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U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 7, 2006

Mark James

HUTCHINSON, KANSAS

Q. Well, just kind of give us an idea how today went.

MARK JAMES: It was solid again. I played well. I hit my irons very well today. Pretty much exactly where I was aiming the whole day, which is unusual.

Didn't hole much. Started with a 3 putt. But overall it was I was pleased.

Q. You were tied for the lead until the last hole?

MARK JAMES: I didn't do anything wrong there, it was just a 4 iron that went miles and then a good wedge which should have came up short but screwed off. It's easily done. You're going to get some bad luck around here, that's for sure. But overall it was a good round.

Q. How much different were the conditions today?

MARK JAMES: It was windier. From about the 10th onwards. Definitely more than yesterday. The front nine was the speed of the greens got me at the start. The greens seemed a lot quicker because I played late yesterday and early today. So it took me a few holes to adapt. But the front nine was easy enough. The back nine, very windy.

Q. More firmness on the golf course overall?

MARK JAMES: Maybe a little, but not maybe more later in the afternoon, I guess.

Q. Talk about that chip at 18.

MARK JAMES: For how long? I just the semi rough here is really awkward to play second shots and chips out of. You're not sure whether the ball is going to come out soft or shoot with spin or what.

And that sort of shot a little low and it had spin and it was really tough stuff to play out of. But it's one of those things.

Q. You can't win the championship your first few days, but you certainly could lose it. Are you happy? Pleased with your standing right now?

MARK JAMES: Yeah. I have had a not been doing great the last few tournaments. So, yeah, just the fact that I feel the ball's going roughly where I want it to. And I've hit a lot of good iron shots and I've hit some pretty good putts that haven't gone in. So overall my game feels a lot better. Regardless of where I am, I'm a lot more happy with my game.

Q. What was not going well in those earlier tournaments this year?

MARK JAMES: Well, I was all right at the start of the year and then, as I said yesterday, I got a couple of injuries that I sort of sat out six weeks.

Then I lost my putting and then sort of a tournament got washed out where I was starting to swing well and suddenly you're in a bit of a slump. It's weird. But it's just one of those things.

Q. How does this course compare to courses over in Europe? Is this course similar to ones in Britain?

MARK JAMES: Yeah, it's more in a way it's quite duney. Yeah, it's called Prairie Dunes and for once that's not a misnomer. Yeah, there's definitely some dunes out there. So, yeah, there's a similarity in that respect. Similarity ends when you have six inches of rough just off the fairways.

But as I said yesterday, you got a course that's 6, 6, and you got to make it tough for us. You have to grow a lot of rough. Or make the greens bone. And that would be absolutely crazy around here. So I guess that's probably the if you're going to come here, that's the way to set it up.

Q. Do you feel more pressure when you're in the fairway to try to make a birdie because you don't have the opportunities when you're not?

MARK JAMES: Not really, no. I am not even really trying to make birdies. Just trying to get to know the green somewhere. The greens are small targets and I was just trying to get on as many greens as I could. Even if you hit a good shot, like I did at the last, it's just half a club short and it just screws off and it's easy to drop a shot. So just trying to hit the greens and roll the putts.

The greens are difficult. The grain splits on every mound. So if you are putting over a mound you're going to have a split of grain which we get quite a lot in Europe. It's quite uncommon over here. The way it gross here. But, yeah, it's tough. So I just try to make pars.

Q. How long was your last putt?

MARK JAMES: Oh I suppose about 8 feet.

Q. Much break to it?

MARK JAMES: More than I had envisioned.

Q. What were the injuries that were bothering you?

MARK JAMES: I pinched the surround of a disk, at the Legends and I couldn't I was struggling to swing for a couple of days. And then I hurt my hand in Birmingham hitting out of a water hazard, hitting a rock. And then I hurt my back in Des Moines, I pulled a muscle and damaged some nerves. The back is still numb. The skin around the left side there. It is okay now at least. So, yeah, I mean it has sort of been up and down there. And I lost my putting, so it's just sort of been unsettling. But I feel settled this week.

End of FastScripts.

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