BANK OF AMERICA COLONIAL

May 25, 2003

Justin Leonard

TODD BUDNICK: Like to welcome Justin Leonard to the interview room after his nine under 61 tied the course record today. Justin talk a little bit about how it felt coming up 18 with a chance to break to shoot 59.

JUSTIN LEONARD: It was a lot of fun. I really, after I birdied 15, I was thinking about it. I had to birdie two more holes and get, made a nice up-and-down at 16 and then hit a good shot into 17 to make that putt. A good drive on 18. And unfortunately I got down there, I kind of got stuck between clubs. I think I had 143, between an 8-iron and the 9-iron. And I, we just had felt like the wind had died down just enough and knowing that the adrenaline was running, I tried to kind of shut a 9-iron down and hook it in there. And it didn't work out. But it was still a lot of fun.

TODD BUDNICK: Talk about what got you going out there today. A lot of birdies, you started the day with an eagle.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, holed a bunker shot at the first hole for eagle, and then just hitting good shots, giving myself a lot of chances. I felt like the last two weeks I haven't made many putts over seven or eight feet. And today I made a lot of 10, 12 footers. I think that obviously you have to to shoot 61. That was probably the biggest difference it was just because I had been hitting the ball fairly well. Giving myself some opportunities. But today I finally took advantage of most all of them.

TODD BUDNICK: Go ahead and take some questions.

Q. Have you ever birdied out the Horseshoe before? Even in a practice round?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, somebody had said this is the first time in the tournament since '85. So no, I can count the birdies I've made on those three holes on one hand. Just in the last seven or eight years. I think this week I birdied five one other day. I birdied three one other day. Four I played even par. So for me that's -- for anybody -- but I have always struggled a little bit with those holes. And it was pretty darn good.

Q. Take us step by step that approach shot that fell short. What were you thinking, you know the record was there.

JUSTIN LEONARD: On 18? Well I had 143 to the hole. Knowing that the wind was hurting a little bit obviously with the ball in hand I got a good lie. So it was just really dead in between an 8-iron and a 9-iron. And it felt like the wind was dying down just enough and hopefully my adrenaline was pumping enough to get a 9-iron there. So trying to kind of shut down a 9-iron and turn it over and I'm trying to hit the ball a foot from the hole. And maybe that was a mistake. Give myself a putt at it. But I wanted to try and hit it close and it didn't work out.

Q. There is no dead horse here, but you can't speak for the leaders, but let me ask you: Could you have concentrated as well if we still had the crowd here as we had the first two days?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah there was, the last four or five holes we had a pretty good following. Not what was following Annika, but I'm not sure. I don't know if that would have affected me or not.

Q. Does a round like this give you some momentum now to kind of keep you going in this season, get things going good for you?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It does. I think going -- I played a lot of golf up to this point in the season. And my schedule really kind of starts to taper off to be a little more rested and those kind of things going into the imagines. So I think this is just a culmination of working pretty hard on my game the last couple of months, trying to get ready for this summer. And just like anything, I mean a couple good bounces here and there came together and I would certainly I'm looking forward to playing next week and to the three Majors left this year. But a day like today sure, I think that I'll gain a little confidence from today and hopefully that will help me through this summer.

Q. Playing lift, clean and place today, plus virtually no wind out there, could it have been any easier today as far as scoring conditions?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. Other than the pin placements, I mean there was with the weather we have had, there's really nothing -- there's not much defense out there today.

Q. It's 7,000 yards, relatively short by PGA TOUR standards, this course did host a U.S. Open in 1941, could it ever host a U.S. Open again or even with the rough up?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It could, I don't think it would be a great U.S. Open venue. And the thing you have to remember is this week it played so soft. Normally the ball is running another 30, 40 yards. So it's a 7,000 yard golf course that actually plays much shorter than that. You hit a lot of 1-iron, a lot of 3-woods off the tees. So I love this golf course. And I think it's a very difficult course. It's not a U.S. Open kind of golf course. But this is a special event and this is a great golf course but just not for a U.S. Open.

Q. With a Major coming up what do you know about Olympia Fields, anything at all?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I know it's outside of Chicago. And I'm staying at some hotel nearby. That's it. I really know nothing about it. I think the thing about a U.S. Open is you know what the course, how the course is going to be set up. So you just, it's pretty simple to prepare, it's just a matter of going out and figuring out what clubs off the tees and where not to put the ball.

