U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2003

Stephen Leaney

Q. Congratulations, Stephen.

STEPHEN LEANEY: Thank you.

Q. How do you feel right now?

STEPHEN LEANEY: I guess I'm happy and sad. I thought I had a very big chance today and I thought I had a very big chance after I holed that putt on 13. Jimmy made a great shot into 14, and he just kept me at arm's length all day. I didn't get off to the best of shots, bogeyed 1 and 3 and made some good birdies, but he was making great par saves on 2 and 5. It kept me at four to three shots all day and I wasn't putting enough pressure on him.

Q. Was there a memorable point at which you said to yourself, all right, I'm going to be the runner up in the championship?

STEPHEN LEANEY: It wasn't until 17, when I bogeyed 17. I thought if I could hole the bunker shot I had a chance, but after it didn't go in I realized I wasn't going to make 2 at the last without some luck. Again, I've had a wonderful week. I've got my U.S. Tour card for the next two years, which is what I wanted, and I've got The Masters, so I guess there are some good things to come out of it. I really believed after 13 that I was actually going to win. I thought I could bring it back, but it just wasn't to be.

Q. Do you plan to play here the next year? Are you going to use that card and stay here full-time?

STEPHEN LEANEY: Yes.

Q. What were your expectations coming into this week? What did you set for yourself?

STEPHEN LEANEY: I wanted to put myself in a situation where I would have a chance to win on Sunday because I haven't contended in a major before and I've been playing well enough, and I thought that if I got off to a good start then I would have a chance to win, and it came to be. Obviously today was disappointing, but it's proved to myself that my golf game is good enough to handle the pressure and handle the situation. Next time it comes about, hopefully I can draw on this experience and it'll help me in further years.

Q. (Inaudible).

STEPHEN LEANEY: It's played very tough today. I'm surprised there were so many guys going backwards. I found that hard to believe. I thought there would be a few guys making a bit of a charge but the course was playing hard enough. The last day is always going to be more difficult. I was surprised there weren't more guys under par but that's how good the golf course is.

Q. You mentioned the putts on 2 and 5 that looked like they were in 15-foot range when you were getting sort of a shimmer of hope. Sort of disheartening to see him hang in there and make those? He sort of kept you about three or more away the whole time.

STEPHEN LEANEY: It wasn't disheartening. You always expect players of Jim's caliber to hole those putts. I made a good birdie putt after he holed the par putt and I had a fairly good eagle chance on 6 and didn't make it. I guess the key for me was bogeying 7 and 8. That knocked the gap out to five. It was always to be hard on the back nine to pick up a five-shot deficit but after 12 and 13 I thought there was a chance.

Q. Do you feel maybe you could have been a little more aggressive?

STEPHEN LEANEY: I didn't put it in the fairway enough that I could be that aggressive. I thought I hit some fairly good shots on the back nine, hit a good shot into 12, hit a good shot on 13 and 14 and didn't come up right on 15 and 16 I wasn't expecting it to bounce left like it did. It's fairly hard to be aggressive on a golf course like this but I felt I did what I had to do and I'm disappointed that I didn't quite make enough putts. That's the way it is.

Q. Could you give us the play-by-play of the half flash on the 12th hole? Did you see any of that?

STEPHEN LEANEY: I saw someone run out and I made sure I looked away. You just don't need that. To that stage I had a pretty big par putt, I had a four- or five-footer and I just picked up a shot on 10 so it was a pretty key putt. It didn't break my concentration.

Q. It didn't apparently break his enough?

STEPHEN LEANEY: Well, it didn't. I don't comment on those sorts of issues because I don't think those sorts of people need the publicity.

Q. A lot of people we talked about earlier in the week talked about the fact that people are starting to get to know you, even the commentators on NBC were talking about how surprised they were to see you because we don't know your game. How important is it for you to come out here and have an impact and show the American public what kind of game you're capable of playing?

STEPHEN LEANEY: It was big. I watched the shows last night and the papers and everybody seemed to be talking about Nick Price and Vijay making a charge for the tournament and I didn't get a mention. It didn't spur me on but I wasn't surprised about it. People don't know my game, and hopefully today people will realize that I can play and that I have a chance to win these sorts of tournaments.

Q. The way you've been playing coming in, were you at all surprised that you were able to put together four solid rounds of golf?

STEPHEN LEANEY: Not surprised. I'm pleased that I did. As I said at the start of the week, I've been driving the ball well and I've been putting well, which is key for the U.S. Open. I was quietly confident that I was going to have a chance, but I'm not surprised that I played well this week, no.

Q. Stephen, finishing second in an Open affords you a lot of opportunity. Is it your plan to play on the PGA Tour next year?

STEPHEN LEANEY: It is for sure, yeah.

Q. Obviously you came in today looking to win, but can you just talk about how huge finishing second in this tournament is for you?

STEPHEN LEANEY: Second is obviously great, but first is what I wanted and I'm still very -- not upset, but I really believed that I was going to win today. It will take a few days to get over it. I really thought I had a chance to win today, so it's nice to come in second but I thought I was going to win. I guess I'm upset that it didn't happen, but I'm sure in a week or two I'll realize that I did play very well this week and there are lots of good things to come out of it.

Q. Did it feel at all like match play?

STEPHEN LEANEY: It did after four or five. I knew that if I kept the honor every hole I was going to have a chance, but once I lost the honor for a few holes I didn't have a chance to put the pressure on him on the tee and I didn't hit it close enough on a few holes but it certainly came down to a match play situation on the back nine.

Q. He didn't really give you a chance, did he?

STEPHEN LEANEY: No, he didn't. Well, he gave me half a chance on 12 and 13, but 14 I guess closed the door on me a little bit.

End of FastScripts....