U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 31, 2005

Greg Norman

Q. Talk about the week, Greg. Four good rounds.

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, good performances. I've really got no complaints about the way I played, just extremely frustrating with the putter and I'm sure there's a lot of other players saying the same thing except the guy who's going to win the golf tournament.

The greens were extremely inconsistent speed wise. I had trouble with them. Uphill putts were extremely slow and downhill putts were extremely fast.

Q. You had to feel when you got to 9 under that you were right there.

GREG NORMAN: I figured 9 or 10 under would probably win the golf tournament. You know a certain number is the number to go for, and I just couldn't get the job done the last five or six holes.

Q. When you don't play very often, is the putting the thing that you need to work on the most?

GREG NORMAN: No, the putting should be back now. I think it was the sheer fact that the greens were inconsistent in speed. I bet if you asked a lot of other guys out here they'd say exactly the same thing. I can't use that anymore as an excuse. I didn't putt poorly, I just didn't putt well. It's there and my stroke was there, and when you see them going in you get a little bit more confidence.

Q. Are you satisfied, disappointed? Where would you be?

GREG NORMAN: Whenever you don't win and you feel that you played well enough to win, you feel disappointed, no question about it. You'd just like to be still out there having a chance either in a playoff or not. But hey, the tournament is over and done with and I enjoyed my week and I'll move onto the next week.

Q. Not playing out here and a lot of people watching this Tour think that this Tour thinks that the guys aren't that good, they're over 50. What do you think of this Tour now that you've had a couple of weeks out here?

GREG NORMAN: Well, I've always been consistent in saying what I've said. The players have competed on the level the last 25 or 30 years are always going to be the players that compete at a high level. These guys practice hard, they work on their game, they still hit the ball extremely well. This golf course was no piece of cake golf course by any means and look at the scores the guys are shooting, 10 under, 9 under, 8 under. That's a testament to the longevity and the playability of these guys, tremendous players. To me it's competitive, and these are the major championships, too.

I can't make any comments on the regular three round tournaments. I would imagine they're going to be totally different. I haven't experienced them, so I can't make a comment.

Q. Do you think this course changed dramatically from the first day to today?

GREG NORMAN: Absolutely. It changed from yesterday to today, as well, so it was just one of those things that there were some questionable pin positions out there, putting them on the side of slopes considering you couldn't get at them, so we know that. That's the way the USGA sets their golf tournaments up and they try and make it tough to score.

Q. Does it seem odd to you that you're a senior?

GREG NORMAN: No, I feel like I'm still young enough to compete with the young guys, which is a good mindset to have really. I still feel like I hit the ball far enough to get it out there. I played some really nice drives today and just hit them through the fairway, which is a good sign saying that I'm hitting it too far.

To say that I'm old and I'm a senior golfer, no, I don't want to say that.

Q. How often might you play out here?

GREG NORMAN: Out here on the Senior Tour or regular Tour? Only the majors.

Q. Do you feel like this has been a good chance for you to get ready to go out I think you're playing International and then PGA the week after?

GREG NORMAN: International and PGA. Good warmup because the rough will be the same at the International. The rough will be a bit denser at the PGA. Same thickness wise, same depth wise, probably four or five inches. Baltusrol will be rolling 300 or 400 yards longer. I'm not worried about the distance, the length, just I'm glad I've got all the rounds under par under my belt.

Q. Did you hold up physically? Do you feel fine as far as the back and everything else?

GREG NORMAN: I do feel fine. There's a little tightness in the morning, but once I get up in the morning and stretch it's okay. I didn't have any problems on the golf course.

Q. How long has it been since you were able to play two or three weeks and feel this good?

GREG NORMAN: Probably have to go back to the mid '90s, '95, something like that. I'm going to five weeks in a row. I don't think I've played that in my entire career. It's been a long time since I played probably 25, 30 years, to tell you the truth. From my perspective, you know, it's a green light for me because of the surgery.

Q. Was 14 a crucial hole for you and was it also a pretty good example of what you're talking about in terms of putting?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, 14 was one of those real questionable pin positions. It was right at the bottom of a downslope, and if you knew where the pin was and the severity of the speed of the greens you would have left it short of the green all day long. It just was one of those putts that I don't care how soft you hit it, I'd probably hit it four feet by if I'm going to try and make the putt anyway. It's just too bad.

Q. How far was that birdie putt?

GREG NORMAN: Probably about 14 feet and I had about a 10 footer for my par. That tells you how fast the green was.

Thanks, guys.

End of FastScripts.