BOOZ ALLEN CLASSIC

June 23, 2006

J.B. Holmes

THE MODERATOR: Must be a good feeling going into the weekend.

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, definitely. Getting a little a frustrated. Just one under coming into the last few holes. Hit a lot of good putts right around the edge, and finally had a few start going in. So good way to finish off.

Q. How is the course playing?

J.B. HOLMES: It's not playing too tough. They got a lot (inaudible) because the greens are so wet. They're spinning a lot. But, you know, it's out there. You can shoot a good score out there.

THE MODERATOR: Any questions?

Q. How tough have things been since Phoenix for you, and how much after of a boost is it to come in here and play the first two rounds like this?

J.B. HOLMES: Getting adjusted is a hard thing. Being gone from home and traveling so much. My swing got a little out of whack and my confidence got down.

Starting to come out of that. I feel like I'm hitting the ball I hit the ball great at the U.S. Open. I mean, I hit it awesome.

I was amazed with my putter, and I'm just waiting for the putts to go in. I feel like I could do something big.

Q. How do you feel about your position going into the weekend just considering what Jose did today?

J.B. HOLMES: Great. I'm never going to complain about being nine under after two days. Obviously he's playing really well, but hopefully if I can get in the same group and start out early tomorrow and put a few birdies on there, maybe add a little bit of pressure. We'll see.

Q. (Inaudible.

J.B. HOLMES: I don't look at scoreboard. It's not that big of a deal. Second day, you know, a lot can the second day. So it's not you don't really focus too much on the board.

You look at it a little more today maybe more than another day. But during the first days during the weekend, going into the last day you might check then. But you're not playing men then, you're playing the course. You can't worry about the shooting.

Q. You mentioned some things got out of whack. Has this been a whirlwind year just coming out here and winning as quickly as you did and then just going through everything after that?

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, been a little crazy. Big step coming out of college and doing that straight off the bat. And, you know, just playing so much. I wasn't used to playing I've already played 15, 16 tournaments this year. I probably only played in 18 to 20 all of last year.

So that's a lot of golf, you know, real quick. And on top of the traveling and the lifestyle changes, it took me a while to adjust.

But I feel better about the situation and happier being out here. So like I said, I'm starting to come around.

Q. Is it too soon in your career to start thinking about the Ryder Cup?

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah. I'm just trying to play well. If I play good that will take care of itself. That would be great if I could make the Ryder Cup. That's definitely a goal. But it is my first year. If I make it, great; if I don't, I'll try again.

Q. Several golfers have come in here and were saying how draining the U.S. Open was for young golfers such as yourself. How taxing was that? And talk about playing and then the aftermath of that, coming back a few days later and playing in another tournament. Was it tough to get motivated to come here, or was it a relief?

J.B. HOLMES: No, actually. It was the first time I hit the ball good in about three months. I was actually excited to get out here. I went and played in the CVS and I played great the first round of that; I shot 62. So it felt great.

Felt good coming into this week, and had a good chance to do something good. So far I played well.

Q. You talked a little about how the lifestyle has changed now that you've been on tour for a little bit and then some of the hard things that have come with that. What are some of the good things that have come with that?

J.B. HOLMES: Well, this is what I've always want to do. This is a dream job for me, and I'm living the dream and getting to play golf for a living. That's pretty amazing.

Sometimes you got to remind yourself that it's your job, but it's still a game, and you got to have fun with it. So it's fun, the money's good. That's definitely a big point coming from scrounging for quarters out of the coach in college to this.

A lot of great things. But, you know, if stuff is going wrong you can overlook those. But that's something I need to work on and be more positive and be happy to be out here. Just a big change for a rookie. I think every rookie in a professional sport, they go through a bit of a slump, and I hope I'm coming out of mine and looking forward to the rest of the year.

Q. I talked to Bill Hurley at the Pro Am at the Nationwide Tour a couple weeks ago, and he said you had guys played together in some amateur events. I asked him about your length and how you do with your short backswing. He said you had baled hay all summer one year as a kid, and that's what made your forearms so strong. Is that just a colorful exaggeration, or

A. It wasn't all summer. It wasn't a whole lot, but everybody wants an answer, so that's an answer.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Any more questions?

Q. What do you think is the biggest thing you've learned so far now that you've been into the tour season for a while and you got your first one under your belt? You look back in retrospect, what is the biggest thing you think you've learned at this point?

J.B. HOLMES: It's all kind of a learning experience. The biggest thing? I guess I don't know. I can't put it on one thing. Everything's been a big learning experience. Being a you know, course management and just hanging around with the people, players. And, you know, watching all the pros and watching them hit the ball and realizing that I could play out here, and I have a good chance to be pretty successful.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thanks J. B.

End of FastScripts.