100TH WESTERN OPEN

July 5, 2003

Robert Allenby

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Robert Allenby for coming in after his 4-under 68 today, bogey-free round. Obviously you've got your work cut out for you tomorrow, six strokes back from the leader Tiger Woods. Let's talk about today's round. You played very well out there.

ROBERT ALLENBY: I played pretty good. Tee-to-green I played very well, maybe a little scrappy early in the round, but I got it going towards sort of the later part of the front nine, by I couldn't get the putts in.

Then on the back nine I made a nice birdie at 10. I should have birdied 11, I birdied 12, and then I hit a lot of good shots, missed a few putts, had a chance for eagle at 15, but that was another putt that went slowing by. I had a lot of chances out there. I played very solid from tee-to-green, very similar to way I've played the last two days, but every time I've walked off the last three days I've walked away with the worst score I could have shot. You know, I could have shot four shots better each round this week. I've hit the ball quite well. But that's golf. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't.

TODD BUDNICK: How do you approach tomorrow? Beating the rest of the field or still with a chance to --

ROBERT ALLENBY: No, I never think like that. Obviously there's one person in front of me and that's the guy I'm going to try and chase and catch. It could be an impossible task or it could be quite possible. But it really depends on how Tiger plays and it also depends on how I play and also the guys around me. But if I can shoot -- I have to go out there in the mindframe to shoot like a 62, 63, and that's the only way I can think. I know I've got it in me because from tee-to-green I could do it quite easily if I could find someone else to putt for me.

Q. Robert, does that mean you played more aggressively than you normally would?

ROBERT ALLENBY: No, I've played the same way I've played here last year, the year before, the year I won. I haven't done anything different, I'm just -- I think I've played better this year than previous years, even when I won. I probably holed more putts when I won in 2000 than I'd say this week.

Q. Is there any one thing about Cog Hill that sets up for you particularly well?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think the whole course sets up perfect. You've got to shape it off the tee either with a driver or 3-wood or sometimes a 2-iron off the tee. It's pretty much you must hit the -- obviously today was a little easier because the greens were a little softer from all the rain we had during the night, but normally you have to hit it in the fairway to be able to stop it on the green, and I still do on some holes. I think the course sets up really well for me. I hit the ball pretty long and straight, and good iron play, and that's where you have to be, especially coming down the stretch. I think 18 is the best hole out here. It's a fantastic finishing hole.

Q. What seems to be wrong with your putting?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I'm just a bit brain-dead at the moment. My brain won't let me accelerate through the putter. I keep telling myself to get over it, but it just doesn't listen, so it's like I've got two brains at the moment, and one is out looking for the other.

Q. Can you find it by tomorrow?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I hope so. I'll have to send him on a mission.

Q. The mindset of going out for 63, 62, would that be any different if it were somebody else that were out there six strokes in front of you, or because Tiger has such a history of never coming back --

ROBERT ALLENBY: He's the world No. 1, and when you're playing against someone like that that is already six shots in front of you going into the final round, you know, already I have to shoot six under for him to have the worst day possible to shoot level par. I can't see him shooting level par on this course because of his length and the way he hits his irons, and he's a good putter and he has a fantastic short game. What else hasn't he got?

I think it's possible, but it's not impossible because he's human. I'd have to play very, very well.

Q. Were you aware that he went 6-under through seven holes?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I saw that. I was trying desperately to try and get some putts in on the front nine. I knew I'd make a few putts on the back nine, but I saw he was 6-under after about seven or something, and I knew he got away with a pretty hot start. I'm actually surprised that he didn't go on and get to 20-odd under.

Q. How important is working out to your success? I know you're one of the gym rats on this Tour.

ROBERT ALLENBY: It looks like it, doesn't it, big and bulky? I work out more than I practice nearly. I work out in the mornings. I went for a run this morning. Some days I do cardio and some days I do weights, but I mix it up and I have a routine before I go out and hit the range. I go to the fitness trailers and go through a series of exercises on the Swiss ball and dumbbells and stuff like that. I just make sure I'm all loose and limbered before I go out. You'll probably find that at least nearly 80 to 90 percent of the Tour players now are definitely hitting the gym. I've been doing it -- I've been a pro for nearly 13 years now and I've been doing it for 16 years. I've had the same program for that length of time, as well, and the same trainer.

Q. Do you get the sense that you work out as much or more than anybody on this Tour?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I probably don't work out as much as Tiger. I think he would probably work out the most. There's a lot of guys that do work out and a lot of guys that work out hard, but whether they're all doing the right thing, that's another story. You know, there's certain things that are good for your body and good for golf, and you've got to be very, very careful, and I'm sure Tiger would say the same thing.

You know, it's not just about lifting weights and doing stuff like that, it's about how you do it and the way you do it because you can really do some serious damage, and for myself and what we do, and when I say we, Stuart Appleby and a bunch of the other young Australian golfers do the same thing because we all have the same trainer, we're looking for long-term and not short-term, so when we turn 50 we still want to be in the same shape as what we are at 32 and 26.

Q. Do you see some guys in the fitness van where you think, "Why is that dope doing this?"

ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, absolutely. There's some trainers that are a bit wacky, too. It's like, go ahead, you're making it easier for us.

Q. How is the course playing for you this year compared to 2000? By that I mean are you significantly longer? Are you playing shots maybe a few clubs less in certain positions?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think I'm pretty much hitting nearly the same clubs in. Maybe half a club, one club maximum, but only on certain shots. I just can't remember which direction the wind was back in 2000. It was too long ago. I think everything is pretty similar. I mean, especially today because there was not a lot of run in the fairways. The first couple of days I'd say there was definitely a club, club and a half, but because we had all that rain last night it definitely softened everything up and there wasn't a lot of running there.

TODD BUDNICK: Today let's go through the four birdies, Robert. One on 10.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 10, hit a 3-wood, lob wedge to about six, seven feet.

12, I hit a 7-iron to about 15 feet.

The par-5, 15, I hit driver, 2-iron to about ten feet, two-putt.

And then 18 I hit a driver, 7-iron to a foot. A big foot, but a foot.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Robert.

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