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WGC NEC INVITATIONAL

August 21, 2004

Tiger Woods

AKRON, OHIO

JAMES CRAMER: Even for 70 today, 6 under par, 204 total for three rounds. Maybe we can go over your birdies and bogeys before we take some questions.

TIGER WOODS: Birdies and bogeys first, 2nd hole, hit a driver and a 5 iron up there to about 30 feet and two putted.

The next hole I hit a 3 wood off the tee in the right rough, caught a little flyer and had another 40, 50 yards back to the green. I was underneath the tree, didn't quite get it up to the green, pitched up there and made a three footer for bogey.

Q. What did you have for your second shot?

TIGER WOODS: I had 150 to the hole and I hit wedge.

Q. What club did you have before then? You had a club, gave it back, took another.

TIGER WOODS: I had 9. I might have hit you guys up near the clubhouse (laughter).

Q. Birdie on 10?

TIGER WOODS: 10, I hit a 2 iron off the tee and then hit an 8 iron pin high to about 12 feet, made it.

11, I pulled a 3 wood, hit a sand wedge there and it caught the tree, came back down, pitched it up there to about ten feet and missed it.

12, I hit 8 iron about ten feet right behind the hole and made that.

Bogey on 17, hit a 2 iron off the tee straight right, hit a 5 iron out of the top bunker, didn't get it up to the top, came back down and two putted from about 20 feet.

Q. How disappointed are you with your round today?

TIGER WOODS: Very, considering how good I hit it this morning. I mean, I didn't miss a golf shot this morning. It's very interesting how golf is sometimes, you know. I go out there this morning and hit absolutely every golf shot how I want, where I want to, and missed about a three or four footer there on 17 for four straight birdies.

Then I come out this afternoon and didn't hit a golf shot. That part of the game is very frustrating.

Q. You missed ten fairways today. Any chance that you'll put the driver in the bag tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: And do what?

Q. Hit 2 iron?

TIGER WOODS: I hit 2 iron on 17.

Q. No. 1 and 10 were great shots.

TIGER WOODS: 10 was a good shot really. I hit it about an inch fat. It ended up in the fairway, though.

Q. You put yourself in some interesting spots today and still shot 70. Do you take anything out of that or no?

TIGER WOODS: I worked pretty hard for it. You know, I've just got to be you know, when you're playing poorly like this and you always try to miss the ball you put the ball on the correct side of the fairway to give yourself an angle, and most of the misses I've made off the tee were at least on the correct side where at least I had a shot to run it up the gap, up the front edge of the green. That was the only positive thing that was happening out there.

At least I was missing I was off line, yes, way off line, but I always had the correct angle.

Q. Are you a little astonished at your position considering the way you hit the ball off the tee?

TIGER WOODS: To be in 2nd place, yes. I thought a few more guys with 4, 5 under par would shoot better scores. I thought the lead would probably be right where it's at, 11 or 12 under par, but I thought more guys would be 8 or 9 under par. But the wind is picking up a little bit, and guys are just having a tough time out there.

Q. What does that also say about the rough? It seems outrageous out there?

TIGER WOODS: It's eight to ten inches. I mean, it's longer than any U.S. Open I've ever played in. The only thing you can hope for is you get it in a lying down grain. At least you can get it to the green. Stewart had a lie that was atrocious on 18, and he hit it out there 20 yards maybe hitting a full sand wedge. Yeah, you have to drive the ball in play.

Q. Could you talk about how he's playing and do you think he's catchable tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: He's playing beautifully. He hit so many good putts today. He rolled it beautifully. The putts that he did miss, they lipped out or it looked like they hung on the edge. He lipped that putt out on 11, horseshoed it there, and then hung out a putt on 13. I don't think he missed a putt.

Q. Can you talk about the saves on 14, 16?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, 14 I was just hoping I could get the ball over the tree and over the bunker. I mean, I was just hoping I could do that somehow, and I caught the flyer of all flyers there and flew the gallery there. The great thing about that lie was it was hard underneath. At least I knew I could bounce the ball into it and set the ball straight up and the greens were soft, so I was hoping I could get it inside 15 feet. I didn't quite do that, but I had a putt of about 25 feet. I knew I hit a good putt, but I was just hoping it would break. It took its sweet time breaking. When it did, it broke pretty hard and went in.

Q. And 16?

TIGER WOODS: 16 was another drive I lost to the right, just trying to didn't let it go and tried to I hit a 5 iron through the gap down there. I was trying tried not to hit it too hard. If I hit it easy enough, I make the mistake of hitting the cart path, I could bounce it in the fairway, and if I flew it over the cart path, I knew I could get it in the fairway. The key was not to hit it too hard and let the ball get up in those trees.

Then from there I had 205 to the hole and I hit a minus 5 iron, just a little softie to 20 feet behind the hole.

Q. And 18?

TIGER WOODS: 18, I double crossed that one, tried to hit a fade and hit a pull. I had no shot at the flag. I was trying to put the ball on the right edge of the green somehow. It didn't hit far enough but it was on the correct line, and then two putted from about 40 feet.

Q. Do you recall having a longer shot into 16?

TIGER WOODS: Actually, yeah, I can. I hit the ball in that bunker there off the tee just like Rory did, and caught the lip coming out. I played the hole probably just like he did.

Q. You got to see Stewart for 18 holes today. Do you think the way you are playing right now and the way he's playing that you can catch him?

TIGER WOODS: Well, if I play like I did this morning, that's all I have to do. I know it's in there, it's just a matter of bringing it out just like I did this morning, just hit the same shots and make putts. If I turn my putting around all of a sudden I just didn't hit the ball very good.

Q. I asked you about maybe not hitting the driver as much tomorrow. Is the big challenge in doing that this course is just so long that you kind of have to hit the driver?

TIGER WOODS: Most of the holes the ball is not bouncing. If the fairways were fast, let's say on 8, for example, you can hit 2 iron off the top of the hill and run it down there. Now I hit 2 iron off the top of the hill, it'll plug, and I've got a 5 iron in there. Things like that do happen, so you've got to hit a driver and fly it down there.

Q. Can you recall working this hard to shoot even par or is this the way the year is going?

TIGER WOODS: Unfortunately that's the way it was today. Hey, at least I kept myself in the tournament. If I can just go out there tomorrow and play just like I did this morning, at least if I play that way, I'll give myself a chance.

Q. It's the least of your concerns right now, but some of your Ryder Cup teammates are at the top of the board. How encouraging is that? Did you notice that at all today or were you preoccupied?

TIGER WOODS: I didn't have a clue, sorry.

End of FastScripts.

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