U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 13, 2002

Jeff Maggert

JEFF MAGGERT: It's fun, it's been a while since I really put together a good round like that, especially on a course as demanding as this. I've been struggling a bit with my golf game. I feel like it gets better every week, but I seem to have a hiccup along the way every week. I played good last week until Sunday. I feel like I'm getting a little better each day. I feel like I have a little more control on my golf swing now, and something that I've been working on. When it feels good, I play well. And today, I hit a lot of good shots, I kept it in play, made the putts that I needed to, and shot a good score.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JEFF MAGGERT: I just tried to approach this week and tried to think back at some of the Opens that I've played pretty well in. I know it's not a tournament that you've got to go out and shoot 7 or 8 birdies a round. And I wanted to be patient, and main thing, just drive the ball in the fairway. I've been driving the ball a little better lately, and I felt if I could keep the ball in the fairway this week, I could keep it around par. And today, I made a few putts and had a good score.

Q. How frustrating has it been for you?

JEFF MAGGERT: I would say this year has been the most frustrating. I didn't really know probably until late at the end of the year, last year, really around Christmastime, something in my swing that I've been working on. Last year, I was just kind of going through the motions, not really knowing why I was playing inconsistent. This winter, I worked hard on trying to fix something in my golf swing. I feel like I'm starting to hit the ball better. But I'm slow coming around, shooting some good scores and having a good tournament; it's been frustrating.

I missed a lot of cuts early in the year, so I didn't have a chance to test my game in the tournaments. I've been playing a little better. I think I made six or seven cuts in a row now and I just feel like my golf swing is improving a little bit each day.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JEFF MAGGERT: It doesn't seem very complicated. But I'm getting the club a little bit on the inside and the club face a little shut. And the first two or three feet of my back swing -- if I can get through that first two or three feet of my swing, I'm in good shape. But if I get it on the inside a little bit, I struggle. I have a lot of pull hooks, especially with the irons. It's been slow improvement but steadily and surely it's coming around.

Q. You made a commitment to fitness, too. Talk about what you've done there.

JEFF MAGGERT: I don't know, probably -- it's been a while now, five years at the Ryder Cup in '97, I just decided that I was getting a little too fat. So I started to work out a little bit. I didn't really go on any crazy diets, mainly just exercise. And I've been trying to stick to it. Probably not as in the routine as I was a couple of years ago, but certainly I'm still trying to stay fit. These young guys that are coming out here, they're playing pretty well, and I'm not getting any younger, that's for sure.

Q. You said you haven't been in this position for a while. What will it be like the rest of the week, tomorrow?

JEFF MAGGERT: Today is early. If I'm sitting here talking to you Saturday afternoon, it will be a different story. Definitely that's the game plan. There's a ton of holes to be played, and they're all very difficult. If you get off your game for a little bit out there, you can run into a mess of bogeys and really hurt your score. So I'm just trying to just hang in there and keep working on my golf swing, and keep putting it in the fairway.

Q. You'll be surprised if you're talking to us Saturday?

JEFF MAGGERT: I hope not. I hope it's late Sunday afternoon, as well. The confidence is probably not where it was three or four years ago in my golf game, but certainly, I'm starting to hit the ball like I used to.

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