U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 11, 2002

Derek Tolan

RAND JERRIS: We are joined by Derek Tolan. Derek is from Colorado and he is playing in his first U.S. Open at the mature age of 16. It's a real pleasure to have you here.

Maybe you can start us off by telling us about what happened to you in qualifying. That's quite a story.

DEREK TOLAN: Well, in qualifying, I started off in the morning. I made some pars, birdied the second hole and then bogeyed 4. Then birdied 5. I ended up shooting up 1-under on the front. I was pretty excited. I knew it usually takes about 5 to 7 (under) to grab the last spot and then I parred 10.

In the morning round I hit it through the fairway with my drive and I tried to hit a miracle shot out and nailed the tree, went out of bounds. Hit it out and ended up making triple.

So I walked off 11 green at 2-over, and then probably played the next� -- I probably played the next 18 holes probably the best I've ever played 18 holes in my life, one of the best. Then I walked back on 11 tee at 7-under for the tournament.

So I think that was key right there. That was probably some of the best golf I've ever played in that little stretch.

I birdied 13 to get it back to 8-under and that's when it really hit me that all I had to do was make some pars to get in.

I bogeyed 14, bogeyed 16 and 17. I knew 5-under was going to be in a playoff, going on 18, of course. I tried my best for a birdie but hit it just a little too hard through the break and had a testy comeback coming back but just hurried up and hit it, knocked it in real quick.

Going into the playoff, at first I knew it was against Mike Reid from Colorado, has been on TOUR I've heard from 20-some years. I've met him before and he's a real nice guy. I really didn't know what to think. I had to just try everything, just try hard to focus on what I had to do.

Then I heard Mike Sorambu (ph), one of the best players ever from that section of Colorado, and he shot 66 and he was going to be in the playoff.

So I knew it was going to be tough to beat these guys, but it's sudden death, so anything can happen. Actually, someone chipped it in, crossed my mind a little bit, but I didn't think I would do it or it would really happen.

We all hit our tee balls to the right, and they hit it on the back of the green. The pin was sort of up front and then I left it short. I didn't want to have a testy putt or a comebacker coming back, so I was really grinding hard to get that chip close and I hit it right where I wanted to and it just went in, caught the right edge.

RAND JERRIS: Can you tell us about what it's like to be 16 years old and playing for the National Championship?

DEREK TOLAN: It's sort of� -- at first it was sort of confusing. I didn't� -- it has not hit me that I'm playing in probably the biggest golf tournament in the world.

I've been striving towards some of the big junior tournaments, maybe playing in some amateur tournaments this year and all of a sudden I'm playing in the U.S. Open. That was sort of a shock, and it was confusing.

But now I'm trying to get the hang of it and starting to sink in, starting to settle down and just starting to feel like any other golf tournament, just with press conferences and such.

Really I'm starting to feeling pretty comfortable. I'm not nervous yet, at least. I have not been nervous so far. We'll just see what happens.

RAND JERRIS: I understand that when that chip went in in the playoff, there was more at stake than a trip to the U.S. Open, your father's promise?

DEREK TOLAN: Well, we were talking, and I wasn't playing very good. I was talking to him about qualifying for the U.S. Open one night, like we always talk about golf stuff. He says, "You're going to have to play better than that to qualify for the U.S. Open." Basically being himself (laughs).

I sort of proposed a deal, how about if I qualify for the U.S. Open, you buy me a car. And he shrugged his shoulders and was like, "All right, sure. You get a car if you qualify."

Both of us really didn't think the chances of it were pretty good; we were going against all odds. It just so happened, I played good during the local and played good during sectional.

RAND JERRIS: Do you have the car picked out yet?

DEREK TOLAN: No, that was more of just a pride thing against my dad. We always set little bets like that; not in golf but in everything. It was more just a pride thing. But everyone is hounding him about it. So he'll come up with something. He's a good guy.

Q. What do your friends think about you having qualified for the U.S. Open and maybe they are going to get the chance to see you on TV sometime this week?

DEREK TOLAN: Actually, most of them are pretty excited for me, pretty happy for me. They have given me a lot of support. They have been awesome about it. They have asked me to get autographs for them, which I'm probably not going to do it. I'll have some trouble doing that. They have been really nice about it. They are looking forward to� -- they are looking forward to watching me on TV, watching me experience U.S. Open conditions.

Q. How are you going to have to play here in the U.S. Open differently than you've ever played golf before?

DEREK TOLAN: Actually, what helped me out more than I've ever imagined it would is playing in the U.S. Amateur last year. It helped me out tremendously. I walked up to the Amateur and saw all of those players like Jeff Quinney and them, and I got intimidated. I didn't feel like I really belonged there. I went and played East Lake, and the rough there was probably a little worse than this at times.

