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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

June 5, 2016

Jon Curran

Dublin, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started. Jon, not the result that you wanted. I know you're pretty emotional, taking it all in right now. You've been in this position before in a playoff. What did you learn this time?

JON CURRAN: You know, it's just -- I mean, it's tough to be in a playoff. It's kind of all gravy to that point. I mean, you kind of look at it and say, oh, well, yeah, I've had a good week. It's tough to kind of keep like really focused and into it, and I thought I did a great job of that this afternoon.

I hit some really good tee balls on the last hole. I hit some good approach shots and was really comfortable. Not surprisingly comfortable, but really comfortable during the playoff.

Q. As far as (no microphone), what was that moment like with Jack Nicklaus?
JON CURRAN: It was really cool. He's a really, really nice guy. I remember Bears Club down in Florida, another place that he has, and he's very genuine, and he's always asking how are you doing, how are you finishing up, how are things going. He's a really cool person to know.

Q. And right before you were interviewed, it seemed like you were almost -- it looked like you might have been replaying something in your mind. You were kind of looking off in the distance.
JON CURRAN: I think you don't really -- you just have to catch up on the thoughts of during the playoff and while everything is going on. It's kind of surreal sometimes. It might not be for a lot of guys, but for me it was kind of surreal for me to be here at really the biggest stage I've been on and to be in a playoff. That, I think, it's kind of -- you just kind of look back. I don't know. It was kind of gathering myself for the first time really.

Q. Could you just talk about that playing 17, your fairway bunker shot? It looked like it might be the shot of the tournament, and maybe it still was, but that was a tremendous birdie.
JON CURRAN: Yeah, when we came back out, it was really windy. A lot of bunkers came into play that hadn't been coming into play all week. So I hit it in that bunker and just had a good lie. I hit a little 7 iron and came out perfectly. I was actually fortunate to hold that green because we just played 16 and the green was rock hard. You couldn't hold the green from what we were hitting in. So I think I was pretty fortunate, maybe caught a soft spot there.

And then when I was on the green, the wind was gusting, like 20, 25 miles an hour. So I had to kind of wait it out and wait for a little gap in the wind. So everything went well.

Q. Jon, you said yesterday that you're playing with a nothing-to-lose mentality. Was that the same mindset here, and how much was that tested down the stretch?
JON CURRAN: Yeah, nothing to lose -- I mean, I'm obviously out here just as much as Will is, trying to be out here and win for the first time and keep his card and get off to a good season.

But, yeah, you know, this was in a better position than I thought waiting -- going into the event and never having played here before. Playing in the practice rounds, it was playing a lot more difficult than it has right now.

But, yeah, I came back out, and I was really nervous and felt really good about the way I handled that and got in the house.

Q. Jon, on the first playoff hole, you had a birdie attempt with that putt. Can you tell us about the putt and did you think it had a chance to go in? It kind of went on the right edge.
JON CURRAN: Yeah, similar putt to what I had in regulation. I kind of knew the break, and it breaks a lot. It's really fast. So honestly, it would be difficult to leave that one short. So I'm really just trying not to race it too far by and picked the highest line I could pick and just kind of drip it in there. It looked good for a while. I thought it was going to go in.

Q. Jon, I know Will is a few years older than you, but you guys kind of took similar tracks to get here to the PGA Tour, mini tours, developmental tours. Can you feel good at least for him, for that journey he's taken that's kind of similar to yours?
JON CURRAN: Absolutely. I think guys like that have the best success on the PGA Tour. Obviously, there's some outliers with guys that come straight out of college and stuff like that, but I think guys that really prove themselves over the years and appreciate -- not that some guys don't appreciate it, but really appreciate it and understand where they've come from have the best results and the best careers on the PGA Tour. I admire that about a lot of guys out here for sure.

Q. On the final hole out of the trap, did you just hit a bit of a flier? Did you just catch it wrong? Can you tell us about that?
JON CURRAN: It was kind of windy. It was really windy. We were kind of in between an 8 and a 9 iron, and I thought I was going to maybe hit -- just take a little bit off of an 8 iron, and maybe I was nervous. Maybe it was a little adrenaline. I just smashed it, and it got up in the wind and took it even further left.

Yeah, I think a lot of it was wind predicated versus the way I hit it. I could have hit one less, looking back on it.

Q. Before you guys came back out, were the conditions pretty similar to the previous three days, and then the wind kicked up like amazingly?
JON CURRAN: Yeah. Well, it was still windy beforehand. Yeah, but I think it was probably kicked up maybe five miles an hour more. It was pretty heavy. I mean, Dustin hit a drive 380 yards on the 17th hole, and it's not even firm out there.

And I hit a 6 iron that normally goes 175 yards, and it went 208, flew 208 on 16. So it was really windy.

Q. Can you just talk about the tee shots on 12 and 16 today. It seemed to be that guys were having a really hard time trying to pull a club there?
JON CURRAN: Well, 12, there's no room to like bail out there. You have to hit a good shot, and it was blowing 10 or 15 in and off the left. It was 185 yards, so that's a tough setup. And a lot of guys bail out left, and that back bunker is -- looking at it on TV, it probably doesn't look that bad, but when you get down there, you can easily hit it in the water if you have a bad lie.

And 16 was just dead downwind. You couldn't hold the green. We were looking at it -- when we were on the green, we were thinking, man, you have to land this on the front edge and hope it kind of catches the side over there and bank it in there. But looking back on it, hitting it over those greens is probably not too bad because you're chipping back in the wind. It's kind of like what I did on 16. So it worked out.

Q. Jon, it doesn't make it any easier when you lose, but when you see a guy like William win his first one, do you feel happy for a guy like that even though you're obviously disappointed?
JON CURRAN: Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate where he's come from and what he's done to get here. He's a very underrated player. He's out here several years and done very well for himself. Yeah, it's great -- it's a great finish. I mean, he played fantastic, and he made a great, unbelievable up-and-down on the last hole. It was amazing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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