MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2001

Jose Maria Olazabal

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well it, was a good day today. Weather-wise it was fantastic. It was warmer than yesterday. The breeze was not affecting much, the play on the course. The greens are holding well still. I think that's one of the reasons why we are seeing good scores today, too.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: There was a boo from the left-hand side of 18, somebody throw something, I don't know what it was and he made a little bit of noise, yeah.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: No, I stroked a lovely putt there. I thought it was in, all the way there and it just caught the lip on the left side. Just didn't go in.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I really don't know. I know the first time I put a foot on this course, I was really impressed of how nice the golf course was. And all through these years, even though the golf course has been changed, I still like the place. I mean, it's great to be here. Obviously, I won twice here and that makes it even more special. I do have great memories around this golf course, and maybe that helps, too, I don't know.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I have been working at it. It has not been great. I truly believe that I am on the right path to improve that area of my game. I am still uncomfortable with many of the changes I am working on, but hopefully it will pay off.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Shorter than some of the guys, for sure. I played with Miguel today, and man, he can rip the thing. I'm pretty happy with the length I'm driving, if I'm hitting the ball properly. In that sense, you know, I feel happy with that. I'm not going to pretend to hit 300 yards off the tee. But as far as I strike the ball, like the way I want, I'm not all that bothered about the distance.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Today?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I didn't hit the driver today on 8. I could not cut it in the bunker today.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well, to carry that, I need 271 to carry the bunker. I hit a 1-iron off the tee.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: On 15? 5-iron.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: The tougher the golf course plays, it will be -- it will select more of the players that can win the tournament, that's for sure. If I wanted that to happen -- well, both years I won here, there were tough weather conditions, and the golf course was playing really hard and firm. But you still have to play the game. You still have to hit the shots and hit them well and put them in the right positions, anyway, and then make the putts.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well, obviously, it didn't work out well, did it? (Laughter.) The idea was just to put the bunker out of play. That's what I did. The idea was to lay up short with my second shot to give myself a full shot with the sand wedge. The thing is that after the tee shot, the ball had a piece of mud on it, and when I hit my second shot, the ball just went straight left, and I had no third shot. Hole No. 2, driver, 1-iron. 2-putted 60 feet. Then No. 6, 7-iron. Holed it from 15 feet. On 8, 1-iron, 1-iron. 7-iron off the green. Chipped it with a 9-iron and 2-putted from eight feet. On 9, driver, 3-iron, lob-wedge and 2-putted from six feet. Then on 11, driver, 7-iron. Holed a long putt from 30 feet. On 13, a driver, 3-iron, sand wedge and holed it from nine feet. 14, I had a 3-wood, wedge. Holed it from four feet. 15, a driver, 9-iron, lob-wedge. Holed it from three feet. That's it.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Yeah, I've seen that, yeah. I've seen Vijay hit it there. I've seen Freddie Couples hit it there, Davis Love, Tiger. I think Phil, too. We are talking about the long hitters. He belongs to that league.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I think it goes together. I think both things go together. The golf course is excellent, and we play here every year. If you move this championship to another golf course, most probably you would not have the same effect. But playing on the same golf course, you know, the championship itself -- I mean, both things together.