Q. Do you know enough about it to -- it would seem to be, from everything I've read and heard about it, to be your kind of golf course. Do you know enough about it to say that or not say that?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, I don't. I hardly know anything at all about the golf course. I think I'm just going to prepare for how it's going to be set up and then if I can't figure the golf course out in three day, I don't deserve to play well.

Q. You said your putting had been holding you back a little bit this year, did you do anything differently, change putters or anything or was this just a case of --

JUSTIN LEONARD: I haven't really changed anything. I worked on the last couple weeks on keeping, hitting the ball more solid. Sometimes I get in the habit of coming up on the ball, trying to put too much top spin on it. And so I mishit some putts. And so trying to keep the putter blade down through the ball and hit it more solid, I've had some stretches where I've made some putts the last couple weeks, but today really going out there and putting great all day long was, today was the first.

Q. Have you ever shot 59 anywhere?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. Have you?

Q. No.

(Laughter.)

JUSTIN LEONARD: Never been asked that question?

(Laughter.)

Q. In fact that was my question. But I have another one. How much do you know about Kenny Perry and his game and what do you think about what he's doing here this week?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think Kenny Perry won this golf tournament yesterday. In shooting the round that he did. This -- I wouldn't think that this golf course would normally suit Kenny very well, because he's a high ball hitter, predominantly right-to-left. And this golf course I've always felt like I've come in here wanting to hit the ball as low as I can. Because of the wind and usually the fairways are firm. This week's been different. So I think you're seeing the scoring's been a little bit different and maybe some guys that normally play well here, like a Tom Lehman, he struggled this week because the golf course didn't play the way it normally has.

Q. It's been three years since you changed your swing and in that time you have had 61 at the Nelson, 61 here, I think one of your TOUR wins you were like 25, 26 under. Is that the greatest benefit you got out of it is sometimes the ability to step on the, put the pedal to the metal sort of?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It's probably the second greatest benefit. I think the greatest benefit is going out Friday and struggling with my ball striking, not hitting the ball solid. Going to the range that afternoon and being able to figure it out. And then coming out yesterday and hitting the ball very well. So it's fun to be able to come out and shoot low scores, but it's more satisfying to struggle one day and come back and play well the next.

Q. Yesterday Kenny Perry told us he was in a zone. Did you feel that at all today? Did things just completely flow for you?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I felt comfortable all day long. The only time I had any indecision about a club choice was number 18. The rest of the day it was pretty simple, it was never between a club, it was, okay, how hard am I going to hit this 7-iron. And it's fun to go out and just really see nothing but the flag. And there's not many days that we're able to do that, especially here at Colonial, because the greens get so firm and the wind's blowing. So I'm sure this golf course will more than makeup for it next year. But it was certainly fun today to fire at a few flags.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go ahead and go through your round.

JUSTIN LEONARD: There's one more right there.

Q. Back to your approach shot on 18, were you thinking about somebody like Jeff Sluman a couple of shots back or were you thinking about just 59 trying to put it close?

JUSTIN LEONARD: 59.

Q. And also on your chip shot, you seemed real aggressive with that?

JUSTIN LEONARD: 59.

Q. Was that the way --

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah.

Q. Did you land that exactly where you wanted to?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, I didn't. I wanted to try and get it on the ground before it got to the hole. But I also know that if it comes up short it's got no chance. So trying to -- obviously the fairway's pretty tight. There aren't too many different shots you can play. But just trying to hit it right at the flag and maybe it will checkup quick and go in or hit the pin or something. But, yeah, there was no way that chip was going to come up short. Okay. 1, hit a 3-wood into the front bunker. Front left bunker. And well knocked that in.

Number 3, hit an 8-iron about 8 feet. I made that.

Number 4, hit a 4-wood, 12 feet.

Number 5, hit a 4-iron, 12 feet.

Number 9, hit a pitching wedge to six inches.

Number 12, hit a 9-iron 10 feet.

13, hit a 7-iron four feet.

15, hit a 7-iron 10 feet.

16, got it up-and-down out of the bunker.

17, hit a 7-iron 12 feet. And then I talked about 18 for 20 minutes.

Q. Any close misses, Justin?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Let's see, I had a good chance at 7 from probably 12 feet. 11 I had it about 15 feet.

14, I had it about 18 feet. I like the way you're thinking though. Hey, I left three out there and then bogeyed 18. It could have been 57.

(Laughter.) Birdie 18, it's 56.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Justin.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Thanks a lot.

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