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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 13, 2007

Nathan Green

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Nathan Green, thanks for joining us. You are our 36-hole leader currently, 67, 63 today. Maybe some opening comments. You have a one-stroke lead over a couple different players, but two great days for you. Looking at your scorecard, just one bogey.
NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, just putted really well for two days pretty much. Just coming off three weeks' break so didn't do any practice at all, played three games of social golf and came in not expecting much. But yeah, it sort of felt like I was swinging it okay on the range on Tuesday and Wednesday, and on the first nine holes I struggled a little bit, and then from then on I hit a lot of greens.
My distance control has been good, so from ten feet in I've been making a lot of putts. The putter has pretty much been the reason, especially made some good par putts today.
I've been really happy with it. There's been more expectation after the season last year. Yeah, made a lot of cuts and probably hit the ball a little bit better, haven't really putted as well as I did last year. I don't know, probably just haven't been in contention much, which is probably the thing I've been a little disappointed about. I really wanted to take three weeks off and really try and focus on the back half of the year and try and have some good results.

Q. Where did you go on the break?
NATHAN GREEN: I went back to Australia, and it was a bit cool and pretty much blew hard every day, so that's why I didn't do much practice. Really relaxed, just put the feet up and didn't really do much for the whole time.

Q. Good vibes coming here as an Australian after what John did last year?
NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I loved the event last year. It's just one of those really good, fun events that seems to have a lot of local backing, and for sort of a small -- not a small city, but one of the smaller places we go to, you get a lot of real good crowds. It's a good fun golf course where it seems like you can make a lot of birdies and get rewarded for good golf. I know it was one of the first ones for me to come back to on the schedule this year. I love it up here. It's good.

Q. When did you get back to the States?
NATHAN GREEN: Monday.

Q. Funny you mention, we have a lot of people who were talking about the difficulty of going over to Scotland after playing here. You flew all the way from Australia, got here Monday and you're 10-under par, 12-under par?
NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I have trouble going back. I think it took me three days to get back on the clock once I got home, and I was over there for two weeks, and I felt like I wasn't relaxed enough after two so I had to hang around for another one. I've never really had much trouble coming this way for some reason. I felt a little bit tired in the afternoons the first two days, and today I felt great. Hopefully it doesn't hit me tomorrow.

Q. What's been clicking for you the first two days overall, what specific part of your game?
NATHAN GREEN: Just the putting mainly. I pretty much have no swing thoughts or anything like that going at the moment. I don't know, just trying to hit as many greens as I can and stay patient and just make a lot of really good putts, especially with the greens being soft and they're starting to get a little bit bumpy but I still managed to make some.

Q. You said you have no expectations, so kind of an uncluttered mind, so maybe you can carry that free spirit, not a lot on the mind, through the last two days?
NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, definitely. I was just happy to be out playing golf again. Before I went home, the U.S. Open was my last event and I was frustrated and stressed out and not really enjoying playing. That was the reason for the break. Yeah, just came back and -- from probably the last three days last week, I was pretty keen to get back into it. I don't know, it certainly makes it a little bit easier to play golf when you are fresh. Really hoping to get through the next two days and keep playing some good golf.

Q. What is your approach for the next two days?
NATHAN GREEN: Just the same thing. It's just trying to keep it as simple as you can, just hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and try and take that -- take a whole lot of the pressure out of it. If you can do that, then it's hard to have a bad score.
When you start missing greens and missing fairways, that's when it becomes difficult. My goal is just to keep hitting it in play and just try and make as many birdies as I can.

Q. When is the last time you've found yourself in this position?
NATHAN GREEN: I've had a few -- the one that comes to mind was the Australian Open last year. I was sort of leading after the first, second and third rounds and ended up coming up short on Sunday.
But I've started to feel a little bit more comfortable in these positions. I'm still not real comfortable being overnight leader and that sort of thing. I know you've got to get used to it sometime, so hopefully I'll handle it a little bit better this week.

Q. From what I understand your round could have been much better. You had a couple close calls, a couple close eagles, a hole-in-one maybe on 3?
NATHAN GREEN: 3 went close. I'm not too sure where it ended up or how much it missed by. It ended up at the back of the green. I got a few -- probably the good breaks outweighed the things that could have been better. I had a few good lip-ins where the ball was dying and sort of spun in, did a lap and that sort of thing.
Yeah, it seemed to have mostly been sort of the opposite, the ones that had a chance to miss I didn't miss. Hopefully the good vibes will keep sort of going on the greens. It's probably as comfortable as I've felt on them all year.

