ADVIL WESTERN OPEN

July 6, 2002

Robert Allenby

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: 3rd round leader, Robert Allenby, thank you for joining us. Career best 65 at Cog Hill. Yesterday you shot 67, which was your previous career best here, and you did 2 better today. If you could, obviously things went well for you today, talk about your day today.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, things did go well. I pretty much all day played pretty solid, hit a lot of great shots. There was only maybe one or two bad shots that I hit all day. Every time I made a bad shot, I came back with -- or if I made a bogey or something, I came back with, you know, a birdie, so that always helps.

The middle of the round, I started making a couple birdies and then on the back 9 I started making a few. Made a great eagle at 15 and a great birdie at 16, which is always nice. When you an eagle, it's always great to follow up again with a good hole and keep the momentum going, and that's what I did. That's what I was trying to do and, you know, it came off.

I was very happy with the way I played. I hit the ball very solid and I putted solid as well. I just -- I kept my mistakes to a minimum.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Having won here in 2000, does that give you more confidence knowing you can close the deal here at Cog Hill?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, there's a long way to go. In 18 holes anything can happen, and a 2-shot lead is not a lot when you're playing against such a good field so, you know, unless I'm sitting here tomorrow night, you know, it's not over till the fat lady sings, so -- that's just a saying as well.

But, you know, it's one of those golf courses that, you know, I've got a lot of memories from a couple of years ago and just, you know, I'm trying to draw as I go around the course. I'm trying to remember some of the holes that I birdied and just drawing on some of the shots.

You know, it's nice when you come back to a course that you have won before and you always have a lot of confidence at that course. I don't know why I missed the cut last year. I probably just played a bit too aggressive because I was probably too confident. So I tried to downplay it a little bit this year and, you know, obviously it's working so far, but it's just -- it's a course that I love to play and, you know, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, to the challenge and getting out there and trying to make as many birdies as I can.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'll take some questions now.

Q. (Inaudible.) Do you like your position as a front runner going in?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, absolutely. 2 shots in front is better than 2 behind. I'm in the best position possible. I know if I go out there and make some birdies early in the round, it can only make things tougher if I do that for everyone behind me.

But, you know, first things first. You have to go out there and do it. I'm not a person to get too far in front of myself. I always looked at the shot that I have to play, and that's it. I don't look ahead, I don't look behind. So, you know, I think tomorrow will be -- you know, it's going to be a good challenge, but I'd rather be 2 in front, that's for sure.

Q. Is your track record over your career pretty good playing up front?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think every time I've led, I've won. I think. I can't be 100 percent sure, but it's about 99 percent.

Q. Including Europe and Australia?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: On the PGA Tour he won in '99 in Houston and 2001 in Pennsylvania, last year. He led after 54 holes and won both of those.

Q. Robert, how fine is that line between trying to go out and make birdies and yet not being too aggressive?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It's always a fine line. It's always a fine line between shooting several under and level par really. You might get a day where the putts lip out and you might get a day where the putts go in. I mean, you're talking millimeters. This whole game of golf is a fine line between good and bad. So far it's been pretty good.

Q. Can you tell us how you played 15 where you played that eagle?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah. I hit a good drive up the left-hand side. It was just in the first cut of rough and hit a 4-iron, landed it in the middle of the green and it released up a little bit to about 20 feet short and hit a great putt straight in the middle.

Q. What is it about this golf course that fits your game so well?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think it's the type of golf course that demands different shots off the tee so, you know, it's not always a driver, it's not always a 3-wood. It could be a 2-iron. And you have to shape the ball very well to get to most of these flags, so you have to hit it left-to-right and right-to-left, you've got to hit it high and low.

Actually, for me, it's exciting because you're actually challenging yourself every time you hit a shot and it makes it, to me, really exciting to come out here and play. I love playing these types of golf courses where it makes you pick certain shots. Sometimes when you go to an easy course, you can just stand up there without concentrating and just, you know, play away, but this is the type of golf course that you must think all the time.

You know, there's overhanging limbs off trees and there's all sorts of stuff, and you know, with the greens firming up the way they are -- they were definitely getting a lot firmer on the back 9 as the day went on. If it doesn't rain tonight, they're going to be a lot firmer tomorrow, which for me I think is going to be great. I'd rather play harder greens. But, you know, it's just a golf course that the first time I came here, I loved it.

Q. You touched on it earlier, but it's been all or nothing here for you. You missed your cut the first time, you won, you missed the cut, and now you're in the lead again. Do you have any explanation for that?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I have no idea. You know, I think maybe last year I was just too confident, you know. I actually didn't play that bad. I had a lot of birdies in the first two days last year and -- but I had a lot of others in there as well, so it was one way or the other.

