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SHELL HOUSTON OPEN

April 23, 2004

Zach Johnson

HUMBLE, TEXAS

CHRIS REIMER: Zach Johnson, 5-under today is tied for the lead. Long day for you out there today. What was it like.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, it was long. I got off to a good start and I had a lot of momentum, just kind of riding with it. I was hitting fairways, hitting greens and making putts.

When the delay came it was a little frustrating, but it's frustrating for everybody probably. You can use it as a positive or you can take it as a negative. I got something to eat, relaxed a little bit and got my rhythm back when I went back out.

Q. And then you went out and made a bomb, right?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, that was lucky, complete luck. It was basically like 60 feet or something like that. It was ridiculous.

Q. You had said on TV that you were going to go practice your lag putting. Did you actually kind of practice some similar putts?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I tried to. It's hard to, but I tried. There's no putt the same, so obviously -- I practiced a lot of 40-footers. That's what I was trying to do.

Q. Did making that putt change your attitude a little bit about the frustration of the delay?

ZACH JOHNSON: I really wasn't that frustrated. The only frustration came was that I had some rhythm and momentum and it came to an end. When I went back out and practiced I felt like I got my tempo and rhythm back.

Over all it really wasn't that bad. I felt good still and hit a lot of good shots. I made a couple bogeys but really only hit one or two poor shots, but I just trusted it, and it was great.

Q. How much of a relief was it to get in tonight and not have to come back tomorrow? How dark was it getting as you were coming up 18?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, Spike McRoy's caddie, Jim, called the second they blew the horn. He said they're about to blow the horn, and two seconds later they blew the horn. I'm fortunate to be finished for sure. I've come out early on mornings after a delay too many times. It's not fun.

Q. It looked like you really stepped on your drive at 18. Was that a little pent up or something?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, I didn't. It was downwind right to left. The fairways are dry. They're pretty firm right now. I know we've got some rain in the forecast, but they're very, very dry, so you're getting 50-plus yards -- well, 40-plus yards of roll probably. I turned it over a little bit into the wind. It was kind of a missed shot into the wind, but it went.

Q. It's been a really good stretch for you in the last, what, six weeks or so?

ZACH JOHNSON: Sure, yeah, thank you.

Q. Do you ever pinch yourself?

ZACH JOHNSON: No, not really. I mean, I've had an okay West Coast, and then I came back out east and got to work with my instructor for a week, and that was great. Now I'm starting to feel the results of our work, and it's been great. I feel like I'm playing about like I was last year. I was really consistent last year and I was able to make a lot of cuts. I mean, out here everybody hits it good, it's just a matter of who makes the putts. My putting feels good, my rhythm feels good, I'm just trying to get it down the line.

Q. Payoffs here are much greater, though, right?

ZACH JOHNSON: Well, financially, absolutely. To me, this is my job. It's just a game. That's kind of my approach. I've definitely got higher priorities than what I'm doing, but I give 110 percent and I love to do it. I'm very fortunate and blessed.

CHRIS REIMER: Zach, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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