U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 14, 2003

Tiger Woods

Q. Have you figured out what went wrong?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I didn't play that poorly, that's the funny thing. I hit a lot of good shots but I made nothing today. I could never get a feel for the line. Eduardo and I were talking about this going up 17 how slow the greens were today. We couldn't hit the putts hard enough. I left every putt on the low side short, and the only putt I made I said, you know, just hit it three feet by, and it went in the hole for birdie. That's the only putt I made all day.

Q. Were the greens running any different?

TIGER WOODS: Everyone said they cut the greens faster, but they're slower today than they were yesterday for us, we thought. I really had a hard time convincing myself to hit them hard because they look fast. They look like they're dried out and when you're walking around with your spikes you can feel they're firmer. It's hard to believe I should be putting slower.

Q. Somebody whistled on your back swing?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, right on my down swing. If it was my back swing I would have stopped it but on my down swing, I couldn't stop it.

Q. That's got to be a frustrating way of starting a round?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was. I hit a hell of a wedge out of the bunker and I hit a putt up the hill and it went left instead of going right.

Q. Do you think it was intentional?

TIGER WOODS: I have no idea, no idea.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Lost hole. That's it.

Q. Do you have to change your strategy?

TIGER WOODS: And do what?

Q. Be more aggressive?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, but where would I hit it? Tell me where I need to hit it. Even the longest hole out here for par 4 -- like No. 9 was 490, whatever it was today. I hit a 3-wood down there, I hit a half pitching wedge, between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. It's hard for me to hit driver because there's nowhere to hit it. The only other hole would be the first hole. Today I popped up my 3-wood. If I would have hit a flat 3-wood I could have gotten there, but there's really no other hole for me to hit driver on. Like No. 11, for instance, if I hit driver straight away I'd run out of room. Today I hit 3-wood and I actually was right at the corner with a 3-wood, and that number is 295 to the corner into the wind. I hit 3-wood there. There's really no other place for me to hit driver.

Q. Are you leaving yourself too many long second shots do you feel?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I just need to get the ball in play and make some putts. Today I didn't hit the ball that poorly to be honest with you. I hit some good shots but I made nothing. You can't get putts in and you can't get any kind of momentum going, it's hard to shoot a good number.

Q. If you know there's something wrong mechanically you can work on it and go back, but to be able to say I played well but couldn't put up a good number, is that more frustrating?

TIGER WOODS: What's frustrating is I couldn't get comfortable on the greens with my speed. I felt a little bit uneasy on the putts because of the speed because I couldn't figure it out. To me -- I said okay, hit the ball harder but it's hard to hit the ball harder when they look so much faster than they're putting. It's a mental war to try and get myself to release the putter blade like I'm supposed to.

Q. The average fan out here expects you to win all these majors. If you don't have a dramatic comeback tomorrow and win you're going to be without a title, defending a major title for the first time in four years. What are the expectations put on you?

TIGER WOODS: That means I've had a pretty darn good career, haven't I?

Q. How was the golf course playing with the hole locations?

TIGER WOODS: It's not really playing that much more difficult with the hole locations, but the wind is up, so that's what makes the biggest difference is that the wind is a little bit swirlier around some of the holes, but overall it's just the wind. That's the only difference.

Q. Do you still give yourself a chance tomorrow and what do you need to do?

TIGER WOODS: I need to shoot obviously a great round of golf and get some help from the leaders, too. I've got to go out there and shoot a good number and see what happens.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Hey, he's playing well. You know, he actually was playing pretty good in the practice rounds. The only thing that was lacking was him going out there and making some putts. He's been playing well, just hadn't made any putts, and now he's getting them down, which is good to see.

Q. It just seems like the handkerchief has been out all week. Is that affecting you?

TIGER WOODS: I've had it all my life, so I don't know what it's like to breathe out of both nostrils.

Q. Do you take any medicine at all?

TIGER WOODS: I always take it, yeah.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's really hard for me to answer that right now. I've won, what, three tournaments out of seven events I've played this year and you're trying to tell me I'm in a slump? I just said it, didn't I?

End of FastScripts....