THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

November 7, 2003

Retief Goosen

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Retief, thanks for joining us. You won last week at the Chrysler Championship and you're in the hunt this week. Just start with some opening comments.

RETIEF GOOSEN: It's nice to go into another week playing well. I like the course. It's quite similar to last week in a way. And it's the same grass and everything. And I like the course.

Q. You've been putting well?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I could have played better yesterday. I didn't really make a lot. Today I putted a lot better. I made a few good putts. Although I didn't play as well, I missed a lot of fairways today. But it wasn't really bad misses, it was just off the fairway. So here and there I got a bit of a breakout of the rough and I managed to get it onto the green.

Q. I think I caught the tail bit of your TV snippet there, that having a child here this year sort of put the middle of the year -- it got pretty busy and pretty active and you sort of feel like you're rounding back into playing shape here of late. Back on the bean, I suppose?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I think that this last little bit of the year I'm sort of a bit more focused on the game. And I'm keen to get going. So it's not a bad time of the year to start playing well, really. With all these sort of special events and that. So I'm looking forward to the last few events and seeing what comes of it.

Q. How much fun is it to get in that groove where you know you're playing well? Is it like you can't wait for the next tournament to start kind of a thing? And how is it different from when you're not playing well?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Obviously when you're playing well it seems to be a lot easier to keep going. But when you're playing bad everything seems so much more difficult and mentally tiring. At the moment things are going my way and I feel quite comfortable out there. So I'm looking forward to the weekend, see if I can maybe make it two in a row.

Q. Ernie said when you guys were in the Airforce you used to drive the bus. He would sit in the back drinking beer?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I had to drive the bus because they couldn't walk anyway in the back of the bus. So I drove the bus down to some of the golf tournaments and they all sat in the back and --

Q. Misbehaved?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Misbehaved, yeah. That's a good way of putting it.

Q. Why were you the designated driver? Were you the one serious guy?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I wasn't really a drinker at all. Even now I might have an odd beer or glass of wine or something. So I was the only guy that was sober, so I could drive the bus.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Maybe take us through 17. Kind of a couple dicey shots there. But ended up okay.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, 17, I actual had a bad lie and I was going to hit a 6-iron out there, land it short of the green and let it run up. And it kind of hopped, I don't know how it came out that hot out of that lie. And I pitched it by and that was that. We knew it was bad after it left the club face. Luckily it didn't roll into the water. From where I was five was a great score. I made that. It had to be such a precise chip shot, I would have left it where I left it or if I got over that ridge, it goes off the front of the green. So five was in the end a very good score.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Was that a 12-foot putt.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, pretty much. A 12-foot putt.

Q. Are you going to be paired with Charles tomorrow?

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, Freddie and Charles are playing tomorrow. And I'm with Chris Riley.

Q. What's your idea of kind of letting loose and really letting your hair hang down? Tell them about Sunday night.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I had a few drinks on Sunday night. But I wasn't like totally hammered. I had my few beers and a glass of champagne with the boys. And just was a nice evening with the guys hanging out. And I went to bed, whatever, 3 in the morning.

Q. You, Ernie?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Myself, Ernie and Ricky, my caddy.

Q. Nobilo come by?

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, it was just another friend of Ernie's, other two friend of Ernie's, so it was like six of us.

Q. Do you look forward to a tournament like this with a smaller field? Do you see it as a greater opportunity to get out of town with win?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I do. I feel like if you get it going, there's less guys that can charge you or be well ahead. So it is nice having a limited field and sort of you feel like I'm sure all 30 guys here feel like they have got a chance of winning.

Q. It looked today like when you guys were making the turn there was about a 8 way tie for first at 4-under. Are the holes on the back nine, even though there's only one par-5, are there more birdies out there? Is that possible? Is that the scoring side or is that just how it is, random.

RETIEF GOOSEN: I don't know. The front nine, the first hole is a really tough hole. With the breeze blowing across from the left. I think probably the front nine the par-4s seem longer and seems to be tougher. The back nine -- it's probably just because some of the par-4s are playing more down wind the long ones, and the shorter ones are playing into the wind. So you probably feel like you have a few more birdie chances on the back.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thanks.

End of FastScripts.