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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2005

Tiger Woods

SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY

Q. Do you feel like you let a couple slip coming in?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, for Christ's sakes, the last hole, had a perfect drive and just an unbelievable second shot in there. Left myself that putt and blast past a hole like that, block the second one. So, a little pissed right now.

Q. Is that just a misread?

TIGER WOODS: No. No. It was just a bad putt. Bad putt, the wrong time.

Q. How far was the come backer?

TIGER WOODS: At least 15, 18 feet.

Q. What did you think you needed to do, was there a number in your mind?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I thought if I shot 63 today, it would be a pretty good number. And bogeyed the first hole, but still had, the back nine, I had four more opportunities there, short putts that I missed or 3 putted or pulled a 3 wood on 17. So four opportunities that I had to add to what I did today, so it's certainly out there.

Q. What was your yardage on 17? What's the difference between 3 wood or 2 iron?

TIGER WOODS: Well, it's 274 and I can't carry 2 iron 274 downwind uphill. If it was flat, I'd probably hit 2 iron but since it's uphill, I can't. So I have to hit some kind of choke up cut 3 wood to the front.

It was 274 to the front, or 290 to the hole, stays downwind, as hot as it is, the ball is flying forever. I tried to start the ball to the left trees, cut them, hit some kind of banana ball and I actually pulled it.

Q. Given that set of conditions, any thought to laying up and giving yourself

TIGER WOODS: Why? No. (Laughter).

Q. You're a good wedge player.

TIGER WOODS: No. I needed 3.

Q. Talk about the chip; lie looked pretty clean.

TIGER WOODS: I was trying to hit some kind of low hook and leave myself 15, 20 feet below the hole, and that's all I can do. I missed it by about a foot; it carries a foot further it's down there probably 15, 20 feet below the hole, and that's all I could do. Left it just a foot short in the air.

Q. What advantage, if any, to going out this early?

TIGER WOODS: Pretty much none. You're nowhere near the lead. So they are out there setting the pins for the guys in the afternoon, that's not good.

Q. Coping with the heat, any worse the last couple of days?

TIGER WOODS: It's a little hotter today, no doubt about that. It's just like home. Unfortunately, we can't wear shorts.

Q. How long was the putt on No. 12, about five feet?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, about six, seven feet.

Q. And 13, you missed another birdie putt?

TIGER WOODS: About ten feet.

Q. What's a realistic scenario for tomorrow for you?

TIGER WOODS: It's out there. If I play like I did today and make some putts, I can shoot a low one.

Q. Is there a scenario where the leaders come back to you?

TIGER WOODS: We'll see what happens. The guys who are up top of the board, Phil and Jerry and the rest of the guys are all playing well. If you play well, you can shoot a good number out here.

Obviously, if you get it going a little crooked out there, it's hard to make pars, especially some of these pins now, because some of the pins are actually pretty tight to the bunkers, but some of them are actually pretty easy and some of the easy accessible pins, guys will be taking dead aim right at it. I don't care what club you have in there, you can take a dead angle, doesn't really matter.

Q. Can you speak to the potential theatrics those two holes might have when guys are coming down the stretch, and almost any number between 3 and 8 is out there?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, because anything can happen. If it's playing like it is right now, downwind, is slightly off to the left, fast as the fairways are, the longer hitters if you hit a good one on 17, a flat ball can roll out there and you have a chance.

And then 18, anything in play is going to leave you with an iron to the green. But it's going to be really hard to try and stop it. The greens are getting firmer out there and you can see the balls are starting to now take off on that first hop.

Q. I know you're disappointed, but are you the kind of guy after a round like this that looks at all the missed chances or looks at the balance of the round?

TIGER WOODS: It's both. I hit it beautifully today. You know, I hit so many good shots, I drove it great, I hit my irons really well.

Q. You saved yourself a few time today, too?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I had a couple good up and downs, but overall definitely the best ball striking day I've had in, I don't know, maybe a couple months.

Q. What's going to be your mindset for tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: Say again?

Q. What's going to be your mindset for tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: I don't know, all depends on what the leaders do. If Phil and Jerry and the rest of the guys are 4 under par, go ahead and take it low, then I've got to shoot something really low and hopefully that's going to be enough.

But if they come back, then it's a different story, but I don't know, until the day's end.

