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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

June 4, 2005

Woody Austin

DUBLIN, OHIO

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Woody, good playing today, one shot off the lead at 11 under par heading into Sunday's final round here at the Memorial. Would you start with some opening comments? A good week for you so far.

WOODY AUSTIN: Very good so far. It's been a struggle all year. I played eight good holes on Thursday and then I didn't play good until today, but at least I'm getting closer and closer to stringing good rounds in a row.

Q. Woody, after Colonial your caddie defended you and said that you're very much misunderstood.

WOODY AUSTIN: Absolutely.

Q. And that nobody gives the Pro Am guys a better time on Wednesdays.

WOODY AUSTIN: I think if you talk to any of my Pro Am partners, I think we have a blast. I guess as far as the Pro Ams go, I look at it like I grew up playing with those guys. That's how I learned the game. That's the way the game is to me. Without them, we're nothing. I don't have a silver spoon in my mouth, I didn't grow up in the country clubs and all that. To me, I don't consider it a privilege for them to play with me. I think some guys look at it, like, hey, I'm out here where I don't need to be coming into my I don't agree with that at all. To me they are the reason why I'm playing for what I'm playing for, they're the reason why the Tour is as big as it is. They need to feel as comfortable and have as much fun as humanly possible.

So my big thing is I greet them on the 1st tee and I tell them if they're not willing to talk and have fun, please leave (laughter). I want to have fun on Wednesday. This game, obviously if you watch me, if I'm not playing well, I'm not having a good time with myself. So Wednesday for me is my fun day. I want to have fun on the golf course on Wednesday because if it's not a good week, I'm not going to have any fun.

Q. That was my next question. Why were you as nice to yourself as you were today?

WOODY AUSTIN: It's just like anything. If you're competitive, and I'm just a very competitive person, but I know how good I can be and I've never attained it. I've never reached the goals that I've put forth for myself. I've never reached my level of play that I know I'm capable of reaching.

It's hard for me to explain, except that if you're acceptable in your job and you get 50 percent if you get 50 percent out of your job, are you going to be happy? You're only going to be happy when you succeed in your endeavor, whatever it is. You're only going to be happy when you succeed at it. And if you're happy with 50 percent or whatever, then to me, you've got no business doing it. You should be pushing yourself; you should be trying to attain.

I know I look at it from a certain standpoint that I know physically unfortunately my biggest problem in golf is mental, and that happens to be 95 percent of the game, so that's my Achilles heel. But I know physically that there's no way I shouldn't be a Top 10, Top 5 player in the world physically because I can play, I can hit any shot at any given time. The problem is between my ears is I fight a lot of demons on the golf course.

Q. But if you didn't have that drive, you wouldn't be where you are?

WOODY AUSTIN: I would have never even been out here. I mean, some people, their lives go smoothly, Tiger's, Phil's, everything just kind of goes along smoothly from college to the pros and whatever. You've got a lot of young guys that play college and then just kind of kept on going, whatever. Not all of us have everybody gets bumps in the road sometimes. I was doing fine in college, I was playing with all those guys, I was three time all American. I was at a school that not too many people knew about golf, but I beat Davis and all those guys in college, I beat Lee Janzen in college, so it's not like I wasn't any good, but then I got hurt. I spent eight years working like anybody else, 9:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday for eight years.

So if I didn't believe in myself and I didn't push myself, I'd still be working in that bank. It sounds and I don't toot my own horn, but that part sounds pretty brash for me. If I didn't believe in myself, I certainly would still be there. I wouldn't be out here right now.

I know I'm good enough and I know I've got it, I just haven't shown it, and that's the frustrating part for me, and that's why I get on myself. It's like, "you know you've got it." Yesterday was a prime example of my problems is I haven't been confident with my game all year, I haven't played good all year so it's easy not to be confident when you're not playing well. But I started out yesterday, hit a bad shot the first four or five holes and I didn't pull the trigger the rest of the day. I couldn't get confident to hit the shots for the rest of the day, so yesterday was just such a waste as far as I look at it.

