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EDS BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

May 16, 2004

Robert Damron

IRVING, TEXAS

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome runner-up Robert Damron, a 4-under 66. You began the day five strokes back, Robert, put yourself in a position for a playoff. Talk about the day first.

ROBERT DAMRON: You know, I've been playing well. You know, I had fun today. I didn't really have much doubts that I was going to play well. You know, I didn't know that I would get myself in a playoff being as far back as I was, so in a way it worked out well, but you really hate to lose the way I lost.

TODD BUDNICK: Go ahead and walk us through that last hole of the playoff.

ROBERT DAMRON: The playoff hole, I had the same problem in regulation, which was, one, I couldn't see the pin for the little tree in the way, and two, when I did walk around, it looked so much shorter than the yardage, so both times I hung it out right a little bit.

The putt was really tough, the first putt. The higher I played it, the more it was going to break, in the playoff, I mean. I had my chances in regulation. That was where I kind of blew it, the last three holes.

I had a really good lag putt and then I had that same direction putt as the one I missed in the playoff in regulation. I knew it broke, and I just didn't trust it and I kind of hit a weak putt. I started inside right, and I said, well, it may not break, and I gave it a little help.

Q. How far was that putt?

ROBERT DAMRON: Four and a half feet, I guess, four feet. One I should have made for sure.

Q. A little pull, Robert?

ROBERT DAMRON: Uh-huh, a little bit. I knew right where it was going, like I said, and even though it doesn't -- you don't see it, I knew what it was doing. I've had that putt before, and just under the situation, you know, just didn't trust it, which was hopefully something to learn by.

Q. It didn't take you very long to hit it. Is that because you felt like you knew the direction?

ROBERT DAMRON: Yeah, there was no point in reading it. I knew what it was doing. I just butchered it is all. It wasn't preparation or a bad read, it was just not a good stroke.

Q. With so much time that you had down in between regulation and the playoff, how did that weigh on you?

ROBERT DAMRON: That was easy. I went to the dining room and had some food and hit some balls. The whole time, to be honest with you, I didn't feel like we were going to be in a playoff. I thought somebody would birdie, either Dudley the last hole or Duffy coming in or Sergio, especially after the drive on 18 in regulation. It was kind of a pleasant surprise to even be in a playoff.

Q. The shot at 15, was that a 7-iron, 182?

ROBERT DAMRON: 7-iron, something like that.

Q. Could you run us through that one?

ROBERT DAMRON: It was just off the left, the wind was, maybe a little help, and I hit it just the way I wanted to. I tried to hit it about 170 in the air is what it felt like, playing that with the help and trying to hold it into the wind, and it came off perfectly. When I got up and saw the pitch mark, it released further than I thought it should have, but I didn't care too much at that point.

Q. Your reaction when it went in?

ROBERT DAMRON: Surprise. I mean, I'm not -- I have holed very few shots since I've been on Tour like that from the fairway, so the timing of this one was pretty nice.

Q. Is that the first time you really thought about, hey, I've got a chance to win?

ROBERT DAMRON: No, no. You know, when I won here a few years ago, I didn't look at the scoreboard until it was over, and the same thing happened here. I parred 18 and walked over to my caddie, and he said, "good playing," and I turned around and I looked at the board to see what was going on. I just tried to do the best I could in the situation as it came to me, and I can't do anything about what Sergio or the guys are doing behind me, so just do the best I could and figure it out later.

Q. Was there anything that you were able to -- did you draw on at all your experience three years ago when you were in the playoff with Verplank? Is there anything you could draw on from that?

ROBERT DAMRON: Yeah, I did, definitely. On 18, there's no question that putting it in the fairway in a playoff was very important, and I was right except -- and I hit a good drive, and it was just from there that I messed up. I mean, as Dudley showed you from the rough, it's hard to put yourself in a position to win from the rough. You're just hoping to tie and go to the next hole. So from the fairway, you can then kind of attack it.

Again, we're looking at it and the wind started to lay down, and I'm saying, man, it was 77 to the hole and I knew the wind was hurting, and I tried to hit a little 5-iron and I didn't want to hit it. I mean, it just felt more like a 6-iron but I had to trust it because of the shot I hit in regulation being a little short, and I came out of it.

TODD BUDNICK: Can we just go through the birdies, Robert?

ROBERT DAMRON: Birdies today, four. I've got to think about these for a minute. Oh, I holed it from the bunker on 4. That was pretty lucky, two hole-outs today.

Q. How far?

ROBERT DAMRON: Easy bunker shot, just up against the lip. The pin was maybe 10 feet on the green. I was maybe 20 feet from the hole.

Then 6 is the -- yeah, made a lung putt there, just one of those kind of long putts you get a good read on, you feel like if I get this rolling down the line I think I see, then it's got a chance, and it was perfect. It did have a chance and went in.

Q. 11, that was 22 feet or something.

ROBERT DAMRON: Bogey on 12, I've been fighting my driver. I'm actually driving it great and then I get on the course and I'm not swinging the way I know I have been, so it's close. So I pulled my drive in the left rough and then hit it out into the rough right in front of the green and hit a very mediocre chip, and that green is the slopiest green out here, and it's hard to have a 10-footer and play so much break on it. I did, I hit it solid and it still broke more than I thought. I was fine with it, though. It didn't bother me or upset me in any way.

Then the next hole I had a good number with a 7-iron, hit it 13, 14 feet left of the hole and made that one.

Then a good drive off the tee, one of the few really nice swings I made off the tee all week where I felt like I didn't steer it a little bit, and then holed it from there. That's pretty fortunate.

Q. You hole a bunker shot, you make a long putt, hole out from the fairway, you're playing with Verplank. Did you start to think you had karma going your way?

ROBERT DAMRON: Kind of, yeah. I did say it was kind of like deja-vu a little bit with Scott. He didn't play as well today, well, he didn't finish as well. I shook him up a little bit, I think, on 15. I don't get paired with him that much but it's fun playing with Scott. He's a good guy and we kind of talk and laugh the whole way, and it was fine.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Robert.

End of FastScripts.

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