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MCI HERITAGE

April 14, 2005

Thomas Levet

HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Thomas, we're going to go ahead and start. You started on the back side, 33-31, 64, and a nice 7-under par late round at the 2005 MCI Heritage. A couple thoughts about how you played overall, how the course played and coming back and playing this event.

THOMAS LEVET: I love the golf course, so I came back here with great pleasure. I had a good week last week at The Masters, so I felt more confident than the week before. Although my driving is not 100 percent at the moment, I kept it in play all day, and I worked the irons, and there was a little bit of Christmas on the greens, as well. I made a lot of putts from 10 to 20 foot, which I'm not used to, plus I chipped in on the par 3 No. 6 --

PHIL STAMBAUGH: The 7th hole.

THOMAS LEVET: Yeah, I chipped in there, and I made two great birdies on 8 and 18, 4-irons to ten feet on both and made the putts. So when you make putts like that you start getting confident and scoring low.

Q. You had a nice run there on the front side with four birdies in a row.

THOMAS LEVET: Yeah, it was nice there, just a pity I missed a very short on No. 6. I three-putted from 15 feet, and that little putt I missed, as well, on No. 12 probably woke me up because I didn't concentrate enough and I missed the same one. It was like two feet.

But otherwise it was Christmas. I must have had 22 putts and had two three-putts today, so that's pretty good.

Q. You ran a couple holes, but could you run through your birdies. You three-putted 12 and birdied 13?

THOMAS LEVET: Yeah, I don't even remember.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: 13 is the hole with the railroad ties.

THOMAS LEVET: Yeah, I hit a 3-wood off the tee, 9-iron to 15 feet and made the putt.

Then on 18, I hit a nice drive down the middle. It's tough to make the fairway, but middle of the fairway, 4-iron to ten feet and made the putt.

15, the par 5, sorry, I hit just a nice drive in the middle and then a 4-iron layup, sand iron to nine feet maybe, ten feet.

Then No. 2, I made a good drive down the left side where you want to be and then I hit a low 3-iron which went on the green and two-putted, just left it on the edge actually for eagle.

Then the par 3, the next, I hit 6-iron to the middle of the green maybe 18 feet and made it.

Then the 4th hole I hit driver in the middle of the fairway, then a 7-iron to -- sorry, no, that's the wrong hole I'm on.

The 6-iron to 18 feet was the par 3. I mixed up Nos. 3 and 4, sorry. No. 3 I hit a good drive down the middle, then a 7-iron to ten feet and made it.

Then the bogey at -- I hit a nice 3-wood, 7-iron to 15 feet and three-putted on No. 5 -- sorry, No. 5 is the par 5. I made 4. That was No. 6. No. 6 I hit 3-wood, 7-iron to 15 feet and three-putted.

No. 5, I hit driver, driver on the left side of the green. I couldn't get to the pin from where I was because of the bunker in front, so I played sideways on the edge of the green and made the putt from 12 feet maybe.

And then No. 8, I hit a good drive down the middle and then hooked a -- do you want to go to 7 first? I hit 6-iron on the edge of the green on the left and just went on the side, and I had an easy chip, pretty straightforward and chipped in.

Q. From how far?

THOMAS LEVET: From 25 feet maybe.

And then on 8, I hit a good drive on the middle left and I hooked a 4-iron around the corner because the trees are in the way into the wind to ten feet and made the putt.

And on the last I didn't hit a good enough tee shot to be aggressive enough to get close to the pin, but I made a par.

Q. What was the weather conditions like when you came out today?

THOMAS LEVET: Like it is now. It warmed up a little bit midway through the round, but it was not that bad. It's a little bit cold, but we have only one sweater, so it's okay. It's been worse before, like two weeks ago, for example (laughter).

Q. You made a comment when you came in about dropping in 10-foot, 15-foot putts as if that's something you don't normally do. Were you just reading the greens well today? What was going on?

THOMAS LEVET: I think when you came out of the Masters you go on any greens, even these ones, they are not easy, they are not slow, they're pretty good speed, but when you come out of the Masters, it's so difficult over there that any kind of course or greens will look slow and easy compared to what we had last week.

So that's maybe why; mentally maybe I was a little bit more aggressive. I got lucky once or twice, like No. 1 I hit a bad bunker shot and made the putt. And then another one where I made birdie, No. 4, the par 3, I mean, I hit my putt on the right on a perfect line, but it was way too hard, but it hit the middle of the hole, you know. So that's things that -- you need breaks to shoot 7-under. I chipped in once. I mean, it was nice because so far this year I've been putting like (laughter), I don't know, maybe my monkey at home. Not so great.

Q. Do you really have a monkey at home?

THOMAS LEVET: Yeah, when I three-putt, in the bag, I have lots of monkeys.

Q. Was there a point during the round today where you really felt like any putt was yours to make from any distance?

THOMAS LEVET: I made a good save on 17 from the bunker. I hit a nice 7-iron but that wasn't the club. The putt was sideways, you know when you have to aim like a ball outside the hole, and I said, look, last week you made most of them at The Masters, so keep on, and from there on I made that putt, and then on 18 I hit a good shot next to the pin, and you don't want to waste this one because 18 is a monster. You hit it to ten foot, if you two-putt it's a four like everybody else that hit it close and two-putted.

So that's why I was lacking before last week, I gained a little bit of confidence last week, and I gained even more today by shooting a low score.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Any way of explaining the amount of international players up there after round one? Four of the top four, you're up there, Peter, Darren, David Frost.

THOMAS LEVET: Maybe Americans should move to Europe and they would be more used to this weather. They live too much in Florida and California, these guys, that's probably why. For us it's a great day. I asked Darren what the weather is like at the moment. In Paris it's freezing. Today I would be glad to play with a jumper in England where I live or in Paris or anywhere in Europe. It's not freezing but it's probably around 60 and a lot of wind, and that's what we have today. We're kind of used to that, and this kind of course where we have to maneuver the ball a lot, it's good for European golfers. We're used to that a little bit more.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Thank you very much for coming in. Good luck the rest of the week.

End of FastScripts.

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