ADVIL WESTERN OPEN

July 8, 2001

Davis Love III

DAVIS LOVE III: Well, obviously not what I wanted. I probably would have taken 66 when we started, but once we got into the round, you could tell that Scott was putting very well. He was playing with a lot of confidence and that I was going to have to, you know, play great to beat him. I played pretty good. I just didn't play great. He played extremely well, and when he hit that shot out of the left rough at 4 and knocked it up on the green and made the putt I said I want this guy on the Ryder Cup team with me because I can tell, he is not afraid of anything and he is in this for the long haul. So I knew then it was going to be a long day. And we traded back and forth a lot, and it just happened that I was the one that hit the bad shots coming in. Really he only hit a few bad shots all day, and he hit two bad ones coming in and I hit three. That's just the way it turned out.

DAVIS LOVE III: I had like 192 to the front. I had a good pretty good lie, a flier lie obviously, but a pretty good lie, a decent look at the pin. I just had to hit a real high shot and it's -- I caught a little bit more of a flier swinging that high; flew it back in the back bunker. But I think if I can hit a good bunker shot, put the pressure back on him and mine got away from me a little bit and gave him an opening and he hit a great one.

DAVIS LOVE III: It was just like the one I had yesterday just didn't give it quite enough speed. Had a good line on it and for some reason, obviously I didn't need the one coming back, but for some reason, I didn't hit it hard enough. I felt good over it and I felt like when I hit it was pretty good but just didn't have quite enough speed.

DAVIS LOVE III: I was just being a good target and trying to make a good swing. I was driving the ball you know, pretty good all day. I don't know what happened, just jumped at it a little bit and tried to maybe get a little more out of it. I don't know. That was definitely my worst swing of the day. The one on 16 I was just trying to smash it with a 7-iron, that happens every once in a while. But I probably just got a little quick coming in.

DAVIS LOVE III: I guess after I birdied the first two and he birdied 2, we kind of started moving away from everybody. We had a little cush there already, started out making birdies.

DAVIS LOVE III: Maybe not in the same group, probably not.

DAVIS LOVE III: I didn't like having to make the putts -- he'd make a long putt and I'd have to make one after him. That wasn't much fun. But I just knew I had to try to birdie every hole and when he made that putt at 12 I was like "he is just not going to miss," so, you know, he made a nice save at 9. He made a nice birdie at 10. Nice save at 11. Great putt at 12. I said he doesn't think he can miss, so I so I knew I had to birdie everyone. I just didn't do it. If I hit the ball on the green at 16 rather than down the hill, obviously it is a different story, so that's the one that where I kind of let it get away.

DAVIS LOVE III: I didn't think I can get 7 all the way back there. I was just trying to hit a big high cut, just smash it back there and off that side of a lie, sometimes you just don't get it. And I just didn't catch it. I caught it a little fat and left. Just a bad swing.

DAVIS LOVE III: That wasn't cute. I wish I had hit easy 6 in there.

? DAVIS LOVE III: You shoot 66 on Sunday on this golf course you don't expect to lose. I think it's awfully hard to win out here. I felt like I played pretty good today, just not obviously as good as Scott. But you know, I have had a lot of chances and that's nice.

DAVIS LOVE III: I don't know, nothing in particular. I guess everything. Short putts, putting good, you know, I only made maybe three or four long putts but on short putts, I am putting pretty well, I am driving it, discount 18, I am driving it pretty good.

DAVIS LOVE III: Well, it won't bother me a whole lot. I did a lot of good things. I just didn't, as I said I didn't play a perfect round like Scott did. Obviously, I want to win and I am not going to be happy about it, but, you know, I am just -- I am trying to build up to the Open and just like everybody else, I would have obviously gone in a little happier if I had won here, but I am pretty happy with the state of my game, given that this is my third tournament since April, so.....

DAVIS LOVE III: I think both of us are pretty healed. Obviously he needs-he is doing the same thing I am doing in practicing over practicing, he is going to take a day or two off before he plays next week and he is just not pounding a whole lot of balls, so maybe the secret is being rested and relax.

DAVIS LOVE III: Yeah. I snuck out there last night and putted so I broke the string.