangements, you know, and just kind of to have somebody to go, you know, to dinner with at friends' houses and just whatever, I really enjoy having them out. And this, is only about their third tournament this year, so they have got a lot to catch up to get to their minimum 15 so that they can keep their cards for next year. But, I am not too worried about them making it out. But it is really a lot of fun and it is great to be able to play well when they are here.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I thought about it all week. That is something that doesn't just go away for me. Last year I came into -- that was two years ago, I believe, 1996. It was in the last group, got off to a good start and then things got going a little sideways. I couldn't get it back on track and shot 80 and that was very difficult for me at the time because I had been playing pretty well and to get in that kind of position in this tournament and then to do something like that took me a while to get back from that. Last year played pretty solid, had a good round on Saturday and then played poorly on Sunday, so it is nice to put four good rounds together.

JUSTIN LEONARD: A couple of the interviews made mention of that fact and it is very -- it is a good thing to go in Augusta with some confidence because that place can eat your lunch just the same way this course can. I am looking forward to having next week off and relaxing a little bit. I have really been working hard here the last couple of weeks and on my game and, you know, been tough on myself at times. So, I am looking forward to next week and taking a break for a few days and then, you know, going to Augusta. I think we are all looking forward to that.

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. It was a scheduled week off.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I was thinking about playing well, not really concerned about the result. Just trying to get off to a good start and see how things were going after the front 9.