BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES

March 17, 2002

Michael Campbell

JOHN BUSH: Michael, we appreciate you stopping by the interview room.

Tough going there down the stretch, but then you came back with that birdie on 18. Could you give us your general thoughts on the entire round, how it played out today.

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: Well, I saw Tiger making a few bogeys there for the first probably six holes or so. So that brought another five or six guys into play. I was like two shots behind, but I could not quite get enough birdies rolling to ever threaten Tiger. I think Phil did at one stage, but no one really put any pressure on Tiger at all. He just cruised along and won by, I think, four shots or so.

My thought today was to go out and have fun and just try and win the tournament, and I knew I had a good chance; I was playing well. But once again, you know, he just topped it off once again to win three times in a row.

So it's nice for me to come here and it's my best finish I think on the U.S. tour, which is a huge accomplishment by me. It's a huge thing for me to break down those barriers, because I had this thing about playing on the U.S. tour for some reason. Finally, with a good finish this week, it's given me a little confidence boost for my next few weeks.

JOHN BUSH: Can I get you to take us through your round real quick with your bogeys and birdies?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: The first hole I hit 8-iron just short of the green.

Fourth hole, I hit a driver, 6-iron to just off the green and chipped on, two feet away from birdie.

Third hole, 3-wood, 9-iron to about ten feet and holed the putt.

Fourth hole, driver 6-iron.

Sixth hole, I hit 5-wood into the water. I just caught it slightly fat, went in the water. Got up-and-down for 6.

Driver, 9-iron about ten feet away to hole the putt, on 10.

12, driver, 3-wood to just past the pin, chipped and putt.

Then 5-iron to the bunker, blasted my first bunker shot through the green. Chipped on to about four feet away and missed putt.

The last hole was kind of nice, and chipped it from back of the green.

Q. Bobby Jones said that he knew for two years to play one shot at a time, but it took him two years to actually play one shot at a time. Now, you say, you're obviously one of the best players in the world, I think, but you said when you come to the U.S. soil, there's something that you have about the U.S. soil. Is it that you can't play that one shot at a time? What is it about the U.S. tour?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I have no idea. (Laughs) I have no idea. I played great in Europe and parts of Asia and down in Australia and New Zealand and Japan and all over the place, apart from here. My best result here before this week was tied for seventh at Honda Classic in '96. Before then, it was 12th or 13th at U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

I don't know what it is, I just get over here, I'm in awe of all of the players over here. Don't know why, because I play against these guys most of the time in majors and around the world. For some reason, I tense up.

But this week is a huge help to my confidence, for the rest of my career, and also the next four weeks. I'm playing next week, TPC, then Houston, taking a week off and then playing Augusta. So the whole preparation for the next four weeks is going according to plan so far.

Q. Is it your intention to get a PGA TOUR card?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I don't know yet. I just finished half an hour ago, so I haven't even thought about it, to be honest. I really enjoy both tours. I enjoy the European Tour and the U.S. tour. I enjoyed the culture, all of the different type of things in Europe.

And obviously the place to be is to be here and play golf. The money is a lot better, and the guys that I play against every week is stronger, slightly stronger.

There's pros and cons on both tours. Right now I'm very comfortable playing both. Like Ernie Els, I like playing down under in New Zealand and Europe and Asia, as well. I might just go on and play like 10 events or 12 events and play my 15 over in Europe. He's done great, what he's done the last five years playing both tours. So I don't see why I can't do the same.

Q. Could you talk about the difficulty of the last three holes, 16, 17 and 18?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: Geez, where do you start? Basically you can't fly at the pins. Simple as that. You've got to hit it to 20 feet away, 30 feet away and hope to get a nice, decent putt down there.

For example, the 16th hole, the pin was left and you've got to fly like a 3-iron or 4-iron for your second shot right of the pin; and kicked on to the back of the green and made par from there.

17 was just impossible to get it close there. Impossible. So you've got to aim 50 feet left.

And 18, once again, it's a tough finishing hole. Lot of wind gusts -- one thing I've noticed the last four days, the wind gusts. I changed so many times, 7-iron, to 6-iron, back to 7-iron, because the wind is switching all the time and it is just changing degrees. It makes the hole, the actual shot at hand, a different shot completely.

Q. Even though you didn't win this week, where do you put these four days in regards to the golf you've played over the last five or six years?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: It's right up there, I think. I hit a stage in the year 2000, start of the year I won like four tournaments. That was pretty good there. But this week was a huge confidence booster for me. Coming in second with the field , basically playing a major apart from some of the European top players, all of the top players are here, the Top-20 in the world are here, apart from a few. But, yeah, it's right up there with winning some of my tournaments in Australia, and also Europe.

Q. You've had an opportunity to play Augusta before, maybe not the newest version. This week, this course, how similar was it in regards to that, do you think?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I have I very, very similar. I think the greens are very similar to Augusta, so I think this is a great preparation for Augusta. I think Augusta, the greens will slope more, faster, but hardness is very, very similar. So it's going to be good fun, I think. The lengthening of the holes I'm looking forward to seeing that, not. (Laughs).

But I'm looking forward to the next four weeks in America and just have some fun.

JOHN BUSH: Michael, congratulations on a great tournament, and good luck next week at PLAYERS.

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