WGC NEC INVITATIONAL

August 23, 2001

Greg Norman

GREG NORMAN: That's true. I continued on with my play. Hit a lot of solid shots. Hit a lot of greens today. Back nine I started putting well and started using the putter and, voila, the ball started going in the hole.

GREG NORMAN: Right now, probably as good as I've been in a couple years, I can say that with confidence. It's just a new -- everything in the last ten days is right. When you feel comfortable within your body, your mind all of a sudden starts to relax a little bit and you start to see your shots. You start to feeling your shots, and you really don't get too concerned when you mis-hit one because you know everything is going okay and you're not going to hit every shot perfect. It's a very comfortable feeling. It's how I used to feel. It's how I used to play and it's nice to have it become inside me again.

GREG NORMAN: You know, I have never doubted that. It's just a matter of getting myself back into a position where I can feel comfortable executing the shots, hitting them solid instead of swiping at them. Today and last week, I've been hitting the ball solid. Hitting a lot of ball turf. Flowing right through the whole system so I feel comfortable.

GREG NORMAN: Very little, actually. Just a few basic changes you would probably never even notice it, but the basic changes lead into a lot of other positive things in the golf swing. So I don't need to go into a breakdown and analysis of what I'm doing, but they are good.

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, I made an adjustment going to the 10th green. I had not been releasing the putter. When I walked to the 10th hole I hit my first putt that in two weeks it actually felt like a good putt. Even though I ran it three feet by, I liked it and all of a sudden, just one shot, one putt, one feel gave me the fuel to go on from there. I missed a short one on the next hole and didn't bother me. Last from there on in, more comfortable I became, the bigger the hole became. And, you know, I'm disappointed I missed the putt on the last hole because I expected to make it.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I just tried to play a tee shot that I used to play at that hole. Just aim at the left trees and cut it. I aimed at the left trees and hit it dead straight. So I can't complain about that, I suppose. I was trying to execute a shot. I hit it solid. Hit it right where I was aiming. I just didn't pull hard enough across with my left side and that was all it was. I wasn't even worried about that because I hit it where I was aiming.

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, the golf course is one of the best golf courses in America, I think. It's a classic golf course of the there's a lot of great shape to the holes without moving a lot of dirt. Tee shots are great. You've got to move the ball right-to-left, left-to-right. Iron play is good. Sure, it favors your longer hitter, especially the wet conditions that they are now. But at the end of the day, if you drive the ball straight, doesn't matter if you go in with a 3-iron or 5-iron; you're going to be able to hit your greens.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I've been a great fan of here. I think I've been coming here maybe 23 years, I don't know how long. But I think this is one of the classic golf courses of all time. It's withstood the test of time. You can go back to watch the Wonderful World of Golf matches they had here, and the players still play it the same way. And I think this is a testament to what should be done and having to correct a lot of the people trying to suppress the way players play, getting back to a level by move bunkers out and moving tees back. But this course here has not needed to do that. They have lengthened maybe a couple holes over the years, and occasionally guys go around and shoot low scores, but year-in, year-out, it's a tough, tough test of golf.

GREG NORMAN: First couple holes . And then the first couple holes on the back nine. This is a well-balanced golf course. Gives you chances to be aggressive on some holes and also be careful on a couple holes. If you know where they are, you've got to take advantage of them.

GREG NORMAN: Well, 1 through 18, if you are driving the ball well. You've got to drive it well around here. Even the early holes, if you think they are easy, they are not really, if you are not driving the ball solid. You've got to get the ball into play. Some guys do it in a different way. Some guys like to hit driver and some guys like to hit 3-woods. Whatever you feel. Make sure you get the ball into play and then you can be aggressive after that.

GREG NORMAN: It will be wide open all the way to the last nine holes, I bet. This golf tournament always -- only 34 players, and you normally get a grouping. Some players play well early, and guys who don't play well are really out of it because just the number of players. You play fast. You don't get into a slowdown mode. The game keeps moving. And it's going to keep going like this for the next three or four days.

GREG NORMAN: Just keep doing what I'm doing, absolutely.