U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 14, 2003

Tom Watson

Q. Tom, you said you hoped you had your bad round behind you yesterday.

TOM WATSON: Yeah, I had a bad round today. Very simply I didn't put the ball in the fairway, and when I did put the ball in the fairway I didn't put it on the greens. It was a tough day for me.

Q. Conditions got a lot tougher out there, also?

TOM WATSON: They weren't that tough. The pin positions were more difficult than they were the first day.

The second day I thought they were pretty good. The greens were maybe a little bit firmer today than they were the first two days with the wind and the high skies this afternoon. You've got to put the ball in play off the tee, and that's what I didn't do. I don't know how many fairways I missed, but I missed a bunch.

Q. Is there anything in particular that led to that today, conditions?

TOM WATSON: No, I don't think so. I just think I was trying to steer it rather than make it a good, free swing, and I think that was probably the culprit. You're trying to -- you see that fairway -- the third round here gets a little bit more narrow, and you don't freewheel it. It's tough.

Q. Eight.

TOM WATSON: I missed eight fairways out of, what, 14. Not very good.

Q. (Inaudible).

TOM WATSON: He hit it absolutely pure the first five holes, six holes. It was really something to watch. I said where did it go? We were walking up 15 and I said where did that swing go?

Q. (Inaudible).

TOM WATSON: There were some tough holes out there. With the elevated tee shots and the small fairways, you've got to drive the ball very well. The ball has some time to get off line when you're up high.

Q. Looking at the leaderboard to start the day, did you have something in mind as to what you needed to do?

TOM WATSON: I wanted to shoot 68 today. I was eight fairways shy of 68.

Q. It seemed like today there was a little bit more up-and-down among the leaders. Is that because people are more aggressively going for birdies today?

TOM WATSON: I think it had to do with the pin positions. The pin positions were difficult today. They had them right up against the edges of the greens.

To attack the pins today you had to be perfect. You didn't attack the pins, you went to the sides of them and tried to get the right distance. That was the proper thing to do.

Q. (Inaudible).

TOM WATSON: I don't think so. See, we played the same wind all three days. It's maybe just a little bit stronger today but we were playing the same wind, so the golf course is familiar. Had the wind turned around and blown from the south, it would be unfamiliar tomorrow.

Q. You said you felt physically better than you did on the first day. How about on the third day?

TOM WATSON: I felt fine today. I made just a few good swings today and that was it.

Q. (Inaudible).

TOM WATSON: Yeah, it was a little bit stronger today.

Q. It's getting dryer and dryer and dryer?

TOM WATSON: I wouldn't say it's a lot dryer, no. It's a little bit dryer but not -- well, I would hope that they wouldn't dry it out too much as far as the conditions are concerned, just put the pins where they put them today and see what happens.

Q. The pin positions made the biggest difference?

TOM WATSON: That's what I said. The pin positions were tough today.

Q. (Inaudible).

TOM WATSON: No, it felt like USGA golf the first two days. The greens are just a little bit softer than normal, let's put it that way.

I wouldn't want to see them completely dry out because that's changing the golf course from the third round and fourth round. They did that at Oakmont and I thought that was the right thing to do. I just think they'll tuck the pins tomorrow but we'll see the same golf course as far as the softness is concerned and let's see, let's see what happens. Put the ball in play. You've got to keep it inside the goal posts out there, and I kept shanking it.

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