U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2001

Retief Goosen

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yes, I didn't probably play as well as I played yesterday in the first eight holes, but I managed to keep it together on the greens and fairway. They were actually a lot softer today, so some ways the shots managed to stay on the fairway. I was pretty pleased the way I played. I played pars all the way, and when a birdie came along, it was a bonus. And of course it's not easy out there. I finished off of with a bogey, unfortunately. But I'm very happy overall with the way I played.

RETIEF GOOSEN: It's just -- the fairways are not running nearly as much as they ran yesterday. Yesterday some of the holes you got 50 yards of run, while today the ball just basically stopped where it landed. So in that way it was a lot easier to hit the fairways. You could hit it down the wrong side of the fairway and still manage to hold the fairway.

RETIEF GOOSEN: The greens are as good as they can get. I don't think I've ever putted on better greens than this. They're just in perfect condition. Obviously, today they were a little bit softer, you can afford to fly the ball at the flag and not having to play so far short of the hole on some of the holes.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, last week we got windburn, and this week we get sunburn. It was very cold last week, especially the first two rounds. I don't know, the wind chill must have been nearly zero. It was a bit different coming out Monday night and suddenly being in a sauna. I feel like I'm losing a few pounds this week.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Obviously, tomorrow I'll be a little bit nervous, when I stand on the first tee. But, you know, that's what golf is all about. You've just got to be nervous, and these tournaments there's more nerves in it. I have to concentrate on the shots at hand, and stay below the hole. Anything past the flag is a lot of trouble.

RETIEF GOOSEN: I would think it's definitely going to be a few more feet roll on the ball by the weekend. This morning, obviously, there was still a bit of moisture on it, and they weren't as quick. But as the afternoon went on some of the putts -- I remember No. 15, putting from pin-high, from two yards away or three yards away I was aiming a yard and a half left. The putt was just turning sideways. And we're going to get a few more of those by the weekend.

RETIEF GOOSEN: I didn't know the course at all. I played a few holes with Nick Price on Wednesday and he showed me a few ins and outs of the course, and where to go and where not to go. So I think I learned a little bit from that. But the course, I like the course, the course is great. It's a very tricky course. It's probably not some of the longer courses we play, but very tricky.

RETIEF GOOSEN: I got here at 7 o'clock Monday night. So I played a practice round on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I've had two rounds. And Wednesday was a bit of a boiler, it was quite difficult.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, I haven't played well enough. I don't know, you know, it's -- the game goes funny sometimes. Sometimes you play really well, but you're not scoring very well. That's the way I've played really the last sort of four tournaments. I felt like I was hitting the ball quite well, but didn't score. And last week I found something in my putting, and started putting quite a little bit better. And I brought my game out feeling that I can maybe do something this week. In the past I felt like I wasn't playing well enough. But now I'm looking forward to the weekend. It's going to be a tough, long weekend, and it's going to be interesting to see how I cope with the pressure.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, most of my tournaments I won in Europe I won from leading the first round. So I like that, rather than chasing the leaders. But all my tournament wins come from leading from the first round. So maybe we'll see what can happen this weekend, if I could just play my game. It's not a course that somebody is going to be running away. So it's really just trying to hang in there and make pars. And if you get a birdie, that's a bonus.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, I was 17-years-old when that happened. I was playing golf with a friend of mine and it was raining and lightning around. And we stopped play, actually, and we waited until the storm went past and then we teed off. And we were on our way, walking to the fairway and there was a couple of trees you have to walk past. As I was next to one of the trees, the lightning hit the tree and me. So when I woke up I was lying in the hospital, not knowing what's going on. So it's probably not an experience, because you don't feel fear or anything like that, it's just, the next moment you're there and the next moment you're not. So it's obviously something you don't want to happen to anybody, but I was one of the lucky ones to survive it.

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, yesterday didn't really bother me. I think anybody gets a little bit nervous when there's lightning around. It's not a comfortable position to be in. But it's not that I get a bit of a nervous breakdown when there's lightning around or anything, and start running off the course. They called us off well before the storm got here yesterday. Yeah, I'm a little bit surprised that Tiger is not really playing as well, but there's still a long way to go. We know Tiger. Tomorrow is going to be really a day for him, big day for him. But the course isn't playing really as -- like I say, that long for him, I would think. But like I said, the greens are very tricky. If you just end up the wrong side of the flag, it's not easy to make birdies. And I think that's probably what's been happening with him.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, tomorrow might be a different story, we'll see what happens tomorrow. If Tiger shoots 6-under tomorrow, he's back in the tournament. But I think the other guys are probably feeling like this could be their chance. But it's going to be a difficult weekend. I think David Duval said he didn't play that well, so he's quite happy to come out 1-under par. His game could only improve on the weekend. Phil Mickelson just had a hole-in-one, and that could get him fired up and he could be leading by the end of the day.

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, definitely not. Remember The Masters, when he won his first Masters, when he shot 40 or something on the first nine and came back. It shows you anything can happen out there. You just need to get on a roll. And we know Tiger can get on a roll so quickly. I don't think nine shots back is anything that he thinks he's out of the tournament.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, no, I'm definitely very nervous when I'm out there. I try and just sort of think that I'm calm, and maybe that will help the nerves. But I'm sure tomorrow when I stand on the first tee I'll be shaking a little bit. But once you get out there and you get playing and start concentrating on your shots, the nerves seem to calm down a little bit. But it's just never going to go away.