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CANADIAN OPEN

July 26, 2007

David Hearn

MARKHAM, ONTARIO

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in for a couple of minutes. 6 under 65 today. Great opening round, obviously. How about just some general thoughts on your round?
DAVID HEARN: Obviously, I feel pretty good about today. I wanted to get off to a good start. We had a morning tee time, and I think the wind picking up this afternoon, it will be good for us. It was good for me to get it open and take advantage of it.

Q. I was wondering if you could describe -- you've had a few health issues lately, haven't you? I believe it was your back that you've been having trouble with.
DAVID HEARN: I've had back trouble before. This year I've kind of had one of the events my neck was bothering me, and I had to withdraw. It's fine though. It hasn't popped up since, and I don't expect it to.

Q. You've had a couple of weeks off, I believe?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I've taken a little bit of time off. Right now I'm planning on playing most of the rest of the year on the Nationwide, so a little time off now to rest so I can play the rest of the schedule after this.

Q. Yesterday, Mike Weir was talking about the improvement or the good future ahead by Canadians. I was just wondering, I mean, obviously, the kids today coming up have a lot more advantages than what you had when you were coming up?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah.

Q. I was just wondering if you could talk about that and maybe some of the kids that are coming up behind you that are out on the Canadian Tour right now?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I don't think they had that many more advantages than I did. I came up at a good time when there were a lot of good young players. The RCGA was just starting their development program. I think that what's happening is you're seeing a lot more success from the younger players.
There's definitely going to be a lot of good players that will come out of Canada in the next 10 or 15 years, I think. There's a lot of talent here this week, and hopefully we'll see it come through.

Q. You obviously grew up close to here. I don't know how often you got a chance to play this course, but if so, what do you make of the changes? Is it a whole new 18 out there?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I only played the old style once, and it was a long time ago, so I didn't even really remember it. I played, about a month and a half before the Open, I came out here a couple times, and I got a good feel for the way the course is now. But I don't remember much of the old one now.
And I think the course is good. I think it place very well. The rough is long, and the greens are just a little bit soft. That's part of the reason the scoring is really good today. If they were to firm up on the weekend, I think the scores get a lot more challenging.

Q. At the Canadian Open, a lot has been made about Canadians. Is this fun for you or is it more pressure?
DAVID HEARN: I don't know. I feel like it's a lot of fun. One of the only events every year my family and friends get to come up and see me play as long as they're in the Toronto area, so that's a lot of fun for me.
You know, the pressure part, obviously, you want to do well. I just don't think that -- I think personally, I don't put a lot of pressure on myself. I want to do well, but I don't think it affects the way my performance comes out, necessarily.

Q. (Inaudible) Hunter out there with the 62 today. And you're a pretty big hitter, was this a bomber's course, do you feel?
DAVID HEARN: I feel like most courses these days set up well for a guy that hits it a little bit longer. I think that the advantage if you miss the fairway or are closer to the green in the rough. I don't necessarily think it's a bomber's course because of the deep rough. But if you look at the US Open this year and the guys that did well, they were all really long hitters. I think it's becoming a bit of a game where you have to hit the ball a good distance out there.

Q. You spoke a little bit about the injuries, but I'm just wondering if you could comment how your Nationwide season has gone so far? Sometimes it's a bit difficult to tell with the results.
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I feel like I played a real solid year this year. I made a lot of cuts and a lot of top 25s, and a couple top 10s. I just haven't put together four really good rounds where I've gotten in the top 5 for a couple of weeks. I'm just trying to be patient, but, overall, I think my game's real solid. I'm looking forward to, obviously, playing well this week and getting back out there to do what I need to do to get out here full-time.

Q. Does playing well today have a lot to do with having a good tournament last year, especially on Sunday?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, I think so. Last year when I came here I was a lot more confident in the Canadian Open than I was in previous years. So I definitely feel like my game's at a level where I can do well at these events, and I'm going to do everything I can to do that.

Q. Anything -- I believe you were the lone Canadian up last year. Was it anything that people said?
DAVID HEARN: Anything, sorry?

Q. Anything that you can remember?
DAVID HEARN: Not really. I feel like it was a nice accomplishment for me to get. I played in my fifth Open, so I feel like, you know, I'm improving steadily every year. I think overall you want to play in the golf tournament. I think it's not about being Canadian, I think it's a result of playing well in general. So I don't think anything came out of that but just a little confidence in knowing that when I get back out here I'll be hopefully a little more successful.

Q. You led the Tour in total driving the year you were on the big tour. When you get back or if you had it to do it over again, what would you do differently the first year of your tour?
DAVID HEARN: I think there's a lot of things I'd do differently, but, overall, I think I got out there very quickly. I feel like, you know, I was playing great golf at the time. I was playing a level of golf that I could compete at that time. But I wasn't doing it week-in and week-out. And my bad days were still not good enough. It's been good for me to go back to the Nationwide and develop a game that's more consistent week-in and week-out. So when I get on a tough course on Saturday, if I'm not playing my best I can still shoot even par with a couple under.
I think I could have done a lot of things differently, but I think it's one of those things where you're only a rookie out there once, and I learned from it in a different way than other guys will. When I get back, I, hopefully, think it will pay off.

Q. Just going back to what was said. You had that great round and final round last year at the Canadian Open, obviously, a good one today. In terms of experience, do you feel a momentum going now for the Canadian Open? Is it a positive feeling?
DAVID HEARN: Yeah, it's definitely a positive feeling. I played a great round at Hamilton. And I was really proud of the way I played on Sunday. I put in a nice round. I'm very proud of the way I played today. That's not to say tomorrow I'm not going to do the same thing. But I feel like I have a better chance at shooting rounds like I have in the last couple of years than I did when I first came here and came up. So it's just a progression. I feel like I know where my abilities lie and it's just a matter of them coming out.

Q. Go back a few years to your rookie season on the PGA Tour, when you had that great summer winning on the Canadian Tour and Nationwide Tour a couple of weeks later. Do you think maybe it was too much of that learning curve too quickly for you?
DAVID HEARN: It might have been a little bit too quick, but I don't think that I'm going to look back on it and say it was too quick. As I say, I was playing golf at that time that was at a level that that's where I should have been. But I just wasn't there as consistently as I would have liked. I mean, I played great on that Canadian Tour. Every event in Canada, I finished in the Top 5, and I was just playing great. But I got on that stretch and my confidence was good. And then, you know, that sort of thing happens. So I think I'll benefit from that experience down the road, for sure.

Q. (Inaudible).
DAVID HEARN: A 4 and 5. 4 on the par 3? Yeah, 4 was probably about 15 feet. And 5 was probably 18 or 20 feet.

End of FastScripts

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