WORLDCOM CLASSIC--THE HERITAGE OF GOLF

April 21, 2002

Justin Leonard

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome the 2002 WorldCom Classic Champion, Justin Leonard. He shot a 2-over par 73 today. It wasn't easy, Justin, but you got it done. Congratulations!

JUSTIN LEONARD: Thank you. It was definitely not easy. Unfortunately I didn't play the way I have been the first three days. And I kind of relied on my short game today, and hitting some smart shots when I needed to. A couple of -- a poor swing at 13, and I had to chip out, made bogey there. And more a mental error on 14, missing the short putt. But able to play pretty solid the last four holes. And I wouldn't have thought that 2 over would have been enough to win today, but it was and that's fine by me.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: This is Justin's 7th career victory.

Q. Justin, does this course go any higher in your affection, and are you coming back next year?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, you probably know the answer to the second question. But, you know, the golf course toughened up as the week went on. There's a big difference playing in the morning and the afternoon here. Obviously there's some good scores shot this morning. But this afternoon it was much tougher. And especially on the back nine, the greens got so firm that the areas were already small where you're trying to land the ball. And with the greens as firm, those areas shrink and they move. Very difficult golf course. Thank God it is, because if it wasn't then I would already be on an airplane somewhere.

Q. How difficult is it to stay patient when things are not going your way, when you're not making any birdies?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, it was easy because nobody was really making a big push. I mean ,other than Heath, I don't know if any of the guys in the top five or six shot par or better. Phil may have shot even par today. But he's really the only one that was making a move. So I was in there all day. So if I had played like that and guys had gone out and shot some 5 and 6-unders on the first nine or ten holes, then it would have been difficult to be patient. But because I was still in the golf tournament, and I had the lead up until I made bogey at 13, it was pretty easy to stay patient today.

Q. Justin, Heath said that he didn't look at the score board until the 15th hole. I'm guessing you were looking at it the whole way. Having the lead and trying to play accordingly, is that correct?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, well, I said yesterday I want to go out and try to play aggressively the first six holes, and then from there take what the golf course gave me. I wasn't able to get anything out of the first six holes and from there on basically trying to -- because I wasn't hitting them all great, I'm trying to make sure that my misses were in spots that I could play from, which I did most of the day, except for 13. I hit it right off the tee and had to chip out. But other than that, I could play from the places where I missed the ball. And usually when you're doing that, par is a good score. And if I had shot par today I would have won by three. So I think the attitude, my mental approach was good. Unfortunately I didn't execute as well as I wanted to. But, again, I guess I did enough.

Q. But you knew where you stood the whole way around?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I knew where I stood. Was that your question? (Laughter.) Sorry.

Q. Justin, except for 13 you hit it where, right --

JUSTIN LEONARD: On 13 I hit it right off the tee and had to chip out. So beyond that, where I missed shots, I could play from those areas. I missed it left and right today. But the places that I missed the ball, I missed it in places I could play from.

Q. What happened on the tee ball on 14?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, I was in between clubs. I wanted to hit a 7-iron, but I didn't feel like I had enough wind, enough help to hit it. So I took out a 6-iron and it made what I would call kind of a negative swing. Instead of having a positive thought trying to hit the ball a few feet left of the hole, I was trying to stay on the left edge and cut it back, because I felt like I had too much club. So I made a bad -- that was more mental error than anything. So I guess I had two mental errors on that hole. Then hit a great chip down there to two feet and missed that putt.

Q. Just before that what are you thinking on 13, when Slocum makes the putt on 14, you're looking right at it?

JUSTIN LEONARD: What was I thinking on 13? Well, I knew he'd made bogey on 13. And I knew I was probably going to make a bogey after my tee shot. So -- then stepping up on 14 knowing that I was tied, because I knew he'd made birdie, I felt like right then the game was on and I needed to -- I needed to do something.

Q. Up to that point, you were getting up-and-down, seemed like almost every hole. Did it ever enter your mind, gee, I'm getting away with this a little bit and not getting through this first six holes with shaving anything off par?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, I finally hit a green at 12, which was the first green I'd hit since No. 6, I think. It was a relief to hit a green and have a birdie putt.

