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RBC CANADIAN OPENJuly 26, 2015David HearnOAKVILLE, ONTARIO THE MODERATOR: David, great playing out there this week. I overheard you say how much fun you've had this week. I know you didn't quite get the end result you wanted, but if you could just kind of talk to us about your feelings right now? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, first of all, I'm really proud of the way I played. I'm really proud to be a Canadian today. It was a pretty special day with all the fans and support that I had from beginning to finish. It was something pretty special, and I hope to be back in the situation sometime soon. But I'll always remember that feeling that I had today and the outpouring of support from everybody. I gave it my all. I didn't quite have my best game, but I still had a chance with four or five holes to go to win the golf tournament. I just didn't make the birdies. So I feel very confident in the way I played, but overall I'm going to have very good memories of this week. Q. If you could briefly just talk about Low Canadian and the fact that there were so many fans that waited around to wish you well? DAVID HEARN: Yeah. Winning that Rivermead trophy was definitely a nice feather in your cap. I've won it a few times before. It's always very rewarding to know you're the best Canadian here this week. We have a lot of Canadians competing here. It's a good secondary prize, I guess, if you don't quite come away with the big trophy. I know one of us one day soon here is going to be hoisting both trophies, and that will be a special day. Q. I'm just wondering, were you able to focus as much as you wanted to with all of the attention, and all of the yelling out there? Something that maybe you've had hints at in the past but you've never experienced? Were you able to get into each shot the way you wanted to? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I felt pretty comfortable over most shots, as comfortable as you can be. I was in this position just a couple weeks ago where I had a chance to win a golf tournament. I was fairly comfortable with the way my body was feeling in that situation. I got off to a great start. Made a couple birdies right out of the gate, but I wasn't quite hitting the ball as crisp as I would have liked to get going. I missed a few shots right. Wasn't hitting the fairways and wasn't quite hitting the greens. So I kind of settled down toward the middle of the back nine, and on the back nine I hit real quality shots and had chances for birdie, didn't quite pull them off. So I would say overall maybe I was a little unsettled getting going, but I still think I was able to pull through it, and I still had a chance to win the golf tournament. So I'm proud of that. Q. On 13 where you had a very difficult third shot from behind the green there and you made birdie in the end, did you hear the fans scream in the middle of your back swing there? DAVID HEARN: No, I didn't hear any of that. I must have been doing a pretty good job. Q. Can you just describe how you were feeling on the range warming up, and then walking to the first tee and being introduced to that ovation you received? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, that was pretty special. I talked yesterday about how amazing the ovation was when I got to the first tee. I didn't think it was going to be something that they could top, but it was even better today getting to that first tee, very, very warm reception. I didn't hit my best tee shot, but still managed to make a birdie, so I guess it turned out just fine. Q. Bubba Watson talking about your game, he said you hit so many good putts that he couldn't believe they didn't go in. Did you feel that way or did you feel tentative over any putts? How did you feel about your putting today? DAVID HEARN: I felt very confident. I've been putting the ball great all week. Coming into today I made some nice putts out of the gate. Right toward the middle of the round there I did hit a lot of really, really good putts that didn't quite go in. On 8 and 9, 10, 11, I hit so many good putts that it sort of burned the lip or just finished short in the middle. 14, same thing. I hit a lot of really quality putts. Then again on 18. I think that kind of summarized the way some of those putts went. I did feel good over the putter, and I felt like I put good rolls on them. I just wasn't aggressive enough with the speed at times. Q. Ralph said you had a game plan today, both of you, and you were going to stick to it no matter what. What was the game plan, and were you able to stick to it through all 18 holes? DAVID HEARN: Well, I didn't win, so (laughing). No, I was able to stick to it. Going out today, I talked about it yesterday in the media center, the weather was going to be a little better today. The winds were down, and I was going to have to make birdies. So I wanted to be aggressive and try to make birdies. Like I say, I did that right out of the gate. In the end, I shot even par today. I needed to shoot 2 or 3-under to win this golf tournament, which I thought it might have needed to be a little bit lower. But the golf course was getting extremely firm and fast out there. Some of the greens on the back nine and in that valley were getting really fast and firm. So I think that's why the scores weren't quite as good from the afternoon players as we might have expected. It wasn't quite as much a shootout as maybe it could have been. But I stuck to it. I knew I needed to make birdies, and I made three today and made three bogeys. So I just didn't make enough birdies. Q. How did you sleep last night and coming up this morning, what was your mindset and that sort of thing? DAVID HEARN: I just slept great last night. I don't think I went to bed right away. I probably went to bed just after 11:00. But I slept through till 7:00 in the morning or something like that. I've gotten pretty good at handling that emotional check that you need. I don't think I've slept on a 54-hole lead before, to be honest with you. So that was a new experience. I felt great this morning. I had a nice breakfast, nice lunch, and everything felt good. On the range, we had a little different wind today. Got to the range and noticed right away it was downwind on the range. I had a really, really good warm-up, maybe that was because we were downwind. But everything felt great. I couldn't have been happier with my preparation and the way I felt going into the round. I think you guys were out there and you saw it. It's pretty large show of support and emotion out there, so it was a lot of fun. It's going to take a special performance for somebody to win this tournament one day. Q. Did you have to keep your emotions in check at times? