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MERCEDES-BENZ CHAMPIONSHIP

January 9, 2009

D.J. Trahan

KAPALUA, HAWAII

DOUG MILNE: DJ, thank you for joining us for a few minutes here at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Congratulations on a great round today, 7-under 66, highlighted by an eagle on 16. If you could talk about your round and how you're feeling as you head into the weekend.
D.J. TRAHAN: Really, really pleased with the way I played today. I hit the ball really solid, and it was a pleasure to play with Boo because he struck the ball very well today.
So it was kind of like he and I battled back and forth, from tee-to-green. He hit it absolutely wonderful, as well. And I made some putts, as well, today. Obviously the eagle on 15 was a tremendous gift, and at no point did I expect to make that putt. It had 15 feet of break on it. I was just hoping to 2-putt and knock that in, so it was awesome.

Q. Did you have any idea coming in that your game was in this good of shape?
D.J. TRAHAN: Not really. I've been off almost 3 1/2 months. I finished up at THE TOUR Championship last year and didn't play again.
I took quite a bit of time off before I started playing again, so I certainly felt like I was capable of playing well. You just really never know after you take a layoff that long. You just kind of have to get here and see how everything goes.

Q. How did you spend your off time, and when did you start preparing for this?
D.J. TRAHAN: I do a lot of what Boo Weekley does. I enjoy hunting a lot. I spent several months doing pretty much nothing but that. It was great. I spent some time with some friends and did a lot of hunting. And when it was time to get back, maybe two weeks ago, I started picking the clubs back up again.
Fortunately, we had good weather in South Carolina where I live, so I was able to practice when I wanted to. Like I said, obviously, you have expectations, but it's kind of hard to set the bar when you have not played in that long.
But obviously I'm very pleased with the way I'm hitting the ball and everything seems to be doing well so far. So if we can just keep it up, that would be great.

Q. Any difference in the weather from one day to the next?
D.J. TRAHAN: The wind still blew today, obviously. Yesterday, it seemed to be a steady 20 to 25, I guess is what it felt like.
Today it certainly blew, but not to the degree it did yesterday. It was probably a little bit more forgiving today than yesterday, certainly.

Q. Do you put the clubs away the whole time you're off?
D.J. TRAHAN: I put them away. There was a couple of commitments that I had. I had a couple Pro-Ams I had to play in. Other than that, I didn't -- I played in the Callaway Invitational, which is a little Pro-Am deal out in Pebble Beach. Other than that, and a couple other things I committed to, I didn't play golf at all.
So it was great. It was nice. I played 27 events last year, so I played a full schedule, and when I finished at THE TOUR Championship, I was ready for a break. It's certainly the longest break I've ever had from golf, regardless of junior golf, college golf, it doesn't matter.
It was new territory for me, and I enjoyed it, and it was nice to have some time off. I feel like I've recharged my batteries, and I feel like I'm ready to work hard and get after it.

Q. Is this a plan that you might repeat in the future?
D.J. TRAHAN: I don't know if I would necessarily take that much time off, but certainly it was a little bit of a surprise to me to actually take that much time off. Obviously, I doubt I'll ever take that much time off without playing in a tournament or playing golf, for that matter.
I'll certainly always enjoy hunting in the off-season, but that was a long break. But I'm excited to be back. I don't think I've ever felt more refreshed and it was just a matter of getting back to work and working hard and trying to get the game to where it needs to be.

Q. What do you hunt for?
D.J. TRAHAN: I hunt for everything. I went deer and moose hunting this past fall, it was pretty awesome, and killed a nice moose. For me, hunting, it's as much for fun as it is to spend time with friends. It was amazing how an activity like that, if you get some of your friends involved, it's a great way to spend time with friends, as well as enjoy it. We have a lot of fun doing it, so it's a good thing for me to do in the off-season. You've got to have -- I feel like you've got to have something to pass your time while you're waiting a couple of months for the TOUR to kick back in. I certainly enjoy kicking back with that.

Q. What did you do with the moose?
D.J. TRAHAN: I processed the meat. I'm eating it. At this particular moment in time, I have 350 pounds of it at home. I'm giving it away and I'm eating it. It's cool, I'm from South Carolina, so obviously nobody hunts moose in South Carolina. I'm able to give the meat away to all my friends, and I'm getting my moose head mounted to put in my house. Obviously it's pretty large, but it will do.

Q. Where did you get it?
D.J. TRAHAN: It was in Newfoundland, right north of Nova Scotia, in Canada there. It was fun. We had a good time.

Q. Came here with a new set of irons in the bag?
D.J. TRAHAN: Yeah.

Q. Did you have an adjustment period or did they slide right in?
D.J. TRAHAN: I got those irons about two months -- I got them in November, right about the beginning of November. They specked my irons for my other set, and it was a clean rollover. I didn't have any problems. I didn't even put a piece of lead tape over my irons. They are right where they need to be. Other than a few minor adjustments to loft, which I did this week. So for me, it's been a great transition over the Titleist blades I'm hitting now.

Q. Can you talk about chasing Geoff?
D.J. TRAHAN: He's playing great. I felt like I played pretty well for two days and he's three ahead, as far as I know. And he most likely will be more than that at the end of the day. That's one of those things, I was four back last year going into the Hope in the final round, and regardless of how far somebody is ahead, they have to continue to play well if somebody is chasing them.
My goal is to go out there and see if I can make as many birdies as possible, and that was my goal in the final round. You know, when a guy is ahead like that, he certainly is playing well, so you have to play some good golf to catch him.
That's the only goal I can really take out there, is to just play, and play like I have the first two days, and certainly more like today. I only made two bogeys today and shot 7-under. Obviously if I can do that for two more days, I think I hopefully will have a pretty good chance.

Q. How does this course fit your game?
D.J. TRAHAN: I don't know if this course fits anybody's game. I think you just have to take this course for what it is, because I don't think we see anything remotely close to this throughout the year. It's just there's so much up-and-down, there's so many sidehill lies. The greens are just wild and crazy. So, I mean, you kind of just have to come here this week and accept the course for what it is, play the course the way it asks to be played, because this course demands that you play it a certain way. There's really no way around it.
If you can hit the shots, and maybe make some putts, you'll be right in there to contend. So I think you really just have to, like I said, take this place for what it presents you and then try and go from there.
DOUG MILNE: Thanks for your time.

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