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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

March 29, 2009

Sean O'Hair

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

DOUG MILNE: Thanks for joining us for a few minutes here in the interview room of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Obviously not the outcome you hoped for today, but you hung in there all week long. You've got to feel confident about the way you're playing. I believe this is your fourth Top 10 in just eight starts of the year. Just a couple comments on the week and specifically the round today.
SEAN O'HAIR: Sure. You know, I think overall the last three days I hit the ball fantastic. I think that's kind of the outcome of today was the ball-striking wasn't there. From the first hole I was struggling hitting fairways. If you're in the rough all day, you're going to struggle to hit greens. I didn't give myself enough birdie opportunities out there today, and I thought if I can just get the ball-striking and kind of get going on the back nine, you know, I'd stay right there.
I'm obviously just disappointed that I couldn't bring the ball-striking into today. But all in all, obviously I've got to look at the positive side of this. I'm playing great, and the swing changes that I'm making are coming around, and obviously I think today just kind of proves that I still don't quite have it yet. But that doesn't mean I'm not going in the right direction.
I think all in all I take nothing but positives from this. Obviously it's just a little bit disappointing that I couldn't close it.

Q. Have you played much more night golf before tonight?
SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah, as a kid I used to play a lot of night golf out in the desert when I lived in Scottsdale. That was actually kind of cool. It was fun.

Q. Today the greens must have been totally different than what you had played on the first three rounds. Did you have trouble getting it all the way to the hole? Was it difficult to make the adjustment?
SEAN O'HAIR: I struggled with my putting speed today. They were a lot slower, and I just was disappointed that I couldn't adjust. It was hard to trust the adjustment out there, and you know, I felt like even the putting green today was a little bit quicker than the greens out there, but obviously it's got more traffic and more feet stomping on them, and it's going to be a little bit quicker.
But I think the rain definitely made it a lot more playable today and it changed the conditions a little bit, but I just didn't do a good job adjusting.

Q. Can you talk about the play on 16?
SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah, obviously hit a good drive and hit a good second shot. I made a good swing, good contact, right on the line, and unfortunately I think it ballooned on me. The wind got me a little bit. Even so, you know, my normal distance, it should have still carried. But I think what happened is when the sun was going down a little bit, I guess that kind of proved to me that the ball wasn't quite going as far. The ball was kind of going its normal distance all day, and that was just a stock 7-iron that I hit solid and didn't get there.
So on 17, it's a normal 5-iron. On 17 I took 4-iron which was the right club, and I normally would have taken an 8-iron on 18 and I hit 7-iron and it was the right club. Honestly I didn't even think about that. I didn't even factor it in.

Q. What was the yardage?
SEAN O'HAIR: It was '71 to carry the hazard there on line with the pin, which I was even right of the pin. And then I think it was like '77, '78 pin, and the top of that 7-iron is 179. I don't even think it flew 168. I think it flew like right around 167 or so.
You know, the wind was more right to left than it was hurting, so just was the wrong club.

Q. I know it's got to be disappointing for you personally, but when you're sitting there on 18 and you're looking at Tiger putt, do you just think to yourself -- were you thinking it was going to go in?
SEAN O'HAIR: Well, I don't really know how to answer that, because I mean, I think -- obviously I'm trying to compete against Tiger. It's not like it's The Tiger Show and I'm just out there to watch him. And I think that's the one thing the media thinks about the guys out here, and it's not about that. We're trying to win golf tournaments, and he just happens to be that good. But just because he's good doesn't mean we're out there watching him.
And then obviously on that putt I was expecting him to probably make it, and I just was trying to prepare myself that if he did miss, I have to make that downhill three-footer to take it into later on tonight or tomorrow. You know, I was out there trying to win a golf tournament out there, and I just think sometimes the media tries to make it, hey, we're just out here and Tiger is just kind of doing his thing. I mean, we're all, including Tiger, trying to win a golf tournament. And that's it.
DOUG MILNE: Sean, thanks for taking a few minutes with us.

End of FastScripts

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