home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 29, 2005

Justin Leonard

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Justin, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center. Great back nine today, six birdies. Why don't you just talk about the day out there and a little bit about your tournament. We haven't seen much of you this week.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, because I haven't played this golf course yet (laughter). I felt like my game has gotten a little better each day. I've gotten a little more comfortable with a couple of things that I'm working on. One of the hardest things out here is reading the greens, and I think I did a really good job of that today. With Brent Everson's help, I hit a few more putts. I'm feeling more comfortable and more confident, and hitting more putts usually equals a good score out here.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Do you think it's an advantage to play PGA West today and then go back and play it tomorrow?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't know, maybe. The fact that I played here today and played well, I think if I played well anywhere else, I'd still feel good. I don't think it's a big advantage because everybody knows this golf course as well as everybody else.

But I think it's just an advantage to have played well today and shot a good score.

Q. Justin, did something happen at Torrey Pines that led you to believe that this was possible, that you were onto something good?

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, missing the cut by however many I did. I knew that I was going to be pretty rusty at Torrey Pines. It was my first tournament in a couple months, and playing with some new equipment, and I knew I'd be rusty.

But I felt like as the week went on, my practice sessions got a little better. It didn't necessarily transfer over to the golf course, but I just seemed to hit the ball more solidly as the week went on.

You know, I enjoy coming to this event. I enjoy playing with the amateurs, enjoy the golf courses, the weather, and so I felt like after my practice sessions on Friday and Saturday during the fog delays where I hit balls for about two hours, I don't know, maybe only being able to see it for about 60 yards had something to do with it, but yeah, I felt reasonably comfortable coming into this week.

Q. What did you do after the cut at Torrey Pines? Did you come directly here?

JUSTIN LEONARD: We came over Sunday afternoon.

Q. Your track record here the last couple years is actually I think tied for 6th and tied for 8th the last three years. Is it just that the golf courses fit you? You're comfortable trying to go 25-under par? What is it that seems to work with you here?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think these golf courses don't seem to suit a certain style of play. Sure, if you hit it a long ways, it helps, but it also helps to keep the ball in play, and these greens are so good, they're a little bit tricky to read sometimes, but -- and I think the tournaments on the West Coast, I look forward to putting the greens here and Phoenix, and so I really look forward to these two weeks because I have trouble with poa annua. So I just look forward to these two tournaments. And if anything, out on the West Coast I try and gear up for these two events.

I'm not a great West Coast player and I probably never will be, but I try and do enough good things out here to get my game in shape for March and April, and I think if I can play well early in the year like this, it'll make getting ready for March and April that much easier.

Q. Is everything new in your bag, all your equipment new?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I've got the same putter. That's it.

Q. How long have you had that?

JUSTIN LEONARD: And by the way, it's Nike. I need to mention that (laughter).

Q. How long have you had your putter?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Since April.

Q. Has there been an adjustment period with the equipment? Apparently not.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't feel like there is. I mean, I was testing -- really starting in the summertime, two or three different companies, and I mean, Tom Stites, who builds the clubs for Nike, he built sets for me eight years ago, so there's some familiarity there.

You know, it's actually been a pretty easy transition.

Q. You're one of the few people on the leaderboard that played with the celebrities in that rotation. It looked like the guys you were playing with were a pretty competitive group of guys. Did that make any difference to you who you're playing with in the celebrity rotation?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't think it does. In fact, I was asked by one of the tournament directors if I wanted a year off of the celebrity rotation, that they would grant me that. I said, "You know what? I don't think I want to see the grass on the other side of the fence." You know, it's fun.

I mean, I come here, it's a relaxing atmosphere, and when you're playing with George Lopez and Cheech Marin and Sam Jackson and Kurt Russell, I mean, I'm more into -- I'm talking with my caddie about, "You saw that movie Breakdown or whatever," and we get into all that stuff versus really probably what we should be talking about.

It's interesting, you can definitely see a difference between the athletes and the actors in that the athletes are -- they take it really seriously. They want to putt out, they want to really get into it. And the actors, I mean, they're having fun. Sam Jackson is really into it, but he's not afraid to pick up his coin every now and then.

Q. As far as who's ahead and who's still in it, how far down do you have to go to find somebody who's still in contention?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Tell me what's leading.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Last time I looked, 26 was.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 26. Phil, when I played with him a couple years ago when he won, he came back from four or five back. If there's a bunch of guys, it's hard to make up more ground. If there's just a couple guys out there, it may be a little easier. Either way, you probably have to shoot a really good score on this golf course to win because everybody else knows they have to do that, as well.

Q. Does having like the celebrities there, like you said, you talked to your caddie about a movie or whatever, do you feel like maybe that helps keep you distracted, maybe a little more relaxed because you're not thinking and grinding so much just on golf?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think it does. Again, I haven't seen the other side, but I really enjoyed the amateurs that I played with. I mean, the celebrities and the non-celebrities. If anything, it kind of diverts the attention. I mean, you can't tell me that there's more people out there watching me than there are Marshall Faulk and Drew Brees, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

Q. After last year, somewhat of a down year, how important or how much emphasis did you try to put on getting off to a quick start this year?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think it's important. It's not imperative. I talked about West Coast and really wanting my game in March and April, and then through August. I mean, that's the important time of year for me. Those are the tournaments I feel like I can really compete at and do well in.

But it is important. The better I play now, the easier it is to get ready and the more confidence I have going into those tournaments. You get to the TPC at Sawgrass, it's hard to find your confidence if you don't have much. Yeah, I look forward to this time of year, and for me it's about getting back into the game and working on a few things that I know I need to get done in the next month or two, and if I can play well, it's just a bonus.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Can we go through your birdies and bogeys real quick? You started on 1, birdied 4.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Birdied 4, hit an 8-iron to four feet.

Birdied 6, hit it just short of the green in two and pitched up to about eight feet.

Birdied 7, hit a 7-iron eight feet.

Bogeyed 9, drove it in the right green-side bunker -- no, drove it in the right fairway bunker, hit it in the right green side bunker, chipped it five feet short of the green, missed that for bogey.

Birdied 10, hit a 6-iron to ten feet.

11, hit my second shot just left of the green and chipped to a foot.

12, made a 30-footer.

13, hit a 3-iron to ten feet.

17, hit a 9-iron to eight feet.

18, hit it pin high right of the green and chipped to a foot.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thanks for joining us.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Sure.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297