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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2010

Tom Watson

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. What part of "you're not supposed to be doing this at your age" don't you get?
TOM WATSON: A little bit different frame of mind going into this tournament this week. It seemed to help a little bit. The last four or five years I've gone into the tournament feeling like the course was too big for me, and today, as it was last year, the course was set up where you could get to some of the pins. And I got off to a good start with about a 30-foot putt on the first hole for birdie and then made birdie at 3 and played the 5th hole nicely; the 7th hole got away with a bad shot and made par there; got away with a great break at No. 12. I pulled a Fred Couples on 12, hit it to the right of the bunker and it stayed there and I chipped it for a par.
I just -- I did what I had to do today and took advantage of some of the holes that you could take advantage of at Augusta National.

Q. Last year at Turnberry you talked about that you could play that course very well. You talked about Augusta National in a different light. What did you do so well today or what were your expectations?
TOM WATSON: Well, I missed six greens in a row. I got up-and-down at 10, up-and-down at 11, up-and-down at 12, I got it up-and-down at 13 for a par after I hit a 3-iron in the water, and then I got it up-and-down from the very front of 14 so I made six right in a row. I could have made five bogeys. That was the round -- I remember Byron Nelson came in after a round here at Augusta National. Eddie Lowery looked at Byron and said, Well, how did you play? Byron said, That was the worst round of golf I've played in years, and Eddie Lowery said, No, that was your best round of golf. He hit six or seven greens and shot even par.

Q. Did you bring back some of that fire from Turnberry? What allowed you to do this today?
TOM WATSON: Must have been a little bit of that. I had my son on the bag. That was a big treat for me to have him out there. I wanted to show him that I could still play Augusta. He said, Dad, you can still do this.
Over the past several years I've had some issues with my ability to play this golf course. It's a tough golf course for me. I hit longer clubs into the greens. Today it was favorable. The winds were favorable for me. I hit some shots, like at 17 I hit a 6-iron into that green where I was hitting 4-iron in practice rounds, and I can't hold that green with a 4-iron, but with a 6-iron I got it on the green.
Plus I made a good run through the middle of the round after not hitting very many greens. 9, I putted from off the fringe; 10, hit it in the left rough just short of the green, got it up-and-down; 11, right of the green, got it up-and-down; 12, I got the best break of the day. I pulled a Fred Couples at 12 where my ball hit on the bank and didn't go in. It stopped, and I chipped it up for a par.
And 13 I hit the ball in the water with a 3-iron for my second shot and got that ball up-and-down; and 14 I left it in front of the green and got that ball up-and-down. I had some great up-and-downs today, and that was the meat of the round. I made some birdies, yes, but I drove the ball very well. But that middle part of the round was what I was most proud of.

Q. That part doesn't actually show up on the scoreboard but the three birdies on the last four holes does. Talk about those birdies.
TOM WATSON: Well, 15, I hit it over the green in two and chipped it up a little tentatively going back to the water, didn't -- you know, didn't hit it too hard and left it short about 30 feet.
And then I hit a putt that was going too hard and went right in the middle of the hole for birdie.
16 had about the easiest flag position on the green. I got it close, made a good putt there, made a good read there.
Experience helped me there because the old Tom would have played it to break right to left, and it was really just a little bit of a left to right putt, so I made that.
And then 18, I hit a wonderful shot with a 7-iron, pushed it a little bit, but that's where you want to hit it, in between the flag and the bunker there, and get the proper kick down by the hole, and made about a five-footer to shoot 67.

Q. After every round at Turnberry the media said, can you stay in contention, and clearly you stayed in contention. You made some history anyway. Can you stay in contention for four rounds here?
TOM WATSON: I don't know. Ask me after Sunday's round.

End of FastScripts

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