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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 2004

Kristopher Cox

SHINNECOCK HILLS, NEW YORK

KRISTOPHER COX: 6-iron, ran it up to the front edge of the green and made a nice two-putt. Next hole I bogeyed, hit it in the lip of a bunker, left and had to pitch out and made a nice bogey. Then I birdied 7, playing it for par the whole way, got one in there pin high and made a putt.

11th was the same thing, trying to get it below the hole with a 9-iron and made about a 15-footer.

16, I drove it in the rough and had it just lay up to about 120 and hit a pitching wedge in there about ten feet and made it.

Next hole caught a jumper out of the rough and had a nice up-and-down and gassed a little putt. That was pretty much it.

Q. What did you hit at 7?

KRISTOPHER COX: 6-iron. The putt was about 8 to 12 feet, somewhere in there.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: 7, I really felt like I stole two there for sure.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: It's amazing, truly. I've played many tours and I've played some on the Nationwide Tour, '99 and 2000, and never played on this big of a stage and it's exciting, thrilling.

Q. What's it like to see your name up there on the top of the leaderboard?

KRISTOPHER COX: It's very, very nice.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: I was so busy trying to get to the house that I really wasn't thinking about it, and it is Thursday, too. There's a lot of golf to be played. But it's always nice to see your name up there up top.

Q. You had a good round qualifying. Did that confidence carry over?

KRISTOPHER COX: It did. I had a good tournament in Memphis. I didn't putt it well but I struck it well, and I was able to keep it going for the qualifier. I had a really good second round and that gave me momentum into Westchester where I had a good tournament with the exception of Sunday, so I really kind of built some confidence the last three weeks to a month, and that seemed to really help today. I was really at ease on the golf course. If I missed a shot, there was no panic, just trying to do my best to make par because I knew if I stayed patient I'd start hitting some really good shots and hopefully finish the round off well.

Q. Is qualifying a pain in the neck, and does this sort of make it worthwhile?

KRISTOPHER COX: Well, definitely you feel like you earned it. This is a great venue, and playing a U.S. Open after going through a qualifier, you feel like you've earned it and it's fun. It's a major and it's definitely got a major feel to it. It's great. Is it a pain in the neck? Yeah.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: It changes your game plan quite a bit because where you've got some pins that are -- when they're accessible, you're able to hit one in the air and put the spin on it, whereas if you get the wind it can blow out here like Monday and Tuesday. You've even got to try to play to the safest spot even to an easy pin location that really allowed for a few grain lies with some irons that you wouldn't have otherwise.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: Yeah, a year ago this time I was playing the Gateway Tour in Scottsdale, Arizona. Actually I was probably watching the Open, hurrying to get done to watch the Open, that was kind of the day.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: I always hoped I could, but do you know? No, never. When you're playing professional golf, obviously you hope to be up there, but until you do it, you never really know. It gives me a lot of confidence to have a nice round out there today to where now I feel like, yeah, it's possible.

Q. You made a comment before about -- (inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: No, I don't think so. I never saw them setting this up. I could have made something up.

Q. The Gateway Tour, what else did you try, anything?

KRISTOPHER COX: I've been a pro since '97, and I've played in Canada and South America in '97 and '98, and then the Nationwide Tour in '99 and 2000, and then Hooters Tour, Gateway Tour, most of the mini tours in the United States after that I played at one point.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: It's not very glamorous. Your hotels are not that special, always sharing a room. Then again, it's a choice we make. We're playing golf for a living. I think that means something and that's very special. But it wasn't very glamorous. You're an a tight budget. The courses you play sometimes aren't always the best. Like I said, it's a choice we make and hopefully you try to get to your goal.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: We don't have enough time (laughter). I missed first stage qualifying school in 2002, and I kind of got a really, really rotten break and made a couple doubles coming in and really kind of gassed it. That was a pretty crummy feeling, and then to be here, it validates what I've done for a living for the last six, seven years, so I'm excited to be here.

Q. You think of Tom Lehman in particular who played every Mini Tour you can play and took a shower in the rain because he didn't have any money. Is there somebody that you looked at when things got tough and you were on the Tight Lies Tour?

KRISTOPHER COX: Not so much someone I've looked at, but just trying to keep in mind at 30 years old in this sport is not that old. The average age on the Tour is more towards 35 I would think, between 35 and 40, just to guess. Knowing that if I could hang in there long enough and keep working on it that it was possible. Tom is a great story, too. I guess he's played the Mini-Tours as well, and he's won a major and he's had an incredible career after that.

Q. (Inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: No, it's just really great. Just being at such an old club and such a traditional place. The Opens I remember in '86 and '95, I remember watching those vividly, and no, I can't pick a better place to have a nice day.

Q. Any particular way of going at No. 7?

KRISTOPHER COX: I like to probably work the ball left to right into No. 7 because the green is so dramatically right to left and if you're going to have a chance of stopping that ball anywhere near the middle of the green it's going to have to be with a fade for me. That's pretty much it.

Then what the wind is doing will dictate what club I'll hit.

Q. Are the greens -- is everything still as rock hard as it was yesterday afternoon? A couple said it was like working on -- (inaudible).

KRISTOPHER COX: The greens are still very, very firm. This no wind has allowed us to get the ball up in the air and allowed us to have a chance to stop it somewhere where you're looking. When you're having to keep it down and the wind starts playing havoc with it, then they seem doubly firm.

End of FastScripts.

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