U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 18, 2004

Corey Pavin

MODERATOR: Joining us at this time, 2-under for the championship, plus 1 for today, Corey Pavin.

Q. You said that you've been struggling over the last few years, and here you are.

COREY PAVIN: I'm still struggling, it's hard out there, it's a struggle on this golf course. I tried to make a focus this week on just concentrating really well. I'm trying to hit a shot the best I can. That's what I've tried to do. I've done it better so far this week.

Q. Did you come back to this course thinking that you could win again?

COREY PAVIN: I didn't think anything. I didn't think, you know -- I didn't think I could win. I wasn't thinking about, you know, missing the cut or anything like that. I was just trying to come out here and execute and play the best I could. I tried to have absolutely no expectations this week. I just wanted to have fun, enjoy myself, enjoy the crowd, the people here, and see where it put me.

Q. What did you have on 18?

COREY PAVIN: I had a 5-iron.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I had 3-wood off the tee. The course is playing totally different than it did in '95. I hit 3-wood and 189 to the front. So I had -- so I was 20 yards ahead. I hit 3-wood and not very good at that. Totally different conditions.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: A 5-wood, I think, instead of a 4-wood.

Q. Is that a difference in technology?

COREY PAVIN: Yeah, I think that's it. Hopefully my swing is a little better, that has something to do with it, and maybe I'm in better shape and all that stuff. Add it all up together and maybe it's a club difference.

Q. On 17 you seemed pretty upset that you missed that putt, what was going through your mind?

COREY PAVIN: I hit a bad putt, that was what was going through my mind, after I hit it. It was probably the easiest putt you can get on this golf course. So it was a 12 foot putt, right edge, uphill. And it's a putt you die for out here and you want to have it. And I made a bad putt, I was upset with myself. I don't mind missing them, that doesn't bother me, as long as I execute it and do the right thing, I can handle missing it, I don't like when I don't execute it properly.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: Sure. The way to play the golf course hasn't changed tremendously. Still for me the bottom line is to keep the ball below the hole, and if that means missing the green and chipping it, that's okay, too. That's really, as far as I'm concerned, the most important thing to do out here. It's a lot firmer, it's playing a lot faster out there. So with the course playing a lot shorter, but that doesn't mean it's playing easier, though. The only reason the scores are so low is because the weather is so good. We've had hardly any wind. In '95 we had a lot of wind. I think the course was playing easier in '95 than it is now, but we don't have the wind. The wind is the big factor right now.

Q. You'd like to see the wind come back?

COREY PAVIN: I think we'd see some interesting stuff with the wind blows. The course is set up that way. It usually does blow. I think it would be quite an interesting golf course if the wind blew like it did on Monday and Tuesday.

Q. How do you feel with about your situation, in contention heading into the weekend?

COREY PAVIN: I'm not going to think about it a whole lot. I'm going to go out and do what I've been doing the last two days. Just hit every shot as good as I can, and focus on each shot and play the most intelligent shot I can at that time, and just see how I am. I don't see any reason to change that.

Q. In the last few years, what have been the basic problems with your game, what are you trying to overcome now?

COREY PAVIN: The sun is right there, so -- that's a long answer, but, you know, basically -- I guess basically my swing just went south. I lost a lot of confidence after that happened. Now my swing is a lot better, and now I have to get my confidence back. I guess that's it in a nutshell.

Q. Is this the place to get the confidence back, a U.S. Open?

COREY PAVIN: I don't know if this place is the place, but any place is the place. I just need to go out and execute and play some golf and that's what I'm trying to do now.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: No, I think anytime you come back to a golf course, anytime I come back to a course I've done well on, I have a good feeling about that tournament or that golf course. It doesn't matter if it's Shinnecock Hills and a U.S. Open or Colonial or Riviera or anywhere else that I've won, I feel good and it's a comfortable golf course and there's a lot to be said for being comfortable on a golf course.

Q. How did you get your swing back? Talking about you went through a period --

COREY PAVIN: I've made some changes in my swing, it's different than it was in '95. I've searched with a few different teachers, and worked with Butch Harmon for 8, 9 months, 10 months, and it's improved a lot, now I have to get out there and execute on the golf course.

Q. Has the new equipment helped you?

COREY PAVIN: It helps everybody the same. The long hitters are even longer and the shorter hitters are trying to keep up. Nothing has changed, it's just -- the one constant there being with golf is the equipment will change and get better.

Q. Would you say being in the position you are now isn't somewhat of a remedy for the confidence?

COREY PAVIN: I don't know if it's the complete remedy, it helps, certainly. It's a spoonful of medicine, I just need to keep taking it.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I have a wider swing.

Q. You seem that you're making a lot of putts. Is it being comfortable on these greens?

COREY PAVIN: I grew up on greens very similar to this in Southern California, I grew up on poa annua greens. In the afternoon they get a little stressed. But these greens are very much what I grew up on. I like the look of them. I like the slope that's on the greens. There's not a lot of lumps and bumps, it's a lot of continuous slope, in general. And I like that. I like to have a cut that keeps breaking and breaking, as opposed to breaks and goes the other way and up and down and all over the place. Most of the old golf courses are like that.

