BUICK CLASSIC

June 8, 2002

David Gossett

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome David Gossett, 1-under par 70 today, 10-under par for the tournament, one behind the leader.

David, just talk about today. It was a long day for a lot of golfers out there.

DAVID GOSSETT: It was. I really lucked out with the pairing I got Thursday and Friday. I got to play on Thursday and then I waited for five hours, but got my round in on Friday. So nice to be able to sleep in today and kind of take it easy this morning.

Today, I hung in there all around, 1-under par. I got to a good start, felt confident today. Finally I parred the first hole of my round. The first two rounds I made bogeys, but made good par on No. 1 and good birdie on No. 2. I made 3-wood and 9-iron to about four feet and made birdie there. So nice way to start off the round. I made bogey on 5, the par 5. I hit a poor drive right, laid up in the first cut, hit a poor wedge left, hit on left side of the green and set back all the way off. Made a great chip to about three feet and missed the 3-footer for par.

Then 10, I made birdie. Hit a 3-wood off the tee and chipped it up there about 40 yards and came up to about a 6-footer for birdie. That was pretty nice.

I didn't make a birdie or bogey, but I thought a great save in my round today was hole No. 12. I hit my drive in the bunker, right. Decided to -- was thinking about going for the green, hitting a 2-iron out of the bunker, but I decided to lay up. Hit it fat a little bit. Laid up in the rough and hit it up on the green about 25 feet long and made the 25-footer for par. So that was a nice momentum keeper there.

Then two holes later, I birdied No. 14. It was a good little 9-iron cut shot in there about seven feet. Made a tricky putt there.

16, I hit a 4-iron in the right bunker. Hit a decent bunker shot out to about six feet and missed the putt. 2-putted.

Q. What's been the difference this week? You've had, I'm sure, an unhappy season as far as finishes, what's been the difference this week compared to other weeks?

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, this year so far has been great, actually. Starting the year off at 23 years old in Maui at the Tournament of Champions has been a great experience. Playing with that elite field, 29 guys, tournament winners and being paired with the best players in the world week-in and week-out. It's nice to be in the hunt this week. I felt like I've made progress steadily over the last several months as I've been working on my game, working on areas in golf and life, and feel like I've really been on the way to having a week like this where I'm contending and that's what I'm working towards is consistency as we all do in golf.

What has been different, notably, my sister, Joni, is on the bag caddying for me. I took the approach that we were going to have fun. My first agenda was to spend time with my sister and be able to hang out and it worked out where she has a whole week off next week, as well, where he's in the playing tournaments. So we talked about caddying and she was up for it, and about a week and a half ago, she decided she would caddie. She certainly was willing and able and it worked out.

So we're excited and just taking the approach of let's enjoy it. And so far, that has got me in good position.

Q. So this is her first trip on TOUR with you?

DAVID GOSSETT: She caddied for me last year on the BUY.COM TOUR where I finished fifth. I was in contention with a chance to win the golf tournament, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, one of the best courses on the BUY.COM TOUR. She's caddied other times for me, but the first time for me on the PGA TOUR.

Q. How about game-wise, have you made more putts, hit the ball closer, gotten more in play?

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, so far this week, first off I like the golf course. I feel like it sets up well for me because you have to drive the ball accurately and I like that. I like to work the ball both ways. So I'm driving the ball well and I'm putting well this week. I'm being patient with my irons, my approach shots I feel like. I'm trying to hit the center of the green most of the time and just when there's some difficult pin placements or sucker pins, I'm just kind of being happy with 20-footers and just kind of being patient. Don't always end up with that, but that's what I'm trying for, anyway.

Q. Was it a relaxing day today, a little bit more because you were playing with Loren?

DAVID GOSSETT: Playing with Loren, definitely, was a comforting thing. Loren is a great individual and having watched him, growing up, since I was 10 years old, 11 years old down at Southwind, I definitely felt comfortable with him.

Today it didn't go quite as smooth as I wanted to. It just seemed like every time I'd get a little momentum, it would just stay there and then only had two bogeys.

All in all, I feel like I'm improving. So ultimately, I'm really happy and that's what I'm after, is to be more steady and consistent. I've played a really good golf course up here. Three days I've been under par each day. So, you know, my approach for tomorrow is just treat it like 18 holes. I'm in contention, having an opportunity to win another golf tournament. That would be great if it works out, but all I can do is really do my best for tomorrow.

Q. Do you think because things are still relatively soft you're going to have to shoot in the 60s tomorrow to win the golf tournament, high-60s, mid-60s, whatever?

DAVID GOSSETT: It's hard to say, really. On Sunday, some interesting things can happen. Certainly, I think with the amount of rain we had several days ago, and the fact that beautiful weather is scheduled, I think a mid-60s round is certainly in the recipe for some good players out there. Players like Hal Sutton I noticed played well today and David Toms, guys who were four or five back, definitely, I think some guys are going to shoot a good round tomorrow.

As far as in my position, being only one back or 10-under par, I don't know what the winning score is going to be. Obviously we've seen guys go nuts on Sundays and other guys just hang in there and just kind of not do much.

I certainly I am taking the approach that I need to go out and shoot in the 60s. 2-under par is 69, so it's going to be a shootout. It always is.

Q. How much does it help just knowing you've done this, knowing you've won a tournament? Chris Smith was in here, and he's never won one before, so what does it mean to you knowing that you've won one?

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, there's no question, winning does great things for your confidence. Knowing that I've gotten the deal done, that gets me -- I know that I've done it. I don't have anything to prove in that regard.

It still doesn't get your golf ball in the hole. I still have to hit a good tee shot off 1, on a good par 3. It's nice to know that I've done it and can do it. I certainly believe that I can do it tomorrow. Like I say, what it boils down to is just being committed on each and every shot and trying to enjoy ; enjoy what my sister and I have been enjoying all week. It's just time together and the opportunity to play and compete at a great sport and a great competition.

Q. What was the overriding reason that you decided to leave college early?

DAVID GOSSETT: Well, there were several variables why I left college early.

My sophomore year in college, I got to play in the Masters, and I played with Jack Nicklaus on Sunday, made the cut, was the low Amateur, stayed in the crow's nest. I played in the U.S. Open with Jack Nicklaus at Pebble Beach and I played the Old Course at St. Andrews with Nick Price and Tiger Woods in the 2000 British Open.

Those experiences were eye-opening experiences. It was just awesome. I definitely felt like in college, Austin was a phenomenal place for me, I loved it. But I felt like to go out and pursue my dream, it was time to go mix it up with the guys, and I felt like turning professional and playing golf full-time was the best thing for my career and it was truly what I wanted to do, following my heart. I watched players I competed with in junior golf like Sergio and Aaron Baddeley choosing not to go to college and doing well and that encouraged me as well, to go out there and turn professional.

Q. You figured it was all downhill playing with those guys, you could not do anymore as an amateur?

DAVID GOSSETT: I won the Amateur in '99 at Pebble Beach and it was phenomenal. That opened the doors, getting in those three major championships and being able to experience that.

I just really felt like to really improve my game, college sometimes, you know, you're juggling books and you're traveling a lot and I just felt like the best thing for me at that point was to move on. I'm very pleased I had two years in college because some guys don't go to school anymore.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you and good luck tomorrow.

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