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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP


May 9, 2008


Phil Mickelson


PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

Q. It's the kind of day that some guys said you have to play that aggressive defense all day long.
PHIL MICKELSON: I think that even though the conditions are very difficult, I think it's a very fair course. There's birdie holes out there. There's places you can miss it and still salvage par.
I think it's a very fair test. I felt like I had an opportunity to shoot a good round in the 60s. I let a number of shots slide again, but I have to look at the fact that I'm only five shots back heading into the weekend. Anything under par heading into the weekend is right in it. Even par is right in it. If I can get a good round tomorrow I'll be in good position for Sunday, and that's really all we want is a good opportunity for Sunday.

Q. You look at what Lonard did today, he shot 67 today.
PHIL MICKELSON: It's out there. Again, it's a very fair test. If you hit good shots, you can make some putts, you can make some birdies. Of course, if you don't, if you hit some poor shots, it will be magnified because of the wind, because of the firmness of the greens, because of the rough and the way the ball is jumping. But if you play well, it's out there.

Q. A couple days ago you said you had let a couple shots slide in the middle of the round. Have you identified what that is?
PHIL MICKELSON: You know, it's just some up-and-downs that I'm used to hitting, chipping close, a three-putt that I'm used to lag-putting a little closer, just little things like that is where you score, and I've just been not as sharp on those as I have been in the past.
I don't feel like it's far off. I feel like it's pretty close. I'm only, again, within five shots of the lead going into the weekend. A good round tomorrow should give me a good chance on Sunday.

Q. What did you get out of today that might impact what you do tomorrow or change some of the things you might do tomorrow?
PHIL MICKELSON: I'll, again, spend a little more time chipping. I think you're going to miss greens out here, and I'll spend a little bit more time chipping and a little bit more time lag putting getting the speed down. I think when you get some putts downgrain, downhill, downwind, it was almost picking up speed as it was going by the hole. Very tough to get some of those close.
I found that I needed to be chipping and putting more into the wind, which is, again, something you don't normally think about.

Q. And even with this wind, the golf course remains a fair test?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think it is. I think it's a fair test because you can miss it. There's places where you can miss it and still have shots, where in the past sometimes you would hit it in those spots and you wouldn't have an option.

Q. They put up a graphic that said you had gone 100-whatever holes without a three-putt, and then you three-putted that hole.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, again, that was a putt that was downwind. It was uphill but downwind, and I just gave it a little too much.

Q. Do you have to be cautiously aggressive tomorrow?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think you have to be aggressive but somewhat conservative on your line, if that makes sense.

Q. Fred Couples is 2-under par. Is that fun to see your Presidents Cup captain for next year up there with you on the leaderboard?
PHIL MICKELSON: It is fun to see Fred playing well. The age might say he's getting up there, but his game looks sharp, and as long as he's healthy he's always a threat to win a tournament.

End of FastScripts




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