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U.S. BANK CHAMPIONSHIP IN MILWAUKEE

July 15, 2009

J.P. Hayes

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: J.P Hayes, thanks for joining us here prior to the US Bank Championship opening round. Maybe we can start with some opening comments. You're an Appleton native, and I know this tournament is near and dear to your heart. Talk about some opening comments about coming back to Milwaukee to play.
J.P. HAYES: Well, it's a great tournament. I have had some success here. I enjoy the golf course. It's great to be playing in front of some friends and family for a change.
Just it's a relaxed week for me. I've got all my family up here, and it just feels a little bit different than the normal tournament. So it's fun.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Okay. Questions.

Q. How optimistic are you that this tournament will be around in the future?
J.P. HAYES: Cautiously optimistic, I guess. I didn't read the article the other day. I heard about it.
Apparently there's some effort being put forth to preserve the tournament. Hopefully that happens and we can continue.

Q. Are you a part of that at all?
J.P. HAYES: No, I haven't been. I knew nothing about it, so it's all news to me. I'm gonna have to read the article. I guess it was in the Sentinel.

Q. With all the Wisconsin players winning this year, do you feel any added pressure to win this week?
J.P. HAYES: Absolutely not. I'm happy for those guys. They're all playing great. I feel no more pressure to win this week than any other week, but it would be nice.

Q. Can you talk about how long it took for the publicity to sort of die down after the Q-School incident last year.
J.P. HAYES: It's your fault.

Q. Sorry about that. How long did it take to die down? Do you still hear comments in the gallery, people say, Thank you for doing what you did?
J.P. HAYES: Occasionally. It's died down quite a bit. Beginning of the year it was still kind of a hot subject for whatever reason. But it has died down.
You know, I think people still remember it a little bit. Occasionally I'll get somebody that says Hey, like what you did. It has definitely died down since the beginning of the year, end of last year.

Q. Were you surprised by their reaction?
J.P. HAYES: I was very surprised. I was blown away, to be honest with you. You know, it happens so often out here to some extent. You know, somebody will call a penalty on themselves, as you know. You see it ever other week at least.
Why that caught on like it did, I don't know. But it sure took off.

Q. It actually wound up helping you get into some events, right? I mean, you got some sponsorship exemptions out of that.
J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I received more than my share. Grateful for the ones that I received. Some tournaments that I wouldn't have gotten in, so that was nice.
And then here. I would've ended up getting in anyway, but to know that I'm gonna be playing is comforting. Yeah, it was nice. So on that point I should thank you, Gary.
But, no, when we talked that one day, I mean, that -- I hadn't told anybody about it. I guess you had received some calls and wanted to know what happened. It was the furthest thing from my mind that anybody would find that interesting at all. It was strange.

Q. How is your game coming into this tournament?
J.P. HAYES: Well, I would be lying if I said I was excited about the way I'm playing. You know, at times I feel like I'm close. I think I am close, but I think you're always close out here. You just have to be patient and ready for when things turn around.
But lately hasn't been a whole a lot to be excited about. I'm continuing to fight through it, and hopefully it'll change.

Q. Does it come in fits and starts for you? Is it just a matter of consistency?
J.P. HAYES: Yeah, that's one of the ingredients. You know, I don't know. I just don't feel like I have a whole a lot of enthusiasm when I'm on the golf course for whatever reason. I don't know.
I think it kind of shows in the way I play. I play kind of unenthusiastically. I hit some good shots and I think things are starting to, you know, come around, and I hit a couple bad shots.
You know, I'm just kind of out there right now. Struggling a little bit.

Q. As a follow up then, what would it take for you to get that spark and enthusiasm back? Just playing better? Is it a chicken or the egg thing?
J.P. HAYES: It is a little bit. I'm not sure if you get confidence from playing better or if you play better from, you know, shifting your confidence a little bit.
I don't know what it would take. I think it'll just happen. I've struggled for two years. I feel like I haven't played very well for two years. I'm not depressed about it. I'm probably in a better frame of mind personally that I've been in a long time.
But it is a bit frustrating. You know, I think it'll turn around. I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know if that light is better golf or something totally different. I don't know what it is.
As long as it's not death, I think I'll be okay. It's gonna be fine.

Q. Just kind of a weird quirk, there are three Appleton guys in the field this week. How well do you know Ryan and Brian and their games?
J.P. HAYES: They're a bit younger than I am. We played a fair amount of golf together growing up, when they were growing up and I already turned pro and stuff. It's cool to see them make it.
I was excited for Brian, because I think it was just last week that he got in. Ryan got in from the State Open. Yeah, it's great. Just another testament to the great junior programs we have throughout the state.
I think it's unusual for a tournament to have that many local people playing, so it's good for the tournament and good for the state.

End of FastScripts

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