BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2002

Thomas Levet

STEWART McDOUGAL: Thomas Levet joining us in the club house, 6 under par. How do you feel after that round?

THOMAS LEVET: I feel really good. At the start the day, I said, you know, you're in contention. I wanted to play nicely here. I wanted to get an exempt spot here for next year. So my goal was to play just solid and try to make some putts if I could. My long game was good from the start of the week, and I was just trying to be confident with my putter. It didn't drop too much. I was happy that -- the one on 17 was unreal. At that time of the day, in contention, you feel like -- it's unbelievable to make a putt like this on 17. But I made it before. It can happen when I want. I made a long putt on 17 as well, so I thought about that and I thought about the practice I had on my putting green at home. And it's exactly the same kind of green and same kind of slope, and I was thinking in my mind, if I could reproduce what I was doing on the practice putt when I was a youngster, maybe it could happen and it happened.

Q. Tell us what you did on 17, the 3 shots.

THOMAS LEVET: I hit a good drive, a 2-iron to the back of the green and made it from the back left of the green. I was maybe 15 yards away from the pin. I didn't measure it, but it is between 11 and 15 yards to the pin.

Q. When did the aim change from just making the last 15. When did you start to think, hold on, I may be able to win this?

THOMAS LEVET: This morning I was feeling really good on the practice range. I was hitting the ball really straight and I could do whatever I wanted with the clubs, draw, fade, high, low. I said this feels good today and I started really really nicely. I did well on the first, second and third. And I hit it on the green on four. So you just go, hey, that's good. And the first hole I was in trouble on was number five where I hit it in the high rough, chipped out, 3-wood into the bunker, and had a good up and down. And I didn't make too many putts. I mean, actually I made just one on 17, but that was a big one.

Q. What will you do now? Will you wait to see what happens with Ernie?

THOMAS LEVET: No, I'm going to go home and not wait. (Laughs) yes, I'm going to wait like everyone is going to wait and see what happens. I think I have to change my schedule a bit as well, because somebody told me I got an exemption in the U.S. PGA, playing in that. I'll change my schedule and talk with my friends and wait for Ernie to do what he has to do. If he feels well and he deserves it, he's going to win it. I hope for him, because I never liked to win a tournament by somebody dropping down. That's never fun. We live to make birdies and I hope he's going to make birdie on the last one and win it by two. That's it. He deserves it. He's a good man and I'm getting better, but I'm not that good at it.

Q. Are you still carrying your good luck coin?

THOMAS LEVET: It's in my bag somewhere. The one from the British Masters. It's in my bag. It's still going.

Q. Are you superstitious that way?

THOMAS LEVET: No, but when you have a lucky thing that comes to you, you just keep it. And it feels good when I pick it up in the bag. It reminds you of some of my good days. It's more of a reminder than a superstitious thing.

STEWART McDOUGAL: Thomas, thank you very much.

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