And then I missed the next three greens. So maybe I shouldn't be so relieved next time. But I don't know what the final count was, but it couldn't have been more than seven or eight greens that I hit today.

Q. When you're playing the way you were between 6 and 12, saving pars, what effect does that have? Does it boost you forward or does it take so much out of you?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, it does a little of both, actually. The fact that having to grind and hit a good chip shot, and I made about a 12-footer at 10 and about a 25-footer at 11. If you're chipping up there a foot, two feet, it's easy. But I was having to make some longer putts. And it does both. It's encouraging, but at the same time it will wear you out.

Q. When you came up to 14 tied, you said your mind kind of changed a little bit on your focus. Were you becoming more aggressive and then when Heath double bogeyed 16, did you change your mind again? Was it two quick changes as to your approach going into the last few holes?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, no, 14 I should have been playing more aggressively and I didn't. And I also should have gotten away with it, but I missed a 2-foot putt. There's a pretty good walk over to the 15th tee. And I knew at that point that I was one back. So it really wasn't until that point that I decided, you know, I need to forget about the rest of the day and go out and hit some positive shots to where I'm thinking about hitting the ball close to the hole, not thinking about what not to do. If you follow that at all.

So -- and then I didn't hit a very good tee shot. And I was in the left, I don't know what you'd call that stuff -- waste, transition, and I had a very simple punch shot and I was going to hit a 5-iron and I thought, well, that probably wouldn't -- I probably wouldn't get down far enough to hit a sand wedge in. So I called Brent, my caddy, over and I pulled out a 4-iron and hit it down where I could hit a sand wedge in. That was the best shot I hit all day up to that point. And it was also the right frame of mind, playing aggressively, because I felt like I had to make a birdie or two to win the golf tournament. As it turned out it did. But that second shot on 15 is where my mindset changed to playing more aggressively. And I think it showed on playing 16, 17 and 18.

Q. How much do you draw upon your past experience in winning the British Open and the Ryder Cup, where it looks like you've been in situations where it looks like you have no chance, and something brings you back? Does that comfort you walking into that 15th tee box?

JUSTIN LEONARD: It does. I don't necessarily think of those tournaments. But certainly that's the way I think, is that I'm never out of it. And Phil Mickelson, I could tell by his putts at 16 and 17, he never felt like he was out of it. So you have to be able to get through the days. And I'll learn more from today, shooting a 73 and winning by one stroke, than if I shot 68 and won by 6. I'll pull more positives out of today about the way I just kind of just gutted it out and played some ugly golf, but got it all done. Shooting this score will help me more than shooting 68 will have.

Q. Can you talk about how difficult was the chip on 18?

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, I was a couple feet off the green, so I just putted it. If you sat there and did that on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you would 2-putt it a hundred times out of a hundred. But seeing that one shot victory -- or a 1-shot lead, certainly that makes it more difficult. And plus having missed a short putt as recently as No. 14, it was actually pretty close to the length that I made at 18. It wasn't that difficult.

Q. What were you thinking standing over that putt? You noticed that it was almost an identical length?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Fortunately that did not go through my mind.

Q. But you had good luck on 18 all week. It seemed like you were more to the right of the fairway than you had been earlier. I think Friday you kind of pitched it out of that rough down in the front of that area there and put it right near the tee.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Friday I hit too far left and went through the fairway with the 3-wood, which I couldn't imagine doing. Today I didn't -- the last thing I wanted to do was pull it left again and have it run through. So I hit a good shot, obviously further right than where I'd been hitting it. But I just -- I was hoping to get a little further down there where I could hit a 9-iron or wedge, but wasn't able to.

Q. How much of Heath's 16th hole did you see?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I saw I guess four of the shots.

Q. You saw him leaving the bunker?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I didn't see him leaving the bunker, but I knew that he'd made double.

