Q. Would you consider this a course that you need to have knowledge on to play well? The reason I ask that is most of the guys on the board right now have played here a lot but Retief hasn't. He has never played here before and he came in and played one practice round and he is 10-under par and he says he is not hitting the ball that well.
LEE JANZEN: There are certain shots that you learn over the years because they will fool you. The 12 hole, the wind is really tough on that hole and you have to, you know, play that hole under all conditions to know what club and where to hit it sometimes on that hole. So you can get away with the shot if you are doing whatever.
There is another hole, No. 6, is very easy to hit over that green when it plays in the wind for some reason. It must be the way the wind comes across there. The ball goes to the wind there. It must be protected from trees. You have to have the experience for some shots out there.
Q. Is there any way to explain why -- is he just a good enough player?
LEE JANZEN: He is really a good player. He won the U.S. Open.
Q. If you do say so yourself.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we go through your birdies and bogeys, please.
LEE JANZEN: I birdied the fourth hole. I hit a 5-iron and I had about an 18-footer from the middle of the green towards the hole with a slight break left.
No. 5 I hit a 3-wood off the tee, it caught the trees to the right. I had to lay up across the creek to the fairway. From there I hit a 9-iron and probably made another 18-footer. I have to check Shotlink.
On 3, I hit a driver, laid up with a 5-iron, hit a lob wedge about 12 feet, pin-high. And the 10th hole I bogeyed hit a good drive pushed an 8-iron to the right of the pin and 3 putted from 30 feet.
I birdied the 11th hole with a 3-wood. I hit it to the right, laid up with a 3-iron and hit an 8-iron about 10 behind the hole.
13th hole, I hit a driver and pitching wedge and made about a fifteen-footer past the hole, straight behind it.
And I bogeyed 14 and I hit the 3-iron and pitching wedge in the first cut of rough past the penalty a bit on the left, and chipped it down three feet and missed it.
And I birdied 15 with a driver, 3-iron and 2 putts from 20 feet. And then I hit a 6-iron about 15 feet behind the hole and made birdie.
Q. You were the terminator finishing off the holes. It seems to be a lot of good starts, one round takes you out of it. Have you learned anything from some of the other dealings?
LEE JANZEN: I did that back then, too. I usually took myself early enough out on the weekend that no one noticed. But now I've gotten, you know, The Houston Open and The Players in '98 and Atlanta this year. I don't remember too many tournaments in the early to mid 90's where I was leading in the last round. I just figured if I keep getting myself up there, I will play well enough to win one of those weeks that's what I'm striving for and that's all I can do. I can't let -- it's frustrating, I can't say I wasn't disappointed after Atlanta this year but I thought it was positive that I played very well for three days and I drove it absolutely perfect on Sunday and I never missed a drive. I think that's at least a starting point, if I could go out and drive it well with the lead, that at least I know I'm putting myself in a good position. I hit some lose iron shots and cost myself.
Q. Do you think it's a technique thing or do you think it's a mental thing having not being in the hunt after a couple of years?
LEE JANZEN: I think what happens is when you get in the hunt it exposes your flaws a lot more. Coming from Atlanta, I thought that was another positive, that I really saw what exactly I needed work on to get better.
Q. Which was what?
LEE JANZEN: I just worked on getting better impact position, meaning my body sometimes out raises my arms. I guess I am more likely to do that under the gun. I shouldn't say under the gun, but maybe in situations where you are feeling a little more pressure than I would have been if I wasn't in the heat of the tournament.
Q. You win a couple of U.S. Opens, play well in the Ryder Cup and you still feel the pressure?
LEE JANZEN: Yes. I hit shots in those tournaments and felt the pressure then. And I pulled them off and don't know if I could really tell you why I did it then. I think I'm more relaxed now under those situations. I felt totally out there the last few holes today. The greens were getting hard and fast, and I missed 3 putts about three feet long before the one on 18. Not today, but the last two days. And those, you know, if you're thinking about being in the lead, that's a tough putt to make and I step right up and hit it in the middle, which hopefully will be a positive for the weekend. It was nice to step up, I hit it relaxed and stroke it the way I wanted to.
Q. Someone said there is a front coming through that you may have some British Open weather tomorrow, how does that change thing as far and you say have been playing in conditions here all week, that you don't get here a lot, now all of a sudden --
LEE JANZEN: I guess I better go buy some long underwear and I will wear a sweater tomorrow, too.
Q. How does that just change things after you are playing well in these conditions?
LEE JANZEN: It's going to be same for everybody tomorrow. You are going to have to hit different shots, but the wind was pretty strong this afternoon and there were shots that you had to play. You had to keep it down and you had to work it against the ball to stay under control. I'm sure the same will be tomorrow. You might have to just be accepting further of the pin and accepting of more pars. You may not see as many birdies. But if it rains tonight, the course will be softer and you'll be able to shoot at the pins.
Q. These two rounds, how do they rank in how you have been coming back the last couple of years?
LEE JANZEN: I have played a lot of rounds like I did the last two days. Very similar that I played very well but left a couple of shots out there. A 3 putt, a missed short putt, and I must have had a couple of short ones yesterday. I didn't birdie all of the par-5s I did today. I probably played better today and the conditions were tougher today. The score was the same. I have seen that in a lot of tournaments where I shot good scores and almost felt like it was easy and wondered why I struggled in other rounds so much. But I see it coming around. I played very well last Sunday at Colonial and 66 was probably the highest I could have shot. And I played well at the Nelson, too on Sunday and shot 69 under good conditions, and that was probably the highest I shot there, too.
Q. Vijay is in the hunt today even though he got some catcalls the last couple of days. What's the feeling among the players about the way he has been treated in the aftermath of those comments and the whole thing the last couple of weeks?
LEE JANZEN: I don't think he is picking on women in general, I just think he thought that everybody who is playing Colonial had to get in the top 80 on the money list or win a tournament or get an exemption from the past champions and, you know, Annika is a great player but I don't think he was trying to disrespect her. I think if she wasn't a woman, she wouldn't have gotten the exemption. The other guys who get the exemptions are TOUR members. He thought those are the original people that should have been playing in tournaments. There are guys that qualify on Mondays and there are some amateurs and other pros from other areas that get exemptions.
Q. Since he in some circles has been vilified from what he said, will it make more players be more guarded?
LEE JANZEN: I think players have been guarded for a long time. What he said was his opinion, and you know it was supposed to be freedom of speech. In other areas other than sports, you can see when people voice their opinion and it is not a popular one, they get -- the Dixie Chicks are catching a lot of heat. They have the right to voice their opinion, it doesn't mean they are right, it doesn't mean they shouldn't face some consequences either.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Lee.
End of FastScripts....
