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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 10, 2008

Eric Axley

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

DOUG MILNE: We'd like to thank Eric Axley for joining us for a few minutes here at the John Deere Classic. Great playing today, four birdies on the front, four on the back, just the one hiccup on 4. Just a couple comments about the round.
ERIC AXLEY: Played really solid today. I felt like I hit a lot of fairways. I don't know what the exact stats were, but for the most part I made a few putts. Kind of the key putts I felt like I was supposed to make, I made today. Other than 4, I think I missed about a three-footer for bogey. But other than that, I putted pretty well.
DOUG MILNE: Last month you obviously were Top 10 at the U.S. Open. Is there some momentum still trickling out from that Top 10 finish?
ERIC AXLEY: Yeah, and I've really played well the last three weeks tee to green and just haven't been able to make the putts. So yeah, I still have some momentum from there and just excited for the rest of the week.

Q. How important is the first day for you?
ERIC AXLEY: Well, I mean, you can't win the tournament on the first day, but you can put yourself in a good position for the rest of the week where you don't feel like you kind of get behind the 8-ball and have to make birdies and stuff like that. I think it's very important to get off to a good start.

Q. What was your game plan like trying to attack the course today? What did you want to do? What did you not want to do, and how were you able to achieve that?
ERIC AXLEY: I was trying to put myself on the right side of the holes today to where I could be a little aggressive with my putts. And when the pin and the wind lended to it, I felt like we could hit at a few pins today.

Q. And did you do that as well as you had hoped or pretty well?
ERIC AXLEY: Uh-huh, for the most part, yeah. When I wasn't comfortable over a shot or there was some trouble on one side, I played where I'm supposed to play and made a par that way. But when it was a green light, I think I made eight birdies today. I did pretty well when we had the opportunities.

Q. Is that kind of the MO you have to take on this course?
ERIC AXLEY: Today's wind condition, the direction it was blowing, there were a few of the par-3s that are longer, and the pin was kind of cut close on 16 on the left over near the hazard and close on 18 near the hazard. So yeah, coming in I had to be a little cautious, and both of those holes were into the wind, so I just kind of played a little more safe and right and just kind of tried to make a longer putt.

Q. Did something click with you at the U.S. Open, or were you just kind of building toward that and everything came together there?
ERIC AXLEY: Yeah, I mean, I feel like I was starting to play well. And yeah, I think actually at -- yeah, it was the practice rounds at the U.S. Open where it really felt like I could start playing well every week, and tee to green, I have, since then. Yeah, that was the time. I think it was the Tuesday practice round at the Open.

Q. What was it?
ERIC AXLEY: Just some stuff I had been working on with my coaches that I just finally felt comfortable to take to the course, and to do it with the pressures of the U.S. Open and the difficulty of that golf course kind of showed me that it was there and I can do it.

Q. Is there anything more you think you can do? What do you still want to do better in subsequent rounds here the rest of the week?
ERIC AXLEY: Just keep doing the same thing right now. Your shot pattern can always get tighter, no matter how good you hit it. So keep sharpening up what you have, and it's just going to get better and better each week.

Q. Was there anything you were disappointed in at all, one aspect of your game?
ERIC AXLEY: Today?

Q. Yes.
ERIC AXLEY: Just the tee shot on 4 was just a bad shot, really. Nothing I'm disappointed in, but along with the tee shot, got a bad break where it came right behind a tree and I had to chip out backwards. No, I did everything pretty well today.

Q. The experience you gain from being in the Top 10 in an Open atmosphere like that, what do you gain from that?
ERIC AXLEY: Just confidence that you're -- I won two years ago, and being able to win coming down the stretch gives you confidence, and also in the U.S. Open, being able to compete against the best players in the world and coming down in that atmosphere and not making any bogeys and actually making a couple birdies on the back nine, it helps you with your confidence, as well.

Q. Does that change your perspective of the game or your approach for the game as far as getting back in the winner's circle again?
ERIC AXLEY: Well, you always -- every week we come out here, we want to get in the winner's circle. But it's really easy; I've had a young career out here so far, but it's really easy to get going the wrong way and think you might not let -- when you get a little confidence and start putting the ball in the fairway more and making putts, all of a sudden the game doesn't seem as hard again.

Q. Chris Riley is on the leaderboard. I'm sure you're familiar with his story. Is that kind of a cautionary tale to how quickly the game can come and go? David Duval is another example.
ERIC AXLEY: What is Chris Riley's story?

Q. Well, he was in the Ryder Cup, and now he's getting in this field as an alternate.
ERIC AXLEY: You can play well and not finish Top 125 on this TOUR. It can happen to anyone. You miss a few extra fairways a day and don't make the putts that year, and all of a sudden you may finish 130 on the Money List and you may not be fully exempt.
It doesn't surprise me. Chris could win any week he comes out here, but then again, any of us could miss a cut that same week. So no, nothing is that surprising like that.
DOUG MILNE: Eric, thanks for joining us, appreciate your time.

End of FastScripts

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