U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 11, 1996

Tiger Woods

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it is my fifth Major - never thought of it that way.

TIGER WOODS: Only thing I can say, there is a big difference between this year's Open versus last year's. I remember last year. I had to take three finals on, what was that, I think Thursday; pack up everything on a Friday; leave for the Open like Saturday and then try and somehow play. And during that week, I never got any sleep. While I was taking my finals, I stayed up for 46 hours in a row. Slept for three hours and stayed up for another 20, so I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that week. Somehow had to try and get ready for the Open and I never could.

TIGER WOODS: The rough is long. It is not short out there. I guess from only playing it one time, it is a golf course where if you drive the ball in the fairway, you are going to be rewarded.

TIGER WOODS: I think it is going to be a lot of fun. I know John. I just saw him on the putting green again and he is excited to play. I am sure Corey is just going to go out there and grind away just like he always does. I think we are going to have a lot of fun out there.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, he may hit it shorter, but he might beat us all.

TIGER WOODS: How far have I come? My quality -- how far has it progressed since last year's Open?

TIGER WOODS: A lot, I think. My scoring average was better this year in college than it was. I have won nine times this year out of 13 events. I have really improved. I shot some low numbers. I shot 61 this year in competition. I never could do that last year because my game wasn't there. My swings just didn't allow it. Didn't lend itself to that. And I have definitely improved my putting, so, you know, with all those things combined, I have definitely matured as a player and I think I've matured as a person because of college and that has definitely helped.

TIGER WOODS: I only took two classes this year, this quarter, rather, because what I did in the fall and in the winter quarter, I lowered up in units. I took 17/16, so I was three ahead. Then I could take 12 this quarter and be right on schedule. And I took an accounting class and then an African Lit class.

TIGER WOODS: I am playing very well. That day was just kind of a weird day, in general. I woke up and felt kind of weird and went to the range and didn't have it. I couldn't find a swing that could work. I hit the ball both ways. I could have hit left or right. I didn't know which one was coming. It is not a good feeling out there on the golf course, but it showed. I think that round was very important, for one thing, is that it showed myself that I could reach deep down inside myself and somehow pull it out, which I did coming down at the end and I am pretty proud of myself for doing that.

TIGER WOODS: Definitely. I felt a lot more at ease at this year's Masters. It is my second time around. This year's Open -- it is my second U.S. Open. I feel more relaxed. I know what to expect from the play of the golf course; how it is going to be playing and also from myself, how I have to react and how I am going to react when the gun blows.

TIGER WOODS: I have learned a lot from these guys. They have talked to me a lot. And I know Greg has shared a lot with me, so has Arnold as well as Jack. Also all the other players I have had lunch with and they have definitely shared some things - little tidbits of knowledge, you could say. It has been very helpful.

TIGER WOODS: I wouldn't say nervous energy. I would have to say more like -- more on a player/player basis versus seeing someone for the first time that you have looked up to and grew up watching. Now I have been out here, played against them, played with them. Now it is more of just like a player-to-player relationship.

TIGER WOODS: Okay, I played with Daly for the first time when I was thirteen years old in the Big Eye at Texarkana, Arkansas. That was my first nationwide tournament that year and the third round Tour players would come in and get to play with the players on, I guess it was a Monday or something like that. And I got to play with him and he hit it just as long then as he does now. Let us see. I also played with John at the Honda Classic in the, I think the Wednesday Pro Am, so that was, ooh, about three years ago. That was the year of the storm of the century that hit the Honda that year. Let us see. What else have I played? I played with him at a practice round at Bayhill with Fuzzy and Jesper Parnevik. I guess this year I am playing practice rounds with Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and I think, Woody Austin. And tomorrow I am playing with Davis and Jack. That is it.

TIGER WOODS: Put it this way, if I didn't feel that I could win, I wouldn't come to a tournament. It is that simple. I don't go to a tournament to play for second or finish top 10 or make the cut or anything like that. I go to win. I give it my all to try and win. There is no point even going to a tournament if you don't try and win. That is the way I have always been -- that is the way my father has always taught me and that is something I believe in. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could.

TIGER WOODS: No, I got my own game plan and he has got his. Out here, I am not going to hit a whole lot of drivers, basically because the fairway narrows the further you hit it. Kind of a disadvantage to hit it a long ways, in a sense, unless you can blow it over the bunkers, but you got to carry it on the average probably about 280 to do that out here. That is kind of tough to do, time in and time out. So basically my game plan is just try and keep the ball in play, whatever it is - if I have to hit 5-iron off the tee I will. As long as I am playing from the fairway, it is a big advantage because this rough is so high, players can't get to the green from the rough. Last year at Shinnecock, it was different. Missed the fairway you could actually hit to the green.

TIGER WOODS: There is enormous difference. One, you know, because of John's long swing, it lends itself to a higher launch angle which means he is going to carry the ball a lot further than I do. He can carry it past me on the fly at any given time with his driver. But on a firm fairway, I hit a lower ball flight and I could turn over a little bit. If my ball hits hot, it will roll; it all depends on the conditions. Like here, he will probably outdrive me all day. It is because it is soft. At Augusta it is a different story because it is so far and so hard, it is like hitting on this table here, these fairways, so I am able to -- I was able to run it past him.

TIGER WOODS: I just learned -- I do that all the time, just try and understand how these greens break and there is actually a little bit of grain I didn't know about out here, you know, no one has ever mentioned. I picked that up yesterday. I looked at some of the pin locations - where I thought they could put them. Typical USGA pins, you know, they will be very difficult, but I am sure they will be pretty fair. That is about it. That is about all I learned.

TIGER WOODS: These are, by far, a lot easier than The Masters, yes because they are so soft. I am sure if they had them typical U.S. Open extremely firm and very fast, these things could be very dangerous, but at Augusta, it is like lying on this table right here. Everything repels here, this week. Yesterday I had a tough time keeping the ball on the green. I was spinning the ball off the green. You don't hear that very often at a U.S. Open.

TIGER WOODS: It is extremely hard. One is that most amateurs, if they do qualify are usually younger, such as Trip, Trip Kuehne and myself. I think of the other one who is from the University of Auburn. So we are all younger players, we are less experienceed than these guys and it is not our job either.