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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 2006

Luke Donald

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK

Q. Another very good round of golf for you after your second round.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, really pretty solid. I played very solid apart from the first two or three holes. Obviously a bad start, bogey double bogey and a bit of a struggle, and from there on I don't think I missed a green until the last. It was good, solid golf. I got myself back under par with a few birdies. Disappointing obviously to finish with a bogey, but I hit a good putt there, just didn't go in.

Q. Everyone else is going backwards like any U.S. Open, so are you thinking about getting into contention?

LUKE DONALD: I think when I holed that birdie on 16, I thought maybe if I get one more and get to 5, I could be only three or four back by the end of the day. We'll see what happens this afternoon. The wind is slightly picking up but not good enough for it to take too much of a difference. If I'm still within four or five tomorrow, you never know what could happen.

Q. Are they friendlier pin positions today?

LUKE DONALD: I think the greens were somewhat softer. I think playing yesterday, the greens were very hard to hole putts on. There was a lot of footprints, they were getting a little crusty and a bit firmer.

Today they said they watered a few of the greens. They didn't really tell us which ones, but some were softer and you could get a lot of spin out there, and some were just kind of sticking where the ball landed. That made it easier.

Q. But it's hard to challenge the pins, isn't it?

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, you can't really challenge them. You try and hit fairways, try and hit greens, and hopefully putts go in. Hopefully at the end of the day you shoot something in the 60s.

Q. Talk about that first round and what happened there.

LUKE DONALD: I think I was driving the ball a little bit too much, just taking it a bit too serious. Everything was very frustrating that first day. I got in my own way really more than anything, and the course beat me. I think I've been better the last couple days.

Q. Are you that much looser the last couple days?

LUKE DONALD: Well, after 78 I really didn't have anything to lose. I definitely felt like the first day I was looking too much where I didn't want to hit the ball instead of where I should be hitting it. I've swung a little bit freer the last couple days.

Q. How much have you had to temper maybe of aggressiveness on this golf course?

LUKE DONALD: I think you've got to be you pick targets and you're aggressive to those targets. You can't really take too many pins on. Some out there you can; especially on the front nine, there was a few greens that are softer that you can go for. But obviously if you miss the greens, it's going to be hard.

Q. You were 3 over after 2. Did you feel like it was another Thursday, or did you feel like

LUKE DONALD: You know, I think I learned from Thursday that there was still some birdies out there. The wind wasn't a factor when I first started playing, and I knew that if I made some good swings, hit some fairways, hit some greens, I could make some birdies. I made four good birdies out there. Obviously disappointing to make a bogey, but still, 70 is a pretty good score.

End of FastScripts.

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