Q. The demons on the golf course, please, what do they say or how do they nag at you?

WOODY AUSTIN: You name it I've tried to explain it to people. It's amazing. But if you were afraid of every shot you've ever hit, that's me. Every shot I've ever hit, I have fear in my body, in my head, whatever. I don't care if it's from that far, (indicating one foot), it's just a constant battle to stay going your course. It gets taxing; it just wears you out.

Q. Like your second shot on 18 today, you did not like it, did you?

WOODY AUSTIN: Well, would you have liked it?

Q. It came out good, though, didn't it?

WOODY AUSTIN: No. I mean, I still made bogey. I mean, I'm in the middle of the fairway, I shouldn't have missed the green.

But like I said, that was the first bad shot I had hit since No. 6. I mean, I played flawless from 7 on. I mean, I can live with that. But you're playing that good at 8 under, you don't want to bogey the last hole.

Q. Why can't you do what a lot of guys do, which is say, "that's this game; the swing leaves you from time to time"?

WOODY AUSTIN: I think I do a pretty darn good job of that because in all reality, I don't blame it on anybody else or any swings or I don't say I'm trying to change my swing because I I understand that that's the way it goes. And like I said, I'll be totally honest, it's a confidence thing with me. I've got no problem admitting right or wrong, and like I said, I've got no problem admitting that, yeah, I get mad at myself, no problem with it.

What I have a problem with is excuses. I don't like excuses, and this Tour is full of excuses. That I don't like.

Q. With these demons that you fight

WOODY AUSTIN: That's probably why I'm looked at as such a weirdo.

Q. With these demons that you fight and the fear that you have on every shot and yet you go ahead and do it, wouldn't you say you've beat them?

WOODY AUSTIN: To a point, but again, if I look at it this way, I've won twice in 11 years. I haven't beaten them too often. I mean, in all reality, that's what you're basing it on. You're basing it on victories and where you are. Well, this is my 11th year on Tour. If I've only won twice, I've never cracked the top echelon as far as World Rankings or I'm not even a notable in the papers at a tournament or whatever. So if that's the case, then no, I haven't won at all.

I mean, I don't want to be considered just a run of the mill mediocre guy that just kept his card for 15 years. I want to be considered somebody who can win every week he shows up irregardless of the field, the tournament, whatever, and until I get there, then no, I haven't succeeded.

Q. Do you ever think that this is a vicious cycle you're in; you can't win until you let up on yourself but you can't let up on yourself?

WOODY AUSTIN: Like I said, I'm 41 now, I don't think I'm nearly as tough as I used to be. I mean, I didn't get mad at all today, and I hit a couple like I said, I hit it in the water on 6 but holed it out for par after that.

Or No. 18, normally being that close, I would have been upset with bogeying 18. I mean, I'm upset, but you didn't see any time I missed a short putt in the past, I might have just been a little bit today I just so, I mean, sure, it depends on the days obviously. Everybody is different from day to day. Some days you're a little more edgy than others.

I think I did an awesome job yesterday. I played horrible yesterday and I never got mad the entire day, and I hit it horrible yesterday.

And now, to play that bad for a whole 18 and for me to not even make any gesture or anything, I thought that was pretty good for me yesterday.

Q. Do you take the demons home with you or do you leave them in the locker room?

WOODY AUSTIN: They're pretty much with me all the time. Like I said, I look at it like you cannot change your stripes, who you are. Like I said, that's my Achilles heel. I've always had it, all growing up, all the sports I played growing up, I've always just been a very timid person as far as inside, and I've tried to break that but I can't seem to get away from the fears of it. I've talked to sports psychologists, I've talked to hypnotists, I've talked to everybody. That's just who I am; that's my mental makeup or whatever you want to call it. I've just gotten better and better at controlling it as I've gotten older. But that's definitely my weak link, there's no question about it.

