VERIZON BYRON NELSON CLASSIC

May 12, 2001

Justin Leonard

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, I've never shot 61 before, so this is kind of new. But just a great feeling, to have all the people from Dallas, family and friends today that were there. As I said earlier, I've played a lot of bad rounds on this golf course, and at this tournament, and all those people have seen and been with me through all those poor rounds and a couple missed cuts and things like that, and I think today is kind of a nice way to pay them back. So I'm even with everybody, and so that feels good. About the round, I birdied the first two holes and then I missed a couple fairways, made a good save at three, got it up-and-down from 100 yards for par. And it was kind of a little ragged through I guess maybe the ninth hole, and then I really started to hit some good shots and just played real solid the whole back nine.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think I've shot 29 before somewhere. I can't tell you where. But you know, I saw the weather forecast, I knew the wind was going to die down and be a little bit out of the north, which I think this golf course plays easier, especially the last four holes, and so I knew scores were going to be low. And you know, with an early tee time, I felt like it's probably the best opportunity to go out and shoot a low score. I wasn't planning on shooting a 61, but just trying to hit some good shots and after so many putts that I missed yesterday, nice to see a few go in today.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, there will probably be more now. It depends -- it's hard to comment on tomorrow, you know, with the leaders just being through four or five holes. But you know, hopefully I have a chance to win the golf tournament, and I know it's going to take another great round. I talked to David Toms this week, congratulated him on his win last week, and you know, he shot 127 over the weekend to win, and he shot 62 today, so you know, maybe there's my inspiration right there.

JUSTIN LEONARD: That's my goal.

JUSTIN LEONARD: That's the goal is to be able to play -- listen, I love playing hard golf courses, and I don't think that'll ever change, but unfortunately we don't play on the most difficult golf courses, under the most difficult conditions every week, and so you have to be -- I think to win tournaments out here and be consistent, you have to be able to play under conditions when it is easier to score. And so sure, I mean it's great to come out and shoot a low score today when scores are going to be low and there's a 62 in and guys are making a lot of birdies, but you know, I need to be able to compete on all different kinds of golf courses, whether it's difficult or whether it's fairly simple.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I knew he was at 11-under because he didn't tee off until I was at about 15 or 16, I guess, but I didn't -- I didn't really think about -- actually I lost track of what I was doing out there really until the last couple holes. I didn't know -- I didn't really look at the leader board, and when you tee off at 9:30 on Saturday, there's not much point of looking at a leader board. So I was pretty much just unaware of what was going on out there, including with my own game and my own score.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Any course record is wonderful, but to do it in my hometown with so many friends and family out, it makes it even better.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah. I didn't really keep up with where I was in relation to par. I guess I finally figured out walking over to 17 that I was 7-under. But how do you do it, I don't know. I'd like to do it more often. Too many times I've had to lose track the other way, so I don't know. But it was fun. It was fun trying to figure it out, and I knew the putt on 18 was for 61, but I'd like to get in that more often.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yes.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, my approach this week hasn't been very different from years past. I think I've always felt like coming in this week I've been struggling a little bit with my game, and again, when the conditions are good, guys are shooting low scores, it's pretty difficult to get in that mind-set when you're struggling going out and making five or six birdies each day. So my approach wasn't very different. I think my game is just in better shape coming into this week than it has been in the past.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, I hope so.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I understand. You know,shooting a score like today and getting back in the middle of the tournament, going into the last round, that's where I want my game to be, I saw a lot of progress the last month or so, and after taking two weeks off the last two weeks, it's nice to play well like today, I think it sets me up well for the next three weeks that I'm playing and going into my favorite time of year starting in June.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Looking back on it, I see that there was. I think I was in such a mindset to make some changes that the risk didn't really enter my mind at the time. Certainly there were a few tournaments and a few rounds in March that I remembered the risk. But you know, through the whole process I saw some good things happen every day, unfortunately it didn't usually happen on the golf course. It was more in my practice session, those kind of things, and just worked on taking it to the golf course. But now as I look back on it, I see that there was some risk there, but none of us are here to -- we don't want to be that -- we all want to try to be the best and be at our best and see if that's good enough, and I felt like these are the things that I had to do to help me keep improving and see how good I can play.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I got off to a good start. I made like a 6-footer at the first hole, a 10-footer at two. You know, I got up-and-down with a sand wedge from 100 yards on three for par. I made about a 30-footer for birdie on five. Then made probably a 40-footer for birdie on ten, so the next one I only hit it a couple feet. So it was anywhere from a foot to 40 feet I felt pretty comfortable, and you know, I made nine of them.

