KEMPER INSURANCE OPEN

June 1, 2002

Jay Williamson

TODD BUDNICK: We're pleased to be joined by Jay Williamson.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

TODD BUDNICK: Great round 4-under 67 has him at nine under par for the tournament. Jay, looks like only one bogey today and that was number three.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Number three it was playing as a par-3 and a half today. It was about as long as it could play. Probably about 250. The tees were all the way back and the pin was all the way back. And I hit a decent shot but it rolled off the back of the green. And I didn't make a very good chip and made a bogey. And then we birdied the next hole. I did. I didn't hit a very good tee shot on four, but I hit a great 6-iron about, I don't know, five, six feet and I made the putt and that was really, I wasn't able to do that yesterday. I couldn't make a putt early to try to kind of settle me down and get me going.

TODD BUDNICK: Okay. Number six.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Six I made another great putt and really I think so much my game is different when I use the claw my stroke is better. It's more on line. And why I switched away from it this year, I couldn't tell you. I actually finished the year with it last year and played pretty good with it. And I don't call it the claw I call it the desperation device, because that's what I go to when I'm desperate.

TODD BUDNICK: What did you hit through that hole?

JAY WILLIAMSON: I actually laid up. I had like 190 to the hole, but I don't really cut the ball very well and I was on the right side of the fairway. So I laid up, played it smart. And I hit a, you know, a little hundred yard shot in there about 12, 13 feet. Made a great putt.

And then I missed a short one on the next hole. I hit a really good drive. I'm driving the ball better this week. And I put a steel shaft in my driver which I've noticed that some of the better players are using. And for some reason it gives me a little bit more weight.

TODD BUDNICK: And number 10, par-3.

JAY WILLIAMSON: 10, I hit a perfect tee shot. I had 192 yards to the hole and I hit it about 10 feet past the hole. It was a pretty good pin. Greens definitely were firmer today than they were yesterday which is firmer than they were on Thursday. So the golf course is definitely playing more challenging as the week progresses. Plus the wind was really difficult to figure out. It didn't really, couldn't figure out if it wanted to come from the north or the south. So that made it even more challenging also.

And then I birdied 13. I hit a perfect 3-wood and I hit 3-iron on the back of the green and made a good 2-putt.

And then 16 I hit a, I played the hole just the way you need to. Perfect drive, hit a wedge, I had 133 yards. Hit a perfect shot to about 12 feet below the hole. And I made the putt. And those are the putts that I really, to be honest, haven't been making. So again I think the claw had something to do with it. And then I hit a great shot at 17 and didn't make the putt today.

TODD BUDNICK: Well you led here in 1996 after three rounds and you're right there in the hunt again today. Do you want to give us a comment on your round in general today and what you look for tomorrow.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Well I think in '96, getting back to that, I wasn't quite ready to be out here. I'm not a college player, I didn't have that experience. But I've had five or six years now to kind of propel me tomorrow.

It's going to be a very difficult day. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm going to win, but I would certainly love to be in a position to have the opportunity to win with a few holes left. And that's what I didn't give myself a couple years ago. Hopefully I can get off to a good start make a bunch of birdies early and put some pressure on some of the other guys. Because I know that the field isn't as strong as it usually is. So I'm just going to take that to my, use that to my advantage. There's still some great players that are right there with me or even in front of me. Which will probably happen after today.

TODD BUDNICK: Okay. Questions?

Q. The last time you were sitting in that chair after the third round I felt like if I touched you with a pin you would explode.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Yeah.

Q. It's a world of difference between you now as you were talking about. And how much did that experience affect your career as far as how you approached tournaments Sundays or whatever or how long did it take you to get over it and?

JAY WILLIAMSON: Well I think at that point to be honest I was just trying to figure out if I could do this for a living. And to be honest I'm still trying it figure that out. I'm closer today than I was then, but it's just not an easy game. And life has got me a little bit the last couple years. I've got a family. So my priorities aren't all on golf like they were back then. But I think I'm a better person for that. My golf game might not be as good, but I'm a better person. And I think tomorrow I can use a lot of like I said, the past experiences to help me.

Q. In particular, Jay, do you remember how the first few holes went? I remember following you around that year in the fourth round. How did the early holes go and how will you try to handle them, maybe not try to be overly aggressive or what?

