WORLDCOM CLASSIC--THE HERITAGE OF GOLF

April 19, 2002

Justin Leonard

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Justin, for joining us. Great round today, 7-under par, 64. 11-under for the tournament. A couple of comments on the conditions out there this morning, and then we'll go to questions.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Conditions are pretty good. There's a little bit of wind, and it's obviously picking up a little bit this afternoon. But just nice to get off to a good start. Yesterday before I teed off I was already nine shots back. So it's kind of a daunting task. But I can say at least I was ahead of Davis at some point during the tournament. And I don't think any of us -- I doubt that I'll be leading after -- by the end of the day, but just nice to be in good position and improve on my not so stellar record here at Harbour Town.

Q. Justin, a lot of people going low, great round. Can you talk about the psychology of going low; once it starts happening in a round, and what you do mentally with it?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It's a little easier when you're trying to catch somebody or a score, those kind of things. And after seeing yesterday morning how many guys shot good rounds, I knew it was important to play well this morning. And just happy to be able to do that. But I think you have to learn out here at some point to go shoot a low score.

Q. Justin, you talked about your previous record here. I think you maybe had combined $20,000 in six trips here?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Oh, it can't be that much. I know I've missed at least three or four cuts and --

Q. Isn't this supposed to be a course that would play well for you?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, you would think. In fact, I told everybody, my agent, my family, everybody, I said don't let me go back to Hilton Head next year. I need a break. And then looking at my schedule, I needed to take two weeks off in a row. And it just worked out to where I really needed to play this week. It's like, oh, here we go. So I came in here with a decent attitude, because I'm married now, that's a big change. I've got a different caddy. I've got new irons, a new driver, new putter, new ball. A lot of new stuff, a lot of changes. And I thought maybe all this new stuff will work. So, you know, so far it has.

Q. With equipment, you talked about at the beginning of the year, you talked about recently you've got new equipment?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, just all at the beginning of the year.

Q. Has it been anything in particular that's worked better this year than maybe some other years here?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. I've still gotten a couple of goofy breaks, like I always do. Yesterday on 13 I hit one, it hit the railroad ties in the bunker and shot out the other side. I thought it was out-of-bounds. So we're all going to hit it in divots and so I'm still getting a little of the goofy breaks. But I think I've got a little better attitude. And I think I'm a better golfer than I have been coming in here and played pretty well last week. So I think I'm in a little better position than I have been in the past.

Q. Is it just kind of like I've got nothing to lose here attitude in a way, because if you don't do well, well, it's just Hilton Head?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Sure. And I can chalk it up to that. And I'll see you guys in about six or seven years (laughter.) And my wife, Amanda, put it on me, because she's been at the tennis clinic and all that. I really like this tournament, you need to play well, so we can come back. If I keep this up then we might -- it might become a little more solid on the schedule for next year.

Q. What's been your problem, Justin? What have you done in previous years?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I have no idea. I've come in here playing fairly well, I've come in playing not so well. But you'd think it's kind of a shot-maker's course; you've got to move it around some, short game is tested, that's kind of my deal. And why I haven't played well, I have no idea. But glad to finally turn it around, at least for a couple of days.

Q. There's a lot of good scores out there. Is there any indication of why people are doing so well today?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think the fairways are fairly soft. I don't know why. There are some dry spots, but a couple of times today I had mud on my ball. And I don't understand that. But that opens things up a little bit. The greens are in perfect shape. They're not -- they're at a speed where you can putt aggressively from anywhere. These guys are pretty good.

Q. Do you anticipate that, maybe not watering the course tonight or trying to toughen it up a little bit?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I wouldn't think they'd be putting water on it. But, again, I'm not sure. But the golf course is in great shape and the weather is warm, so the ball is going a pretty good distance. And we haven't had that 20 to 30 mile an hour wind that you can get here sometimes to really toughen it up.

Q. You mentioned your new caddy. Who is it? Who was your old caddy and what happened?

JUSTIN LEONARD: We won't get into old caddies. Brent Everson is caddying for me right now. He started working for me at Doral. And I think we make a pretty good pair.

Q. You don't want to get into what happened --

JUSTIN LEONARD: I'm not going to get into old caddies.

Q. What does he do that somebody else might not have done for you, the new guy?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Again, I'd rather not get into that.

Q. But he's obviously doing something that you're more comfortable with?

JUSTIN LEONARD: He's a good caddy, and I like his attitude. He's very upbeat. And all the guys who have caddied for me have been like that. After I while things get stale and you've got to make a change. He does a good job.

Q. Justin, we probably all have our own takes on this, but how has the marriage helped to change your attitude?

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, I think the biggest thing is just having the wedding behind us. The planning and the unity candles and all this stuff. It was great -- I enjoyed the day, but I'm glad it's gone. I don't know, it's just maybe a little peace of mind. After traveling with her this year, I don't know what I did when I was traveling alone. I had to be bored out of my mind. And it's great to find somebody that I want to be with all the time. It's incredible.

Q. How long have you guys been married?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Two-and-a-half months.

Q. Is your wife from Texas or where is she from?

JUSTIN LEONARD: From Florida, but lives in Texas now.

Q. Do you talk golf or other stuff? Is she a golfer?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Not really. We can talk golf, but there's plenty of other stuff out there.

Q. Justin, how important is tomorrow to get off to a good start, two par-5s, with the first five holes; is that a key to your start?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I think I'm maybe 8-under those first five holes through two rounds. So I think that's a real important stretch for everybody. You've got to get at least a couple of birdies there just to feel like you're breaking even with everybody. And it's real important to get off to a good start.

Q. What's the difference kind of between what you used to do off the course on the road and what you do now, now that you've got your wife traveling with you sometimes?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't know. I mean, I didn't do a whole lot. I think I just -- I hung around here more, around the course and just probably piddled more. Now I get my stuff done, I want to get out so we can go do something. But like I said, I don't know what I did. But I was bored out of my mind.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Let's go through your round.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 1, hit a pitching wedge to four feet, made birdie.

2, hit a 3-wood, second shot about 25 feet and 2-putted.

4, hit a 5-iron, 12 feet, made that.

5, hit a 3-iron second shot, 25 feet, 2-putted.

8, hit a 6-iron 15 feet right, 2-putted.

16, hit a 9-iron, 15 feet, made that.

And then 18, hit a pitching wedge 12 feet.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Couple more questions?

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your finish today? Everybody was talking about what a great start you got off to, but you make the birdie at 18. Can you talk about the strategy of playing the last three holes and how the wind affects play?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It affects more on the second shot on 16. And obviously today it's kind of a cross. So 16, 17 are difficult because you can't quite -- it's hard to decipher if it's helping or hurting. So 16 is not playing that difficult, just a front right pin.

17, picking the right club is pretty difficult. The pin being back, with the crosswind, it's hard to tell if it's helping or hurting. And then 18, I think most everybody will be hitting 3-woods. Some guys may hit irons today, because it's straight downwind. And the back pin there is pretty accessible. 18 is playing a lot easier than it was yesterday.

Q. Can you compare those holes to other holes you'll play in other courses on Tour, where the wind so dramatically affects how you play the hole? Because we've seen the wind blow the opposite direction from green to tee on 18 before, and becomes a real bear.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 17 and 18 are very exposed and versus the rest of the golf course, that is pretty sheltered. So the wind can be blowing pretty hard, not quite feel it as much. And then 17 and 18, obviously being that exposed, you know, 90 degree or 180 degree shift in the wind changes those holes quite a bit.

Q. What are the kinds of clubs you have? You mentioned you changed clubs.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Same company, Ben Hogan, just different set.

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