Q. On No. 10 it didn't get to the green.

COREY PAVIN: On my second shot? I hit a pretty good second shot from the rough. It almost got up to the green, that's a pretty tough second shot into that hole, no matter what you have in there. That's the way the golf course is. It didn't surprise me. Once it didn't get to the top, it wasn't going to stay there, that's for sure. You have to try to get up-and-down from the bottom, which is a tough place to get it up-and-down from.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I don't know, you have to ask them. I would think that some of it has simply to do with that I won here last time, that has something to do with it. Bethpage the fans were really cool there and really nice to me and supportive. I think it's just maybe this area has a lot to do with it since I won here. But I'm all for it. I love the fans, they've been fantastic to me. The New York fans are vocal. And thank goodness what they're saying to me is good. But if they had something bad to say, it's probably true. They're very straight forward and honest, and I like that. I really enjoy that from people in general, but it's great from the fans here.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I've had a lot of support wherever I go. It's been nice. Here it seems to be more, just because of the situation with the tournament, coming back. But it's nice walking around wherever I am, and people are encouraging me to do well and there's a lot to be said for people that encourage others.

Q. Do you play here often?

COREY PAVIN: Since '95 I've played -- probably -- obviously Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, here. I played three weeks ago. And I played about ten holes on Media Day, which was about a month ago.

Q. You've talked about being a happier person right now. I'm curious about what you think David Duval has gone through, he seems much happier?

COREY PAVIN: I think he's really intelligent what he's done. I give him a lot of respect to David for just sitting down for a while and getting away from golf. Obviously he wasn't -- from what I've heard him saying in interviews, he wasn't happy playing golf, so why play? It's simple as that. If he's not happy, just take a break. It's a very wise move, very mature move to sit down and just stay away from competitive golf for a while. I respect him a lot for that.

Q. In retrospect, do you wish you would have done that at some point?

COREY PAVIN: No, I don't think that was the right move for me. Obviously we have different -- everybody has different personalities. We have different personalities. What was right for David was right for David and what's right to me is right for me.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: Well, I won the Open in '95, so I'm exempt through the end of next year. I haven't really thought about that too much. But thanks for bringing it up (laughter.)

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I'm looking forward to resting this afternoon. I'm going to do a little bit of practicing. But I need some downtime right now. It's so hot out here, it's not Shinnecock Flats, it's Shinnecock Hills. It's hot. You need time to let the body rest and recuperate, and watch a little golf on TV.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: No, I felt okay. I didn't feel like I was losing strength out there or anything like that. I think the hardest thing was mentally staying focused, because it's a long time out there, not just today but with what happened yesterday, playing and stopping and going back out and stopping and getting very little sleep. It was eat, go to bed and get up. There wasn't much rest.

Q. What time did you get to sleep?

COREY PAVIN: I got up at 5:00 this morning, which is about as late as I possibly could have.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: I think the weather is going to be the biggest factor. If the wind blows, even par is going to be good score, for each round.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: You don't have to win to be successful. For me, I just want to get out there, execute and do things the way I know that I can. And the more I can do that, the better it is for me. And that's all I want to draw out of this week. I don't know, but whatever, as long as I do what I'm trying to accomplish, that's where I gain momentum from that.

Q. What do you think for somebody that made nine birdies out here, Tim Herron?

COREY PAVIN: He can make some birdies, can't he? That's good. I don't know how many Neal made in the last round in '95. He must have made 8 or something. I think it's actually in some ways it's easier in these two days to make some birdies, but nine birdies out here is awesome. That's just incredible. That's a lot of birdies in any U.S. Open, but out here, especially, the greens are firm and tough to get at some of these pins. I'm sure he made some putts to do that.

Q. You putted 5 and putted 16?

COREY PAVIN: Yes. It was funny, because it broke up there, and actually hit Justin Rose's coin, and helped it go left a little bit more. And it hung on the lip, and actually I thought I saw it rolling, like it was going to fall in and then it stopped. I was like shocked that it didn't fall in right then. And I still thought it was going to probably fall in. I can't remember what I said. But I was encouraging it to fall. And it did. And that was kind of neat. It was fun. Those are always fun.

And then 16, is that what you're saying? Man, I looked good going up there. Actually I hit a chip on 17, from just short of the green, that looked exactly the same. It was almost coming from a right angle, breaking right-to-left. I thought it was going -- I thought it was going to go in on 16. Those things I can handle. I hit a great putt and it doesn't go in, that's okay, I can live with that.

Q. How long was that on 16?

COREY PAVIN: 35 feet or so.

Q. And 5?

COREY PAVIN: 5, probably 15 feet, maybe, something like that.

Q. (Inaudible).

COREY PAVIN: 16? Nowhere near it. I can't even -- I don't remember hitting a shot down the hill -- I remember it -- I don't know -- what I remember is hitting wedges, 9-irons, but it was dead into the wind. But it was kind of nice in a way, both par-5s. But it was kind of a crosswind you can reach them both.

Q. What did you hit into 16?

COREY PAVIN: 3-wood.

End of FastScripts.