U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 28, 2003

Tom Watson

TOM WATSON: This ought to take 30 seconds, two birdies, one bogey. Two birdies, one bogey. The putts didn't go in today. I had better opportunities today than I did yesterday. I had the ball a lot closer to the hole today. But nothing seemed to go in. And I was backpedaling there watching Bruce do what he did. So it was -- desperation hasn't set in yet but we will see what happens tomorrow. We will see if I can get a little closer than four shots tomorrow and put a little pressure on Bruce.

RAND JERRIS: Tom, can you give us the clubs on the 2.

TOM WATSON: Yes, birdies and bogeys, 3-putt on No. 2. I missed clubs on my second shot. I hit an 8-iron. I should have hit a 7. I left it on the front edge. I knocked it by I'd say about eight feet, maybe ten feet I missed it coming back. No. 3 I hit a 7-iron about, I'd say probably about 20 feet from the hole and ended up making that putt, that was a beautiful putt. That was the best putt I made all day.

Up and down had it at No. 6, the par-3, I hit it over the green and I knocked it from there to a couple of inches from the hole; made a real good chip there.

No. 8, I hit a drive, a beautiful drive right down to the bottom of the hill in the shortcut but it was in a divot so I couldn't really do much with it. And I ended up putting it in the right bunker. But I got it up and down, hit a good bunker shot out about eight feet from the hole, made the shot for birdie.

The only other scramble was 17. I hit a 7-iron for my second shot and hit it to the right and ended up hitting not a very good chip shot but I hit a real good putt. Made the putt, a real slippery putt down the hill left-to-right from about eight feet.

Q. 13, isn't a birdie or bogey, but I assume --

TOM WATSON: 13 was like a bogey today because I hit an 8-iron into the green. It probably -- it could have been a 9-iron, the ball was playing downwind. I probably could have hit 9-iron, landed it over the bunker and let it get up to the front part of the green there or taken quite a bit more off the 8-iron. I didn't feel like I hit the 8-iron very hard and I flushed it and it went over back of the green and now you're dead. You don't want to be over that green at all. So that was like a bogey at 13 after a perfect drive down there for 160 yards to the front edge of the green on the par-5. I felt like Tiger Woods.

Q. Tom, you are using the irons quite a bit off the tees today, I think you might have used the driver once or twice; four strokes down are you going to reconsider that strategy?

TOM WATSON: No, no, because I am hitting the ball close enough out there. If you look where my irons are and what clubs I am hitting into the greens, that's okay. I guess Bruce -- somebody said Bruce only hit eight fairways today; is that right?

Q. Seven?

TOM WATSON: Seven fairways. Well, I like hit the ball out of that short grass; I'm not too good at hitting it out of that rough. Although I did hit a beautiful shot out of No. 5 today out of the rough. I hooked my tee ball just a little bit and fortunately I hit a pretty good lie and I drew a 7-iron about ten feet from the hole. I hit a beautiful shot there. Maybe the rough is the place to be; is that what you're saying?

Q. If you can hit it within three feet?

TOM WATSON: Yes.

Q. Tom, if you felt like Tiger Woods on 13, according to TV, you were 358 off the tee on No. 8; does that sound right?

TOM WATSON: Well, I don't know. What did I have? I had 160 yards to the front of the green I think. Wait a minute. I'm sorry. I had 170 to the front. So how long is No. 8.

Q. 554?

TOM WATSON: 554. All right. So maybe I had say 185 yards to the hole so subtract that from there, so that's 370 or something like that.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Bruce. I mean your career has been a quest for major championships and excellence and Bruce's career has sort of a quest for -- I'm not sure how to put it -- I mean he takes long extended periods of time off, has not played in a lot of majors for a number of years; do you guys envy what he has done a little bit as far as all the time he has been able to take off?

TOM WATSON: Bruce has his priorities the way he wants his priorities. You can't argue a man's priorities. Bruce, early on in his career as golfer, as a college golfer, he wanted to quit. The game was too frustrating. He was seriously considering quitting playing the game, and he stuck with it and turned pro and has made a good career out of it. But he has had -- you know, I'm sure he talks about it, but he enjoyed staying at home and being with his family. That's the sacrifice that most of us who play the tour for a living must make: Staying at home and being with our family. And he chose not to make that sacrifice as much as most of us.

RAND JERRIS: Any other questions?

TOM WATSON: You thought of one.

Q. That quiet period...

TOM WATSON: Yes.

Q. Knowing that you didn't putt well today and you putted extremely well on Thursday, does that give you some sort of -- I don't know, the glass being half full instead of half empty, that you can start -- those putts will start falling for you tomorrow --

TOM WATSON: Well, they better, if I have any chance to win this tournament they better start falling tomorrow. They didn't fall today. I played enough golf to know that you can't force it to happen.

RAND JERRIS: Tom, thanks very much for your time. We wish you luck tomorrow.

TOM WATSON: Thank you very much.

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