MARCONI PENNSYLVANIA CLASSIC

September 20, 2001

Per-Ulrik Johansson

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: Okay. I mean, I played really good today. It felt like it was probably the best round of the year, because I had so many opportunities; that I felt like I didn't really, you know, get any -- I had two 3-putts and a few short birdie putts. And I made double on the third hole, the par 5 and hit in the water there, so it feels like it could have been really low. On the other hand. I did hole some long ones which I have not done all year. So I'm really pleased with the 5-under.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: My long game has been really good all year, but the putting was really awful the first part of the year, and I really started putting better when I had a couple good finishes in May, June at the Kemper and Colonial. Long game has been pretty good all year, like I said. So it's just a matter of keeping that and working on the putting. I've been working a lot on the putting lately. These are probably the best greens we've had all year, even though it's wet out there. There's a lot of breaks, and it's a little like Augusta; a lot of break and you've got to get the ball on the right side of the hole, so you have uphill putts. It really is a good golf course. I didn't even know you had the Ryder Cup here in, what, '75? I had no idea.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: The thing was, on Tuesday it was really firm when I played my practice round and it was kind of windy and dry yesterday in the Pro-Am, so I was almost worried about how do you keep the ball on the green, because it's going to be firm. But since this rain came, we could pitch it past the hole and almost spin it back. It did play a little longer, though. You didn't get much roll with the driver, but I played well. I think the key to this course, to play well, is the par 3s. Four really tough par 3s. I played those well. Like 17 is -- 8 is like 235 to the hole with a pretty small green. So those were the keys, I would say.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: I think I was maybe 2-under. So I did well.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: 11, I hit it on the green and I was about ten feet there for birdie. 12, I did 3 -putt, right on the green. That is one of those pins that's stuck front right. It's like Augusta; you've got to get it right of the flag pin-high and kind of feed down, just a little short, and it spun off the green, so I 3-putted. That was tough. 17, I hit a 3-iron -- it was a good 3-iron, too. It was about 20 feet. 18, if it was dry, I might have gone for it. I had 245 front but I laid it up and hit a lob-wedge to about five feet, six feet. No. 2, I hit 3-wood, pitching wedge to about a foot two, feet. Then the third hole, I hit a great drive and I had 220 front, 247 hole, and I don't know why I hit three. I cut a 3-wood in there because the greens were so soft and I hit it right. I was so upset, and I had a good round going; I threw it all away there. I had a couple chunks uphill, and then I was on the green in five and 2-putted. But my caddy told me to forget about it and go on and I had a good finish. 4, I hit driver, 7-iron to about ten feet. 5, I hit, I don't -- even know this course yet. I've only played two rounds. 5, I hit 3-iron to about 15 feet. 6, 3-putted for par. 7, driver, 9-iron about 15 feet. 9, I hit driver, 7-iron about ten feet. Quickest point I had all day. Funny thing is, I played with Steve Flesch today and last time I played with him was Accenture Match-Play, first round in Melbourne. And I was 6-under and I was 10-under after 15 holes, and he had a good round today, too. I told him, "We've just got to keep playing together." I told him -- you know, I've only played with him twice, but we enjoyed it.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: Yes, I did in May, prior to the Kemper Open. I had my LASIKs done up there from Dr. Whiney (phonetic).

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: Actually I had trouble after my surgery. It took a while to recover because I had really dry eyes and I had to keep putting drops in my eyes and I struggled for one or two months. Actually, I could not see during those two months well, but that was my best putting time of the year. I have to rely more on feel instead of sight. But then my sight came back and it's not perfect. So it feels good to wake up in the morning and watch the TV without putting any glasses on.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: Because of the dryness. There was nothing wrong with the surgery. It's just that some people, like one percent, react the way I did, and unfortunately, I was one of those one percent. It's just a matter of how the eyes are, but I kept having lubrication in and finally, the cornea kind of liquided up.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: I was playing so well so there was no sense of doubting myself. I just kept hitting good shots and give myself chances. It was a nice way to finish. I would have taken par on 9, because I was in the semi-rough. I had a pretty tricky lie. I had a great shot. Nice to finish with a birdie. The scoring is not that great. I think Nick's 7-under now. It's one of those courses where the field is going to being quite spread, because if you hit it well, it's quite easy to hit the greens. But out of this rough, if you miss the fairways, it's really tough to get it on the green.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: Yeah, it is quite a big difference. You can tell. I mean, we were down in Tampa and we didn't really know whether we wanted to play or not but we just waited for the decision from Finchem. We had a little meeting there with him on the speakerphone, and we made a decision not to play, which I thought was the right decision. I do think it was the right decision to play here because I think it's good to go on and do things that we're supposed to do. But you can definitely tell that the atmosphere is totally different. People talk about what happened. You know, it's kind of tough to concentrate on golf and sometimes you take that into consideration, thinking golf is not important, and it might make you relax and play a little better. Maybe you're nicer to people. Maybe this is the way we're supposed to be all the time. But definitely, I agree with you. It's strange.

PER-ULRIK JOHANSSON: I flew, yeah. I flew privately.