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. Not every week. I think this is a week -- this is a golf course that it is meant to play with wind. You know, it's not very often this time of year that we don't have it, so you know, when there's a slight breeze and out of the north, it makes the last few holes play much easier, but I think there's a lot of golf courses we play where all they have to do is get the greens a little faster, dry it out a little bit and that's plenty of defense, but a week like this week, next week, obviously Colonial, you know, any time you're in Texas I think wind's the best defense the golf courses have.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I've been focused on more immediate matters, but I know what's coming up, and it's a little extra incentive to work a little harder with the two weeks I had off. If it was in February and I took two weeks off, I wouldn't have hit balls nearly as much as I did, so you know, I think that the U.S. Open and this summer right now for me are a big motivational tool and is a big reason why I'm playing well right now is because I'm kind of gearing towards those tournaments.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yes.

JUSTIN LEONARD: The commercials always say 20 yards. You know, I think it's hard to say because I changed drivers in January to the new Titleist driver. I changed balls in November or October. I made the swing changes in November, so those things all kind of hit at the same time, but I would say I'm probably hitting the ball 10 to 15 yards farther now, right now than I was in September, October.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I missed the green at eight in the swale down to the left, and pitched it to about five feet, made that. That was maybe the only two greens that I missed. I believe so.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 13 I had a good chance. I mean I hit all three greens. 12 I hit it 25 feet above the hole, so just try to lag it down there. 13 I had a good chance and I left the putt. I didn't hit it hard enough.

JUSTIN LEONARD: 15 feet, and then 14 I had it 25 feet right of the hole.

JUSTIN LEONARD: They would maybe notice a little something different, but I think, you know, the average person, no, probably won't see it. But I can definitely see it and feel it, and probably the biggest thing that I've had to adjust to is the change in my vision, where I view the golf ball being at my old setup to where my head is in relation to the golf ball now, and that's probably been the biggest change for me, the hardest thing to get used to.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Because I'm more weight on my right side, my head's behind the ball at setup, whereas before it was ahead.

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. My swing plane hasn't changed much, but I'm able to get the club -- I don't have to move as much, so I can get the club shorter and it's comfortable. Before I felt like I was more comfortable taking a long swing because I had such a lateral shift. Now, because there's less time between the time when I start my swing to the top, then I'm more comfortable taking the club back much shorter.

JUSTIN LEONARD: It did. I mean I felt like I struggled. Obviously I missed the fairway at three, four and six, and so struggled there kind of through the middle of the round and in 10 I hit a great drive and had a perfect number for a 7-iron and I blocked it 40 feet right of the hole; and the pin's on the left, so the putt went kind of up the hill a little bit and then down. And then Scott McCarron, who I was playing with, made a 35-footer basically from the same kind of place, so I think it definitely got my round going, and you know, from there on out I played very aggressively.

JUSTIN LEONARD: My game is certainly better this week than it was last year. So if this continues, then I think I'll be in a much better mindset going into the Open. Last year I actually played well in my two tournaments before the U.S. Open, but I feel like I'm in very good shape right now to continue the progress I've made over the next few weeks, but the U.S. Open is certainly in the back of my mind.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think it's the round. I mean it's hard to say if it's the week. I think that in the past I've obviously never shot a 61 before. I've never been a real deep threat, so maybe I learned something today in that now I can really trust what I'm doing and keep hitting good golf shots, not waiting for something to happen, but maybe I'll -- hopefully I'll be able to shoot lower numbers than I have been. I mean that was the whole goal is to become more competitive and you have to take advantage of days like today.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I mean I think after today I do. I don't know if I really did before today, because the weeks where I played well, which were Augusta, which it was difficult and the Houston Open was playing very difficult, so this is really the first opportunity I've had, and hopefully -- hopefully I will be.

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, yesterday I didn't feel -- I didn't hit the ball very well. I wasn't very comfortable, and today, with the exception of three or four holes there through the middle of the front nine, you know, I was just out there hitting golf shots and swinging without much thought, but just trying to move it a certain way and figure out where I need to strike the ball. And as far as I know, that's the easiest way to play this game.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, I mean I'm a professional golfer and it only took me six months, so I think I have a much better understanding of a weekend golfer that goes and tries to make a swing overhaul. I've got a much better appreciation for that golfer now.