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BANK OF AMERICA COLONIAL

May 21, 2004

Justin Leonard

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

TODD BUDNICK: Welcome, Justin Leonard, co-leader through 36 holes at 6-under par for the tournament. Justin, a much tougher day, but you fared pretty well out there.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yes.

TODD BUDNICK: It seemed like it was a lot tougher out there today condition-wise. A lot of guys have mentioned it and you managed to fight your way through.

JUSTIN LEONARD: The greens got pretty dried out this afternoon with the wind blowing as hard as it was, there was just no letup today. Even the easy holes are hard when the wind is blowing like this.

Q. With that being the case, how good is a 64 and how good do you feel about throwing down that kind of a number on this type of conditions today?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It feels very good. I've been struggling the last couple of months and showing signs of playing well at times, so to go out and shoot a round today like I did, it feels very good. Hopefully this is the beginning of some good play.

Q. Last year you had the record here, and I think you were 7-under through 11. After you had the eagle, almost a double eagle at 11, what were you thinking there? You're off to another good start. What's going through your head at this point?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Last year I was thinking 59 after about 15 holes. 7-under through 11, I was kind of getting into the toughest part of the back nine. I wasn't real concerned about it, just trying to hit some -- playing one shot at a time.

Unfortunately, at 12, I didn't hit a very good tee shot and played safe on my second shot and 3-putted.

13, I tried to play safe again and hit it just a little too far and ran my chip past the hole.

That was disappointing, a little bit deflating, but then to make a good up-and-down on 14, and then I had three really good chances -- actually two really good chances at 15 and 17, it felt like I hit two good putts, and then 16 made a good putt. A good way to end the day, giving myself some more chances.

Q. Justin, you're a British Open champ and you played very well under extreme conditions, what are the keys to going low when it's so tough out and you're battling wind and small greens and the sharp doglegs? What's the important thing that gets you through a day like today?

JUSTIN LEONARD: For me, it's picking my spots when I'm going to play aggressive, which pins I'm going to shoot at, and the other -- there are times when I don't, whether I'm in between clubs or the shot just doesn't feel right, to play safe, and I did that today. I actually made some putts on those holes and made a couple of bogeys, as well. For me, it's just picking my spots.

3, I felt good about it, and the pin is back right, I hit it just right of the hole and hit it about six feet. That's a hole where normally you wouldn't think kind of a green light, but it's just a shot I felt comfortable over, and there were shots out there that I didn't, and I played safe on most of those. You can't just go hit it at every hole.

Q. Speaking of picking your spots, No. 4, J.L. came in earlier and said it was basically impossible to stop it from running through the green. What was your plan of attack on that hole? Where did you hit? Where did you end up?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think it was 230 something to the front. I don't know, a yardage there isn't very important. I tried to hit a 3-iron and I was just going to land it basically into the face of the hill and I caught it off the toe, and ended up about 5 yards short of the green, and I was able to get that up and down. I can count the number of times I've hit that green on one hand. The only time I've tried to fly a ball on that green is when it was into the wind and I'm hitting a wood. Any time it's downwind I'm just trying to bounce something up.

Q. Also the lead did not move today from 6-under from yesterday. When Olin Browne won here in '99, I think it was 8-under that led. Do you think single digits under par could win?

JUSTIN LEONARD: If we get the same wind that we had today, yes, I think so because the golf course is just going to continue to dry out and get faster. And the same thing with the greens. Yes, I could see single digits winning, but if the wind dies down a little bit, then it would probably be more than that.

Q. Would you mind just running through 11? What did you see on that shot? How close do you think it came? And just kind of run through how close you came to double eagle.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I hit a good drive down there and I had 261 to the front, and I think the pin was about 5 on. So it's just a good 2-iron and land it, I don't know, fly it about 230, 235 and let the wind and the grass take care of the rest. I hit it on the line I wanted to. And actually when I hit it, I thought it needed to sit down a little bit because I hit it pretty well. The ball rolled, it probably rolled within a cup of the hole, I would say, and ended up, I want to say, about seven feet just past the hole.

Q. (Inaudible)?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, I was too busy trying to get it to sit down. I couldn't really see the ball until it got to the front edge of the green. I guess there was a second or two there when I thought about it.

Q. The conditions from last year's Sunday round, with the wind blowing today does the 64 rate up there with a 61 from last year positively?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Positively, yes. I don't think the actual round itself, but as far as the state of my game from where it's been, I think today is a bigger kick in the butt for me than what last year's round was.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through your round. A birdie on No. 1 to start the day.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I hit a 3-iron in the front bunker and blasted it out to about seven feet.

3, hit a 7-iron about six feet.

7, hit a pitching wedge to 25 feet.

8, hit a 5-iron to a foot and a half.

10, hit a little 7-iron just kind of short -- actually it wasn't short of the green, but short of the flag. It was off the green and I had an awkward stance and chipped it in from there.

11, you already know.

12 -- do I have to do bogeys too?

Q. (Inaudible)?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Seven feet.

16, hit a 7-iron to about 25 feet.

Q. The chip in on 10?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It was probably 20 feet.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Justin. Good luck this weekend.

End of FastScripts.

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