Q. Your game seems to be picking up speed lately. You finished 12th last week at Memphis. Can you talk about your game this year? Has it been a slow start?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It's been a slow start. I think I've only played 14 tournaments maybe this year. Obviously, my wife had a baby earlier in the year and I took 6 weeks off the Tour and, you know, taking 6 weeks off is a big thing, especially these days. And you can easily get a long way behind, and then you play catch-up for most of the year, but I haven't even worried about it one little bit. You know, family are number one, so especially when you have kids, your priorities change pretty quickly.

My game is just slowly getting better and better as the year goes along. You know, I've played well at times, and then I've -- and then I haven't and, you know, I feel like it's just gotten better since the U.S. Open, just gained a lot more confidence with my game, my swing and with my putting stroke. You know, it's just slowly building to something really good.

You know, obviously, tomorrow is an important day for me, and I'd like to go out there tomorrow and play as good as I can and try and give it a good shake to try and win the tournament. On the other hand, I've gained a lot of confidence from tomorrow to take me through to the British Open as well. You know, my record hasn't been that great all year, but my game is showing signs of improving and I've been working pretty hard on all areas of my game. It's something I've been patient with, but it's something I wasn't expecting it to just happen overnight. You know, it's taken months to slowly get better and better, so we'll just see what happens tomorrow.

Q. Talking about the eagle on 15, did you try to feed off of that on 16 or is it more a feeling you have to calm yourself down and --

ROBERT ALLENBY: I was trying to make a birdie on 16 just to keep the momentum going. You know, a lot of times when you make eagles, you don't back it up with a good hole, so I thought it was important to get a good tee shot away and hit a great second shot in there and then make a good putt, and that's what I did.

Making eagles gives you a lot of confidence, but if you back it up on the next hole with a bad hole, then you can lose that confidence pretty quickly, so there's nothing better than backing it straight up.

Q. What did you have in on your second shot on 16?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 9-iron.

Q. How far?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, I can't remember. A three-quarter 9-iron. How far is that? It was probably 155 or so.

Q. There are a lot of golfers at the top of the leader board. What is it about this course or this field that's leading to that congestion?

ROBERT ALLENBY: You've lost me. Sorry.

Q. Just there's not a large number of strokes separating you from several other golfers. Is there something about the course or about the competition that's leading to that?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think you'll find that most years, apart from last year, the field is always pretty bunched up. This is my fourth time I've been here, so I can't really tell you too much, but it's the type of golf course that it's hard to get away from a lot of players because a lot of players shoot around that 4, 4 or 5 under mark, and that seems to be, you know -- 3, 4, 5, seems to be a regular score around this course, and that's why everyone is bunched up around each other. That's why so many guys are around 8, 10 and 15 under.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If he could go over your round real quick starting with No. 2, the birdie?

ROBERT ALLENBY: That was a 7-iron, hit 7-iron to about 20 feet and holed it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Then the par 5?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I hit a bad tee shot there and hit a 7-iron to the bunker on the left and hit a lob wedge to about 3 feet.

Q. Then a bogey on 6?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 6 was -- I hit 2-iron and I just pulled it a little bit, and the wind took it from right-to-left and ended up in a pretty bad spot in the bunker. I sort of short-sighted myself, and it wasn't in a good spot.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Birdies on 8 and 9?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 8 was I hit a 9-iron to about 3 feet.

And then on 9, I hit a 3-wood up into -- right up near the green in some rough near the bunkers just short of the green, and I chipped it up to about 6, 7 feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Then birdie on 11.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 11, I just hit a high-cut 3-wood onto the green and 2-putted from about 45 feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And then we talked a little bit about it, your eagle on 15.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah. Hit 4-iron to about 15, 20 feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You're at 10 under this week on the par 5s, and I think you were 5 under today on the par 5s. Obviously, that's played a large role in your scoring and, therefore, the lead. If you could talk a little bit about the par 5s out there. They seem pretty birdieable.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Most of my par 5s this week, they've all been reachable in 2. For myself it's just a matter of trying to hit it in the fairway. The only one that's not reachable really is 9, but today I hit it pretty much level with the front edge. If I hit the fairway, I pretty much know I've got an iron into the par 5s except for 9.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Okay, we'll take a couple more questions.

Q. How big is the British Open for you, and do you have any experience at all at Muirfield? Have you ever played there?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I've never played Muirfield. It's the only Open course that I haven't played. The only things I know are from what people have said. The British Open is an Open tournament. It's no more important than any other major. I think the Masters would be the -- would be on the top of the list for an Australian at the moment because no Australian has ever won it.

We've had a couple that have come very close, but no one has ever captured the U.S. masters, so that would be a nice thing to have on your mantelpiece, being the first Australian to win the Masters. So that's always in the back of my mind. The British Open is on the same path to me as every other Major. A Major is a Major, and it would be nice to drink out of one of them one day.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Thanks.

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