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VALERO TEXAS OPEN

May 13, 2009

Justin Leonard

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

DOUG MILNE: Justin Leonard, thanks for joining us for a few minutes here at the Valero Texas Open. We appreciate your time, as always. Like Richard was saying, you've been here a few times, three-time champion. Just a couple comments as you're heading into the week, the move up to May. You're having a good year, three Top 10 finishes so far this year, so you gotta feel good as you're heading into the week.
JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah. It's nice to be back. This is a place where I've felt very comfortable in the past, and it's nice to see the Tour reward a great sponsor like Valero in getting this spring date.
It's a difficult time for some guys being right after The Players Championship, and there's a lot of great tournaments this time of year, but it's nice that the three Texas events are right here together, and you know, I've been looking forward to this stretch of golf for a long time.

Q. How about the state of your game as you head into the week?
JUSTIN LEONARD: The game feels pretty good. Didn't play great last week, but played well enough to be encouraged. And did a little work with Randy Smith yesterday, and everything felt good yesterday and today, so everything seems to be in pretty good shape.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. We'll take a few questions.

Q. You could speak to this probably better than anybody out here, the difference in the course between October, just a seven-month stretch here. Did you notice much?
JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah. You know, they must have over-seeded right after we left in October, and with the hot weather, the over-seeding -- the over-seed is starting to check out a little bit, but the greens are softer than they have been in the fall. They're not quite as fast. And the course is playing a little bit longer. Same thing in the fairways because there's enough over-seed to slow the ball down just a little bit. It's still playing fast, but not quite as fast as it plays in the fall.

Q. Do you still come in here, though, obviously I know there's certain dates you're going to circle on the calendar every year. Even with this tournament shifting to May, did you look at the schedule and say there's the Texas Open, you go in with confidence for that date?
JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah. Absolutely. You know, I can't say I'm never going to miss this event, because I don't know what circumstances I may face in the future, but this is always a place that I look forward to playing, and yeah, this whole stretch of golf has been -- I've been looking forward to this for a while.

Q. You fully expect low scores like we've seen here in the fall?
JUSTIN LEONARD: I do. You know, the greens are a little softer. They're not quite as quick, and you know, it's very windy today. I don't think it's going to be as windy the rest of the week, so I would imagine low scores will occur here.

Q. How does your mindset change, if at all, going from Players to here, just in terms of scoring where it's a premium, it seemed, as the week went along last week?
JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah. On the weekend, late in the day last week the golf course was very, very difficult. And you know, really taking a day off Monday, coming out yesterday, and being able to fire at a few flags and not worry about where the ball may bound to was nice today.
You know, it doesn't take us too long to adjust. I think it's always easier going from a very difficult course to a course where you can shoot a fairly low score on versus going the other direction.

Q. When this event was in the fall, what kind of reputation did it have among players?
JUSTIN LEONARD: Just a great, not a small-town event, but you get a little bit of a small-town feel. Everybody is very personable here, and in fact, you can stay right here.
It was just a very comfortable event, and with a great sponsor in Valero, and I think a lot of the reason it got moved to the spring was because of their support, the amount of money that they raise for the San Antonio area each year, I think it's upwards of $8 million a year, which is pretty incredible, for, you know, this is not a huge market. So I think all those reasons, it was moved to the spring and well justified.

Q. But in terms of the stature of the tournament like it was in the fall, did it feel like an afterthought at all, do you think?
JUSTIN LEONARD: No. I wouldn't say that. I think, you know, of the fall events it fit in nicely. And I think that with the change of venue next year, you know, this golf course and the new golf course and this area will experience better fields and a bump in status.

Q. Could you see a 59 being shot here where you wouldn't be shocked?
JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't know. I don't know how to comment with that.

Q. Is it the type of course where it's going to happen, it could happen here?
JUSTIN LEONARD: It could. Yeah. Sure.

Q. Going back to the change in venue, by any measure, it's probably very rare that a player's had the kind of success at one location as you've had here. Do you have any type of bitter-sweet feel about the fact it's moving to a different facility next year considering your history here over the last several years?
JUSTIN LEONARD: Probably a little bit because I've had a lot of success on this golf course. But I think in the grand scheme of things, to boost the level of this event, it needs a golf course that can handle that.
From everything I've seen, I haven't visited the new site, but the people I've talked to I think that the new venue will add very nicely to this event.

Q. Do you think about winning four, then having a break in motion?
JUSTIN LEONARD: No. No. I'm just trying to get ready to play tomorrow. I don't go into a week thinking what if I win, this and that. Just trying to get ready for tomorrow, and do the little things that I need to do, and to be ready to play, and try and give myself a chance.

Q. This year it's been talked about for a long, long time, but a little more this year than in the past, the idea about one and four, and given the strength of this week's field being somewhat diluted --
JUSTIN LEONARD: I'm sorry. The idea of what?

Q. One and four, having to play --
JUSTIN LEONARD: Oh, tournaments. Okay.

Q. Yeah. You know, given this week's field, somewhat a little bit diluted, what do you think of that concept? Do you have a solution for trying to have better fields when there is a really solid sponsor and charitable dollars are so strong here?
JUSTIN LEONARD: I could see some variation of that. I think in order to do that, the tournaments -- the dates would have to change. There would have to be more change each year, because there's -- you know, there's certain dates, a week after a major or a week before a major that guys just don't want to play, and so I think if you somehow tweak the schedule each year to where the tournaments move around, shift around a little bit, I think it would make sense to do something like that.

Q. Did you have better players coming up and asking you, now that this event's in May, for your thoughts on why you've consistently come here?
JUSTIN LEONARD: No. We're very independent when we're making our schedules, and you know, no, I didn't have anybody say what do you think, should I play?

Q. Last week you kind of got a front row in the first two days playing with Tiger. You were in kind of a music commercial earlier in the year. What was your takeaway of the state of his game right now?
JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, he looked like he played okay. He played probably better on Thursday than he did Friday.
But you know, Friday started out and there were a number of putts that could have easily fallen, and he would have gained some momentum through that. But you know, I mean he hit a lot of 3-woods, so it's a little bit hard to tell with how well he's driving the ball by hitting 3-woods so many times, but that golf course that's what he needed to do.
And you know, I thought his game looked pretty good. It was not the best I'd ever seen it. But I think he's already admitted to that. But I thought he was doing things certainly well enough to contend and get in the last group like he did. I think we're all a little surprised with what happened on Sunday, but you know, when the golf course is that hard and that difficult, you know, those things can happen pretty easily.
DOUG MILNE: All right. Justin, as always, we appreciate your time, and best of luck this week.
JUSTIN LEONARD: Okay. Thanks.

End of FastScripts

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