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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 19, 1996

Tiger Woods

CORNELIUS, OREGON

Q. How did it go, Tiger, you looked like you had some chances, but overall it was a pretty good start?

TIGER WOODS: Overall it's a perfect start. When you shoot a couple under in a qualifying to start off, you don't have to come out tomorrow and shoot under par again. It relaxes you a little bit. And I can come out tomorrow and shoot a score around par and I'm okay, I'm in.

Q. How much of a distraction is that when that photographer does that? Is it hard to regroup?

TIGER WOODS: I didn't regroup on that putt. You saw me on the next tee shot. I don't know if you were watching me take a club up to the top and stop and back off. I was still hot at the time. And as I set up for the ball I knew what I wanted to do. As soon as I took it back, I had no idea what I was doing. I was still a little ticked off. It worked out pretty good. I hit a good drive after I calmed down, hit a good 4-iron in there. Just happened to miss the putt.

Q. How did you feel about your putting today?

TIGER WOODS: It was a little streaky. I didn't quite get the speed down, with the moisture on the greens I had a tough time. I was either leaving it short or leaving it long, then as it dried out I was putting a little defensively. It's okay if you putt that way, especially when the greens are at this speed, because you don't want to be firing those balls by the hole and have 4 or 5-footers all day.

Q. Could you describe that flop shot that you hit from the downslope at the par 5?

TIGER WOODS: Describe it?

Q. What was your lie like?

TIGER WOODS: I had a good lie. I had a lot of grass underneath the ball. The only question was whether I would actually slide the club under too much and actually leave it short. That was my one concern. I could still putt back, and that's where my miss was.

Q. On your front 9 you apparently airmailed a couple of greens?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah.

Q. What was --

TIGER WOODS: One was just a bad club, a missed club. The other was a horrible swing. That's it with that. Just two shots.

Q. You missed an eagle putt. You made that one par 5 on 2 and then you missed an eagle putt and a birdie. How many of those par 5's can you reach in two do you feel?

TIGER WOODS: Out here on this course I just played?

Q. Yes.

TIGER WOODS: I reached them all.

Q. In two?

TIGER WOODS: Yes. Except for 17 when I was way left. Actually 8, I was way left, I was pin high.

Q. How often did you wind up hitting iron off the tee today?

TIGER WOODS: Not very often. I was swinging it very well off the tee, so I could take advantage. I felt comfortable, so therefore I could take advantage and hit more club than what was needed sometimes. I drove it very well today.

Q. You didn't miss any fairways in the back. Did you miss any in the front?

TIGER WOODS: Not that I remember. Don't forget that some of these fairways are 80 yards away.

Q. Still not wide enough for some of us.

TIGER WOODS: No comment. (Laughter.)

CRAIG SMITH: Was it a little advantageous to have played Ghost Creek first where you have the potential to score a little bit better?

TIGER WOODS: I just felt that it was nice to get this golf course over with, because if I play well, I won't ever play it again. I think it's a disadvantage to play that golf course, come back over here and in match play go back over. If I make it in match play, therefore I have two rounds in a row on the same course.

Q. They make members wear soft spikes out here. What do you think of soft spikes? What are your thoughts on that?

TIGER WOODS: It's fine, like I say, for the membership. But either touring pros or seasoned amateurs or guys who play a lot of tournaments, I don't think it's right because we play on all different kinds of conditions and if it rained out here with soft spikes it would be unfair. It could rain here in Oregon. And this morning it was dewy. And if you were wearing soft spikes I'm sure you would slip.

Q. You can't get good enough grip?

TIGER WOODS: No, you can't. It does hit the greens, there's no doubt about that.

CRAIG SMITH: Would you fly through your birdies and bogeys so we could put it down?

TIGER WOODS: I started off on 10 today. Birdied 10. I got up-and-down from the right bunker. I bogeyed 13. 3-putted there. I birdied 15 from 15 feet, two-putted. I guess I bogeyed 3. That's the one with the camera guy. And then I birdied 4 and birdied 7.

Q. 4, what did you hit in, was that a 5-iron?

TIGER WOODS: A 4-iron.

Q. What did you do at 7?

TIGER WOODS: I made about an 18-footer there.

Q. What did you hit there?

TIGER WOODS: A sand wedge.

Q. Tiger, since you don't care about being a medalist, did you alter the strategy going in the second day to maybe play more conservatively, just try to hit it in the middle of the green?

TIGER WOODS: That's the whole idea of qualifying, you play very conservative. This is no time to take gambles, unless you have to. Say tomorrow if I might hit a driver off 18, if I have to make birdie or eagle or something like that. That's the only time you would alter a game plan in a qualifier, such as this. If this was an qualifying that only had 4 spots it would be a different story.

Q. Tiger, is it at all disconcerting to have the crowd come down the fairway like that right behind you?

TIGER WOODS: That's fine. No problems.

Q. Going to work on anything this afternoon?

TIGER WOODS: Just tighten up my swing a little bit, that's all.

Q. Are you going to work with Butch?

TIGER WOODS: If I can find him.

CRAIG SMITH: You utilized that strategy a little bit last year, because you had a 67 or 68 followed by a 75.

TIGER WOODS: Right.

CRAIG SMITH: So it was just a cruise pace.

TIGER WOODS: I was cruising on the second round except for that six on No. 8. I was only one over par with two to go, then I went out-of-bounds.

End of FastScripts....

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