JAY WILLIAMSON: That's a good question. But I don't remember. I just remember I was anxious. And I didn't get off to a bad start. I know number 10 I made a double on number 10. I hit a crazy shot and it hit a tree. It actually was a bad break and that's where I kind of fell apart. But that Sunday was a lot different day. It was drizzly, it was cool. A front had come through. And I just wasn't comfortable. And I don't think I'm going to be leading going into tomorrow. That's another I think positive for me. But my position isn't any different than if I was 15th going into tomorrow. I mean it doesn't really matter until we get to the back side. And a lot of things can happen and I'm just looking forward to getting up on the first tee and hit the ball in the fairway. Because that would be a good start for me. I'm not going to get any farther ahead than that. Because it's really not worth it.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY WILLIAMSON: Yeah, I remember last year I did the interview tour, I went and talked to Fox, went and talked to all these networks. And I really didn't get home until 7:30, 8 o'clock. And it was almost like I had won the golf tournament on Saturday. And that just doesn't happen out here ever. I don't think. Has that ever happened? I don't think that's ever happened. So to be honest I'm pretty fortunate to do what I do and I've put a lot of pressure on myself this year. I'm having another baby, well I'm not having another, but my wife's having another baby in August, so it would certainly be nice to have a good finish tomorrow and take a little bit of the pressure off me. Because I've been falling like a rock the last few weeks.

Q. How do the psychological parts of your game, to where you miss I think six out of the last seven cuts, but you come here and play well, how has your mental toughness I guess improved over the last several years, the last five years since you were here?

JAY WILLIAMSON: That's a good question. To be honest, I get more nervous when I'm trying to make a cut versus trying to win a golf tournament. And if you look at, you know, I've missed a few cuts coming in a this week, but I really wasn't playing that bad. I made a couple double bogeys on the 36 the hole to miss a few cuts in a row. And that really, especially Dallas really was a tough thing for me. I had shot 66 the first day and then missed the cut the second day. And so it's not like my game was that bad. I was close. But I think that I wasn't using the claw then and for some reason the claw actually makes me make a few more putts to take some pressure off me. So I think that's a big reason. Plus I'm driving the ball better this week. But it's a good question. It only takes one week out here and that's the good thing about it. But it's, we all start at zero on Thursday morning. And if you can stay positive and as a buddy of mine says if you can manage the negativity, you know, you can have a good career out here. But it's tough when you miss a few cuts in a row to really believe that you can, to really believe that you can do it. It wears on you. Some of these guys out here are so good that they never even think about that. But I think the rest of us it's a constant battle to believe that you can do it, to be positive and to hang in there. And it's not easy.

Q. Is your battle more, are you trying to find a way to win an event or to make as much money as can you out here. I mean is this really a job for you?

JAY WILLIAMSON: That's a good question. I wish I could sit here and say that I'm independently wealthy and I'll be able to pay for my kid's education here in a couple years, but unfortunately that's not really the case. And I've had a good career, I've been out here for six years. And if you would have told me that six years ago I would think you were probably crazy. So it has, it has become a job in the fact that I still have to go out and make a living. And I would love to go out and win tomorrow so I don't have to worry about the money as much. Until you win, you really don't have any security out here. And it doesn't matter if you finish in the top 125, because that doesn't really, I mean that's nice, but I've done that and I'm looking toward the next hurdle. And I think tomorrow if I can go out and shoot another 67 I'll have an opportunity to get my career to a different level. And not worry as much. I put a lot of pressure on myself. That is just my nature. I'm a hockey player and that's just the way I think. I don't think like a golfer all the time. You know it is a job, but I would like for it to not be a job. But it's a tough battle, tough mental challenge to be that way.

Q. You have come back several times since '96. When you played this course the last few years do you, as far as fairways the greens and so forth, do you reflect back on '96 and think, gosh, what could have been or what should have been or this is the one I want to win because it was where I was so close that first time?

JAY WILLIAMSON: I mean you always think -- you don't get that many opportunities out here to win. It doesn't happen every week. And when you get an opportunity you want to take advantage of it. And I had a great opportunity and didn't take advantage of it so of course it's natural to think, yeah, I'm here, I want to play well. But I think if you look at the past champions, Frank Lickliter, Tom Scherrer, Rich Beem, just because you win here in the past doesn't mean you're always going to have success here. I think the key is to drive the ball in the fairway because it's pretty long. Some good par-4's. If you drive it in the fairway you can have an opportunity to score well. And I just, it just happened that I'm driving the ball well this week and making some putts. And it's really no different than last week or any other week I'm just executing what I'm trying to do this week.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Jay.

JAY WILLIAMSON: Thanks, guys.

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