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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN

October 18, 2008

Marc Turnesa

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Marc Turnesa into the interview room after a 3-under par, 69, and our leader at 21-under par. A little bit of a slow start for you today through 11 holes, but your turned it on down the stretch. Jsut get some comments on the day, if we can.
MARC TURNESA: Yeah, I mean, you summed it up. I kind of got off to a slow start there. I think I was struggling a bit. I hit a few wayward shots, but wasn't quite like the previous two days where everything was going my way. I had a good back nine there and was able to hold the lead.
JOHN BUSH: All right. Go right into questions.

Q. Can you tell anything different about the course? I know the pin placements were a little tougher. Looked like the putts you were making the first two days you weren't maybe getting the same opportunities. I don't know if it was the pin placements. What was going on from your perspective about the course?
MARC TURNESA: The pin placements are a little more difficult, but I just wasn't hitting it quite as good as I had been on the front nine so I didn't really give myself that many opportunity. I found myself in the rough a few times, just in the rough, and it's tough to gauge the distance out of the rough.
So pin placements are a bit more difficult, but it was still out there. I mean, you saw the scores. There was I think a 63 or 62 maybe. So, I mean, it's still out there. I just wasn't quite getting my ball in position to attack the holes on the front nine.
JOHN BUSH: You led all three rounds at the Viking Classic. Lost in the playoff there to Will MacKenzie. Now you've held at least a share of the lead all three rounds this week. Anything that you will take away from the experience in Mississippi that you may have learned?
MARC TURNESA: Well, to stay patient I think is what I learned. You know, I think in the final round there I was obviously nervous, but I think I was probably putting too much into each and every. Instead of just hitting each and every shot like it's over other day and then just adding them up at the end, there's a lot riding on this, and so maybe I was putting a little too much pressure on myself and probably thought I had to do too much.
I think being patient and taking it one shot at time and just realizing that I am going to make some mistakes out there. You just got roll with it and go on the next hole.

Q. That's easier said than done, though.
MARC TURNESA: Yes.

Q. You're talking a good game today. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
MARC TURNESA: Well, I'm going to do those things. I am gonna do it. I don't know how this is going to turn out for me, but all I can do is hit each shot as good as I can and, you know, play as well as I can. If it works out, great. If it does, it doesn't.
I'm not going think about that. Thinking about the outcome gets you nowhere.

Q. Are you almost better off not thinking about what happened in Mississippi given of the outcome?
MARC TURNESA: I don't think so. I'm not going to be thinking about Mississippi regardless. I just think that being in that position will help me without even thinking about it just, because I'll be a little bit more comfortable this time around.
JOHN BUSH: Take us through the last four birdies. Par-4, 12th hole.
MARC TURNESA: Par-4, 12 hole. Yeah, it was a good birdie. I hit it way down there and just had a sand wedge. Hit it pretty close.
On the front nine, I was hitting my wedges not very good at all, so I hit it probably six feet.
JOHN BUSH: The par-5, 13.
MARC TURNESA: Hit a good drive and a good 3-wood to about, I don't know, 45 feet for eagle and two-putted.
15, par-4, I laid it today up for the first time from that back left pin and it worked out. I almost made a two.
JOHN BUSH: And then the par-5, 16.
MARC TURNESA: Hit a good drive. Kind of fanned it a little, but hit a good 3-iron. Left myself and eagle putt again.

Q. Marc, is the fact that you were only 3-under today, yet you're still in the lead and by yourself -- I'm not sure how you want to explain that away. I'm sure there's a lot of factors. But do you think the fact that you were playing with house money today, given what you had done the first two days, enabled you to have a little more wiggle room?
MARC TURNESA: Not really. I didn't feel like I had much breathing room, to be honest with you. It's tough to play the courses where there's so many birdies. Because like you saw on the front nine, I wasn't playing horrible, but I wasn't making birdies.
You see everybody catching up to you, and if you don't make birdies you're going to get lapped. I didn't feel like I had breathing room or like I was playing with house money. I was just trying to go out and play well, and I'll try and do the same tomorrow.

Q. What does that say, that you can shoot 3-under and still be in the lead, and you have it by yourself today?
MARC TURNESA: Yeah. I think I'm fortunate, to be honest with you. There were some low scores, but none of them were really from the leaders. So, yeah, I think I'm a bit fortunate.
It's just a lot more bunched up now. So like I said out there, anything can happen tomorrow. There's going to be 10, 15 guys that can probably win this tournament. I don't think a one-shot lead, it's nice to have, but it's not a big deal.

Q. I guess 12 players four shots or less within you.
MARC TURNESA: There you go.

Q. So you will be the hunted all day tomorrow.
MARC TURNESA: That's good.

Q. You okay with that?
MARC TURNESA: I'd rather be hunted than hunting.
JOHN BUSH: Marc, play well tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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