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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 12, 2008

Trevor Immelman

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

ROB JOHNSTON: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's my pleasure to introduce the 54-hole leader at 11-under shooting a very solid 69 today, Mr. Trevor Immelman. Trevor, you are welcome to make a comment if you wish, sir, or we can do directly into questions.
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Great.
ROB JOHNSTON: Questions.

Q. On an historical point of view, what were you doing 16 years ago? I ask you that because of your shot on 15 on the bank, because when Couples won here 16 years ago he had a shot on 12 that hung on the bank; can you relate a little bit to that?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: That was 1991 I believe, '92 -- '91 was Ian Woosnam. '92, I was at home in South Africa watching it. I remember the shot he hit, hung up and hit a great little chip and made his par there.
You though, there's a massive difference. This is the 15th hole of the third round and his was the 12th hole of the final round. I was extremely fortunate that my ball stayed up there but there's still a long way to go in this tournament.

Q. What makes it so much different in a major to have to play on Sunday with the lead than any other tournament?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: I don't know. I've never had the lead in a major going into the final round so I have no clue how to answer your question.
All I can ask for myself is to go out there and you know, play as hard as I can and believe in myself. I've got to believe in myself tomorrow, and hope for the best.

Q. Just going back to that shot, as the round was going, and you saw the ball come back towards the water, what were you thinking?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Yeah, I was just waiting for the ball to come to a stop, really.

Q. Where?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Obviously I was not in control of where it was going to stop but I was begging for it to stop as soon as it could.
Obviously that's such a tough shot into the 15th green, and I just hit it so flush with so much spin and it came out on too low of a trajectory. You know, once it came back, I knew there was a chance a chance it was going to go in the water. I must say, I couldn't quite believe it when it stayed up.

Q. Talk about the impact of 13 and 14, and what was your mind set on 10, 11, 12 when you were kind of hanging in there and making pars? What did the birdies do for?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: I started playing some great golf around the turn and getting out of 11 with a par was quite nice, that was playing stuff.
The shot of the day for me was the 12th hole. Unfortunately made the 3 there instead of making birdie putt, but that gave me a lot of confidence, the shot on 12.
Then laid up on 13 and just hit a wedge shot that landed, you know, exactly where it needed to. If you gave me 50 balls, I would probably pull that shot off twice. So that was pretty exciting to see that one stop up there close, and then make the birdie on 14. So that was some nice momentum I got there and just kind of brought it home from there.

Q. Can you talk a little about, you're kind of carrying the torch for South Africa now in this tournament, anyway; can you kind of describe that feeling of representing your country on this stage at this point?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, yeah, it's very exciting. You know, obviously Gary has won this tournament three times, and Ernie and Goose have come close so many times, and Tim Clark has come close and Rory came close last year.
You know, there's a few guys that have had a shot. I count myself fortunate to be in this position, and I'm just going to go and give it my best shot tomorrow.

Q. For most of the day, you and Brandt seemed to feed off each other and were both playing competitively and then he went into a tailspin; were you surprised he came back, and what did he say to you on 18 when he shook hands with you?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, I wasn't surprised that he came back. He's a fantastic player. You know, he's only been a pro a couple of years, I believe two or three years. So for him to, you know, be at this point so early in his career is an incredible achievement.
So I wasn't surprised that he came back. He's a great player. You know, we obviously just congratulated each other. Because to birdie that 18th hole, that's a pretty tough pin position there. So for both of us in fading light to hit a good drive and a good second and for him to roll that putt in, it was a great way for us to finish. I think we were both proud of ourselves.

Q. Is that going to help you playing again with him tomorrow?
TREVOR IMMELMAN: Sure. You're going to have to play with somebody; they send you off in twos. (Laughter).
Brandt is a great player, he's a great guy. He's easy to play with. He's a fantastic guy. So, you know, I think the two of us will have a great time tomorrow.
ROB JOHNSTON: Trevor, we want to thank you very much for your time spent with us. You've played superbly this weekend and we wish you the very best of luck tomorrow, sir. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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