U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 21, 2002

Jerry Courville

CRAIG SMITH: Okay. Jerry Courville. Okay. Gosh, let's start with the history facts. You have been in match play nine consecutive years.

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: That's correct.

Q. You're more than that. Respond to that. I mean how does that make you feel?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: It makes me feel good because every year you come here, the players are just so good. And you just got to play well and I've been lucky. I've played well in the qualifying. Part of the reason is because of where I grew up. I got to play the Winged Foot and Quaker Ridge and those. And I get to realize, par's a good score and you don't panic as much if you get a couple over. You just play on your game and I think that's helped me a lot in the qualifiers.

CRAIG SMITH: Where are you with your game in terms of the span that you've been playing?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: It's getting there. It's -- I don't think anyone's ever really happy with their game. Every one always thinks they can do something a little bit better. But it's better than where it was a month and a half ago.

CRAIG SMITH: And at age 43, I think you're already protecting the over 40 set here and the 32 people that will be left.

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Yup. I don't know. Someone told me I was the only 40 year old left going into today, so.

CRAIG SMITH: Questions?

Q. You've got some perspective given the nine consecutive years in terms of seeing how some of these competitors have evolved. In your mind how have these young guys evolved? Are they just hitting it a lot longer than they were before?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: There's just more of them. Years ago, I never would have thought 143 would take, you had to shoot 143 on these golf courses to get in. So I think the quality is just so much better than what it used to be. And when you got players that can play from everywhere now. Of course, they hit it farther, the equipment is a little bit different.

Q. Knowing that with the young players, how much pressure do you put on yourself to stay up with them?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: I don't put my pressure on myself. The way I look at it, if I lose, I go home. I go to work the next day. I'm just trying to play my own game out there and let's see what happens.

Q. How big is that experience factor just on 18 there where you get up-and-down from where you did. Do you feel pretty calm in that situation?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Yeah, I feel calm. I mean you're in a situation where, for me I looked at it and I said, "Hey, I just have to get it up-and-down. I'm just going to try and hit the best shot I can hit." If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, that's golf. I don't put my pressure on myself. I kind of thought he was going to get it up-and-down from where he was. But no matter what, I was still trying to get it up-and-down.

CRAIG SMITH: Did you play pretty well today or did you kind of get away with one?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: I played spotty. He birdied the first two holes right out of the box and I got it to where I was up a little bit and then hit it over 13 or 14. I hit over 14 to a bad spot there. And he birdied 15 and then I don't know who put that pin on 16, but --

(Laughter.) We both hit it in the back of the green and both left it short and he made his and I missed mine. At 17, I hit a good shot there and actually on 18 I didn't my ball being in the first cut was worse than his being in the rough because I had a heavy rough where I had to hit through it. His ball was actually sitting up in the heavier rough. I played somewhere 1 over or something. Which for an old man isn't bad out there.

Q. You had some good putts out there. I saw your putt on nine.

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Normally I don't make too many putts either. So it was nice to see a few go in.

CRAIG SMITH: Your back stiffen up on you?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Sixth hole. I hit my second shot and on my down swing I felt something and it just got real stiff out there and it was hard to swing at it.

Q. Do you have problems with that every now and then or what?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Actually I used to have a lower back problem and I went to a physical therapist all winter and got that taken care of. And now this is more in the upper to middle part of the back which I haven't had that problem before.

Q. How much of a concern --

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Old age.

Q. How much of a concern is that going into two rounds tomorrow?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: Hopefully two rounds tomorrow you mean. Well, I'm not worrying about it now. I'm going to go ice it down tonight and take some Aleve or something and hopefully it will be -- actually I'm going to go try and hit some balls and see if I can just loosen it somehow over there.

Q. All those tournaments you play in over the course of a year, how geared up do you get for this to come here?

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: This is the Major tournament. I think anyone that's a good player, this is, their goal is to get here and do well in this tournament.

CRAIG SMITH: Okay? All right. Thanks.

JERRY COURVILLE JR.: No problem.

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