U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2008

D.J. Trahan

Q. You talked earlier this week a little bit about how conditions were a little spongy in February. How did you think the course held up?

D.J. TRAHAN: The conditions weren't spongy. I think you guys misquoted me. They're like that in February when we come, the greens are soft and the course plays much softer and the conditions are completely different in February. But the USGA did a great job with the golf course this week. The rough, the fairways, everything was just awesome. And obviously the greens were extremely more firm than when we play them in February. The golf course was fantastic.

Q. Can you talk about, you got off to obviously a rough start and then got things back. Can you talk about your mindset as you were going through that. And how you were able to recover?

D.J. TRAHAN: I just told myself every shot is an opportunity to do something great. I just said that there's no point, there's no reason why I can't turn this thing around. Obviously I played well for three days and I know I got off to a rough start and that was frustrating, but you got to continue to believe in yourself. The minute you let your hopes down and you just kind of get frustrated, that's when it really starts to go bad. Obviously it's bad enough 4-over through five, but if you just want to throw in the towel or you don't want to keep grinding it's going to beat you down really quick.

Q. You've emoted a lot of confidence all week and it's reflected in your scores, you've been really solid. What is it, what can you take away from this?

D.J. TRAHAN: Obviously no different than when you win a golf tournament. Unfortunately, I didn't win today, but it just continues to re-affirm yourself that you belong out here. I continue to tell myself that every day that I can compete at the top level with the best players. And you come out here and you play a golf course this difficult, a U.S. Open under these conditions with the pressure and obviously it was just beautiful weather all week so the golf course was as firm as it could possibly be. And it's just another reassurance. It just tells you, hey, my game's getting there. All the hard work is starting to pay off and you just have to keep working hard and hopefully I'll keep getting better.

Q. Talk about your thought process on 14 and what you think about that tee?

D.J. TRAHAN: Somebody asked me that question if I thought it would be good to move the tee up. I thought it was great. I thought what a great risk reward that hole was today. I just didn't think that it was worth it at that point for me to go for the green. I didn't feel like eagle was going to -- would come as easy as you would like it to, and there was so much danger up there I felt like if I could lay back and hit a wedge in close I could still make birdie very easily.

Unfortunately I missed the fairway on the right, but if I hit that fairway, I've got a little flip 60 degree sand wedge in there and you would like to think your odds of getting that close are pretty decent. So I just felt like I can make birdie, I can make birdie just as easily from 80 yards as I could trying to go for the green. And I knew it was safer to lay up and if you go for the green and pull it left or hit it way right or something then you're struggling.

Q. What did you hit off the tee?

D.J. TRAHAN: I hit a 5-iron off that tee.

Q. A normal PGA TOUR stop you're not going to get this, this is such a rare type of theater that you get to play in, and just coming off of it and I know you probably haven't had much time to reflect but how much are you kind of Jonesing to get back into this kind of a situation?

D.J. TRAHAN: I love it. This is what we, this is what you grew up practicing on the putting green. You say that I got a putt to win the U.S. Open or the Masters. This is the kind of theatre that you dream about playing in when you're a kid growing up playing junior golf and when you aspire to get out here and play at this level.

It's exciting, it's amazing to be out there and all those people and just all the noise and everything that's going on around you. It's so much fun. It kind of, you kind of feel like you're getting swallowed up a little bit by it all, but it's just exciting to be out there playing at that level in front of all those people.

Q. Was it nerves or some bad swings, tough conditions, just at the start?

D.J. TRAHAN: Just, yeah you know, I really didn't feel -- I felt good on the first tee today. Just made a poor swing and then after that I really didn't -- I 3-putted 2. And I just missed -- I barely pushed my drive right on 4 in the bunker there and that just --the bunkers, the way they raked them up this week, the bunkers are really tough if you hit into them in the fairway. So obviously from 210 yards out I had my work cut out for me and just didn't do well there.

And then on 5 I drove it in a divot in the fairway and then hit a great bunker shot after I plugged it in the front bunker and just missed a putt.

So if a few things go differently there, geez, I'm okay through five holes, but instead I was 4-over. And I was just really proud that I hung really tough there and was telling myself, you've been playing well all week, there's no reason why you can't continue it now. Even though with a bad start.