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WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 6, 2005

D.J. Trahan

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Q. Good round, DJ.

D.J. TRAHAN: Thanks, guys.

Three-putt on 16, that putt was 80 feet, man. That's one of those ones where with these greens, it wasn't even that slopey, but with that distance you're just trying to get it close. I really wasn't far from hitting a good putt, but 12 feet short. Then I left the next one short right in the heart.

Other than that, the back nine was great. I hit it well and putted about as good as I could ask for.

Q. You're two shots off the lead. Talk about that.

D.J. TRAHAN: Well, that's exciting, man. It's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I played great golf today, and I really did the first round, too. I had a couple of hiccups with some of the bogeys, like on 8. Other than that, I feel like I'm hitting it well, stroking my putts well, and if I can keep playing the way I'm playing on the weekend, I've got to believe I have a chance to win the tournament.

Q. What's the toughest part of the course for you?

D.J. TRAHAN: I honestly think it's the greens. I mean, the greens out here are very tricky, they've got a lot of slopes on them, and when you get yourself in the wrong position you're just really struggling to two-putt. Sometimes if you don't hit a good opportunity and you leave yourself in a tough spot, it's really hard to get yourself in a good position on the green, and that leaves struggling to make 4, or par rather, so I think the greens definitely because they're very fast and very undulated.

Q. What were your expectations coming in?

D.J. TRAHAN: I had a good week last week. I finally got the putter rolling a little bit last week. It's been pretty much my Achilles heel all year up to this point. Getting the putter going last week, I feel like I had a little bit of a confidence surge. I've been really been striking the ball well, and with that going you really know all you need to do is get the putter going. So it's been nice to have that going for me the last two weeks. Hopefully I can continue the trend. I'd like to keep that putter hot because that's the only way to play well on this Tour and win golf tournaments.

Q. Kind of a matter of getting a little momentum last week and keeping it going?

D.J. TRAHAN: I really think so. With a Top 10 last week I had a great weekend, kind of hung around the first two days shooting even par, and then 8-under on the weekend, just played great. Sometimes you can do that and go to the next week and not play well, but like I said, I got the putter going last week and it's kind of rolled over into this week. I'm just hoping right now that it will continue to do what it's doing. I feel like if I can get the putter going, I feel like I can play with the best of them.

Q. Let's get a quick run-down of the eagle and three birdies in a row on the back.

D.J. TRAHAN: The eagle was on 7, the par 5 on the front. I hit a 3-iron in the first cut on the left side and just -- actually I will admit that I pushed it a bit, but I took an extra club so that was a smart play. Had I hit the club I wanted to hit, it would have been in the water. It cleared and it rolled up four and a half feet and it was amazing that it got that close to the hole. Rolled that one in. What else did you want to know about?

Q. The birdie stretch, 13, 14, 15.

D.J. TRAHAN: I hit a good shot on the par 3, actually made a good putt there, 20 feet.

The next hole I drove it right up there next to the green, a little short par 4, and chipped up to about four or five feet and made it.

Then on 15, I was in front of the green in two and hit a great pitch shot to about eight inches and just tapped that one in.

The putt on the par 3 was definitely the highlight of that, making that 20-footer, but that was a good stretch there. It seemed like things were going on -- things were easy in that stretch, and on a golf course like this, any time you can get a stretch of holes like that, it's great for your confidence and great for momentum.

Q. Will tonight be a relaxing night because you put yourself in contention or will there be butterflies because you're two off the lead in this major field?

D.J. TRAHAN: No, I've played a lot of golf and I've played against a lot of good players. I think I'll sleep fine. The biggest thing that you struggle with is knowing that you're not teeing off until the afternoon. I'd like to be able to sleep until two hours before my tee off time but you just can't sleep that long. So you get up in the morning and try to figure out something to do in the morning to keep you busy and keep your mind occupied, but other than that, I think I'll be fine.

Q. One last thing, there's been so much talk about the finishing holes, 16 and obviously 17 and 18. You showed no fear, went right after 17 pin it looked like and then birdied 18.

D.J. TRAHAN: 17 green, that green is a real tricky green, and with the greens being as firm as they are you can hit a good shot and not get rewarded. Brett hit right after me and was going just left of the flag and it hit and rolled 40 feet by. It's really tough to get a ball close on that green. To be honest with you, any time you're on the green it's a great shot. 3 is a good score there.

I mean, what can you say, the last three holes here are probably three of the best finishing holes on Tour, at least so far since I've started playing this year. They're just amazing, two long par 4s and a monster par 3.

Q. Had you ever played Quail Hollow?

D.J. TRAHAN: No, I've never been up here. It's surprising. I live just an hour and a half down the road. It's a private club and I'm not from Charlotte, so I had never been here to play.

Q. What had you heard?

D.J. TRAHAN: I heard it was a great layout. All the expectations and everything I heard, it was right on the button. This place is amazing. It's such a strategic golf course. You have to go out there and place your ball and be on the right side of the hole. You might be able to scramble around and put a good number together but it's going to be a scramble and you're going to be worn out at the end of the day. This golf course will definitely put the heat on you in a quick second.

Q. What was it like playing with Bill?

D.J. TRAHAN: It's good. Bill and I have played a bunch of golf together. It's great to be able to play with Bill again, hadn't played with him since college. It was nice to play with him, and he played pretty good, made a couple of great saves on the last two holes, and he's right in the thick of things, too, so hopefully he'll have a great weekend and hopefully I'll have a great weekend.

End of FastScripts.

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