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PUERTO RICO OPEN PRESENTED BY BANCO POPULAR

March 15, 2010

Kris Blanks

RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO

MARK STEVENS: I'd like to welcome Kris Blanks to the interview room. Kris, thank you for taking some time to come up. Great battle down to the end. Came up a couple strokes short. If you will, just take us through the final round. Derek obviously posted a score pretty early and you were able to look at it through the day, so just kind of take us through what you were thinking through the end.
KRIS BLANKS: Sure. Obviously with all the weather delays we've had, it created a unique situation this final round, final round and a half, however you look at it.
But I was talking to my caddie today, that it's actually a perfect scenario for somebody who's never won to win because to do what Derek did, you come out of the pack and you didn't have to repair, just kind of went back out in the same group. You didn't even know kind of how you were. I know we were playing the front side of our final round, and I thought I made the turn leading, didn't know that I was -- I had a foot-and-a-half putt for birdie on 9 to pull ahead of the guys I was playing with, and I thought I would be one ahead going to the back side, and I was two back. I was two or three back.
So it was different. You don't really -- not to take anything away from the way Derek played. It was great for him to be able to go out and post something and not have to -- he was kind of like the carrier we were all trying to chase and just couldn't catch him.
MARK STEVENS: You came into this week, we talked earlier in the week about you really needing to have a strong finish. This is your best finish on TOUR early in your second season. Last year was your rookie year. Just kind of talk a little bit about -- obviously second place is coming up a little short, but it's still a great finish and might be a springboard to other things.
KRIS BLANKS: Sure. The category I'm in, the Q-School and Nationwide category, we reshuffle after seven events and I think it's after The Master's. It's like every five events. So it's based off money that you've won, and I played poorly on the West Coast again this year and got reshuffled out of all the tournaments in Florida. And this is going to be my only start of the next five series of tournaments. And so I mean I just needed to play good this week.
And to me it's like Q-School. I just had to play good. If I didn't play good, I wasn't going to play in anything in the next reshuffle. This is probably going to be the only start I had. And I don't know why I was able to play good. I found something on the range on Tuesday, and that felt pretty good, and was able to carry that, I hit it great for all four rounds and worked on my putting last week with some friends back home. And my wife, we were sitting around feeling sorry about not getting into the Honda, had a few too many drinks and we were working on some stuff in the living room. And once you find out what's working, I hope that I can continue on next week in Tampa.
I don't know if it's going to get me in Bay Hill or not, but that would be great to play there. There's so many things I haven't been able to play that I'm just dying to get in. Last year I didn't get in anything till San Antonio. And then this year kind of looks good, but playing good this week is going to really give me a jump start to be able to get in a lot more tournaments here in the next couple months.
MARK STEVENS: Have a couple questions?

Q. (Indiscernible).
KRIS BLANKS: The two bogeys I made today? Did I make two? I thought I made one.
Well, I mean regardless, I bogey made on 14, I hit -- I played the hole horrible last year. And this year, I don't know why, I actually thought I was all right and got down there and realized that I -- all day I had been hitting a nice little cut out there and trying to hit the same shot, and it was back into the wind and I wanted to -- again, I'm trying to chase Derek. I'm trying to afford myself birdie opportunities, so instead of just trying to maybe get one in play there and have a 5- or 6-iron in my hand, I thought if I really hit one good, I could get down there and have a 7-iron, which is what I hit on 12, and I hit good and what I ended up stiffing again, after I had to take my drop out of the hazard.
So I just tried to get real aggressive with it and just kind of turned it over a little bit, which was kind of shocking. I don't ever really get many hooks, especially off the tee, but that was just an unfortunate break. I made two bogeys all week. I can't be too disappointed.

Q. How do you keep your emotions in check (indiscernible).
KRIS BLANKS: The best thing for me is to have my wife and kids here this week, which worked out great because when we got delayed and rained out, it was the funniest thing, I've never had a round get canceled and I got sunburned.
You know, we got rained out the first day and by the time they called, they kept pushing it back, pushing it back, pushing it back, and my tee time was the last of the morning wave, so when they did start back, I had two more hours before I would even need to be at the golf course from the time they started. So I was just hanging with my family for most of the time, and then they had to go back yesterday. So when we got done playing, I was able to get them on their shuttle and they got home all right.
But that helped me out a lot, to be able to hang out with them at the pool and kind of relax and take it easy. It's so nice having them out there. And then there's other times when you're like I wish they weren't out there, but it's much more enjoyable when they can be out there.

Q. (Indiscernible).
KRIS BLANKS: Yeah, I do. Actually, because it's such an important week, I tried something maybe I should try to do more often, tried to just be real serious. I had to have my songs on every morning, just trying to stay focused on what I was doing, went to three or four I don't want to say motivational songs, just songs that kind of get you hyped up and get you ready to get out there and just kind of tried to keep singing them in my head all day. I'm a big music fan. I feel bad because I saw some friends of mine and I wasn't really talking to them.

Q. (Indiscernible).
KRIS BLANKS: Well, it's funny, you know, because last year I played so bad on the West Coast, and this is the first cut I made last year. I hadn't made a cut up till this point, and I knew I liked the golf course. That was the one thing knowing -- I was really disappointed last week when I saw that I got reshuffled out of Honda because last year the number I was would have gotten in.
Thought I might have had a chance at Transitions, but I ended up playing my way in there, which is great. But to me the way this is all set up good structure in my category. The one thing that -- and this is obviously what we have to play by, but like I said, this was going to be my only start for this probably five-week period, and I just -- the only thing I knew is I knew I loved the golf course. I knew it was a nice relaxing place to come, and so I just tried to just be ready.
I worked hard last week, you know, on my putting, feel like I'd made some strides and obviously putted really good this week. I've always hit it really good. Putting has been something that I've struggled with, and I made a couple really nice par putts today, and I hit a lot -- even when I missed them, they looked like they might go in.
MARK STEVENS: Thanks a lot, Kris, and good luck next week. Hopefully this carries on.

End of FastScripts

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