Q. And yet they're bumpy?
NATHAN GREEN: They were a little bumpy in the afternoons. Yesterday they were great. Last year I remember them being a little firmer than that. I think the whole course was a lot drier and the greens were a bit quicker and probably a little less sort of -- little bit less of a bounce in the afternoon. It's just when they're fairly soft like this, it's hard to keep them absolutely perfect.
You sort of know in the afternoon round that it's going to be a little bit trickier. I was just trying to not leave myself too many tough par putts because you can let them get away from you a bit. But speed control and everything was really good today.

Q. When you were home, any hobbies that you pursued that kind of freed the mind?
NATHAN GREEN: Yes, I played -- against my manager's wishes, I played soccer, played three games in the last week, which, I don't know, that's always been sort of a passion of mine. Just when I went home, I trained with a team that my brother plays for in Newcastle. They needed a few players, and as a reserve I played three games, and I was terrible, but hit a ball and that sort of refreshed me and took my mind totally off golf.

Q. Neal Lancaster said if conditions stay the way they are, it's going to take a really low number, maybe a course record, something like that, to get away from here on Sunday with a win. Do you see that happening?
NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, definitely. I think there's going to be -- if you don't shoot low you're going to still be five, six shots out of the lead. You can really shoot some low numbers around here like you've seen the first two days. The greens, with a little bit less traffic on them, as well, on the weekend, every day I think you're going to see someone shooting 7-, 8-, 9-under. You're just going to have to -- I'd say at least 20-under is a reasonable amount at this stage if it stays the same. But if the course firms up a lot, if it keeps going like that the next two days, I think Sunday could be a little tougher with some tight pins and firmer greens and it'll make the scoring a lot harder.

Q. Soccer going to be part of your workout routine now?
NATHAN GREEN: Not really. I don't know, I've always sort of done a little bit of it whenever I can. I think last time I played was about three, four years ago, and after I came back I played fairly well, as well.
I'd love to be able to do it more often, but at 32 I think my days of soccer -- it's probably a last hurrah.

Q. Two out of three Aussies -- two Aussies have won in the last three years. Do you take that as an omen?
NATHAN GREEN: I suppose it's a good sign. I think it's Mark and John was it? They're both good guys, and I would love to make it a third. It's strange, it's probably not one of the courses that really suits the Aussie guys as much as some of the others we play. I think it's more of a -- it's a softer tree-lined sort of course. I think most of the Aussie guys go better on the harder, faster sort of tracks. I'm not sure if there's anything there. Yeah, there's some good vibes there, and I'd love to get my turn at some stage. It'd be good.

Q. Wanting to win that first tournament, how do you stay in the present?
NATHAN GREEN: It's tough. I think -- I just think the more you put yourself in position, I know that I've won an event in Australia in the last year, but it was one of those ones where it falls right into your lap. I think I was sort of three back once I finished my round and everyone bogeyed coming in.
Then I've had some events where I've played great, been in contention and played great on Sunday and lost. So it takes a lot of luck.
Yeah, you can't really pick when it's going to happen. I've just got to hit the right shot and have a little bit of luck at the right time. Hopefully I can just give myself as many chances as I can for that to happen this week.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could go through your scorecard. As we mentioned, 63 today. Birdied the first one out of the gate.
NATHAN GREEN: Yes, hit a sand iron to an inch there and made birdie.
2nd hole, knocked it just short for two and made about a five-footer for birdie there.
5 was a 3-wood and a 7-iron to about ten feet, made that.
Next hole I hit a 3-wood and a wedge to probably eight feet, I suppose. That's one of the ones that just sort of lipped in.
Then 8, hit two really good shots in there, driver, 7-iron to about the sort of six feet.
10, made probably a good 15-footer there from the front of the green.
14, 3-wood, sand iron to about probably six feet short of the hole, made that.
17, driver, 5-wood just sort of probably about ten yards on the front of the green and just two-putt.

Q. It seems like some of the other leaders were using a lot more wedges into greens and using that to set up their low scores. You, not so much. Is that your game?
NATHAN GREEN: I'm just not that long a hitter. I think that's one thing on this course; you don't have to hit it long to play it well. I think position is pretty important. I think whether you've got a 7-iron or a wedge into some of these greens, especially with them being soft at the moment, that's not a huge problem. Yeah, I think it's mainly just my length. I think Camilo was probably a good 30, 40 yards ahead of me all day today and had a lot of wedges.
I've found that it's tougher to hit my wedge shots close anyway because it was spinning a lot. Yeah, it's not a huge disadvantage hitting 7-, 8- and 9-irons in when they're stopping pretty quick.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Nathan, thanks.

End of FastScripts

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