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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 18, 2005

Olin Browne

PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA

RAND JERRIS: Maybe you could just start us off with some general comments on the playing conditions out there this afternoon, how they compared to the first two rounds.

OLIN BROWNE: I thought that I had experienced Pinehurst in the first couple rounds but I discovered that I hadn't yet. The wind was up a little bit early in the day, hit a couple shots that just caught the edge of the rough and just struggled initially, especially with a shot that I hit at No. 3 that ended up in a bunker, and it was just one of those things that I just went "wow," and that got me very, very focused in a very short time.

But I thought the course played great. Good shots were rewarded and poor shots were rejected, which I think is the intent of the design and the setup, and I just thought it was brutally difficult in places, but if you just hung in there and managed yourself, you could end up okay.

Retief had a nice day today and I just kind of drafted along.

RAND JERRIS: Would you for the record walk us through the birdies and bogeys on your card.

OLIN BROWNE: Bogeyed No. 2, got a little too cute with an iron shot into the green. I was hitting 6 iron and it just kind of moved off the green and hit kind of I would say an average chip to about eight feet and did not make a very good stroke, so it was an easy bogey early.

And then 3, I hit it in the bunker, just looked like it was going to end up two or three feet from the pin and a gust of wind came up and drove my ball down into the bunker. I hit a pretty good shot and what I thought was a terrific putt that just skirted the edge of the cup and didn't go in.

Then I made an ocean liner on 6, about 40, 45 feet, just dropped in the lip.

Made a bogey on 9, hit one of my best iron shots of the day, got a little wind in my face and it kind of dropped and it carried the ball a yard or two yards past where I needed to, and I just caught the slope and drove it down, and I was just happy to make 4 and not make a mess of that hole.

Then I hit a wedge on 10. Things were blowing the wrong direction at that time.

Made a really nice save on 11, made about a 12 footer for par on 11.

12, I don't remember. It's all a jumble at this point.

I birdied 15 and 17 coming in, which really made a difference to me and kind of saved the day a little bit.

Q. Tomorrow is it going to be a case of Retief is going to have to back up or do you think someone can catch him?

OLIN BROWNE: Well, I would say he'd probably have to back up a little bit. Not much but a little.

Q. What's more intimidating, Pinehurst or Retief with a lead like this on a course like this?

OLIN BROWNE: I don't think it matters who has the lead because if you're worried about somebody else, you're going to go down the drain in a heartbeat. The golf course is all you want. It's probably like facing Mike Tyson when he was 20 years old.

Q. Did you change your swing? Did you do anything different to try and get some momentum back after kind of a rough start?

OLIN BROWNE: Yeah, I was fighting my swing out there for the first 10 or 11 holes, and I just have to keep reiterating the things that Jim Hardy tells me and find something that will get me to the next shot. So yes, I didn't change it per se, but just tried to remember the things that have an application that I'm trying to do and trying to execute. The name of the game is execution. There's no style points out here, you just have to find a way to get it done.

Q. You had a front row seat to watch a guy who has won two of these things. What were your impressions?

OLIN BROWNE: His golf swing is so fluid and his rhythm is good, and he does everything so well as a matter of fact, he hit a couple of tee shots that were off line, and when he does I'm trying to look at his swing to try and figure out what went wrong because it doesn't look like he did anything bad. He's got to be he's got to be one of the most underrated players of all time. He can play.

Q. Are you still managing to enjoy yourself this week?

OLIN BROWNE: I am. It may not look like it because you have to really you really have to work every single shot out there, and I asked Jason Gore when he first qualified for the Open, and he said practice your driving, and practice your six and eight footers for par, and that's about as true a truism as you'll find.

Q. Sports fans, golf fans sit down and watch this thing on TV, are they going to be pulling for Goosen or are they going to be pulling for you or Jason Gore?

OLIN BROWNE: Well, I think there's a lot of respect for Retief. Everybody loves a winner. I heard people hollering Jason all day long. He was in the group in front of us and people were hollering for me, too. I guess it depends on how many people you know (laughter). I think there will be a lot of people pulling for a lot of people, but I think it's a great championship.

Q. You used a great description of your drafting behind Retief. Is there anything to that when you're playing with somebody playing that well at this level, and at what point tomorrow do you have to sling shot around him?

OLIN BROWNE: You know, my style of play is get it in the fairway, get it on the green, make a few putts, get to the next hole. You wouldn't make that assumption if you watched me the last couple of days. My job tomorrow is to get the ball in the fairway and get the ball on the green and give myself some opportunities. The fact that I made three or four birdies today or whatever it was is a miracle because I probably only hit eight greens.

I'm not worried about Retief. Retief is worried about Retief and I'm worried about me and Jason is worried about Jason, and if anybody is worried about anybody else, this whole thing is going to crash on his head. I've just got to go out and play as well as I can tomorrow, whether I play like I did Thursday, which I would really love to do, or basically blow up. I'll show up tomorrow and stick my tee in the ground on 1 and we'll go from there.

Q. You sort of marveled at Retief's swing, how rhythmic it was, and his demeanor, how that been the reason he's won two of these things. Can you sort of speak to his demeanor and how calm he stayed today and does perpetually?

OLIN BROWNE: Well, I think all great players have confidence in what they're able to do and their abilities, and when Tiger first came out on Tour, he lost the playoff in a tournament. I don't think there's anybody that really wants to go up against him in a playoff, you know what I mean? The great ones learn how to play to their strengths and they learn how to compete and they learn how to win tournaments and they learn how to be comfortable in an uncomfortable environment, which is what a tournament like this is. That's apparent when you play with guys like that.

RAND JERRIS: Congratulations on your fine play this week, and we wish you lots of luck tomorrow.

OLIN BROWNE: Thanks, everybody.

End of FastScripts.

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