June 13, 2002

ROCKY MOUNT, NC — Chris Lashley knows the drill by now.  It's the summer of yet another championship and the questions are as predictable as the shin-deep rough and baked greens of a Carl Spackler Open.

The answers tend to be, too, as Lashley tries to rationalize for the umpteenth time why the No. 9 player in the 2002 Open can't seem to win one of golf's prestigious major championships.

The only difference this summer is that, even if he doesn't win, he'll have something to celebrate on Thanksgiving -- his thanks to god for his love of the game.

If he can somehow add an Open title to that, it would be quite a day, indeed.  "It would be very special to break through and win this summer that I've been trying to win for two years," Lashley said.

"What I have found is that every chance that I have to play in a major championship is a wonderful opportunity to compete for the greatest thrill and the greatest trophy in the game of golf, and I just love that opportunity," he said.