I got afraid to swing the driver. I was afraid to swing it, but now, I learned from that and I know trying to guide the ball down the fairway is not going to do you any good, it will hurt you. I know to swing at it a little bit. I know not to be intimidated; I earned my spot here. That helped me out a lot. It was a good experience for me.

Q. Can you tell us what sort of a student you are; what are your best subjects at school?

DEREK TOLAN: (Laughs). Not a very good student.

Actually, I really don't have any good subjects. Not the best student. I have some trouble with academics.

For me, more than anything, a really, really hard time putting a lot of effort into two different things. As much as anyone says how important academics is, I just feel like golf� -- for me it feels like golf can get me further. I know I'm probably wrong and I might kick myself later on, but it feels like I should put more� -- put most of the effort into one thing for me. So far, that's been golf. I'm starting to try my best to try harder at school, but it's just tough for me.

Q. Most 16-year-olds at this time of the year are trying to go to the beach, get a job or hang out. This is a different thing for you obviously. What sort of sacrifices are you making at this point in your life to make sure you become the golfer you want to be, and what things are you missing as a result?

DEREK TOLAN: To be quite honest with you, I have tons more fun playing golf and actually practicing golf than hanging out with friends and stuff. It's fun every now and then, but I think of the future. I just have more fun playing golf and I feel like it could get me further.

That's what I'm doing right now. Yeah, it is fun to hang out with friends every now and then, but I have tons of friends that play golf, so we practice and play together all the time. Basically it's like doing a little of both at the same time, which helps out a lot. Practicing with friends makes it a lot easier and they are there with me all the time, too. I really don't consider I'm sacrificing anything.

Q. What did Steve Jones say to you during the practice round, and what are your impressions of the course and what other players have you talked to and what have they said to you?

DEREK TOLAN: Well, Steve Jones helped me out a lot more than I think he thinks. He was real nice to me and friendly, maybe set me in a little more, helped me out a lot. Yesterday on the range warming up, Paul Stankowski came up, introduced himself, we shook hands, said congratulations and everything. I don't think he knows how much that helped me out to settle down. That was awfully nice of those guys. It was a good experience. Playing with Steve was just awesome. He's just an awesome guy. We had a little bit of fun. He told me a lot about the U.S. Opens. He actually helped me out a lot.

Q. What about the course?

DEREK TOLAN: The course was pretty incredible. It just amazes me how tough it really is. Last year this course would basically be unplayable for me because there are a couple of fairways that I would not be able to get to. It would just be incredible. I gained a lot of distance over the past couple of months, really, starting about this winter.

Without that, this course would be unplayable for me. I would have no chance of ever doing anything on this course. Distance is not overrated in my book. You need it. If you're going to play at this level, you need to hit it as far as you can.

The greens are faster than anything I've ever played. They are unbelievably fast. Yesterday I sat down a ball, and these are pretty flat greens, especially for a U.S. Open. I sat down a ball and looked up to talk to my caddie, John, and I looked back down and the ball is 30 feet away. It's stuff like that I'm not used to. It's a different kind of golf than I have ever experienced before. It's like a whole new world, basically. I'm starting to get a little more used to it, but it definitely helps, but that's what I'm here for, getting experience.

Q. You said your friends gave you a list of players they wanted some autographs. Can you make a few of those people on the list?

DEREK TOLAN: Yeah, a lot of people have asked me to get Tiger's autograph, Mickelson's, Duval's autograph. That's not right. (Laughs).

I saw it yesterday, they stand out there and they devote a lot of time to autographs and stuff like that. I know when they get in the locker room and stuff like that, they just want to relax and chill out. You've got to respect that. That's one thing I will not be able to bring back for those guys.

Q. How are you planning to spend this week? What are you not doing the next five or six days because you're here?

DEREK TOLAN: What would I have been doing at home? Playing golf. I'm going to play golf anyways. There was a couple of tournaments I was planning on playing, but this� -- well I had to withdrew from them and I think they understand. I would have been playing golf anyway. It's not that much different.

Q. Would you be playing in a high school championship?

DEREK TOLAN: No. All of our high school stuff is held between August and October. I really don't play other than� -- I would have just played in an AJGA in North Carolina. That's the only other thing I had planned.

Q. Who are your partners for your practice rounds today and tomorrow and what's your feelings on playing with those guys?

DEREK TOLAN: That was pretty exciting. That was probably one of the most exciting parts of the experience so far.

Today I'm playing with Bob Tway, Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard, which that's probably one of the most exciting parts.

Wednesday I'm playing with Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and David Duval. That's going to be a good learning experience. I'm excited to see these guys play.

Q. What's your main goal or goals for the week? What do you want to accomplish here?

DEREK TOLAN: Like in the future or right now? Just this week in general, I want to play well. I actually want to see what it's like out there and I want to play well in it.

