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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

March 28, 2008

Jay Williamson

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA

DOUG MILNE: Jay, thanks for stopping in. Halfway home, you're obviously not showing any signs of letting up, just some comments on the day.
JAY WILLIAMSON: You know, thank God the wind didn't blow any harder or that golf course would have been very difficult. The greens got really firm, especially this afternoon.
You know, it's a great setup because it's really hard to get the ball close to the hole, but if you hit good shots you can, and you can make a few birdies. But you can't give too many away, because like I said, it's a tough golf course.
DOUG MILNE: Without sounding too cliché, heading into the weekend do you do anything different?
JAY WILLIAMSON: I've got to putt better. I've got to be more confident with my stroke. I'm driving it really well. My irons have been really good. But my putter needs to take a step up.
And if I can keep my emotions in check, I'll be all right.

Q. Tell us about 18.
JAY WILLIAMSON: Well, there was a lot going on at 18.

Q. Could you feel a cool breeze coming from behind you?
JAY WILLIAMSON: Yeah, which group are you referring to (laughter)?

Q. I thought you weren't going on the record with this stuff.
JAY WILLIAMSON: Well, I can't. Thank you very much.
18 was -- Vaughn actually laid it up on his second shot. I think he was trying to get an angle to the pin. I bet there weren't many birdies on 18 today, especially this afternoon. But Vaughn laid it up in the water, then he had to figure out where he was going to drop and went equidistant across the 9th green. Then we had the group behind us. We were trying to figure out whether they were going to finish in front of us or not. There was just a lot going on there.
I actually hit a great wedge in there, I thought, and it took a big hop and I had a 20-footer and I hit a terrible putt. I made a 5 there, and I'm ready for another day tomorrow.

Q. Did that whole scenario kind of take some steam out of it?
JAY WILLIAMSON: You know what, it was the end of the day. I'm in a good position. If I make birdie there, it's certainly -- I'm 8-under par instead of 7. It's not like it's earth-shattering. I certainly wouldn't want to make bogey and lose momentum. I made a good solid par.
There was a lot going on during the hole and then after the hole. I'm glad to be done. We'll leave it at that.

Q. You had just a little bit of a hiccup on 12, yet you probably stole one on 15.
JAY WILLIAMSON: Well, I actually played 15 like a champion. I hit a great drive and hit a great 7-iron, one of the best shots of the day, up to that top pin, which was, you know, a Pete Dye special, and I hit a great putt. You make 3 there, you're very happy. You make 4 there, usually you're very happy.
12, I misread my second putt and made a bogey, but it was the only bogey I've made so far. If I can go through Sunday with one bogey, I'll be all right.

Q. You talked about your putting. What I assume you're saying is you're not making enough birdie putts; is that correct?
JAY WILLIAMSON: No, not necessarily. I'm not feeling as confident as I want to feel over the ball. I can still make some putts, but I just -- I want to feel like Tiger feels over the putter, because he looks like and he feels like he's going to make everything. I want to have that feeling because I think that can take me to another level in golf.
You know, the next two days are certainly going to be a challenge, just like every day out here is, and I just -- I hope to keep fighting. That's what I'm doing. I want to persevere and keep fighting.

Q. Were you aware of what was going on behind you involving Elkington and Watson?
JAY WILLIAMSON: I was not. I wasn't aware until I walked in to sign my scorecard.

Q. What did you hear then?
JAY WILLIAMSON: You know, I heard a few things, and I'm still not certain of the story, so I don't really want to comment. I'm sorry, I'd love to give you more, but I don't know. I think I know, but I don't want to comment (laughter).

Q. How much of that lack of confidence do you think might have been because of the speed of these greens this week?
JAY WILLIAMSON: You know, I actually thought the greens were going to be quicker. They're really not as fast as they were on Monday and Tuesday. I like the greens fast, and I thought they were a little bit -- I don't want to say on the slow side, but I thought they'd be a little bit quicker. Anything downwind, down-grain, it can get away from you a little bit. They're a perfect speed for the slopes and everything.
I think the golf course is in tremendous shape. It's really a great test right now. Like I said, if you can drive it in the fairway, you can get the ball close but you have to hit good shots.
DOUG MILNE: If you wouldn't mind real quick running through your birdies and giving us some clubs, 1, 7, 11, and I guess we talked about 12 and 15.
JAY WILLIAMSON: Kelly Gibson, one of the co-designers here, gave me a great tip at the beginning of the week. It's something that I don't want to give away to everybody, but I think it's really important to be aggressive with these bunkers off the tee because if you're not aggressive with them, you can miss the ball on the wrong side and be in the rough, and you can actually have a shot from the bunker better than out of the rough.
So I was aggressive with the bunker on No. 1, pulled my driver a little bit but I got away with it and had 103 yards to the hole, and I hit a great wedge in there about four feet. So this is two days in a row I've started with a birdie. Like I said yesterday, I tend to play better when I can get on top of the golf course.
Then 7, I hit a great drive, hit 5-iron actually, hit a really good drive and hit 5-iron into the green, a little bit short. The challenge out there right now is the lush areas are pretty soft, but around some of the sides you can tell that it's getting brown and it gets really firm, and my 5-iron hit a little bit short in the lush area. I hit a good chip and made about a two-footer for birdie.
Then I birdied 11, made a good putt, about a ten-footer probably.
Three-putted 12. Like I said, I'm going to make a bogey in 36 holes, and that was it.
Then I came back with a great birdie on 15. I made about a 12-footer on 15. As Dave said, I stole one there.
DOUG MILNE: Thanks for coming in. Best of luck on the weekend.

End of FastScripts

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