U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 13, 2008

Robert Karlsson

RAND JERRIS: It's a pleasure to welcome Robert Karlsson to the media room, in with a 1-under par round of 70 today, 2-under par for the championship. Just start us off with some general comments about your afternoon and your play today.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Today, I'm really, really happy with the way I was putting and got up-and-down from some difficult lies, so really, really happy with the score.

Yesterday, I probably played better tee to green, but today was a better score I put in, I would say.

RAND JERRIS: Significant difference in the way the golf course played this afternoon from how it played yesterday.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Yesterday morning, definitely the greens were more receptive for the front, at least on the front nine or front 12 holes. After that, today they definitely were a lot harder, a lot firmer, more bouncy. So it was more challenging that way, I think.

RAND JERRIS: For the record, could you go over the birdies and bogeys on your card for us.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Bogeyed No. 1. I plugged it in the left trap. It was plugged, so it was a pretty good bogey there.

Birdied Number 5, which was big bonus, i.e., I missed the drive in the deep stuff on the left. But got a good lie and hit it to four feet and knocked it in.

Bogeyed Number 7, missed a six-footer.

Birdied Number 13, drive and a 3-wood. I was just short of the green. Pitched it up to 15 feet. Made that.

Drive and a wedge to half a foot, just a tap in.

16, I missed it left, chipped it up to six feet and missed it.

18, driver, 5-wood in the left trap, bunker shot to about a foot.

Q. How do you feel playing this kikuyu grass, especially in the rough, as to the other normal grass you usually play?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Well, we play it -- sometimes we play this type of grass. We play it sometimes in Australia or in Asia. So I played it a couple times before. The thing you have to watch out for a little bit is if it sits down, you just have to chop it out. And if it sits up on top, you have to grip down a little bit to make sure you catch it clean, because the ball is almost like on a high tee. So it's quite easy to hit under it and hit high up on the fairways, and then the ball goes nowhere.

But I like the course. It's a really well setup course and it's good. It's going to be really long press conference, right?

(Laughter.)

Q. We were asking this of Rocco just before, Tiger shot 30 today on his second nine. I think you may be paired with him tomorrow. Is that a treat or a something to not look forward to?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It's definitely a treat. But it could go the other one as well. I mean, it's definitely great to play with the best player in the world. It's going to be a great experience if I do it. I played with him a number of times before, we played in the Ryder Cup in the singles, and I played with him sort of the second or third last group in quite a big tournament in China. So to play with him is great.

But it's going to be a bit of a challenge, I think, with everything that's going to happen around. But that's probably going to be the same for the guys who play right in front of that group. So I think either/or is going to be quite loud, and you're going to be aware of that. If Tiger holes out first, people are going to be off. And it's -- I'm going to be left on my own. And that's something you have to get used to if you play with him.

But you got to learn something from that as well, I hope.

RAND JERRIS: Looks like you're going to be right at the top of the leaderboard after two rounds. Was there something you were seeing in your game leading up to this week that, does it surprise you or have you been playing well?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I've been playing really well. I played -- I was eighth at Augusta, three consecutive third positions in Europe, I was second in Wales the week before this. So I played really well.

But you never know what's going to happen when you get to a totally different time zone, totally different golf course, and the thing is totally different. So I just come in here with a very open mind and went out and tried to do my best, and I got to try to keep doing that for the next two days as well.

RAND JERRIS: Does being at the top of the leaderboard change your routine for this evening at all?

ROBERT KARLSSON: No.

RAND JERRIS: How you'll come out here tomorrow morning?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I'm not going to be awake after 9 or 10 o'clock tonight, I'm sure. Nine- or ten-hour time difference. But one thing is really good, I got to be awake tomorrow because Sweden is playing football, soccer as you call it, at nine o'clock tomorrow, and I got to watch that. So that's good.

RAND JERRIS: Robert, thanks very much for your time. Congratulations on your fine play.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Thank you.