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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 18, 2007

Jeff Overton

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

JOE CHEMYCZ: All set. We welcome Jeff Overton in after a 6-under par 66, 18 par for three rounds and a 3 stroke lead heading into tomorrow as you go for your first PGA TOUR win.
Maybe just talk a little bit about the day and heat and the conditions and we'll open it up for questions.
JEFF OVERTON: So hot out there. I mean it's just hot. You know, the golf course played -- later on it got firmer, the wind was a little -- blew a little bit today. The golf course played a little bit tougher. The heat is really hot. And, fortunately enough, we were able to hit some good shots.

Q. Jeff, the way this tournament has been played and the scores that have been shot, is three shots -- what does it seem like to you, a three shot lead going into tomorrow?
JEFF OVERTON: It's better than being three shots back. But, you know, I don't think 18-under is going to win the golf tournament. So, we can't go out there tomorrow and just play bad.
We got to go out there and have another good solid round of golf. It's nice -- anytime you're playing against the top players in the world, "These Guys Are Good". That's the -- that's what they advertise, "These Guys Are Good".
So I have to go out there and play another good round of golf tomorrow, go out there and continue to do what I'm doing, take the same lines and just really hit good shots, make some putts.

Q. Is it hard not to think about what will happen if you do win? I asked you that yesterday. You just got to keep it out of your mind?
JEFF OVERTON: I mean, yeah. This is probably -- I've played in a lot of golf tournaments. You think about golf tournaments. You think about it. It's hard not to.
More than anything, it's one of those things where, you know, it's a journey where we're trying to get to a point in our golfing career and we're trying to achieve a level, that the top level in the world and, you know, hopefully we can go out there and play well tomorrow and take the experience and continue on down that same path in the future.

Q. You've averaged 6-under for three days. You be happy with a 6-under tomorrow?
JEFF OVERTON: Yeah, I'd say 6-under would be perfect.

Q. It would be hard to imagine coming back.
JEFF OVERTON: As long as somebody doesn't shoot 9 or 10.
No. I mean I just want to go out there and hit good shots. I want to hit the ball down the fairway. I want to hit it on the green and make some putts. Go out and compete. That's my goal for tomorrow.

Q. Jeff, when Kanada went to 16 you guys were tied up. Then he tripled bogeyed. Did you know that at all?
JEFF OVERTON: I looked at that, I had a little eagle putt and I looked up and I was like no longer tied for 1st, first all alone. That's kind of weird.
Looked up just feeling he made bogey. I was like, "Geez, that can't be right. Maybe they messed that up or something. Let's just buckle down here and 2-putt for birdie and knock it down there close."
I hit a great putt, all over the hole and it just missed -- I just misjudged the speed a little bit. I thought it was a little more downhill and came up a good four feet short.
Really kind of a fast, little bumpy putt that I had. I just really had to stay with it and keep it on line. Unfortunately, I missed it.

Q. Jeff, you talk about what seemed to be a slow start especially on this course, if you're making pars, you're almost falling back.
Did you believe, did you sense that was a slow start for you and was there any panic mode to kind of stay pace with people?
JEFF OVERTON: Talking about the bogey on the first hole? I had 135 on the first hole. I hit my pitching wedge 133 and I thought it was a perfect number because I had a little adrenaline in my system which it's hard not to anytime you have a lead in the tournament, especially the first hole, and I hit a shot and it never left the flag.
Might have been the best swing of the day. Unfortunately, it flew 142 yards, probably, and I was in jail, made bogey.
I had a nice little wait on the next hole and my buddy Marino, we're kind of friends out here, and he said, "You know, just starting all over." We had a 15 minute wait. It's like, "Alright. I'm one shot back start of the round. Teeing off on No. 2, let's see what we can do."
Two is a par 5. I was like, "Let's buckle down here and made a good birdie and come back." We were able to do that and, you know, kind of from there when I birdied that hole to kind of get it back to the rest of the field, I knew that I could just continue to hit some good golf shots and make a few putts that I would be right in it.
Next thing I know I hit an awesome 6-iron on the par 3, what is it, 4, 5 -- 4? Hit it like two feet, almost made it and then hit a great little bump and run pitching wedge on the next hole and made another birdie.
This is good, I'm off and running, feeling a lot more comfortable and that's what it's about., getting out of there and getting the juices all out of system and feeling comfortable when you're playing.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Well, you're tied for 3rd in greens in regulation this week, 15 of 18 today, you're 6th in driving distance and you've had only one 3-putt and that was for a par today.
Obviously everything is working this week. You don't have real weaknesses this week at all?
JEFF OVERTON: Anytime you're 18-under you can't really find -- it's hard to find something but you know, I missed a few short putts but I can't really -- you can't dwell on that. Made a lot of really good little downhillers today especially on early. Those three and four, five, six-footers when they're downhill, they're kind of tough so I can't -- it's hard to really find anything too bad.

