BUICK CLASSIC

June 24, 2001

Sergio Garcia

SERGIO GARCIA: I'm going to have to shoot one less than the guy who finishes second, at least. No, I think it's been tough for me and for everybody. It's not the way you like it. You never like to go to Monday or to so many delays and stuff like that. But, you know, sometimes it happens and, you know, what can you do. Just got to be patient, take it as it comes and try to focus as much as you can when you're on the golf course. You know, hopefully, I've been doing that pretty well, and, you know, tomorrow just have to go out there, try to play well again and try to win this tournament.

SERGIO GARCIA: Lob wedge on both.

SERGIO GARCIA: It would mean something special, that's for sure, winning any tournament. This doesn't matter who has won it before. It's always special. If I'm able to win a tournament that Seve and Olazabal has won before, for sure it's special because they're good friends of mine. For sure I love to win the Masters. They won that tournament. But you know, hopefully I'll be able to do it tomorrow. Doesn't matter what tournament you wind, each tournament you play is a great tournament. Winning is special.

SERGIO GARCIA: Not really, I haven't talked to him about this course, no. We never had the chance of playing here together.

SERGIO GARCIA: It was for sure a lot of happiness as I saw it going in, because I hit a good chip. When I saw it bounce, I said, that's going to be close. I told Glen, I think I hit this one close. As soon as I saw it bounce, I thought, well, that looks like it's going to be pretty close and it trickled down, hit the pin and went in. I don't know, I was really happy. I raised my hand with a clap and it was a nice feeling. It's great because, you know, to be able to go birdie, birdie, eagle, that is always great and when you're in the position I was.

SERGIO GARCIA: It was a very similar shot to the one I had on the last round. It was almost on the same shot, just a little farther right. I didn't have any (inaudibel) to hit on my back swing. I think I had about 187 to the hole. Just five-iron. Hit it low and hook in. It was a great shot. It was perfect. Low under the trees, hooking quite a bit, probably about 20, 22 feet short of the hole.

SERGIO GACIA: Yeah, Glen and me we were talking about last year when Mike Tirico and Curtis Strange said to me, what were you thinking with that shot? I said, well, I was just trying to hit the shot I thought I was able to. So we were thinking, what are we going to say this year? I don't think they're going the say: What were you thinking of with that shot. They're probably going to say, what a great shot that was. It's just the way it is. If you try to hit a shot that it's a tough shot, you feel you can do it and if you're able to do it, it's a great shot. If you're unfortunate not to do it, it's like, what are you thinking about. It's just the way this whole world is. Sometimes it's going to go right and sometimes wrong, I was fortunate this time, it went right.

SERGIO GACIA: I don't know. I don't know. I mean, he can still shoot a good round and finish well, but it's not in my mind right now. I'm more focused Scott Hoch and JP Hayes that are up there. I still think that if I go out there I'm able not to make any bogies I'm playing well, I'm going to be able to make some birdies, if I get myself together and make a lot of pars and once in a while make some birdies, hopefully it will be enough at least Scott Hoch or Jimmy Hayes shoot 63 something like that. I don't know. Doesn't look like Tiger is playing as well as he was, but he's still there. For sure until we start tomorrow you don't know what's going to happen. If he starts well you know he's going to be up there. I still have a couple of shot lead over these two guys and, you know, hopefully I'll play well and I'll hold on to it.

SERGIO GACIA: Yes, of course I did. You think I'm a liar?

SERGIO GACIA: Of course I went to the theatre. It just came out, you can't watch it anywhere else.

SERGIO GACIA: I really like cars, it was good, fun. It was a car movie. I really enjoyed it. It was good. Unfortunately, because it's about races something like that, it doesn't have too much of a dialogue. I went to -- I got what I wanted to see, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks.

SERGIO GACIA: Sorry?

SERGIO GACIA: I don't think so. Last Sunday I just didn't have a great start. I was pretty unfortunate in the first five holes with a couple of bounces, and I hit on a shoulder of somebody. I just couldn't recover. It's the U.S. Open and it's tough and unfortunately probably my thinking wasn't as good as it should have been. I should have said, you know, three under par, two under par, just stay together, just try to make pars. If you make a birdie, perfect. Try to finish three, four under par. Let's see what happens. I thought that because Retief was playing well, I don't know, maybe six, seven under is going to win. I tried to hit a really greedy shot on five, and I pulled it left and made bogey and, you know, it happens sometimes. I was pleased the way I played the whole week. I was up there. I was maintaining myself there playing for a major. It's great to have that feeling. So, you know, I just got to keep trying to do the same thing and, you know, put myself in that position some more times and hopefully I one day I'll be able to win it.

SERGIO GACIA: Yeah.

SERGIO GACIA: Yeah, of course, I wasn't happy because I felt like I had the tournament right in my hands and, you know, I felt like it was -- the way I was playing it was almost done. But it happens. It's a tough course, the back nine is not nice, and you got to realize those things, you got to be careful what you do, because there's some holes that you can bogey or double bogey very easy. So I wasn't happy because the way it finished, but I was happy the way everything turned over. Because I wasn't putting well, and I had two good days of putting and I had two good rounds to finish in a tough course, it was playing really tough with wet greens -- with hard greens and everything. So I had a little bit of everything. But overall, I think I was pleased the way I played.

SERGIO GACIA: Well, I mean, I've learned that you got to be patient and probably I didn't pull the right shot on 11. And more than anything, because I thought the branch wasn't was going to be in my way, I hit on the down swing, that's why I didn't hit a good shot, but, I don't know, you just try your best and sometimes it goes the right way, sometimes it doesn't. You just got to keep trying.

SERGIO GACIA: I guess I hit in the middle of the club face. I don't know. I can't tell you secret. Just club hits with speed and I hit in it the right place. Sometimes it goes this way, sometimes it goes this way. You know, lightly it's been going this way more than the other ways.