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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD


March 27, 2009


Lee Janzen


ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Q. Really an up-and-down down day for you; after getting it to 5-under, you fell back a little bit. What's so difficult about this course that's bringing a lot of guys back?
LEE JANZEN: Well, it must be difficult because right now you look at the board and Tiger is 2-under and he's right in the middle of it. Usually he's the barometer. He's the guy you hope doesn't study for the economics test and it's graded on a curve.
You know, you have to play every hole properly, and if you just miss it slightly -- I played three bogeys on the back nine, four today, and probably two of those holes I know I played really poorly, but the other ones weren't really bad shots, they were just marginal shots that most of the time would be okay and if you do something special you make a par.
As you go on, you're just trying probably to play a little bit more conservative because of that, which means you're not having as many short birdie putts.

Q. Very quickly, what do you think you need to get back to the level of a two-time U.S. Open winner?
LEE JANZEN: I guess a swagger, that's it. It's really what do you think about yourself when you're on the golf course. My game has progressed more and more. Every part of my game suffered, so everything is coming back around. When you have no confidence in your putting it's hard to get near the lead and have a three-footer because you're just hoping you make it. When your stroke becomes solid then you start thinking you're going to make it.
I'm starting to drive the ball in the fairway regardless of the wind conditions or how hard the hole is. It was tough for a while not knowing which way to aim because I didn't know which way it was going to go off the driver. At least now I can -- not hit every fairway, but I'm keeping the ball where it's supposed to be.

Q. How long did it take you to get back to what you were talking about there, trying to get some confidence and trying to figure out your game?
LEE JANZEN: Well, I would say my confidence is growing. I don't know if there's going to be a time where I can say I'm back. If I'm going to put an exact moment on the time I'm back, it's when I win the Grand Slam, how's that? That way nobody thinks I'm back until I even win a tournament. The goal is to win, so I'd like to think if I win a tournament that I would have to say I'd have a lot of confidence to play that well. Even though my confidence is growing, I think it still has a ways to go.
There have been a few times when I've gotten near the lead; it's not a weekly occurrence, but I would have been pleased to see the way I finished today because it would have been more knowing that I couldn't hit a good shot when I needed to, where today I made a couple of mistakes I know I can easily correct just because I let a couple swings get away, but I'm not walking off the course totally dejected right now, like I blew my chance to be in the lead.

Q. How difficult has it been to try to get back to that?
LEE JANZEN: It's a challenge, but I have to remind myself that I love playing golf, I enjoy being out there, and if I take the attitude that I enjoy it more, it seems to help my score, too. The challenge is just part of the journey. If I think it's just going to be easy all the time, then it's just going to be frustrating.

Q. Back in October when I saw you, you said you were making a lot of progress in terms of your confidence. How much progress have you made since then?
LEE JANZEN: I would just say more. You know, the frustrating past in the last year was I knew I was starting to get everything pretty well physically, technically, and just wasn't scoring, and that's still been frustrating this year, but I'm excited that I'm in the position I'm in right now because I don't think I've played perfect by any means the last two days, but by the end of the day I may still be in the Top 10, which is great to be in that kind of position going into Saturday and Sunday.

Q. You're a U.S. Open player. (Indiscernible.) Is that what you're in, that kind of mode now?
LEE JANZEN: Yeah, I would say I'm really just trying to enjoy it with more peacefulness out there so I'm not maybe too concerned about trying to hit the perfect shot. U.S. Open really is demanding, which is fun. This course is very demanding, also, but I'm just trying to see the shot and trust it and get it there.

End of FastScripts




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