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HUMANA CHALLENGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CLINTON FOUNDATIONJanuary 19, 2014Justin LeonardLA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA Q. The decision on 18, I know it had to be a tough one but was there any option to go for that green? JUSTIN LEONARD: It was. I mean it was a 3‑iron number, but off of that severe of a down slope and I'm not the highest long iron player out here, those rocks front of the green might have seen some action. So, I decided to just take six out of it and try and get it up‑and‑down and hit a good wedge and hit a good putt, but just unfortunate to end up on that slope. Q. Did you watch the board at all, and if so, at what point did you think that this might not just be about for second? JUSTIN LEONARD: When I made the turn, I think, that at that point I was, I think I was four or five back and I felt like if I could have made a few more birdies and 10 through 14 or 15, I could have made it a little more interesting. Then I looked at the board, I think on 16, and realized that Patrick was just kind of making a bunch of pars and it still felt like if I could have birdied the last four or five holes, I certainly would have had a chance. Q. We talked about reigniting yourself and dedicating yourself for the second phase of your career. What does this do for your confidence, not only for this year, but for what you're trying to accomplish in your 40s? JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, it's great. It's a great week. Would love to have made a few more putts today, but it's such a fun journey, and I'm cutting my schedule back this year and all this does is kind of frees me up to do that. And just sort of thankful for a lot of things. But my family being out here and with traveling this month, and it's so much fun to go home and hang out with my kids and that's the big reason why I'm going to play a little bit less, is just to spend more time with them. I think that also it has an added benefit of being a little fresher, a little more excited for the weeks that I do play. Q. A heck of an effort out there, I thought you were really crisp on the front nine, gave yourself a lot of opportunities, but how hard is it to keep that accelerator to the floor? JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, I tried to. Didn't hit a very good shot at 10 and then I needed to make a few putts, and I think 14, if I could have gotten that wedge in there. I tried to wedge it in there and hit a good putt, but still I'm very pleased with the week and it's just nice to get the year off or I guess the whatever, the calendar year off to a good start. Q. You did everything you could on the front nine, you get to the back, you get maybe a chance to peek at a couple of leaderboards. Did you then say oh, my gosh, we could really make this thing happen? JUSTIN LEONARD: I saw that Patrick wasn't doing a lot. He was kind of hovering around par, and I still even walking over to 14, felt like if I could birdie four of those holes, or at least get three or four before getting to 18 could certainly make it interesting. Unfortunately, just wasn't in the cards. Q. You talked about this wrap around schedule, now two top‑10s early in this season, what does this do for your week going into the rest of the season? JUSTIN LEONARD: It's great. It's great confirmation of the things that I'm doing and we try not to get confidence in those things from results but when you can get it from results, it's really fun. To come out and play well, and play well in Cancun, at the tournament there, and then here. I made a commitment to cut my schedule back by a few events this year and it just makes it easier to do that. And so I'm just 41 and I'm still very excited to play the game of golf and just really looking forward to the rest of this year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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