U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2001

Stewart Cink

STEWART CINK: Well, I just like the way they set the golf courses up. It's really very well defined out in front of you on all the tee shots, you know exactly what you have to do, and you just have to find a way to hit the ball in the fairway. It's like your back is against the wall on every shot. I feel like I can rise to that occasion.

STEWART CINK: Well, I didn't think we were going to finish when we teed off and especially as slow as the play was. But we were lucky enough to get finished with 17 and trot on over to the 18th tee and tee it up. Davis Love's group was in front of us, they were out waiting in the fairway and they waved us on, and we hit into them. And then we waved the group behind us on and they hit into us. It's a little bit of a team effort sometimes.

STEWART CINK: Well, you know, we played fast when we were playing, but we did a lot of waiting. And Scott's a pretty fast player, and he and I really had to both slow down. We took a lot of time over our shots and anything we could do just to kind of keep from jamming up against the group in front of us. It was kind of tough to keep our rhythm. And I think maybe it started to affect some of the players out there.

STEWART CINK: I tried not to let it affect me. I was really just focused on just continuing what I was doing, playing to my targets and one shot at a time, and trying not to think about the light or the darkness. And when we got on 17 green, I knew we were going to make it.

STEWART CINK: I don't know really. I didn't really feel that good, once the air started to cool off and the moisture settled on the grass, I lost a little bit of my feel. Hopefully, tomorrow afternoon when I come out it will be hotter and drier, and I'll be able to do better.

STEWART CINK: Yes, I do like my chances. I like the way I'm playing now, and I'd like to win this tournament above all others. I'll be giving it my 110 percent effort