MCI HERITAGE

April 20, 2003

Woody Austin

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Woody Austin, thank you for joining us. Tough way to finish up a playoff but it was a great week for you overall. If we could get some opening comments and specifically about the playoff. It was definitely interesting to watch.

WOODY AUSTIN: Yeah, it was a definite ebb-and-flow there, up and down, up and down.

I drove it so beautifully all week. I missed one drive all day today. I hit every fairway but one today, every fairway but one. Friday, I think I hit probably over 85 percent of the fairways for the week and the first drive in the playoff, I guess it's been a while since I've had a chance to get into a playoff. But I gave myself a chance. Unfortunately I didn't come out on top.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You had a Top-10 at the Honda a couple weeks ago and a Top-10 here. It's probably just a matter of time before you can get back in the winner's circle.

WOODY AUSTIN: Obviously, this was a hell of a chance. You can't say anymore than having a three-footer to win. I was given my chance and I just didn't take advantage of it.

Q. Looking at the regulation play, you eagled 2 this morning and you didn't get anything for a long time?

WOODY AUSTIN: I couldn't make anything. I hit a lot of -- I hit the ball so solid. Unfortunately a lot of times the first nine holes I was right in between clubs and I was hitting it so solid. I was flying the ball right to the hole and it was just releasing past the hole a little too far. I had maybe a 10-footer on No. 1 that I didn't make. I hit it right through the green on 2, I hit a perfect shot where I was trying to, solid right through the green and I chipped it in.

I hit a good shot on 4 behind the hole and didn't make that one. First bad swing of the day was No. 5. I hit a terrible second shot and was dead so I made a good 5.

But then 6 I hit it right at the flag. 7, I hit it right at the flag. 8, I hit it right at the flag. 9, I hit it right at the flag. I wasn't getting the ball really close but I had all makeable putts. They were not 30-footers or anything. I just couldn't get the ball in the hole.

Back nine, I hit a bad shot on 10 and that was it, other than a bad tee shot on 15. Other than that, I gave myself a whole bunch of chances again. I had an easy putt on 11, only about eight or ten feet on 11. I had about a 12-footer on 13. Made the one on 14; that was the only putt I made all day.

I had an easy chance on 15. I only had about a 5-footer on 15 and missed that.

16 was a tough little putt, I guess. 17 and 18, I was just off the green.

I mean, I played 36 holes on the weekend without making a bogey at Harbour Town; that's pretty good.

Q. Was it difficult to keep your patience?

WOODY AUSTIN: It's definitely difficult, especially for someone as hyper as I am. It's been nine years since I felt like I was hitting the ball -- or eight years since I felt like I was hitting the ball this good. It's fun to be back in the game. It's nice to know that I can hit it the way I used to because I consider myself one of the best ball-strikers in the game. There isn't a shot that I can't hit. I may not play very well a lot of times and it may not show up, but I'm not one of the best putters in the world; either which was just proven.

Give many he a golf course like this and it's a shot-maker's golf course, I'm going to be there when I'm playing well.

Q. Were you able to see Davis's chip-in on 18?

WOODY AUSTIN: I knew where he was, obviously. It was funny because I was just walking up the fairway and I asked Peter Kostis about Hal, I asked how he finished at 13, just to know about that and Peter said, "You're the only one at 13." Next thing, look up, heard a deafening roar and saw where he was to the right of the green.

Some people have -- this is a great place for him obviously and great things happen to him here.

I was hitting it so solid, just said, keep giving yourself chances. And like I said, I drove it so good this week. I knew if I just kept driving it good on the back 9 and give myself chance, and I didn't I gave myself a whole lot of chances.

Q. What would a win have meant?

WOODY AUSTIN: It would have meant the world. The last six years have been golfing purgatory for me. It really would have made me really feel good about what I have gone through the last six years. I thought about giving up, and my wife was supportive about keeping me in. It's nice to know I would have been back in the game. It would have been huge.

Q. What time frame were you thinking about?

WOODY AUSTIN: If I had something else I would have really like to do, I would have done something else. Everybody says I am very hard on myself and I am self-deprecating of whatever. I am self-taught. Everything I've done in this game I have pushed myself to do it. I have never made excuses for who I am or what I do. Irregardless of how people perceive it, if I am not playing to my potential, then to me, I am just wasting my time.

If you went to your job and got 50% out of your job, would you be happy? I don't think many people would be happy with 50% and I have not even gotten 50% out of my game in the last six years. So am I supposed to be happy? I don't think so. So at that point, maybe I need to find something else. And once it goes to starting to bother my family, then it's a problem, it was getting to the point that it was bothering my wife. Just like I told Davis on the last green, he said tough luck, and I said it's just so much fun to actually be in the game again and show people that I do know how to play the game and hit quality shots. I had numerous chances and it just wasn't my day.

End of FastScripts....