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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 26, 2003

Mike Weir

CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

JOAN VT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us for a few minutes after the long match today. It was a great match, and with that match and with the fact that Ernie lost to Phil Tataurangi, you have now won the 2003 PGA Tour West Coast Swing presented by The St. Paul.

MIKE WEIR: Obviously at the beginning of the year, I was saying outside, that I didn't really give it much thought, because Ernie won the first two events before I even played my first one. So he seemed to have a pretty good hold on the West Coast Swing. But I think after I won the Bob Hope, I thought there may have been a chance, because I felt so good about my game, and knew I was playing three events in a row, and he wasn't going to be playing over here.

So I'm just real fortunate to really get some momentum going, and to play as well on the West Coast, and win the West Coast Swing, St. Paul is fantastic. A lot of great players have won this incentive before, so I'm glad to be mentioned in their class.

Q. Can you run through the last few holes. What did you win with on the 26th? And there was a few birdies in there, I noticed. Can you briefly go over them?

MIKE WEIR: Well, right from the get-go on the playoff it was just back and forth, you know. On No. 1, I made probably an 18-foot putt for birdie. Loren topped that with about a 12-foot putt of his own. And then we made some pars all the way through, I believe. We parred all the way through 13, 14, 15. He made a great putt for par to keep it going. And then -- I'm thinking backwards, because they switched -- No. 6.

And then 7, I made probably again about an 18-foot putt for birdie. He was in there about 12 feet, 13 feet. He made that one on top of me to keep it going to the par-5, 8th hole. He hit his third shot over the green, which I knew was going to be difficult, through that fringe area into some deep rough. And I hit a nice little 9-iron to about six feet. But the way the match was going, I had an idea that he was going to hit it close. He had a horrible lie and had a great shot to about three feet.

Q. I know we're all confused because of the switching of the nines. You played the old back nine --

MIKE WEIR: The old back nine, yes. I said 14 and 15 a few times, but -- yeah. So we both birdied 1, we both birdied 7, and I birdied 8.

Q. There were a couple of times where you missed the fairway, and the short little par-4 -- what is that --

MIKE WEIR: In the playoff, you mean?

Q. Yes, in the playoff. It looked like you might not have a shot there, and then you got it up there and had a putt to win the hole.

MIKE WEIR: I kind of created one. I was behind the tree, and I had a little gap between the trees to put it through. And I hit a nice shot, just visualized it going right through these two branches that I had seen and hit it right through there. I hit a really nice shot. That was on No. 6.

Q. You had five and six that could have won the playoff. At some point does it get frustrating out there?

MIKE WEIR: There was still 25, 30 feet, they weren't like tap-ins. And the one that I was a little bit disappointed I didn't make was on No. 3, par-5. I was right in front of the green, and both Loren and I were about -- I was probably 12 feet, he was about 14, 15 feet. He missed it, so I had a 12-footer, pretty basic putt and I didn't make that. Against a guy like Loren, you don't want to miss those opportunities. I was lucky to have another chance to do it later.

Q. Is something like this tougher mentally or physically the last few holes?

MIKE WEIR: I think probably mentally. It's tough to just stay and keep your focus and attention to detail at the level you need it to be. There's so much going on. Like on the last hole when he hits it over the green. You don't want -- I didn't want to relax on my third shot thinking I could just hit it and rely on him to not get it up-and-down. I wanted to still hit an aggressive shot in there, which I was able to do to make a birdie. Just the way it was going, I knew he would probably get the up-and-down.

Q. Did winning the Nissan give you more confidence going into this tournament?

MIKE WEIR: I think whatever would have happened going into Nissan -- obviously I think winning gives you confidence going in here, yes. But even if it wouldn't have panned out for me at the Nissan, I still would feel like I felt the same.

Q. The playoff -- you were in a playoff there. You're in a playoff here. Did that help you for this one?

MIKE WEIR: I don't think so, since it was such a long thing out there. And today I don't think it -- maybe it did. I don't know if it did or not. But you're just trying to play the whole day, it just set me up for what happened on the playoff, just back and forth all day, and that's the way the match went.

Q. Was there ever a play in those extra holes where you thought you were a goner?

MIKE WEIR: Not really, because he didn't really have any putts -- I didn't have a putt first, and he had a putt to win. He didn't really have that. I think he'd have a 20-footer and I'd be 15 feet, wondering if he was going to make that. But on the very first hole I thought there was a chance there. He hit a great shot in there about 8 feet, 9 feet, and I had 15, 16 feet and I made that first. So that was -- I didn't think in my mind I was out of it, but I knew I needed to make that, as good as he was putting.

Q. Do you feel lucky?

MIKE WEIR: Not really that lucky, no. I feel like it was a lot of hard work, and I knew it was going to be tough. But I don't really feel lucky. I feel like I did what I needed to do.

End of FastScripts....

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