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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2017

June 15, 2017

Dru Love

Erin, Wisconsin

Q. Dru, can you talk about the round and being under par in your first U.S. Open?
DRU LOVE: Yeah, I couldn't really get settled in for nine holes. I just never really felt comfortable, little nervous, excited. Anxious more than anything.

No, I just had a great time. I learned a lot about myself, lot about my game. I'm a tad disappointed with 71 but for my first round in a major, I'll take it, and try to go to the range and improve on what didn't go right today, and see if we can't get there tomorrow.

Q. What did you learn most about your game?
DRU LOVE: I don't really get committed to my targets as well as I need to. Those are big fairways, there is a lot of stuff to aim at. There are people moving all over the place, and golf carts moving, you know, I'm going to try to stay a little more focused. I tend to look around a little bit too much and not stay dialed in on my targets.

I hit some really poor drives today and I was able to salvage some pars out of, unfortunately a few bogeys. I just kind of got it dialed in a little bit. I think a little bit of that was the excitement, looking around, trying to take it all in. There's a lot of people out there and I've never played before in front of that big of a crowd. So I just need to be a little more focused tomorrow, be a little more committed to where I'm hitting.

Q. How much advice did you get (Indiscernible)?
DRU LOVE: Yeah, well, I asked a lot of guys, not just my dad. But guys around Sea Island, St. Simons, we have a lot of guys there, and I was able to pick their brains a bit. Really, most of it was just stay patient. You never know what you're going to get. I got some wild bounces and some weird lies. They said you've just got to take what you get and try to make the best score you can from where it bounces.

So just patience is the main thing that they really try to get me to stay focused on. I think I did a good job. I was able to hit some poor shots in some bad locations and I was able to make some really good pars and a few bogeys, but some good bogeys.

Q. How's the course playing?
DRU LOVE: The course is playing -- I thought it was pretty easy this morning. Not easy, but easier than I expected. The greens jumped up in speed. I think they were a lot faster than I imagined they would be. I blew a few five, six, eight feet by. I had a three-putt on nine I'm really upset about. But they were fast. The greens were very fast.

I did not think it was going to be this firm. Thought it would be softer with all the rain. USGA has done an unbelievable job setting it up and making it a fair competition.

Q. (Inaudible)?
DRU LOVE: Yeah, very tired from the first few days of preparation, but a good tired. Not worn out, just ready to get going. Woke up at 3:45, left the hotel at 4:30, got out here about 5:00, 5:15. Went and saw my trainer, Andy Meyers, got loose and ate breakfast for about 30 minutes with my family and friends. Just listened to what they had to say, had some fun, and sort of watched a little TV and stayed out a little bit. Got to the range about 6:00 o'clock and went from there.

Q. What are you going to do to get focused?
DRU LOVE: I'll go to the range and I'll pick a few targets. I'm not going to hit too many. Long walk, hot day. I'll probably just go out there and pick a few targets, really small ones and just try to hit it into those.

I don't think I'm going to do anything else. Maybe my putting. Going to work on some really long, down hill putts that I had some trouble with today.

But, you know, I think a lot of it was just getting the experience of today. I think once I get out there tomorrow, I'll know a little bit more about what I'm doing and not be quite as star struck and in awe as much as I was. I got to No. 9 and was looking down at the green and the grandstands behind there, and I was -- I don't want to say freaked out, but I was excited.

I guided a wedge down there and three-putted. You know, I know it's something that's going to happen. You're going to make mistakes, but I think that mistake was just a little bit in the moment, and maybe tomorrow I'll do a lot better.

Q. (Indiscernible) how special was it?
DRU LOVE: It was awesome. We got a lot of, Go three and fours, and Go Davis. I think everybody's rooting for us and wanting us to do well. It's a cool story, and I want to play well for him, and he wants to caddie well for me. You know, we're both really excited. I think we both calmed down a little bit.

Go to the range and reevaluate, get some food, get some rest, and be ready to go tomorrow afternoon.

Q. Did you have to hit it out of the Fescue at all?
DRU LOVE: Yeah, I hit it out of there three times today. I shanked a 4-iron, laying up on the par-4 out of the rough into the Fescue. I had to chip out.

And then 18, I hit it in the Fescue way right. It's definitely penalizing, but these fairways are so big, if you hit it in there, it's your own fault. You shouldn't be too much complaining about it. It's very, very fair.

Q. Dru, was there one particular shot that your dad -- that you felt like, all right, my dad has really helped me with this?
DRU LOVE: Absolutely. 17. I hit it left. I was lucky enough to hit it far enough left to where I was in the matted down stuff where all the fans have been walking. And I had 190 yards to the hole and it was a little downwind, and he told me to hit pitching wedge. I remember saying, what? Pitching wedge.

I flew a pitching wedge 200 yards out of that rough, downwind, it flew all the way to the back of the green. If he hadn't been there to tell me to hit pitching wedge, I would have soared it into the grandstands. So he definitely saved me a few shots today.

I think tomorrow after he's seen the way the ball's bouncing and the way things are going out here, we'll be able to dial it in a little bit better.

Q. What are you going to (Indiscernible)?
DRU LOVE: 190 yards downwind, I probably would have hit an 8-iron or maybe a hard 9, which both would have landed in the grandstands, and probably would have hopped off of them. So a pitching wedge, I was very surprised.

He has all the experience. He's seen all the lies and all of the possible bounces and fliers. That's stuff that you're not going to get if I had one of my best friends caddie for me. So it was the obvious choice to get him to caddie for me, and I think that showed today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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