Q. If at all you got the cool end of the day, for the morning, seems a stretch to say when it's as hot as it is, is that going to be a factor this afternoon as the heat continues to climb?

TIGER WOODS: Shouldn't be. Not when you're fit. That's why I run in the heat. That's why I run all those miles down there in Orlando.

Q. That's why I don't run.

TIGER WOODS: Exactly. It's hot out there, but it's not brutal. I play the worst weather I ever played in was Malaysia. Nothing could be as bad as that.

Q. Does it actually affect the way you're playing, when your hands are wet and you can't keep your grips dry?

TIGER WOODS: Grips are dry. Hands, you just towel off before you hit and then you go. It's not raining, but it kind of looks like it is.

Q. Your shirt

TIGER WOODS: That's why you pull up your sleeves.

Q. Did you see the tree on 4?

TIGER WOODS: No, it was totally gone. I thought they just cut off the limb, but you could see it was pretty rotted on the inside and maybe should have been taken out earlier.

Q. The putt on 18, did you mis read the speed a little bit?

TIGER WOODS: No. Absolute bad putt, it's not about misreading anything that speed. I just hit it way too hard.

Q. Is there a deficit where it might be out of reach tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: You don't know. I mean, guys have come back from ten back before majors and have won. I don't know. It all depends on what Phil, and as I said Jerry and the rest of the guys before him, if they shoot 64 or 65 or 66, then, you know it's pretty far out of reach. Unless I shoot a low one and they come back tomorrow.

Q. Davis is on the leaderboard, said he's been working out with Randy Myers; have you noticed the difference at all in Davis?

TIGER WOODS: It sounds like he feels better. (Laughter).

Q. How long were your birdie putts on 14 and 15 and what did you hit to 18?

TIGER WOODS: 14, I had, oh, about a 10 footer there.

15, I had about 12 feet.

18 I hit a 7 iron in there.

Q. Do you feel like you putted better today?

TIGER WOODS: Better, not really great. Missed a couple putts I should have made for sure. He the horseshoe there on 12 was a little harsh, but this kind of makes up for the chip in on 10.

Missed that one on, a very nice one on 13, pretty simple putt, only about a foot outside and just kind of feed it down there and I hit it way too hard.

Q. Anything you're going to work on today after the round?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, eating. When it's this hot, you don't want to eat much, and I need to get the calories in so I keep my weight up.

Q. You finished No. 1 in putting at the British, one of the reasons you won, after the first round here, you know where you were?

TIGER WOODS: Oh, yeah.

Q. Next to last?

TIGER WOODS: Oh, yeah.

Q. Is there any particular reason, is it just that putting comes and goes or are you just could you feel

TIGER WOODS: Welcome to golf. Welcome to golf. I wish we could say we could putt well every day, but it doesn't happen. Only thing you can do is control your speed every day, and if they go in, they go in.

This week, my speed's been a little bit erratic as you see on 18, a couple holes where I left it short or ran it by. Only thing you can do is have good speed every day. If you have good speed every day, then you'll be fine.

Q. You'll be close to the hole?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, the putts will tend to fall in the hole somehow. Look how Faxon, Crenshaw, Loren Roberts putt, everything is kind of around the hole. That's kind of how you have to putt.

Q. What did you fix after Thursday that produced the kind of results you had Friday and Saturday?

TIGER WOODS: Absolutely nothing. I played so well on the back nine, I just take the back nine and then go on with it. So nothing.

Q. Is this the type of golf course that if you're aggressive, it can backfire?

TIGER WOODS: Well, if you hit bad shots, it can get to you. You can be aggressive out there. There's nothing wrong with it because if you get it down there with some of these pin locations, you can kind of control the 9 iron and the wedge to the rough. But I mean, you get going sideways here, it can hurt you pretty good. You know the way they rake up the rough every day, every ball sits down on the bottom.

Q. By and large, are you pretty unhappy with the way you played the two par 5s this week?

TIGER WOODS: Oh, yeah, I had an opportunity more so today than any other day. Yesterday I just got hosed and hit a wonderful shot and got a bad break.

Today, I mean, it wasn't that hard of a golf shot, just a cut 3 wood in there and then 3 putt the last hole. Just leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.

End of FastScripts.

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