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U.S. BANK CHAMPIONSHIP IN MILWAUKEE

July 19, 2008

Gavin Coles

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

THE MODERATOR: Gavin Coles, thanks for joining us. Looks like it's big day for Australian golf with you and Nick Flanagan in the final group tomorrow at the U.S. Bank Championship and Greg Norman leading at over at the British Open. Maybe some opening comments. Followed up a 62 yesterday with a 68 today. Obviously, in pretty good position to win your first PGA tour event tomorrow.
GAVIN COLES: Well I think a pretty good position was, you know, with 18 holes to it's always nice to be in front.
The course is playing really well and somebody could shoot a low number out there, so you just got to go play your game and see what happens.
THE MODERATOR: If you could maybe talk about the conditions today. Had a little bit of rain out there, a little bit of everything, a little bit of mist, but seemed like you overcame it pretty well.
GAVIN COLES: Well after a pretty horrendous start with the weather -- the weather was pretty bad when we first started. It was coming down pretty heavy. And it didn't seem heavy but we seem to be getting really wet, and the ball was going nowhere the first couple holes.
I think I missed my only green there was the second. I had a pretty interesting second shot there. But after that, the weather sort of settled down a bit and it was pretty easy after that, I thought. The weather was not a nuisance, and the course was there for some birdies.
THE MODERATOR: Okay. We'll take some questions.

Q. Gavin, should you go on to win and Greg goes to win would it upset you at all that he would steal a little bit of your thunder or would that be okay with you?
GAVIN COLES: That would be definitely okay with me. You know, basically I'm playing in America because Greg Norman showed us that we could be here. You know Norman was -- back in the '90s he was the guy we all looked up to. So if he wins the British open at 53, and I'm only 5'4" but still looking up to him. It's going be unbelievable, and I hope he does it.

Q. You want to expand a little bit on the Greg Norman thing; and I would imagine he is a pretty big part of, you know, junior golfers growing up in Australia?
GAVIN COLES: You know, we had a lot of great players before Norman, but Norman was getting to number one in the world. And, you know, back in the 60s and 70s the TV coverage wasn't what it is, say what it was in the 90s. So the profile of Greg Norman through the 80s and 90s and into the year 2000 still, you know, he has a great profile.
And I think that's -- he has an aura about him that draws people to him. I think that's one thing that being an icon that he is in Australia for golf that we all look up to him. Because he showed us what we could achieve and, you know, and out of our own country.

Q. With so many guys bunched there on the leader board and the course available to everyone, it's going to be (inaudible). What happens if you get off to a start and make four or five pars in a row do you start to press or how do you approach it?
GAVIN COLES: I don't know. I shot like 19 putts the front nine today and I didn't press. I just kept playing the way that I play. It's not something that I like to do, but if I get five off again and I got to make five birdies, it's probably time to press.

Q. If you could go over the birdies on the back side. You mentioned you kind of got off to a slow start then made a bunch of pars, but came back with four birdies on the back side. Maybe we can go over those starting on number ten.
GAVIN COLES: Number 10, I think I had 195 yards. I hit a 4-iron to 15 feet maybe.

Q. Then 12 and 13?
GAVIN COLES: 12 I hit an 8-iron up there just a little 8-iron to about 12, 10 feet maybe under the hole. Then I hit an 8-iron from about 145 yards, just a little 8-iron on Number 13 to eight feet. Then on 16 I hit a wedge to about a foot.

Q. As you mentioned, you hit 17 of 18 greens and 11 of 13 fairways. Is that a pretty good indication you are controlling your ball pretty well this week.
GAVIN COLES: Yeah. I did miss a few fairways. It was only the first cut though. Wasn't in the actual long rough all day. So a little bit different to yesterday's round where I felt like I was in the long rough all day.

Q. Gavin, when is the last time you've hit that many greens in regulation? I mean, when you are hitting that many greens, you got to be knowing you are playing great?
GAVIN COLES: Probably the last time I did that was when I won in Louisiana in trying conditions. Think I must have hit close to seven or eight greens. Shot a good number that day too. But different course, different conditions.
It was, you know, basically you could just (inaudible) today and it was going to stop there. So it was all right.

Q. Can you just talk about being in contention and in fact being in the lead and a little bit more about your game plan for the day tomorrow?
GAVIN COLES: I am going to hit it in the first. Try to get it on the left side of the fairway, and I'm going to go from there. That's all about I've got so far for you. I couldn't tell you. I usually don't -- well I have my game plans. But every time I tee it up, whether the wind's in whatever direction -- I'm going to try -- when the flag is on the left side I'll going to try and hit the right side and that's all I'm going to do. If they don't go in they don't go in.
I think in Memphis I had -- my putts per green regulation on the weekend were something like two. So, you know, there's a bit of pattern that forms. And you try to break that pattern, and maybe that pattern I might have broken today on the back nine. And maybe tomorrow I might make a few more putts because they seem to go in a bit today on the back nine.
THE MODERATOR: Okay, Gavin Coles, thank you.

End of FastScripts

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