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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 24, 2002

Tiger Woods

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

TIGER WOODS: I just didn't quite go on a run there early in the round. I hit the ball well all week. I didn't quite get the good breaks you need to get. On top of that, a lot of the times I'd play it away from a lot of the holes because, obviously, you don't want to short-side yourself. When I did that I missed a lot of the knobs and I was just on the wrong side of them. I wasn't missing by much. There was maybe a yard or two here or there that catches the right side of it, it is going down there, close to the hole, instead of -- I was 30, 40 feet away coming up-and-down, around, it was tough.

Q. (Inaudible)

TIGER WOODS: You just had to pay attention because a lot of the holes, if you are missing -- if you are missing in one of the holes, which a lot of the pins are on top of the shelves, you putt up a lot of them and they run away from you on the other side. Normally, it's not a problem but when they are like this, right now, they are turning kind of blue-ish right there, they start to run away from you. You hit a good putt, and you don't want to par lip it at all. If you par lip it, you know it's going by six feet. You just had to protect. Unfortunately I just didn't quite make them.

Q. (Inaudible) was this a classic day; it was there for the taking if you posted a number...

TIGER WOODS: I knew it was going to be about 6, 7 the winning score today. If you look at these conditions it is blowing out here and the greens are getting faster, the pins are tucked. I just wasn't able to get off to a good solid started to with some birdies early.

Q. (Inaudible) how do you assess your putting going into Augusta given the fact that --

TIGER WOODS: I putted well all week. I hit a lot of beautiful putts, either lipped out, I did make my share of putts. When you are putting up over the knobs, obviously your stats are going to be a little bit misleading. Especially like yesterday they said I hit 16 greens but I only hit 13 greens. Obviously they through a couple more putts in there too (laughs). It was just one of those things where I was just on the wrong side. I was having to 2-putt a lot, and I was able to do that for most of the week but I did make my share of mistakes and I did have a couple of 3-putts here and there.

Q. What will you do next two weeks before Augusta?

TIGER WOODS: Ball-striking, chipping, putting. Everything, every facet because when you play Augusta National you are going to have every facet of your game on in order to win. The two times that I have played well there, I have contended and actually won, I have had everything going. That's what you have to have in order to win there.

Q. Good preparation for Augusta?

TIGER WOODS: No doubt about it. Only difference is it's kind of like Augusta but you have got U.S. Open rough out there. Six, eight inches in some spots. Majority of the time you drive the ball in the rough you can't advance it. It is just like playing the U.S. open, you have got to pitch out; take your medicine, and try and wedge it on there and make a putt.

Q. (Inaudible) you like having the extra week?

TIGER WOODS: It's pretty good because I have to go to a wedding. My buddy is getting married, and it's going to make an exciting day for all of us to watch him get married.

Q. (Inaudible)

TIGER WOODS: Probably harder than that. I swear I really played well this week. I just, as I said, just in the wrong side, maybe a yard here and yard there, that's kind of what it ends up to.