BUICK OPEN

August 11, 2000

Woody Austin

WOODY AUSTIN: I slept with my two and a half year old and a month old. It was a restless night.

WOODY AUSTIN: Like I said, yesterday it was just important for me to go out today and play aggressive like I did yesterday and not be happy with where I was and just keep trying to move forward. Whether it was 70, 69 or whatever I needed to make sure I was moving forward and I did a very good job of that today. I didn't get off to the greatest of starts. Didn't birdie any of the first couple of holes whatever, but as soon as I got a chance at that make a birdie, I made it, and it just got me going. My wedge game has just been absolutely perfect this week. Every chance I got with a wedge, I hit a really good shot.

WOODY AUSTIN: It can never be that hot. Like yesterday was a dream day. Today I putted well, but I didn't hit it as close to the hole for the entire day as I did yesterday. I hit a lot of good shots; had some birdie putts, but 20-footers compared to 8-footers is a little different.

WOODY AUSTIN: No, like I said, the big thing with me was I needed to see some progress and I seen a little bit of progress last couple of weeks, but score-wise I didn't see any progress. I played really well on the weekend at John Deere; had like 68 putts on the weekend for even par and hit a lot of greens and then played pretty well last week at The INTERNATIONAL, but it is just not a good format if you are not making a lot of birdies and I hadn't been making a lot of them. I have been making a lot of pars, but that is not going to do you any good in the Stableford system. But the fact that I was close to making Sunday was nice. I had made a few. I just think coming in here, the fact that I was playing good and being at a familiar site and place where I have always seemed to play good, just kind of might have carried over. But I do not have 22 putts like yesterday, no.

WOODY AUSTIN: I am sure it will be like it always is and like it was in 1995, I will probably be shaking in my shoes when I tee it up tomorrow. But it is just like anything, if you are nervous and you are playing well, it is easier to overcome and you can get through it. If you are nervous and you are playing like a dog, you are going to play like a dog. So I think I will be fine. Like I said, as long as I keep that mental frame of mind of not being satisfied of being where I am at and to continue to push forward, I will be fine. The hard part is like oh, boy I am going to be in the last group tomorrow, it is Saturday, let us not make any mistakes. Well you can't think that way. You have to keep trying to move forward. As long as I had keep that attitude regardless of what happens, I will be all right.

WOODY AUSTIN: It took me a long time to get out here. I have had a lot of roadblocks. Perseverance is one thing, but I told a lot of the people last year if I didn't keep my card last year, I wasn't going to start over again, so it was -- and I went down to the next -- to the last week last year, so I don't want to do that again. No fun.

WOODY AUSTIN: I finished 9th at Disney.

WOODY AUSTIN: I missed every cut on the West Coast until Tucson. You are just like -- if you keep getting so far behind the ball and you never see that progress and it is just so hard to keep grinding it out. It is just no fun. You think, okay, my rookie year -- what was so nice about my rookie year, I got off to such a great start, there was no pressure. By the time I got into the middle of the year and when I got here, I was way secure and everything was going fine and I had already had about four, five Top-10s already and everything, you know, I'd almost won Colonial, so -- I had already put myself in that fire already; whereas, ever since I have gotten off to just the worst start. I have not played well at all on the West Coast ever since that first year.

WOODY AUSTIN: Yeah, it played harder today, I thought.

WOODY AUSTIN: In the fact that this morning when we teed off it was so overcast, it was kind of -- the air was real heavy, kind of moist and we played a lot -- with a little bit more wind out there today. A lot more shots were into the wind; the holes were playing a little longer. I felt it played a little bit harder. Obviously not outrageous because it is not really howling, but it definitely played a little harder, I thought.

WOODY AUSTIN: 29. Another good day.

WOODY AUSTIN: Like I said, 80 would not be -- you know, most guys would be upset with 80. 80 would be fine with me.

WOODY AUSTIN: I hit it left off the tee and I had an opening and I tried to play the smart shot. I tried to play it just out into the middle of the green, but didn't hit it hard enough and it went under the lip of the bunker. I didn't hit a good bunker shot from the lip of the bunker. I had about a 20-footer for par.

WOODY AUSTIN: That was the thing. That was probably the one thing that actually in a way kept me playing because pretty much the only thing I know as far as hobby-wise or something else to do that makes me happy is to play golf. Even though I haven't been happy for a while, its still -- the idea of playing golf is what you have always strived for. I am not an avid fisherman like some guys. If I had a real good hobby, I probably would be off doing that. My hobbies were growing up were other sports. Well, I am too old to play the other sports anymore, but I used to play semi pro league baseball when -- after my injury in my knee before I got my Tour card back. I played basketball, anything, but you can't do that now, so�

WOODY AUSTIN: Well, no, not down there. I have moved away from there. I would have had to try and find something else that I like to do. I thought about maybe teaching or something. I think I can probably teach this game. Probably better teacher than I am a player. If I can teach my screwed up self to play, I am not too bad.

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