THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 28, 1996

Justin Leonard

WES SEELEY: Starting on the front, starting on the front was out in 35, course record tying 30 for 65, 7 under par for Justin Leonard. How did it go?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Pretty good. I started off on 1; pushed my drive in the right rough and then I had to hit a 9-iron out about 20 yards short of the green and then pitched it up to about a foot. So it was kind of a good note to start on. Made a couple of pars then. 4, I hit a 7-iron about four feet for birdie I made it. And then made a bunch of pars, probably the rest of the front side. 10, I hit a pitching wedge about six feet and made it. 12, I hit a sand wedge about eight feet and made it. 13, I hit a 5-iron, which was too much club; pin was kind of front, middle right. I hit it over the end of the bottom tear, behind the -- on the back of the green, and I guess it was about 40 feet and made it up and over the hill. 14, I hit my second shot in the right bunker, blasted it out to about eight feet and made it. 15, I hit a -- what did I hit -- 7-iron about 15 feet for birdie and made it. 16, I hit a good drive and I had two-thirds of the front of the green and I was trying to hit a 3-wood, just kind of up either on the green or a little short of the green and a little left of the green, and I hit it a little short of the green to the right of the green about 20 feet below the green in the water. And went up there; just kind of laughed it off; hit a 6-iron for my fourth shot, about twelve feet left of the hole and made it for par. 17, I hit a little 7-iron about three feet and made it. And 18, I hit a good driver, and 7-iron about 25 feet and made it. I haven't been able to say "Made it" that many times in a while.

Q. Was that about 10 putts --

JUSTIN LEONARD: The total number, I was told was 24.

Q. Justin, the par at 16, was that a full 6-iron or was that a chip?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, it was a full -- well, it was 154 yard 6-iron. The wind was kind of right to left and a little bit into us, and I didn't want to get anything going at the pin or right of the pin on hooking it, so I took a little 6-iron and just kind of held it back into the wind.

Q. 5 birdies and 2 pretty good pars in the last seven holes, wondering if you can recall a stretch of that many holes playing that well?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Not in a while. No, I have been struggling a little bit the last month and a half. My game has been pretty good, but I haven't been getting any results. And so it is nice to, you know, come out and, you know, that is why I mentioned number 1, getting that ball up-and-down. It is nice to get off to a good start and then play the back nine the way I did. It makes the outlook on the rest of the week much brighter.

Q. Justin, were you close at all on the front 9 or were you 2-putting from long distances were you giving yourself a chance at least?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I had a couple of chances. I had a good chance on 2 from about twelve feet; got it up-and-down on 5. 6, I had it about 15 feet. 7, I had it about 15 feet. And 9, I had about twelve feet and those were, you know, like 3 out of the 4 were good putts that, you know, maybe I just didn't hit it quite hard enough or whatever, but -- and then on the back nine, all of a sudden, you know, everything went in.

Q. When you made the turn, were you thinking it is going to be another so-so day or --

JUSTIN LEONARD: No, it felt a little different than the last few weeks, you know, because I was hitting the ball, you know, getting it within the 20, 25 foot range, which you need to on this golf course to score. So there is -- the backside, you know, you don't want to take any chances, but there is the option to. And so I think after turning it 1-under, you know, I felt good about it and you know, just wanted to keep doing the things I was doing, going to 10.

Q. After a par out of water on 16, birdied the last two holes, is that the best you have played here? How much does that make you want to get back out there and play tomorrow, a lot of momentum?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I am really looking forward to tomorrow. And just the rest of the week, I mean, it seems like it has been awhile since I have been able to say that, after getting off to a good start. But I think -- actually, I birdied the last two holes on Sunday last year, and it wasn't of any consequence except in my checking account; but as you know, it helps here. So -- but to go out and play like that on the back nine, you know, it was fun. I could stand doing that a few more times.

Q. What did you think about the last three weeks with these first-time winners? Did you see yourself in that kind of position, I mean, the way these guys just came up and played so well on Sunday?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I mean, you know, unfortunately, I have been catching most of the golf tournaments on Sundays, except for one of those. But, yeah, it is -- I have been very impressed by the way they have played on Sundays, and you know, at the same time, I am no longer in their classification. I mean, they are tournament winners, but it is a trend that is going on right now, and oh, I will just leave that alone.

Q. How much are you motivated or how much is your mindset affected by the fact that there have been three first-time winners?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't think there is motivation there. I think it is, you know, things happen in trends, and -- but that is not really where my motivation is. My motivation is to, you know, start seeing some good scores.

Q. Right, but is there a "they-can-do-it, I-can-do-it" kind of feeling at all?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, but you know, it is not -- it hasn't made me realize anything, you know, the last three weeks. I felt like I can really do it since really the end of last year, and so -- but I know all three of those guys. I have played college golf with Tim Herron, so it has been a lot of fun watching them. And one of the fun things is to see them the next week on the driving range or during practice rounds, and you know, it is fun for me to see those guys with that kind of success.

Q. You had a near miss this year. How did that affect you? Is it something that you could put behind you right away, or do you try to, I mean, build off of it or learn off of it or --

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think I have tried to take it and put the positive spin on it. It is -- playing a guy like Phil in his hometown was a big challenge, and I think I proved a lot to myself in my golf game and in my mental attitude, and you know, everything down to my caddie and our relationship. So I have taken all the positives out of that. Yes, it was disappointing, but you know, I can't do anything about that now. So I might as well take the positives and use those as constructively as I can.

Q. Does it take time to recover from something like that?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I don't think it did. I mean, I played the next week -- well, kind of, at Pebble Beach, and played real good in the first round. Didn't play great in the second round, but you know, I felt good that week, and you know, and then I had the next two weeks off. I don't know if I would do that again, but can't do anything about that either.

Q. Anything that you feel like you lost, sharpness, when you took that break or anything since Pebble Beach?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think that has something minor to do with it. I have spent some time in Dallas and it has been nice. I have been able to see my family and some friends, and my goal was to stay rested and keep things spread enough where I felt really fresh. I mean, I do. And so I guess I accomplished that. On the other side, the last couple of weeks I haven't been as sharp, and I think this is my third week in a row and I played the two weeks before that week off; so I am kind of starting to get in a rhythm. I wasn't planning on playing next week in Atlanta but decided to play because I felt like that is -- I am not going to regain confidence by sitting home in Dallas, you know, watching TV and hitting golf balls. I need to be out here playing and shooting scores; so a day like today really helps that cause.

WES SEELEY: Anything else for Justin?

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