U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 1998

Justin Leonard

LES UNGER: We are glad to have Justin Leonard with us today. Justin, your name has come up quite a few times in the last day and a half of talking to some of your fellow pros as the kind of player who would have a good opportunity this week, and I wonder if you would agree with them.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, this is a week that I look forward to because I have an idea what the golf course setup is going to be like. Traditionally tight fairways that will be firm, fast and firm greens, a lot of rough around the fairways and greens. Put a real premium on keeping the ball in play. Here this week trying to keep it below the hole. I have enjoyed playing the golf course. Feel okay about my game right now, and, you know, hopefully, I can hit the ball well enough to give myself a chance.

JUSTIN LEONARD: It seems to be getting a little drier. I played really early this morning so the greens were still pretty soft. But, it seems to be drying out a little bit. A lot of places where the sun doesn't hit the greens, you know, certain spots on the greens and things until 9 o'clock, those areas are going to stay a little soft. But, I think it seems a little faster later in the day, and I think the forecast is reasonably good, so I see no reason for that to continue.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, if you are playing pretty good, it sure makes it a lot easier. Guys who are driving the ball well are going to have a good week here. If you are not, it is going to be tough. So I think that realizing there are some holes that, if you miss a fairway or something, making a bogey is a pretty good score and, you know, just staying patient. But I think, as in the past at the U.S. Open, driving the ball is really the key to playing well.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, this is the only way I have played it, so I am not so much sure about playing it as a par 5. But, I have hit driver, driver, 3-wood last couple of days, and, with the wind a little bit in, it is an extremely difficult hole. Just trying to get it up there somewhere around the green, not necessarily on it, but give myself a chance to try to get it up-and-down is basically the way I am going to try to play it this week.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, when I hit a 3-wood, I am pretty much trying to hit it on the green. I have been right around the front edge.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Take it as you wish. I had a pretty good year. I have been playing reasonably well of late. A couple of good results and it is just -- I am not going to come in here overconfident. So like I said, I enjoy playing the golf course. I feel pretty good about what I am trying to do right now, and hopefully, I will play well this week.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I played with him on Monday and I think he is playing really well right now. I think it is great to give him a chance to play here, for him to come out and qualify the way he did, and I wish him the best of luck this week.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, I think that if you were going to pick a couple of tournaments for me with my game to play well in, this would be one of them. Because when I am playing well, I hit a lot of fairways. I make a few putts, and really, I think, avoid making mistakes. I am a very patient player. I think those are the kind of attributes that pay off in this kind of event where par is a really good score as I think it will be this week. I look forward to this Championship because I feel like I am going to do well, and I am comfortable with the setup. I know what to look for, and this is the kind of golf that I like to play.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I am not going to predict any scores, but I think the golf course is -- seems to be getting a little more difficult everyday. With the wind blowing the way it is today -- I don't know if that is supposed to continue -- but, it just depends a lot on the weather and what it does.

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, I wouldn't say it is a fetish. I think people have fetishes about cheese and chocolate. It is just I am a pretty organized person. I don't have labels on everything. I don't even have one of those labelmaker deals, but you know, I just -- I like knowing where my stuff is.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't think that -- I don't look at anybody as a young guy or an old guy. Golf isn't really a sport where age makes a huge difference. I mean, sure, the difference between a 15-year-old and a 30-year-old is a big difference, but once you are a professional on the PGA TOUR, I think age is -- I don't think is as great a factor as people give it. Obviously experience, a player who is 40-years-old and, you know, has won Majors or come close is going to have a little more experience than somebody who is 22 or 23. But I think it depends on the individual. But I think that age is not a big a factor as some people maybe make it out to be.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Thank you.