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I tried to do my best job of just MSNBC bracing it. When the crowds were cheering to acknowledge them at all times and use that energy going forward. I think that worked very well for me, and it kept me moving forward and it pulled me along. I think you kind of go into your Shell a little bit. It's a bit more difficult because our Canadian fans are incredibly proud and loud, so it was fun. Q. You said you didn't have your best game today. Was that a byproduct of pressure and nerves? What do you put it down to? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious. To start the tournament on the lead, I came out today with only one mindset, and that was to win the golf tournament. I really had no thoughts of I want to finish in the top 5 or anything like that. I mean, it was one focused mindset the whole day to day to do something really special and win the tournament. It hasn't been done in a long time. I felt like I had the ability to do it today. I didn't put any extra pressure on myself, but you want to see yourself do well in these situations, and I just didn't quite make as good a swing as I could getting going. But once I got to about number 8 or 7, actually, I hit a good tee shot there that just didn't quite turn out. I started making some really, really good golf swings from there until the finish of the round, really. Q. Can you talk about your impressions of standing over the approach on 18? You had a long time. You had to know what was going on in front of you or some sense of it. Did you have the notion it was an all-or-nothing shot and you had to be super aggressive on it? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I did. There are no real scoreboards by 17 greens, so I had to ask one of the CBS guys what Furyk and Day were at and what happened. So I had a pretty clear idea of where everybody was on the board. Then I watched Jason make the putt, so that went from needing birdie to get into the playoff to making eagle to get into a playoff, or taking the eagle to win away. That is such a hard shot to be aggressive on from the distance that I had. I had 220 yards to the pin. Q. What did you hit? DAVID HEARN: I hit a 4-iron. Wind was up against us, but my intention with that shot was to try and cut it even more. That is a really hard shot. I'm a draw-ball player for the most part, and that is a tricky shot for me to play. I'd like to think that I could hang it out over the water and try to carry it all the way there, but that wasn't going to happen. I was trying to play a shot into the green that I could hole a 20 or 30-foot putt to try to tie the tournament. So I did know it was an all-or-nothing shot, and Bubba hit an awesome shot in there. Got a little unlucky with it going long. But that's what makes champions is hitting shots like that in the right moment. I'll do that one day. Q. When your kids are a little older and you have the discussion about this tournament, what are you going to tell them? What would the takeaway be for you? DAVID HEARN: Only good stuff. I mean, I played great golf, like I said. I gave myself a chance right until the very end, even though I didn't quite have my best stuff today. The support and the way that the Canadian crowds were, you know, it was truly incredible. I never experienced anything like that before. And I think I said on the green there a minute ago when they were handing the Rivermead Trophy out, I may never experience anything like that again. I hope I am in that situation again and I get that feeling again soon. But I'm sure that each time will be different, and it was pretty special this time. Q. How would you say the emotions or the moment compared to the other times you were that close to winning and had a chance to win? How was this the same or was it different? DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I think this one was pretty intense. Winning a golf tournament on the PGA TOUR is obviously no easy task, and I've come very close now a number of times. I'm very confident I'm going to get a win one of these days soon with the way I'm playing. I think every Canadian wants to see it so bad and we want to do it so bad that it does make it hard. At the same time, I believe it will happen. I believe we have enough talent. Adam had a tough first day, and he came back to have a great golf tournament. I think there is so much talent on our Tour now from Canadians, that we get more guys in the mix, like I was today, that will just feed off the confidence of one another and one of us will win it one day soon. Q. Another statement for captain Nick Price? DAVID HEARN: That was a goal of mine starting the year. I've certainly played my way into a position where another good tournament or two I can play my way on to that team. I'm just very happy that I have that opportunity right now. I've got two weeks off to get a little rest. When I get back to the PGA, that will be on the top of my mind is playing well to get on that Presidents Cup team. Q. Despite the disappointment of today, this is two top three finishes in your last three events. DAVID HEARN: I could get used to that. Q. Is this the best golf you've played in your entire life? DAVID HEARN: I think so. I think I turned the corner on some of my ball striking. It's really showing. I think everyone can see it. I'm hitting a lot of really quality golf shots, and I give myself those chances for birdies when the heat's on. So I've never had a stretch where I've had two top 5 or top three finishes in four events on the PGA. So it would be hard to argue it otherwise. It's got to be the best golf I'm playing. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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