Q. How about the period when you weren't playing golf? Did you have the demons with you then?

WOODY AUSTIN: Well, no, because I wasn't doing anything competitive really. I mean, I was working, yeah, but I was doing okay as far as that goes. I guess a good example to a point would be the fact that after eight years of working in the bank and not playing, not being competitive, my first year on Tour was my best year. So I was mentally fresh, mentally ready. My game was ready, and I came out and I'm rookie of the year, 24th on the Money List, win, the whole bit, and nobody knew who I was. Nobody had a clue. If I could be that good or that consistent as I was that year for my whole career that is why I feel like I have not achieved what I should have, because that first year I showed what the potential was and I've gone downhill. I've never even stayed there. I've gone downhill.

Q. Have you talked to any are you talking to any sports psychologists now or anything?

WOODY AUSTIN: No.

Q. They never have helped you at all?

WOODY AUSTIN: Like I said, I've talked to them, and everybody gives their reasoning and their thought process on things. But like I said, I've come to look at it as that's just who I am.

Q. With the rough being the way it is, this course was supposed to get tougher the faster that the fairways got, yet you guys out there today just keep throwing more red up on the scoreboard. What's going on?

WOODY AUSTIN: Well, there are some good players out there, you know. It doesn't have to be the Top 5. There's a lot of good players around.

I think the thing is about the golf course this is the first time I've ever played it dry, and it definitely causes me some concerns on certain holes and stuff. Like today I hit 5 wood on 14 and it went 270 some yards right down into the edge of the creek and I've never even usually the ball is just plugging all the time so I didn't think much about it. But the technology of the golf ball and the clubs and stuff, even though the rough is up and the fairways are running out, well, you're able to hit a lot less club to those same spots.

If you're hitting less club, then you've got more control. I just think that the golf course is in great shape. They'll tuck the pins tomorrow and make it tougher. But technology takes a lot of these golf courses out of where they should be.

Q. The pins, I think it was yesterday especially there was a lot talk about the pins. Did they ease up today?

WOODY AUSTIN: I think they do it a lot on Saturdays. I think the whole thing of moving day, Saturday is moving day, it's almost as if they say, "okay, you've made the cut, let's give you a chance to do some fireworks and have some" it seems like certain weeks they do that. They'll move the tee up on a par 5 just enough to where you might be able to get there where you hadn't before, or they'll give you the really tough holes, make the pin accessible. But I'll bet tomorrow it'll be your typical Sunday where if you shoot a few under par, you'll be just fine.

Q. Got any comments on the shirt today?

WOODY AUSTIN: Yeah, "love your shirt," "want your shirt".

Q. Is that part of your having fun?

WOODY AUSTIN: Oh, absolutely.

Q. You didn't get dressed in the dark?

WOODY AUSTIN: No. I look at it as anybody can wear plain white, blue, black, yellow shirt. This just shows that I have a personality. That's how I look at it. This shows my personality. It shows that I like to have fun. I enjoy having a good time. So I like wearing colorful shirts, and I try to match up my hats the best I can.

Q. What's your Sunday color?

WOODY AUSTIN: Well, I'm going to wear a shirt I've never worn tomorrow. It's brand new. It's one of the scenic shirts that has a scene on it that I've never worn. It's got a little orange and a little brown. It's pretty cool. Hopefully it'll have the same luck as this one. I've worn this one twice.

Q. How did you go with it the other time?

WOODY AUSTIN: 12 under with this one for two days, so I'm doing good with this one.

Q. Can we go through your birdies real quick.

WOODY AUSTIN: I hit it about five feet on No. 2.

I hit it about six feet for eagle on No. 5 and made that.

Par save on 6, holing out from 80 yards on 6, great par save.

I hit it just over the green on 9 in the fringe and chipped in.

11, I had it about 15 feet for eagle on 11, just lipped out.

I hit it about ten feet on 13, and I had it about 25 feet for eagle on 15 and thought for sure that one was in.

And then I hit it about 10, 12 feet on 16, and I bogeyed 18.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Woody, thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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