Q. Justin, you won in the fall, you win here. Your game is obviously kind of cresting. Are you ready to start winning major championships again? Do you feel like you're there?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I think I am. I felt more comfortable this year than I did all last year. And I think it's the work that I've put in, the changes that I've made. I feel like I've been building up towards this. In fact, I was really disappointed I didn't win a tournament during like, I guess, Bay Hill, Players, Houston stretch. I really felt like I was playing good going into those tournaments. Played well in Houston, but beyond that I was disappointed. And so I felt this was coming on. And May through September is really my favorite time of year. So I've done -- I've got a lot to look forward to. It's nice to -- I've never won this early in the season, so that's another thing that I can enjoy.

Q. Can you compare your game now to where it was in '97?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I feel like my game is very different from where it was in '97. Mentally maybe not. Mentally I think I probably play a little more aggressively, because you have to, the way the players are out here and what you have to do to win. But I feel like my game's come a long way since '97.

Q. What kind of changes did you make that gave you the confidence for this swing?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Made some changes with Butch Harmon, shortened my swing up, took a lot of -- just really -- really simplified it to where I understand it very well. And it's been a big help. It's been a long road. That was about 17 months ago. But, you know, it's progressively gotten better and better.

Q. Do you work with him exclusively now?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yes.

Q. What made you think you had to make a swing change?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Kind of where my game was from week to week. I think that was in -- so that would have been 2000. I felt like I struggled too much. For the kind of player that I was -- I'm not -- I shouldn't be a streaky player. And I felt like I struggled too much in between good weeks. I figured I had four or five good tournaments that year, and the rest of it was struggling. And that's just no fun. So I felt like I needed to do something about it.

Q. Justin, where do you go next and what's your big aim? I know you said May through September. Is there a tournament that you really have on your list that you'd like to win?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Oh, I think I could put the U.S. Open on that list (laughter.) I've got two weeks off, which I'm really looking forward to. So I'll be able to enjoy this and then after the two-week break, then I'm playing four tournaments in a row. And obviously the first one is the Byron Nelson. It's nice. It would be nice going in there with a positive frame of mind and I'll be rested. So I've been looking forward to this two-week break. It was going to be three weeks for a while, but I'm very glad it's only two.

Q. Any temptation to play while you're still hot and change things?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No. I need a little rest. And my wife and I have some things we need to do and some fun things going on, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. How close did you come to not coming here?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I tell you what, I tried not to come, but I needed a two-week break, and I need to play this week, regardless of what tournament it was, I needed to play this week. And it's all worked out. But it was tooth and nail. I was fighting coming here.

Q. Have you thought, either before this week or in the last hour, of the quality of players that have won here in the past and what it's like to be on that list?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I've thought about it a little more the last 20 or 30 minutes, and seeing Davis. Obviously it's a wonderful event that a lot of guys look forward to. Played at a great golf course, and it's got a wonderful list of Champions. It's great to be a part of that. And because I've struggled here so much in the past it makes it even more special.

Q. Davis was the first guy to congratulate you coming off the 18th green. What did he say to you?

JUSTIN LEONARD: He said congratulations and he said I hope you enjoy the jacket. And he said, boy, he said I didn't have the right shirt on for it (laughter.)

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your card.

JUSTIN LEONARD: Tell me how in depth do you want me to go?

Q. What did you hit into 17?

JUSTIN LEONARD: 17 I hit a 7-iron.

Q. What about that third shot into 15?

JUSTIN LEONARD: You know, that was a weird one. I had 95 yards to the hole and trying to hit a 60 degree wedge really hard. And I think I may have just trapped a little bit of grass in between the -- I may have actually just hit it just a hair fat, enough to get a flier. Because the ball acted like a flier. So it was strange. I couldn't imagine -- I was praying to land it on the front edge. And the thing flew in the middle of the green and had top spin on it, so I caught some kind of flier on it.

Q. How many holes do you have to get up-and-down for par?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Well, let's see, I got up-and-down at 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. 13 I got up-and-down for bogey, so we'll count that one. 15 I 2-putted from 50 feet from off the green. And then 18, that was from off the green. So 11 times, and a couple of those were from putting off the green.

Q. What was the length of the real long putt you made on I think it was 11?

JUSTIN LEONARD: Yeah, 11 was about 25 feet.

Q. And was 8 another hole where you had a long par-putt?

JUSTIN LEONARD: No.

Q. Was there any in the front 9?

JUSTIN LEONARD: 7 I made about a 10-footer.

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