One content chap

Leonard cherishes challenge of difficult Royal Birkdale

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Posted: Wednesday July 15, 1998 05:12 PM

Justin Leonard begins defense of his British Open title (AP)

Shortly before beginning defense of his British Open title, Justin Leonard, who came from five shots back on Sunday at Royal Troon to win his first major championship, spent some time with CNN/SI's Ed Werder. Having crossed over into the cherished world of major winners, Leonard's confidence - and his expectations -- heading to Royal Birkdale could not be higher.

Justin Leonard: "My expectations of myself have gone up. The biggest thing is just going out and, knowing I can win a big tournament like that, makes it a little easier teeing off on Thursday."

Ed Werder: "Is there something about the British courses that really fits your game and allows you to contend in this tournament?"

JL: "I think first of all, they're difficult. The conditions make them difficult. You have to have a lot of creativity around the greens and just learn to deal with funny bounces here and there, so I think the combination of those things maybe plays a littler stronger into my game.

"I'm not going to go out and light a course up very often. Very rarely am I going to compete very well in a tournament where 25 or 20 under par is going to be the winning score. I don't even look forward to those kinds of tournaments. I like it when conditions are difficult, when par is a good score and that really comes through in the major championships."

EW: "As you get ready to defend your championship, what aspects of your game are you working on?"

JL: "I feel fundamentally and technically it's pretty good. I'm going to be working on a lot of shots that I know I'm going to need there. Keeping the ball down low, shots around the greens."

EW: "Did you have a game plan like that last year?"

JL "I think so. Once I got over there, I played a lot. I didn't sit on the range and hit balls for two hours a day. I chose to go out on the golf course and play in those conditions and get used to the firmness of the course, and I plan to do that same thing this year."

EW: "How do you recover psychologically from having a bad tournament like you did at the U.S. Open?"

JL: "Well, I think that's a big key to a player's longevity. It's tough. You get up for a week for the Open, put a lot of energy into it and then go there and not play very well. It hasn't torn me up. You know, I'd had a great run in majors up to that week, so know maybe I'm on maybe a fresh start. It is tough, though. I mean, playing 30 to 35 weeks a year and in a great year you win a couple of tournaments, so there's some disappointment in there. I think I've learned how to deal with that."

EW: "You've both won majors and you're completely different kinds of players, but would you trade your golfing talents for those Tiger Woods has?"

JL: "No. I think it would be too drastic of a change and it would take too long to get used to because our games are so different. So I enjoy the way I play the game and if I decide to change games like that, I mean, I'd basically be chucking the 20 years I've been playing. So because of the history, the background of how I grew up playing the game, this is the way I like to play."

Related information
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Sports Illustrated Presents Alan Shipnuck's Golf Mailbag: Click here to send him a question! Killer on the loose: Leonard fired up to chase second British Open title Justin Leonard British Open player profile
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Justin Leonard 1998 Tournament Results
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Justin Leonard compares his game to that of Tiger Woods (247 K) Leonard discusses how he overcame his poor performance in the U.S. Open (415 K) Leonard talks about which aspects of his game he will work on for the British Open (308 K) Leonard discusses why he enjoys playing in the British Open (404 K) Click here for the latest audio and video
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