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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 20, 2004

Jeff Maggert

SHINNECOCK HILLS, NEW YORK

MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Maggert.

JEFF MAGGERT: Good afternoon.

Q. (Inaudible).

JEFF MAGGERT: I turned on my television this morning and saw what was going on and realized that it was going to be a little bit on the comic side today. I knew you'd have to play almost a perfect round of golf to really get out there and play without any bogeys, and I felt like you're going to make some bogeys today and you're going to get some really stupid bounces with the golf ball.

I probably played a little more aggressive than I did yesterday, and I just said make as many birdies as you can, and if the bogeys come, let them come, but as long as you're out there making birdies, at least you have a chance to go forward.

I wasn't in a position to play defensive. I couldn't go out starting the day in sixth place and those guys ahead of me. I felt like I needed to make a little bit of a run and hopefully post something under par. It was just tough. You guys saw what happened.

Q. How good do you feel about posting 72 when you know how hard it was and what was happening in front of you?

JEFF MAGGERT: 72 was actually a good score today. It was probably like a 3-under round earlier in the week. I just stuck to my game plan and played tough. I hit a few errant tee shots that cost me a few bogeys and made a few putts and made a nice bunker shot on the first hole.

I just needed to be in red figures a little bit more often today. If I could have hung around there at 1 or 2-under and then posted a 1 or 2-under when I finished, obviously those guys are looking at something that they've got to beat.

It's a little bit like match play out there for them now. It's just the two of them, and they can kind of play a little bit different style of golf. I needed to kind of get 1, 2, 3-under today, and I never could quite get there.

Q. When you made the long putt on 1, did you think, hey, this could be my day?

JEFF MAGGERT: You know, it's funny, before I got to the golf course I was thinking, you're going to have to have a lot of squirrelly shots today to shoot a good score, and lo and behold, I had a squirrelly shot on the 1st hole.

You know, it was definitely a good start to have that happen to me early in the round. It was definitely an up-and-down round with a lot of bogeys and a lot of birdies, but that's kind of what I expected.

Q. You're one of the few players that are not complaining about the condition of the greens. Could you comment on that?

JEFF MAGGERT: You've heard enough complaints. I can add on if you want, but I'm sure you've heard enough of that.

What everybody saw on TV speaks for itself. I mean, any sane person can be the judge of how the greens played and realize that it's a little ridiculous.

I really felt after Friday that they were going to let this happen to the golf course. They look up at the scoreboard and they see all those red numbers and they panic. They don't want 10-under to win their tournament, and that's just the philosophy that they've had forever.

Maybe this will be something that they can reevaluate, that decision to do that.

Q. How do you feel that some groups got water on 7 and some groups --

JEFF MAGGERT: I thought it was ridiculous. I was waiting for the water.

Q. What did they say to you?

JEFF MAGGERT: They said, we water it when we feel like it. I heard David Fay on television say they were going to water in between every group, so when I got to the 7th hole, the group finished, I was waiting, and I asked the USGA guy there if we were going to water, and he said no, they only water when they feel like it needs it.

Anyway, I made a good par there, so I was happy.

Q. And then you sacrificed your goal. What came over you?

JEFF MAGGERT: You know, just the fans sit there and they watch the hole and they like to scream and holler if somebody makes a par. I'm sure there's been enough said about that hole, so I can't go -- I can't demoralize it any further. I'm sure it's been raked over the coals enough.

Q. (Inaudible).

JEFF MAGGERT: No, I hit driver there today because the way the course conditions were, I just hit it hard and hoped for a good bounce and got it up there -- I felt like if I could have got it up there on that greenside trap, I could have made an easy birdie. I was in kind of some long rough and didn't have a very good shot there, but still, it was probably the best place to be.

Q. How do you explain the magic you had going with your putter today on these greens?

JEFF MAGGERT: You just hit and hope. I had kind of an attitude today, just hit the ball towards the pin and see what happens. I can't control the conditions of the greens, and I just played for a lot of the front of the greens and let the ball bounce up.

You know, yesterday I was very conservative on my putting, and I thought about it last night, and if I would have had three inches more roll on about a half a dozen putts yesterday, I could have shot a couple under par. Today I just went out with a little bit more aggressive attitude with the putter and don't worry if you hit it five or six feet by the hole. Let's just try to be aggressive and make some putts, and I think that was the difference.

Q. How impressed are you with Retief and Phil's ability to stay at or near par for the day given what it's like out there?

JEFF MAGGERT: Well, they're playing some really good golf today. When you get conditions like this, sometimes you can let your emotions get the best of you and really make your score worse. You can come out here and you can kind of chop it around. If you get some good breaks here and there, you can shoot around par. They just held it together, and they've been here before. They knew what was going to happen today, and they just played good, tough golf.

I like felt if I could have played a little bit more steady today and if I eliminated a couple of those bogeys here and there, I'm going to be right there with them.

Q. This is your 7th Top 10 here, and I'm just wondering how much of an accomplishment -- how this one is compared to the others?

JEFF MAGGERT: I had fun this week. I knew coming in I was playing well enough, and I just felt like I was going to have some opportunities this week to play well with a chance to win. The putter let me down a little bit yesterday, but I still had chances today. You know, it's tough to win major championships. There's a lot of great players out here that go their whole career and never win one, and I've got another eight, nine, ten years out here, and if I keep playing like I have been, I feel like I've got some good chances to win some of these.

Q. What is it about your swing and your game that holds up so well in U.S. Open venues?

JEFF MAGGERT: A lot of it is just accuracy off the tee, although I wasn't that great off the tee this weekend, and thinking your way around the golf course and accepting what happened today and realizing that you can't do anything about it. It's not to say, you know, that what they did to the golf course is wrong or right. I don't think it's right at all. I think the golf course should have played a little bit softer. You just have to accept that and go out there and make the best of it.

Q. Who is your swing coach?

JEFF MAGGERT: I don't really have a swing coach. I work with kind of a motivational coach sometimes.

Q. Who is that?

JEFF MAGGERT: Fran Piarazola (phon.). He works with a few players out here and some of the other professional sports, as well. He's helped me a lot this year. He's helped me really this year and last year. He's helped my putting quite a bit more than anything.

Q. How?

JEFF MAGGERT: Just focusing on maybe a little bit more of my stroke and just helped me with a little bit of my rhythm on my putting. Overall the past year and a half I felt like I putted a little bit more consistent. He's a good guy to be around, very positive and kind of keeps me in the right frame of mind.

Q. Did your wife stay home or did she come up?

JEFF MAGGERT: She actually came in last night. She said she was more nervous watching it on television than if she was here. She came up, and it was good to see her, and we had a nice dinner with all the kids last night, and she had fun today. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer and those new babies.

End of FastScripts.

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