WGC NEC INVITATIONAL

August 23, 2002

Retief Goosen

GORDON SIMPSON: Retief, for most of the day you've been in the lead or tied for the lead. What's your thoughts, going into the weekend now in this position?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, there's a couple of guys that played really well today, but we have still a long way to go. Two rounds, one shot over the lead is nothing serious.

I played quite nicely today. Really just the last couple of holes I misread a couple of putts; otherwise I'm pretty happy.

GORDON SIMPSON: Do you think your golf is sufficiently good to have been in the lead on your own?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I think so. I really could have done a lot better than what I am now, but that's how it goes. So we'll see tomorrow or Sunday to try to do what we can do.

Q. You can make birdies on this course, but you have to be careful. Do you agree with that?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Definitely. If your driver is off just a little bit, you're going to struggle around here. A couple of times today I hit it in the middle of the fairway and had to still hit a fade on my second shot. So knocking it on the fairways here sometimes gives you a straight forward shot.

GORDON SIMPSON: What is it going to take over the weekend, because a lot of players are right in the shake up?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I'm sure it's pretty much bunched up. If the weather stays like this, it could be close to probably 18-under or 15-under. So if it's going to stay like this, the greens might start getting a little firmer today. This afternoon they were already starting to get a little firmer and summery. So that could get a little bit tougher. So probably somewhere around 15.

GORDON SIMPSON: I take it, your thoughts on the course now are better than four years ago?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I like the course a lot better now. I'm playing a little bit better, as well.

Q. On the front nine, especially, you hit an awful lot of shots close, but didn't make too many putts.

RETIEF GOOSEN: The greens are tricky. I think I tend to under read all of them. Most of my putts I missed today, I missed on the low side. I allowed for more break and missed on the high side. The greens aren't easy. If you're just on the wrong side of the flag, you have to play for a lot of break. The greens are quite slopey in some places. It's not easy, some of the putts.

Q. Could you give us your birdies and how far?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah. On the second hole I hit driver and a 4-iron probably to about 12 feet, missed that.

The third hole I hit 3-wood, 7-iron to about ten feet.

No. 10, I hit 2-iron, wedge, to about 20 feet and made a good putt there.

And driver, 4-iron just short on No. 11, chipped down to about six feet.

And that was it, unfortunately.

GORDON SIMPSON: You missed the fairway at the last.

RETIEF GOOSEN: I hit a good driver on the last, yeah, but just two yards more right and it was perfect. But I knew where the flag was. It's not easy to get close on your second shot, anyway, so I wasn't too disappointed about it. I knew I would probably get my third shot close, and have a good sand iron in from about a hundred yards. And unfortunately I missed the putt.

Q. You don't look like someone who would ever have a bad round, and yet at the U.S. Open and PGA you had a big number. What happened in those rounds?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Last week, obviously, it wasn't easy in the third round. I just really wasn't swinging it as well as I would have liked to and missed a lot of shots on the wrong side and that really cost me. So once you start losing momentum on courses like this, it's not easy to come back.

You have to get the momentum going early on in the round to give yourself a good chance for a good round.

GORDON SIMPSON: Well done, Retief. Thank you very much.

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