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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2004

Phil Mickelson

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. Phil, some of the guys were playing very good golf.

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm in good position heading into the weekend and looking forward to tomorrow's round.

Q. Left some shots out there yesterday, pretty good ball striking today and really didn't leave too many shots out there?

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I shot like I felt like I played very similarly to yesterday's round, but I had a break here or there. 13 was certainly a great break having a ball stay out, and at 10, I didn't have that double like did I yesterday.

Q. And 16 of 18 greens.

PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't looked it over, but I did hit a lot of greens and that was a big help, not having to fight for par.

Q. (Inaudible.)

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I thought that it might stay up, and I didn't know that there was a little catch part down there. I got very lucky to have had it end up where it did, and not only that, it was a good lie on an uphill lie and not too hard of a shot to get close. I thought I made it.

Q. Coming into the round, not necessarily at the top of the board

PHIL MICKELSON: I think the biggest thing that's been the first two rounds, being very patient. Even when I doubled 16 yesterday or made a mistake today on 4, I was very patient to make some pars, hit some solid shots and try to get to the pins that I could get to.

I feel like I did a good job of that, making the birdies where I had opportunities, and making pars where there were some tough pins.

Q. Do you like being the pursuer going into the weekend?

PHIL MICKELSON: I'd rather be in the lead, no question. And I'd rather be in the lead on Sunday, as everybody would. But to be only a couple back is a good position, and I feel like I'm playing well enough to be able to have a couple more good rounds.

Q. Do you think your experience will pay off over the weekend?

PHIL MICKELSON: I certainly hope so. I have learned a lot in the past few Masters of mistakes I've made in the past and some successes that I've had, whether it's reading the greens or knowing what pins to go at, where the ball is going to end up, where you need to drive it. I'm certainly going to try to put that knowledge to good use.

Q. The stuff that you came in here and told us about, you were trying to shave off that quarter stroke, half stroke, even two rounds in, are you seeing that come to fruition at all yet?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think where I've received that half a shot that I was talking about was the par 5s. Now, I haven't birdied very many. I think I was only 1 under yesterday, 1 under today, but where I'm seeing it is I'm not making 6 or the 7 like I have in the past on the holes that you need to make birdie. I'm giving myself a chance to make 4, and if not, I'm making 5, which is a big key for me. And I'm giving myself some opportunities on some of the other holes. It's those par 5s where I think I'm not giving the shots back.

Q. How do you feel about Arnie's last Masters?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think we're all sad to have this be Arnie's last Masters, but I'm sure he'll be around here and I'm sure his presence will always be felt, and hopefully he'll be here for a long time.

Q. Does it feel good to be in contention at a major?

PHIL MICKELSON: It just feels good to be playing well and to have a chance, yes. It's been a fun year. I have not enjoyed playing golf as much in a long time, certainly since last year wasn't the most enjoyable year for me on the course.

This year, I'm so excited just to be playing, and to be playing well is a great feeling, too.

Q. (Inaudible.)

PHIL MICKELSON: I thought it wasn't going to be a problem getting it close. I thought it was one that I should get up and down. I had a nice uphill lie, the ball was sitting up. I could get the club underneath it no problem. It almost went in. And with the green being somewhat receptive back there, it wasn't too tough of a shot.

Q. (Inaudible.)

PHIL MICKELSON: It's just nice to get a good break. You see balls roll I hit a good chip on 15 and the thing rolls 35 feet by the hole. I hit a great putt on 14 and 16 and they don't go in. It's just nice to get a little bit of a break, because it seems like the course is always taking, taking, taking. It's nice to have it give one back.

Q. How about the finish on 17? How long was the putt?

PHIL MICKELSON: The putt on 17 was probably about 30 feet, I would say. That was a nice putt. I had had that putt in the past. I knew that it was not quite as fast as it looked. So I gave it a pretty aggressive roll.

18 was one where I thought, boy, if I rolled it three or four feet by it would go all the way down the hill. It was a defensive putt. Even though I wanted to make it, it was just one I was trying to trickle over the edge, but it was nice to make one on 17.

Q. It's getting tougher on the greens, a lot of tender putts. What are you looking for this weekend?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, because the greens have been somewhat receptive, there are some pins that you can attack. But there are a lot of pins that you just can't, you've got to be patient on. We saw almost every pin yesterday. You could not attack, and almost every pin today, you could attack. So there was a big difference in how the course played, I thought, from yesterday to today, and I expect there to be kind of a happy medium over the course of the next two days, and that just means that you have to take advantage of the birdie holes, which are the par 5s, and put yourself in the right spot and play for par on a lot of the others.

Q. Did you hear the response for Arnold?

PHIL MICKELSON: I really didn't. I knew some things were going on, but I really didn't know what it was.

End of FastScripts.

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