MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 14, 2002

Retief Goosen

SAM NUNN: It's a great honor for me to introduce our second place finisher with 9-under, Retief Goosen.

Retief, whatever you'd like to say, and then we'll have questions.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, it was a great day playing today with Tiger. Obviously, I was a bit disappointed with the way I played. I hit my irons really terrible today and really gave myself no chances for any birdies, but it was a fun day and I enjoyed it. He played really solid today, Tiger, and really was never in any trouble.

Q. Can you talk about the start and particularly the first four holes, I think you lost one stroke per hole there to Tiger. Can you go through the first four and your feelings at the beginning?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I pulled my drive off the first hole and played a good second shot to get it on to the green, but where I hit it on the green, I really had no chance of getting it really close to the hole. That's really been a problem today in the first few holes; that I hit it so far from the flag, and where the flags was, there's really no chance of trying to 2-putt there, especially on the fourth, I could not keep it on the top tier. My second putt was from 25 feet, so there's just no chance, really.

It's really just due to bad iron play today that I never had any chance.

Q. Was today with the drier conditions more indicative of how the course is going to play with the changes today than the first three days?

RETIEF GOOSEN: The greens were still quite soft and not very firm. They were actually quite nice out there today. They were not really getting crusty or anything. The fairways were not bad, as well, and the ball did not really pick up any mud. Overall, the course played very well today.

Q. You've obviously been around the game for a long time, and you say that you don't get nervous, but you've never been in the final group on Sunday at Augusta. Was it nerves?

RETIEF GOOSEN: You get nervous, no doubt about it. I was nervous, but like I say, the way I was swinging the club, this whole week, really didn't allow me any chances for birdies. Today, like I said, I hit my irons terrible so I was always putting from 40 feet. It's not easy on these greens to make any putts from that distance.

Q. Could you talk in admiration of the man who won, what he means to this sport, and he's now won three Masters and very few golfers have done that. Your thoughts on his accomplishments?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I was just saying outside, besides Jack Nicklaus, Tiger is the best player. I think give him a couple more years and I think Tiger will be even greater than Jack Nicklaus will be. It's just a matter of time. He's hitting the ball so well, and with great imagination.

It was great playing with him. I've played with him a few times now and I enjoyed it. He's a great guy. I'm now looking forward to the U.S. Open coming up.

Q. Given that it was almost sort of a match-play situation with you guys tied and being in the final group, where did you feel most deflated by something he did?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, it was pretty much myself, deflated myself out there the first few holes, hitting three 3-putts in the first eight holes, so there was really -- put me a little bit down.

I think the turning point for Tiger was got him going again on the sixth hole when he chipped in from over the back. That hole was very tricky there today where the flag was.

From there on, I think nowhere, no one really was putting any pressure on him. I think he was just cruising in. He wasn't taking any chances out there. He was just hitting to the safe sides on every hole. He didn't have to do anything but par in on the back nine.

Q. With the fairways not picking up mud, with the greens receptive, are you surprised he was able to win with 1-under by three shots?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Like I said, the flags was really tough today. There was not one hole that was easy out there. I think the only hole that had an easy pin placing was 15, which is back right.

Otherwise, every hole was just, you know, you can pick up so much trouble going at some of the flags. And we saw it out there today, a lot of guys making a few big numbers.

It was just difficult getting it close to the hole. I think that was the big problem.

Q. Can you pinpoint what was wrong with your iron play?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I was pulling everything today. I couldn't get myself on the inside, and I pulled everything long left, which is not good. Like I said, I pulled my tee shot on the first. I pulled it on the third or fourth, and so on the line on every hole.

I had a nice shot into 18 and that was a good shot. It was good to finish second. I was just asking one of the officials, do I get the green pants for finishing second. (Laughter.)

Q. You haven't had much experience out here, this is your third Masters and you missed the cut one time. Does experience mean a lot, especially today with the pins where they were? Was that a factor for you?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, definitely. I think every time we're going to come here I'll have a little bit more of an idea of how my putts will react in certain positions. Like the first hole, it broke a lot more than I thought it would, and there's a few other holes, so I think, yeah, experience has a lot to do around this course, so maybe next year. I've learned a little this year and maybe next year, see what happens.

Q. When you look at the course and how it played, how much harder could it have been, had the weather stayed like it was earlier in the week, and what do you think a score would have been like under those conditions?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I think the score would have been a lot lower -- higher if it was windy. The whole week, we had hardly any wind.

If it was raining and no wind, the guys would rather play in rain than no wind. But when it gets windy around here, the way the wind swirls, it's more difficult playing in the wind than in the rain.

Q. Besides the wind, then how about the changes, when you factor those in?

RETIEF GOOSEN: The changes on the course, yeah, the changes is great. The course is playing now really difficult. Next year, if we don't get any rain, then the greens get hard and fast, then scoring will be a lot higher.

Q. With the U.S. Open coming up, how much are you looking forward to that? What types of things are you going to work on between now and then, and will you play the course, I think tomorrow, when you go up there?

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, I don't play the course tomorrow. I'll probably buggy it around and have a look.

I need to sort out my iron play a little bit. I'm going back to Europe now for seven weeks and so I'll be back the week before the U.S. Open at Westchester. Playing a few of the European Tour events.

I won't be playing the course, but I'll have a little walk around if I have time.

Q. I think it's admirable that you keep your chin up in times of despair like this. Is there any way that you feel like you did this Sunday night at the U.S. Open, or did you continue to be Retief Goosen, not fazed by this?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I was nervous, like I said on the first few holes, but I started to feel comfortable roundabout the sixth hole.

I felt quite relaxed. Like I say, my swing just didn't allow myself to give me any birdie chances out there. I'm still the same guy. I just need to work on my swing a little bit, sort a few things out and see what happens.

Q. You've won twice at the French Open are you planning to play that?

RETIEF GOOSEN: I'm taking a week off next week and then I play the Spanish Open and then another week off and then I play the Benson and Hedges, Deutsche Bank and Volvo PGA.

Q. Phil was just saying that with Tiger, when he's ahead, you know that he's the one champion who won't falter. You said you were relaxed after the sixth hole, but at that point Tiger is up three; is it going through your mind that at that point it was too late?

RETIEF GOOSEN: You just know Tiger is not going to make any big mistakes. You know you have to lift your game and start making birdies.

I think one of the winning shots for him was probably his third on the 15th. He had a great pitch shot in there to a foot and I think from there, it was just sort of cruise control for him.

I had to finish with four birdies to have any sort of chance and he has to make a couple of bogeys. I was fairly happy finishing with a couple of birdies and coming in second.

SAM NUNN: Retief, would you do birdies and bogeys for us and we'll close it out.

RETIEF GOOSEN: First hole, drove it in the trees, chipped it out with a 4-iron to about 40 feet. 3 -whacked.

4, I hit 4-iron on the top left to about 40 feet and 3-putted from there.

8, I hit driver, laid up with 2-iron and hit a bad sand wedge to about 30 feet short, 3-putted from there.

Bad drive on 11, in the right rough. Missed the green right with a 3-iron.

Poor chip to about 15 feet and missed that.

15, I hit driver, 5-iron to about 20 feet and two putts.

6-iron on 16 to about 15 feet.

SAM NUNN: Great tournament. Very proud of you.

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