BOOZ ALLEN CLASSIC

June 23, 2006

Jeff Gove

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in. Again, another a 68 today. Three shots of the lead, no bogeys. Looking forward to going into the weekend?

JEFF GOVE: Yeah. Playing pretty solid. Missed a few shots that I didn't miss yesterday, but I was able to get it up and down for par. Had some short birdie putts that I didn't make where I made them yesterday. But I still made good strokes and felt good about them.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. After what has transpired with you recently, how do you explain how you're playing this week?

JEFF GOVE: Pardon?

Q. You struggled lately.

JEFF GOVE: Yes.

Q. Is it something that you've been working on that suddenly it's clicking, or

JEFF GOVE: It's a combination. I've been working on stuff, you know, for a while. And as I said yesterday, I wasn't playing that poorly, but I had missed some cups in a row. Couple times on the 18th fairway where I knew I needed to make a par and I didn't.

But got some work on my putting last week. Did some swing stuff and went out this week and felt good on this grass. Yesterday I was able to put the ball in the right place and make a bunch of birdies.

And then today, I played fairly solid again. Missed a couple shots, but was able to get it up and down from where I was.

Q. I wonder did you talk to Adam Oates last night or have you talked to him since

JEFF GOVE: No, I haven't talked to him. I sent him a text message and just said, keep a look out in case somebody calls much. He's doing his own thing and I'm doing mine, but I'm sure he's watching.

Q. What do you do on a Friday morning to avoid looking at the board and seeing a guy at the 14 under par already and being demoralized. Did you notice that today? And how did you not think about that?

JEFF GOVE: Well, I played my par nine, which is the back nine, and I only fell one under. I was like okay, I'm playing a little harder today, and then when I made the turn I was like, Okay, I better get going.

But obviously Jose played great and his putter's hot and he's hitting good shots. But I was trying keep my momentum and trying to avoid bogeys, but also give myself a birdie putt.

But, you know, I played long enough and there is a lot of days where you play late on Thursday and you show up to the course and somebody's already nine under and you think, Oh, man.

But I'm just working on what I'm doing. I've got four tournaments in a row here, and it's a long year. Just another day. It's kind of cliche, but it's another day of a long year, and today I played pretty well. I was the score could have been better, but overall I was happy with everything I did.

Q. You mentioned Jose's putter being hot (Inaudible.)

JEFF GOVE: The course is playing really well. The greens are putting beautifully. Yesterday they got firm a bit, but the rains softened them up again. They're rolling great.

Today it played a bit longer than yesterday because you weren't getting the roll in the fairways, too.

But any time you're within, you know, four, five, six strokes with two rounds to go you're in pretty good shape. So if I can get a hot putter or continue to hit the ball well you know, if Jose continues that way hard it'll be pretty hard to catch him. But in golf it's pretty hard to do that four days in a row.

Q. How big was winning the Nationwide tour last year in terms of sustaining your career, you know, keeping your interest level going, your motivation?

JEFF GOVE: That was that couldn't have come at a better time. I had had some good finishes earlier in the year and had given a couple away and had kind of fallen out of that Top 20.

So, you know, that win played really well all week, and that kind of locked up my card. I fell at the end of year a few spots more than a I wanted to. You know, I finished 20th where I was 12th. But that was a big confidence boost. Winning at any time is great, and when you haven't done it in a while you just don't know when it's going to happen again.

But playing the Nationwide tour gives you a lot of confidence, and definitely the best players graduate onto this tour and I felt that I was one of the best players. So to get that win and know I was going to be in the Top 20 was a huge confidence boost.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JEFF GOVE: Definitely, yeah. I've won three times on the Nationwide and had a number of seconds and thirds. The Nationwide tour is not much different than the PGA tour when you get into the top level like that. Guys are playing spectacular golf. You know, there's a lot riding on the line. It's the same thing: It's either win or nothing. So, yeah, I can definitely build from those experiences.

Q. There's been a lot of first time winners in this tournament, guys like Rich Beem and Grant Waite. Is that something you take notice of in setting your schedule? Did you come here because of that is that any motivation to come here?

JEFF GOVE: No. When you're a new guy or you know, I'm back on the tour but I haven't been for a few years pretty much you play whenever you get a chance to. And luckily I had some good finishes early so I can set my schedule now, where I might play these next four and then maybe skip the Open just because of where it falls in the schedule.

But pretty much you're going to play as much as you can until you reach that magic number where you have enough points to have kind a card next year. But I played well here in 2000, and I was looking for forward to playing here. It was definitely on my schedule.

Q. You're from Seattle originally, right.

JEFF GOVE: Yes.

Q. Was Fred Couples sort of a boyhood hero?

JEFF GOVE: Absolutely, yes.

Q. Just tell us a little bit about how you got involved in golf? Was this your primary sport growing up?

JEFF GOVE: Actually, my family are all golfers. My dad's brother, Mike Gove, played the PGA tour from '80 to '86, I think. He was a Walker Cupper, four time all American everything.

Was he so was always my idol. And then the Northwest guys, Fred Couples, was definitely a guy I looked up to also. But growing up in Seattle I played soccer in the winter, basketball, golf in the summer, baseball when I was really young.

But I have some bad feet, so when I got to be about 15 golf was the only sport that I really could compete at, and that's what I always wanted to do.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JEFF GOVE: I was always pretty good. I was always pretty competitive from 8 years old until whenever. Golf was always what I wanted to do, but I enjoyed everything else.

Q. Explain bad feet.

JEFF GOVE: Well, I was born with club feet, and I've had three operations to correct them. They were when I was real young, so it's always been a bit of a chore to walk and all that, but I've been very blessed to be able to play golf for a living.

Q. So when you walk a round of 18 now does it bother you?

JEFF GOVE: They're just sore. Something I've learned to live with. Some days are good and some are bad. Just kind of something I've done all my life. You know, I'm six foot two and I cannot touch the rim, so

But, yeah, anyway, I've got two different sized feet and they don't give me a real good base, but I'm doing the best I can.

Q. Obviously that would make getting shoes that fit a problem. What kind of lengths do you have to go to to get a pair of golf shoes for example?

JEFF GOVE: Luckily Titlest are great sponsors of mine, and so I've got a 9 and 7 and a half on the right. They'll special run shoes for me rather than wasting two pairs every time. We have to order them a couple months in advance. Most golfers have big feet, I don't though.

THE MODERATOR: More questions?

Q. Obviously when you were a kid you had to by two pair of shoes then growing up?

JEFF GOVE: Yeah, or just split the difference with sports shoes. But luckily Nordstrom is from Seattle, and they do that for you if it's more than a size off. So I shopped at Nordstrom's.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JEFF GOVE: No, I wish.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Jeff. Thanks for coming in.

JEFF GOVE: All right.

End of FastScripts.