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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2004

Tiger Woods

SHINNECOCK HILLS, NEW YORK

MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now on the podium, at plus 4 for the championship, Tiger Woods.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: That's probably what I should have been doing. It was a tough day. I started out hitting it pretty good and made nothing. And then all of a sudden I lost my ball-striking and made everything for pars. So I couldn't put the two together. And then I made that mistake on 10.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it does. At least if you get the guys to come back more, I can get a chance to win this thing. If the wind blows harder tomorrow, which the forecast is supposed to be, you never know.

Q. What was your yardage on 18?

TIGER WOODS: 106 to the hole. I had a 60-degree sand wedge.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: You know, it's really tough right now, because the fairways are really fast as can be. It's hard to keep the ball in the fairway, but the greens are springy. They're drying out, and they're not really all that smooth, either. You have four-footers and things. You have 15, 20-footers, you kind of just roll them up, and hopefully they'll fall in. You don't want to leave yourself some testy ones, with the greens.

Q. It's tough all week, but 7 today, nobody is -- is that a little over the top today?

TIGER WOODS: It's brutal, it really is. You hit -- we both made 3, but it was a lot of work to make 3. They didn't put any water on the green. It's playing like every other green.

We got on No. 1, I don't know if the TV showed, but most guys are putting off the green. And 7 is just the same, if not steeper. So they said they were going to keep it slower and softer than the rest of the greens. Same thing on 11, and today the same pace and the same as the rest of the greens.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think 18 at Olympic was definitely over the line, because you had the ball roll back ten feet, so that was a little different scenario.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I hit a nice 2-iron down the middle. I was a little on the downslope and I had about 80 yards to the top of the hill and about a 6-iron to the hole, and I landed it right on the front edge of the green. I had to land the ball at least to the hole, and I didn't do it. It ended up costing me. The next shot I scooped it instead of driving it in the hole, it was no fun getting up the hill.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, hopefully the wind will be blowing, and if I can get it to even par, if not under par for the tournament, you never know. I need some wind to blow. Just like today, if not harder.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I didn't see it. I didn't find out until I got home and Stevie told me.

Q. Do you have any comment on it? Could Stevie have asked the guy not to take the picture?

TIGER WOODS: I think it built up over the entire week of dealing with a lot of different distractions that we normally don't have to face at a regular tournament.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: That was all spontaneity. He threw the bag on my shoulder, and hey, I was happy to oblige.

Q. You have a lot of experience leading and winning in majors. For guys that don't have that experience, how difficult is it to calm your mind on Sunday morning? From your experience what's the best way to handle that?

TIGER WOODS: I do the best thing, I go and do my workout, and nothing changes. So at least I'll be able to get my workout in the morning. I have a late tee time. You have to have enough energy to finish out the day. You have a lot of things to run through your mind, but making sure that you're 100 percent focused come tee time. The worst is the British Open; you're teeing off in the afternoon, and your body is not used to teeing off that late.

Q. Where is your swing right now?

TIGER WOODS: I tell you what, I'm hitting it well. I hit obviously some bad shots; everyone did on this golf course today. It's very difficult to control the ball in this wind and on the fast greens and fast fairways. It doesn't take much to put yourself in the wrong spot.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I can't really tell you, I don't know. I don't know.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I have, yeah.

Q. What was your reaction?

TIGER WOODS: I don't know why he would say anything like that. Obviously he doesn't really know what I'm working on, and he's never asked me and I've never talked to him about it and no one knows. I don't understand why he would ever say anything like that, especially when we've been as close as we are. And we've resolved everything, I thought. I thought everything would have been cool.

For him to go off and say things like that, I don't understand where he's coming from. It doesn't do himself or anyone any good to do that.

Q. You said as close as you are. Do you still consider him a friend?

TIGER WOODS: That's what I don't understand. I mean, friends say that face-to-face. If you and I were like that, and you would say something like that to the rest of the media, we would have a problem with that. If you go say something like that, you go right up to my face and say it. And that's what we used to do, and I think that's the way it should have been handled.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think it's the whole way it was handled. I just don't understand why he would say anything like that or say something like that. Maybe he's just trying to be -- on TV and trying to be more controversial or saying things. I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk about it, so I can't say what was on his mind at the time, why he would come out with things like that.

Q. Do you expect him to come to you?

TIGER WOODS: He's working and I'm working, I don't know.

Q. After this week?

TIGER WOODS: I don't know.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I tell you what, that definitely put me back in the tournament, where if the wind blows and I play a great round of golf, I can still win this tournament.

End of FastScripts.

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