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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 5, 2005

Retief Goosen

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Q. You've been in this position before, obviously last year, so this is nothing new for you.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, to get off to a good start tomorrow. Last year I got off to a good start with a couple, 3 under or something through four holes, so I need something like today, a couple of birdies or so to start off with and put a bit of pressure on the guy, unless he starts with a couple of birdies, too. I just need to put myself in position to make birdies tomorrow and not like I've been playing the last few days.

Q. Did you find anything out on the range?

RETIEF GOOSEN: It's all a timing thing and confidence. I don't know, I've run out of ideas what to try, really. I'll just go out there and try every shot. That's all I can do.

Q. You've shown through the years you can win from the rough at Southern Hills, Shinnecock. Do you feel like you can win from the rough here?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, today I had a few very bad lies in the rough that I couldn't even get near the green. But I chipped and putted very well today, messed up a bit on 17. Yeah, I mean, playing tomorrow is going to be tough. Even if you miss the greens it's going to be tough to get up and down. I'm going to definitely have to play a lot better.

Q. Have you ever been this close to the lead or in the lead with as little confidence as you seem to have right now?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I've won tournaments playing this way. In a way when you're struggling like that, you really tend to concentrate a lot more because you're grinding out there on every shot and focusing on every shot. I'm in no way out of this tournament, that's for sure. I just need to drive it a little bit straighter, and if you do hit it in the rough, get better lies.

Q. Have you ever played or won a tournament where you played steady or very good all four days?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I would say I probably played my best golf in 2002, 2003, especially 2003 I played very solid. I was striking the ball great, I was hitting it as well as I can hit it. But the last year it's been off a little bit.

Q. Bart Bryant mentioned that you guys have kind of run out of things to talk about after two days. Is there going to be any conversation out there tomorrow?

RETIEF GOOSEN: He's a fairly quiet guy, too. But you know, we acknowledge, "good shot," when he makes a good putt, "well done," and yeah, in a way we haven't spoken that much out there. Yesterday we were a little bit behind so we were a bit on the run, and then today on the front nine, we had time to talk because we were waiting a little bit, but then on the back nine we were running again.

I mean, I was generally so far away from where he was that we didn't have time to talk to each other.

Q. What did you think? You walked right into the same bunker and had almost the same shot he had on 18.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, we both actually couldn't have missed it in a better place, really. It's a very simple bunker shot, very makeable, and he made it. I hit a poor one. That was probably as easy a shot you could find on that hole, what we had today.

Q. When you play with a guy that hits the ball seemingly so straight and then you realize he never won a tournament until he was in his 40s, do you sometimes wonder where has this guy been hiding?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I don't know. This golf course in a way is not playing that long. You know, he drives it down the middle every hole just about. You know, he hits an 8 iron or whatever into the green or 7 iron into the green while me and Tiger blast it out there and have a wedge out of the rough but you can't get out of the rough.

It's surprising he hasn't won more. Maybe it's a self confidence thing or a putting problem or something else, but he's playing very solid this week.

End of FastScripts.

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