I guess we're probably going to have to see where that gets me in this, but my main goal is just to play well, play strong for the whole time I'm out there, and just be mentally prepared for it. I just want to take in all of the experiences and take advantage of all of the hospitality and stuff there is here.

Q. Other than golf, what sort of things are you interested in off the course? Do you have a girlfriend? What's your favorite band, that sort of thing?

DEREK TOLAN: I don't have much interest in anything really besides golf.

(Laughter.) Like I said before, I enjoy putting most of my effort into one thing, and it shows in all of the other aspects. I basically just enjoy playing golf. I used to play other sports and then they sort of started getting in the way I guess. Now I hang out with friends, especially in the wintertime. I hang out with friends when I don't have a chance to play golf, and watch TV, that's pretty much it. Just golf.

RAND JERRIS: You mentioned that you picked up 20, 30, 40 yards in distance in this past year. Were you working out, exercise regimen or sort of just growing?

DEREK TOLAN: No, it was more swing changes. My dad and I, we got on film and we found out a lot of swing changes that we could make to hit it further. It never really worked out or anything. I just hit a lot of golf balls to try to get those changes down. It's added probably 30 yards off the tee, 20, 30 yards off the tee and a club with irons, so it's helped out a lot.

Q. What's probably the biggest tournament you've won up until now?

DEREK TOLAN: To be quite honest with you, I haven't really won anything. I haven't won near as much of anything as a lot of the other good juniors out there. I've just gotten lucky to play good in the right qualifiers in a couple of events, and be able to play in the Amateur and Junior Amateur and U.S. Open.

I won an AJGA down in Albuquerque last week and that's probably the biggest national tournament I've won. I've won a few other littler national tournaments. Other than that, I've won a few Amateur tournaments here and there, at home, but I haven't really won anything real recognizable.

Q. How young do you suppose golfers can get as far as qualifying for this Open? We've had girls qualify for the Women's Open at 12, 13; Ty Tryon qualified for the Tour at 16. How low can you go, do you think?

DEREK TOLAN: To be quite honest with you, last year, I don't think I could have qualified. I think it has a lot to depend on experience. A lot of kids out there, I know there's some 13-year-olds out there that can just flat play, 14-year-olds that are just awesome golfers. But you need more than that to play in tougher situations.

When you're coming down the stretch knowing that you have a chance to qualify for the Open, it has not a lot to do with physical ability. It's more how mentally strong are you.

There's younger kids out there who have had that kind of experience and are just mentally tough, well, yeah, it could be younger.

I know there's a lot of younger kids out there who have the physical game to actually qualify. I know that. But it has a lot to do with experience. Having played in the Amateur last year I think did it for me.

Q. Who are your favorite players, and is there anyone in particular you try and emulate?

DEREK TOLAN: I really don't try to emulate anyone. But my favorite players are, you know, guys like Duval, Mickelson, Woods. I enjoy watching them play. I enjoy watching them, how they carry themselves.

Player-wise or personalty-wise, just sort of go wherever my mind takes me.

Q. Are you into golf history at all?

DEREK TOLAN: Yeah, I am a little bit. I played in Scotland, St. Andrews and Carnoustie when I was 14. I got lucky to play out there. It was a lot of fun to see where golf came from and how it's changed over the years, and it's changed a lot, the styles of play, and in the styles of golf courses. I do enjoy reading about past champions, like the Hogans, the Sneads. I didn't get a chance to see those guys play, but I do enjoy hearing about them and reading about some of their accomplishments.

Q. Do you have any experiences here yet where people didn't really believe you were a player, either trying to get in the front gate or the locker room, between the ropes?

DEREK TOLAN: Actually, it happened this morning. I left my player badge in my bag which I left in the locker room. We went up to the front gate to get in. They let my caddie and my dad go and they asked me� -- I told them I left my badge in a bag in the locker room and then he asked me who I caddied for. So that was a little different.

Then Sunday night, we had to get escorted to the locker room to get my tennis shoes. Yeah, there's been a couple of experiences like that, and they don't bother me at all.

RAND JERRIS: There's a lot of growth in the game today, particularly in the junior level. What sort of advice as a 16-year-old playing in the U.S. Open would you give to junior golfers?

DEREK TOLAN: There's a lot of junior golfers with more experience than me out there. I just got lucky enough to qualify for the U.S. Open.

So my advice is just keep playing, keep practicing and see where it takes you. If you can play in all the events that you can, because you're going to need that experience. All I can say is just keep playing, practicing and you've got to see where it takes you.

RAND JERRIS: Thanks very much for your time and we wish you the best of luck this week.

DEREK TOLAN: Thank you.

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