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THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 8, 2009

John Rollins

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA

DAVE SENKO: John, thanks for joining us. Maybe just a look back at your week. I know you said you were pretty pleased how you played four straight rounds in the 60s on this very difficult golf course.
JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, it's a great week. Like I said, very happy with my game and very proud of myself the way that I played all week, and the way that I was just able to stay in the present all week and not let the course beat me up too bad.
So all in all, I had no complaints. I did all I could do today on championship Sunday, came up one short but gave myself a chance.
DAVE SENKO: At any point, did you see where you stood on the back nine?
JOHN ROLLINS: Well, I really didn't see a whole lot until I birdied 12. When I birdied 12, I knew that I was at 8, and I saw that he was at 10, through 11, I believe, or maybe 10, I can't remember.
But once we got back to 15, I got on the 16th tee and I saw that I was four back. I saw that I had bogeyed 15 to get to 7 and he was at 11-under par.
So at that point, I felt that I had three holes to buckle down and really focus on second place. And if something happened, something happened.

Q. Watching his approach on 18, did you think something was going to happen?
JOHN ROLLINS: I didn't see his approach. I knew he hit it 49 feet or something for birdie, and I played with Quigley who just 3-putted from a similar position, maybe a little longer. I was getting info from other people where he was hitting.
I went out and watched him hit his first putt, saw he lagged it down to a foot, and once he hit the first putt, I knew it was over and walked away. Told my caddie good week, and we'll move on for next week.

Q. The reward, Top-10, I guess FedEx and you're going to Doral; were you going to Puerto Rico?
JOHN ROLLINS: I was going to have the week off, unless something great happened. I did get in Doral, and fortunately enough, looks like we are going to be making the trip down to Miami and give Doral a chance.

Q. Nice bonus?
JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, not bad: 8 million, no cut, that's not bad.

Q. Do you know much about Y.E. and his game?
JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, I played with him a couple of times. Don't really know much about him. He's obviously a good player. He's played great this week on a tough golf course.
It's not easy out there. He had it 11-under par at one time, and I'm just thinking, man, where is that? Where is 11-under par out here? I was doing all I could just to get to 8.
I really don't know much about him. I would say he's a pretty quiet guy, and just goes about his business. And this week, it worked out for him.

Q. Shooting four rounds in the 60s, that's something very few guys pull off. What's your mind-set?
JOHN ROLLINS: I'm very happy. I played a tough golf course, like you said, four rounds in the 60s, it's hard to do. Did it and played great. Very proud of the way I hung in there on some tough times, and just kept plugging along. I never made that real big number, which the Bear Trap can obviously get you at any time.
I figured today, I would bail out up in the grandstands, which is what I did. Hopefully didn't hurt anybody up there. But managed to make a great three and keep my chances alive.
But I'm very happy. I did all that I could do today. I shot 3-under par, like I said, on a tough golf course to give myself a chance to win. And you can't frown at that.

Q. Which hole did you go into the stands?
JOHN ROLLINS: 17.

Q. What were your choices there? Can you talk about the evaluation?
JOHN ROLLINS: The only was only like 195, but the wind was into us. At first we thought it was in off the left but then it went in off the right. But it was steady into our face. I was really in-between clubs, I don't carry a 4-iron, which would have been a perfect 4-iron for that hole. I use a 5 and a 3 and kind of fill in the gap somehow.
I opted for the long versus short, trying to hit in the bunker off the left; if I pulled off a perfect shot, I would look like a hero, but if not, I would have to get it up-and-down out of the bunker.
Didn't really hit a horrible shot, but hit it right down my line. Too much club, wind drifted it left and it flew up way left into the bleachers up there and got a free drop. Made a great up-and-down, and made a 10- or 11-footer for par, and we marched on to the 18th tee. Looked like three all the way. (Laughter).

Q. At any point before Yang came up 18, did you think you had a chance?
JOHN ROLLINS: I honestly was playing for second place. When I was four shots back, I was playing as hard as I could to make sure I didn't come back to the guys behind me and at least get second by myself.
Then when I finished 18, I knew that he still had 17 to play, and he had made a bogey, dropped back to ten, and anything can happen on that hole like that. You hit a bad shot in the water; next thing you know, a five jumps up and gets you quick.
Then I saw he made bogey on 17, coming down 18, and was playing as short as it was playing all week.
So I knew if he hit a good drive, he would have a chance to at least reach the green or have the option. But then he made a great 2-putt from 50 feet; it's not easy to do when you win your first golf tournament. My hat's off to him.

Q. That second shot on 18, you thought about it for a while?
JOHN ROLLINS: I was, again, in-between clubs with a 3-wood and a hybrid. It was only 230 or 232 to the front edge, which no wind is a perfect hybrid for me, to get it into the green easy enough. We kind of deliberated about it but finally my caddie and I decided that long was obviously better than short in the water.
So we hit the 3-wood, tried to just kind of cut a 3-wood off the left side of the green, and hit it right where I was looking and it just chased long like we thought it would if I hit it solid and managed to get it up-and-down and gave myself a chance, at least make him think about his putts on 18.

Q. I know it's not nice to root against somebody, but on 18, what was going through --
JOHN ROLLINS: We're not out here to root against anybody. I don't root against anyone. But I'm pulling for myself and hoping something good happens for me.
Honestly I didn't really think I was going to win. When he hit it on the green -- he wasn't in trouble at any time. So I had a feeling that it was going to be his week, and it turned out, it was.

Q. Would you run through your clubs on your birdies?
JOHN ROLLINS: 8 was my first one. I hit a 9-iron to maybe about 15, 18 feet and made that putt.
9, I hit another 9-iron to like a foot.
11 I hit a 6-iron just past the hole to probably 20 feet and made that one.
12, I hit a 7-iron probably, I would say, eight feet, and made that one.
Then 18, I chipped it up to, I guess, another maybe six or seven feet and then made that one on 18.

Q. Do you not carry a 4-iron so you can carry an extra wedge?
JOHN ROLLINS: I carry an extra wedge, yeah. Sort of a Jim Furyk set of clubs. He doesn't carry a 4-iron, as well. It's a little weaker 3 and stronger 5 just to try to fill in the gap as best we can.
I've been like that for the last probably two or three years now.

Q. When and where did you meet up with your daughter, Georgia?
JOHN ROLLINS: I didn't see them until I finished walking off 18. Once I signed my scorecard and did all of my duties with that, yeah, I was able to see her and play with her a little bit.

Q. Was that her national TV first appearance?
JOHN ROLLINS: I don't know if they had her in San Diego when I finished second there or not. I don't know what they did. But she's definitely not camera shy, that's for sure. She looked right in there and just kind of had a good time with it. But it could have been.

End of FastScripts

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