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KIWI CHALLENGE

November 11, 2009

Sean O'Hair

CAPE KIDNAPPERS, NEW ZEALAND

Q. Tell us about the back nine.
SEAN O'HAIR: We were talking about the practice round yesterday it was completely pointless because of the conditions. We were hitting drives 400 yards on a few holes. And then 15, I think our drives went about 230, 240 against the wind. And it just was one of those days where downwind all you're trying to do is hit the green and you're hitting some weird clubs against the wind.
You're hitting 5-irons from 140 yards. So very strange day weather-wise. Started out beautiful, and the first, I'd say, five or six holes were really nice then it started kind of getting a little bit windy around 8, 7, 8, and then from there it just got worse.

Q. How crazy was it, were there any that were --
SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah, I think I hit a driver on 10, it went about 400 and the driver on 16 went about 400. Excuse me, 15 is, what, 650 par 5. And I hit driver 5-iron over the green. So you're not going to hear that too much. And it's not just the wind, it's the firmness of the golf course. The greens are firm. The fairways are firm.
So basically you just need to get your driver or whatever club airborne and it's just going to go miles. So it's tough to judge the distance. And some of the crosswinds, it's hard to judge how far to play it right or left, left to right. And it's just one of those days where I think you just try and keep it in play and miss it on the right side of the greens. And that's the nice thing about this course is that it allows you, gives you a spot to miss it.
It's not like the whole green's surrounded by trouble or the whole fairway, either side, is trouble. It gives you one side to err on and I think as long as you're aware of that especially in conditions like today, you're better off.

Q. You had a birdie on No. 9. Caught you by surprise?
SEAN O'HAIR: Absolutely.

Q. Then you made a birdie on 15. You were making some putts today. Were you seeing it pretty well?
SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah. You know I think that's the one thing that I haven't felt quite comfortable with recently. Like last week I think I struggled with it. But my stroke is really good. It's just a matter of seeing the greens. I think here I definitely saw it nicely today. My speed control was fairly good and my green reads were decent.
So I gave myself some nice looks at it, I think. I set it up well off the tee and off my approach shots and gave myself some reasonable birdie opportunities. And actually I made -- most of my putts were longer putts. I made a bomb on the par 5, was it fifth, off the green, and made about a 20-footer on the hole before that, and almost made a putt on 10 from 60 feet or so. And so it's nice to feel comfortable on the greens.

Q. If you would, take me through the ten minutes between you making an 8-footer on 15, the birdie you had to walk away from a couple times, and then getting to the 16th tee, right on points of the ocean, and have your cap go off over a cliff.
SEAN O'HAIR: I think we all knew that we were going to have a hard time finishing, at least I felt that way on 15 green, because the ball kept trying to, it was oscillating. I was scared it was going to move. So I kept backing off and remark the ball and it was nice to make that birdie and then we're all standing on the tee and I hit my drive.
And all of a sudden, after I hit my drive, it probably dropped 15 degrees in about ten seconds. It was the oddest thing I've seen. And all of a sudden it started getting cold and there went my hat.
It actually blew in the ocean, and then on the fairway I think we all hit our second shots in the middle of the fairway, my ball was moving, not moving, but oscillating, trying to move.
And I just looked at Mark and said there's no way, if we hit these balls on the green, it's not going to stay. I think it was a good call on his part. It's a shame. Would have been nice to get the round in, but we'll be okay tomorrow.

Q. I was going to say, how much difference will it make to you guys tomorrow playing three more holes before getting into the remaining --
SEAN O'HAIR: It's supposed to be a tough day tomorrow. I think the wind is supposed to be like it was 8 and 9, which was difficult.
I think we have some challenging holes coming up. Obviously we were all playing our third shots into a par 4. I think Camilo is the closest one, and he's, what, 70 yards, 80 yards. So we're going to struggle to make pars there. And if the wind's in the same direction, 18's going to play tough.
So I don't think it's going to hurt or help us finishing off the round. I think it's just going to be a long, long day. It's going to be one of those days where it's going to be very grueling and a lot of patience and just going to have to, I guess, be positive about the conditions.

Q. I'm just thinking the one thing that you didn't do, and Camilo didn't do, that one hole that Anthony had a double, Hunter had a double. You managed to stay away from that. You made a bunch of long putts for par that kept you going.
SEAN O'HAIR: Sure, that's a huge thing in this game. You see it with Tiger. You see it with Phil, and they're the best at it. They get away with a lot more than most of us do, because their short games are just phenomenal. And I'll tell you what, it's like having an insurance policy.
I mean, you can't hit every shot perfect. You can't hit every tee shot perfect. And when you're making those 10-, 15-foot par putts, that kind of levels things a little bit to where it takes pressure off the ball-striking, but which therefore helps you hit the ball better.
So I think that's definitely a huge thing. That's one thing I notice in my game when I'm playing well. I'm making those putts for par.

Q. How much did that wind take, now that you've finished playing, do you feel like you've gone 36?
SEAN O'HAIR: No. It was a long day, especially hanging around. If we would have been done, if we could finished the round, we would have been done an hour and a half, two hours ago.
The waiting around is tiring. But, no, I'm fine. I think that walk is tough. It's a tough walking course. You can't go from the tee to the fairway. It's basically you're taking a path around because there's a lot of valleys and gullies that you can't walk across.
So it's obviously very up and down. But we can do that. It's a long walk, because you just can't go straight with the ball, which is the case at most courses.
But I think at this place you sacrifice that to get the scenery out here, you know what I mean. So it's either one thing or the other.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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