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RBC CANADIAN OPEN

July 22, 2015

Graham DeLaet

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Graham DeLaet to the Shaw Media Center. Graham, you were able to get yourself in contention for this tournament last year. Maybe you can just start off what's led to taking another shot at it this year?

GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, last year was obviously fun to be in the mix with the Canadian Open. Everybody cheering and singing, "Oh, Canada" coming down 18. It was pretty awesome. Obviously, I fell a little bit short, but I've played well. I just hope to have a chance again here on Sunday because the crowds here are great. Even today there are a lot of people out there. It would mean a lot. This tournament is special to all the Canadians in the field. It's their national open. It would be an awesome tournament to just, whether you win or lose, just to be in the mix on Sunday would be a lot of fun.

THE MODERATOR: Everyone that's been coming in is saying the course is playing firm and fast. What is your experience out there?

GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, absolutely. I think this is the first time I've played here that it hasn't dumped rain almost every single day. So it's a different golf course. It's in unbelievable shape. The best I've ever seen it. It is a firm, quick. There are some balls rolling down the fairway. If you get something downwind, you can hit one hard. I think we hit a couple 360, 370 today. So, it obviously shortens the golf course up, but it makes the approach shots a little more difficult because it's a little harder to stop them.

Q. Do you have any particular pressure to win this week? I mean, obviously it would be a huge thing for you if you were to win the Canadian Open. But do you feel going into the event that you put any particular pressure on yourself relative to a normal event?
GRAHAM DeLAET: I think I used to. Last year -- kind of last year at the Canadian Open I decided just to treat it like a regular event and the same with the majors. I did that, and I went into the PGA last year with the same mentality. I think I've been trying too hard to play well, and you can't really force it. So it worked obviously last year. I played well enough to give myself a shot. I'm just trying to treat this like a regular week as far as just not just putting that extra pressure and trying so hard. I don't really feel extra pressure from the fans in here. It's more support. It's just such an awesome week, especially here at Glen Abbey. The crowds are going to be awesome, and I'm looking forward to it.

Q. You're a guy who follows sports. You're a Calgary Flames guy. You follow hockey. You're involved in other sports. You know about it and stuff. When you start looking at what's gone on in Canada, just the last few years and the Pan-Am Games, the way things are going there and some of the great victories that we've had in other sports, just disassociate yourself from what's happening in golf right now. Because you and I both know what's happening with the players and stuff, but you start looking at a nationalistic standpoint, sports and golf, what do you think? What do you see from this country now as opposed to when you were a kid, let's say?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Well, I think without question we support our athletes as much or probably more than any other country I've ever seen. We obviously have tennis players that are doing amaze things. The women's soccer at the World Cup was fun to watch. I think as Canadians we just get behind athletes so well. I can speak for myself for sure, but I think David and Mike and all of the other Canadians that are on TOUR would say the same. It's the support that we feel coast to coast. I think when I first got on TOUR it was more like a local thing. Western Canadian, Saskatchewan people cheering me on. Now I feel like it's really Nationwide support. It's awesome to be able to kind of put the flag on your back and play for 35 million people. It's a special thing that not many people get to do. I'm happy to do it. Hopefully this is the year that one of us can kind of breakthrough and get the job done for everyone that's cheering for us.

Q. Have you thought about what it would mean for yourself or any of our Canadian golfers to win here? Watching you today with the kids and the fans, it's like that for every Canadian who is out there. Have you envisioned it? What do you think it would do for golf in our country? Because we've seen what a gold medal has done for hockey. We saw what Mike winning The Masters did years ago. What do you think if a Canadian like yourself would win here?
GRAHAM DeLAET: It would mean everything for me. This is a major for us. I couldn't imagine what it would do. I know how much support and how much kids look up to us. Obviously that would take it kind of to a new level. But we all want to win this. Not just for ourselves, but for everybody else who just wants to end this and, we can start over. Maybe next year you'll be asking, nobody has won this tournament for a year. No Canadian has won this tournament for a year. Who is going to be the next guy to follow whoever it is? Hopefully that is the case. I mean, it would mean the world to me.

Q. How much different -- how do you contrast golf at the British Open and golf here at the Canadian Open? And how different the course plays? With the better weather expected this week?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, it's obviously a different game. It's played a lot more on the ground over there. You can get a lot more unlucky over there. Generally over here, although it is playing a little firmer and faster, so the ball is a little bit more unpredictable than it normally is here, but usually when you hit the ball on the fairway, it stays on the fairway here. When you hit a ball and land the ball on the green, you know about how far it's going to go before it checks. So it's kind of a more predictable game over here than it is in Scotland. But that's kind of the mystique and what's so neat about the links game is that you never really know. You can hit a great shot, and then it's out of your hands from there on in. Where over here you feel like you have a lot more control over what's going to happen.

Q. David mentioned, how much are you thinking about the Olympics for next year? I know it's a long way away. But is it something that's good for you, good for golf, and something you're looking forward to?
GRAHAM DeLAET: It's definitely on my radar. I think about it all the time. To represent your country in something like that, I mean, that is the greatest celebration in all of sports. So to be an olympian would be a dream come true.

Q. I know obviously you and David chum around a lot when you're out on TOUR, similar schedules. When you come back here, there are 16 Canadians playing in the field. Do you have time to go and chat with some of the younger guys and some of the guys on the Web.com Tour? Is that part of the attraction to come here because there are so many of you competing?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Well, I think obviously it was a day shortened here our trip. But I ran into Austin Connelly in the locker room yesterday and had a little chat with him. I haven't really run into any of the other guys. I remember when I was playing you always wanted to play with Mike, if it was possible. I never really got to make that happen. Unfortunately I didn't even get to play a practice round. It was straight into the Pro-Am today. But it's something that you'd obviously want to do. I played with Roger Sloan here a couple years ago and he was playing on the Web.com. I know he had a great time and it was fun for him. So it's something I'd like to do for the guys and play rounds of golf with them. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out this week.

Q. A lot of us are expecting that in five, six years from now there might be a dozen Canadians on the PGA TOUR because there's been a lot of amateur success. A lot of guys are playing well in Canada. Are you looking forward to a time when there might be 10 or 12 of you to grow that Canadian fraternity?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Absolutely. There is some pretty serious talent out there in the lower ranks or whatever, as you know. But it's hard. It's hard to get out here. It's hard to stay out here. Sometimes I think people don't really realize how difficult it really is. But I don't think there is any question that we have the possibility of having 10, 12 guys out here. That being said, it's a little bit easier than just being a good golfer and getting on to the PGA TOUR. Things have to lineup correctly. You have to play really, really good golf under a lot of pressure. It's a tough gig. It's tough to get out here.
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