U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2005

Tim Clark

Q. After that first round, you pretty much igured this place out a little bit?

TIM CLARK: Yeah, it's really pretty much a first round struggling to find my swing a little bit. And coming back on Thursday, I started to hit the ball a lot better. And I really felt like I could still have a chance in the tournament. And the last three days I played 1 under par, which is really a good day. And obviously, everything was on, and I putted great all week.

Q. Your second top 5 in a major, you ought to feel pretty good the way it stands now.

TIM CLARK: Yeah, I really enjoy coming to the majors, it gets me up to play golf. And I like the setups. I like the tougher setups, where you've got to be accurate off the tee, and you've got to hit a lot of good shots. And like I say, the last few weeks my putting has been great, and that's really kept me in good rounds.

Q. You said you couldn't play the what if game, but if you take away that last hole on Thursday

TIM CLARK: Yeah, you know, and like I say, that's when I started to swing it good and hit a good shot, and that's the furthest the ball had gone all day for me. You can always do that, but I'm not that kind of guy. What happens, happens, and I'm just glad to have finished strong.

Q. Is 2005 the professional version of what 1997 was when you were an amateur, when you won a couple of prestigious events?

TIM CLARK: Not yet. I think when I start to win out here, I can say, obviously, I had some great moments in '97 winning several tournaments as an amateur. I felt my game has progressed a lot since then. I think once I play on Tour I might be over the hurdle.

Q. Do you feel the win is closer and closer, like it was in January?

TIM CLARK: Yeah, extremely close. It's just all about confidence, really, and how you feel about your game. And I had that early on in the year. And I've been able to make cuts the rest of the year, just hadn't had any top finishes, and maybe right now this is what I need to get me going for the rest of the year.

Q. Can you pinpoint anything that made you lose confidence?

TIM CLARK: No, not really. It's one of those things with golf. Things start to go bad, and you think everything is going to go bad. These last few weeks last week was probably big for me to not play very well, but to hang in there and sort of have I think I finished 11th or something, or 13th, having not played very well. And I always feel that when I come to a big tournament and come under the gun, my swing finds itself.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: I 3 putted 15 and really obviously, I was trying to 2 putt that. And one of those putts that just caught the flag and stayed in. A great moment.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: It must have been 50 feet, at least, yeah.

Q. People were wondering how this course would play today, because of last year and because of '99. How did you find it?

TIM CLARK: Great. It played like the rest of the week, process /PWHREU [progressively] a little drier and firmer greens and a little quicker, but that's what we expected. But it was still very much fair.

I think the course all week played great. And the winning total is going to be right where we thought it would be, and no one can leave this week saying it was unfair or complaining about the setup.

Q. 9 birdies in the last two days on this course is pretty amazing, but it's offset with the 9 bogeys. That's not typical of your game to be back and forth like that.

TIM CLARK: I didn't even know that. This course you're going to make bogeys. It's certainly tough to make pars out of the rough, and you have to make pars out of the fairway. If you miss a shot like I say, I made several bogeys playing safe on the green, leaving it on the green, and leaving myself tough 2 putts or 3 putting.

Q. After you made the 50 footer and you came back and hit it in the sand, were you trying to go for the pin?

TIM CLARK: Very much so. But the wind has been swirling all week, and we felt it was downwind there. I hit the club I thought I needed to get it close and ended up short.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: 15 is probably the smallest green to hit out to. And coming in with 5 iron, 4 iron, and it's really the most severe green, too. It starts there.

And 16, that's just a long, tough hole. It normally plays par 5 for the members.

17 is not too bad. 17 is probably easiest of the 4. And 18, again, you have to hit a great tee shot.

Q. Not too many people have three rounds par or better. Is that something you'll look back with pride on or is that something that us nerd sportswriters care about?

TIM CLARK: Probably. The only thing we see at the end of the week is the result. It's a great result for me. Obviously, it could have been better, but I certainly am pleased with the result.

Q. Are you going to take some time off?

TIM CLARK: I'm playing Westchester and a week off before I go overseas to the Scottish Open and the British Open.

Q. Did you look at the leaderboard?

TIM CLARK: I think I had a putt to go to 3 over for the tournament on 13, and when that missed, I knew it was going to be tough coming home. But I looked at the leaderboard all day. I'm just interested to see what was going on. It wasn't something that would affect my play.

Q. Were you surprised at Retief's score?

TIM CLARK: A little bit surprised, but I don't think he's out of it. Look how he finished yesterday.

Q. Would this be a venue that you think you would come back to?

TIM CLARK: I'm sure it will come back here.

Q. Would you like to come back?

TIM CLARK: Sure.

Q. Sergio shot 2 over today. He seems very, very content to be at even par the way this course is playing today. Do you feel the same way?

TIM CLARK: Oh, yeah, yeah. Obviously, I'm not disappointed, but I certainly had a chance to shoot a couple under, which would have been great. It would be nice to see red numbers. But it didn't happen, and I'll have to be pleased with even.

End of FastScripts.