Q. Jeff, in a small way because we're teeing off earlier tomorrow, I think 11:00 a.m. instead of a normal tournament, does that help you a little bit, don't have to think about it too long?
JEFF OVERTON: You know, I don't know. It's a good question. If they have 2-somes you get done in four hours. If you have 3-somes it will take us another 5 hours and 15 minutes, probably. It's slower. Makes you think more.
It's more mentally, it's more draining mentally. Just got to go out there and focus hard, especially whenever you have those holes that we have to wait on.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Want to go over your card real quick. Again, the bogey at 1 and then the birdie at 2.
You said it was a wedge on 1.
JEFF OVERTON: Hit my driver just a little right on the second hole and hit a hybrid out of the rough, actually got a good lie over there and hit it left and it was just -- tough, tough shot and I just made sure I got up on top of the ridge and had about a 12-footer, got a really good line on Huston's and I was able to make sure I played a little more left and died in the hole.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Four and 5.
JEFF OVERTON: Four, I had 191 to the hole and hit a 6-iron and land like two feet from it and stopped about two and a half feet, three feet past the hole. Made a good stroke there for birdie.
Next hole I hit 2-iron down the middle, had 105 in. What a good pin, right up on that ridge. I hit it a little, just a little chipping pitching wedge, just landed 15 feet short of the hole and skipped up there to about four and a half feet past the hole and I had another really good stroke there for birdie.
JOE CHEMYCZ: 7.
JEFF OVERTON: 7, I hit the driver off the tee because it was a little back into the wind, pin back. Figured might as well. Hit -- had 101 to the hole and hit -- in the rough and just barely missed the fairway. Hit a lob wedge, landed two feet, bounced 8, 9 feet past the hole. Hit a putt probably little too hard but luckily found the center.
9, I hit a drive down the middle. 3-wood short right and hit a wedge shot in there to about six feet, probably, and little left to right putt and put another really good stroke on it.
JOE CHEMYCZ: 10.
JEFF OVERTON: 10, I hit the 3-wood down the middle. Had 151 to the hole and hit kind of a hard draw into the hole with a 9-iron and about six feet, again, straight downhill and died it in the middle.
JOE CHEMYCZ: 12.
JEFF OVERTON: 12, I hit a 7-iron from 176 into the wind but it was downhill and I hit it just a little bit right, about 20 feet, probably and Marino chipped in and kind of motivated me. Knocked it on top of him. Ran it in on top of him. That was fun.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Bogey at 13.
JEFF OVERTON: Drive down the middle, 3-wood down the middle, perfect shape. 260 into the hole. I was on -- had a really nasty lie on a downslope and with that 2-iron, I didn't really have a club in my bag I could hit it. My hybrid doesn't get there.
I was going after a 2-iron and pushed it a little bit just because of the downslope is kind of hard to get through it naturally, kind of scared of doing something stupid like chunking it or something and wound up drawing a really good lie in the rough, just barely, six inches in the rough. The ball was sitting high on the bermuda and I took a wedge and the club just went right underneath -- the ball just rolled right up the grooves on it and it landed about five yards short of what I wanted to and spun back down the hill and I putted up there four feet by and had a really fast 4-footer and missed it.
JOE CHEMYCZ: 16.
JEFF OVERTON: 16 I hit it -- I had some adrenaline going and I hit my drive right down the middle. I had 129 yards in and hit -- I had 131 yards in. Hit a gap wedge to two and a half feet and made that.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Okay. Anything else.

Q. You talk a little bit about how you -- one of the reasons standing around and waiting, how much of a leaderboard looker are you? Do you look at the leaderboard a lot?
JEFF OVERTON: I feel like the leaderboard is in some good spots out here. You don't see it very often but at the same time you might -- seems like every other leaderboard just taking a glimpse out, you don't even know it's there.
I don't know. It's one of those things that you kind of have a feeling for what you think you need to shoot to win and you just want to try to get there and the more quicker you get there, it feels like the more pressure you can put on the rest of the guys.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Okay, Jeff. Thank you. Play well tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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