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U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 1, 2010

Olin Browne

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Q. Good round?
OLIN BROWNE: Thank you, played great today. My driver went AWOL on the last two holes, but I managed to scrape around some pars coming in. It was unfortunate I didn't get any putts to drop in. Bogey-free on Sunday at the U.S. Open.

Q. 65 is a good score. It's out there, then?
OLIN BROWNE: Well, it is. I think the greens held up great over the week. I think they could have gotten out of hand. They were brutal on Thursday afternoon. Today they were manageable. You had to hit really good shots, but if you did you were able to control your ball somewhat on the greens. And I think the inversion layer, and this kind of mixed clouds and sun today probably helped that out.
But I thought the Championship Committee did a great job setting up this golf course. It doesn't play long. The pins were tough; they were brutal. It was a fun championship.

Q. You got it going early. Any thought through your head saying maybe I could apply some pressure?
OLIN BROWNE: I wanted to make as many birdies as I could, and when I turned in 30, I thought here we go. And then I just couldn't get any putts to go in on the last nine. I hit a lot of really good putts, obviously. I made a couple of great saves on 16 and 18. But once I looked up in the middle of the round and saw that Bernhard was at 8-under, there's no hope.
I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to shoot 29 on the back after shooting 30 on the front. It's pretty much out of reach. It's between Bernhard and Freddie. I'm glad I strung together three nice rounds. I wish I would have played better the first day, so I could have been more relevant today, but it's definitely positive for me, something to go forward the rest of the season. We've got half our season left, so really a positive.

Q. Are you coming back up?
OLIN BROWNE: Absolutely.

Q. What are your thoughts on the tournament in general?
OLIN BROWNE: I was here in '98 and really enjoyed it then. I think it's beautiful up here, Pacific Northwest. I'm an outdoor kind of person. I live in South Florida; we do everything outside. I love the Pacific Northwest, the trees are magnificent and the wildlife. I love being a part of this, and being out here. It's great. I look forward to coming back for the Jeld-Wen and the Boeing back-to-back, maybe there's a fishing excursion somewhere in between.
I was thinking about bringing my fly rod out, and if somebody was putting out on 9, throwing some of those trout out there, but not to be.

Q. When you play a regular major, a senior major, is this venue better for both or better suited for one or the other?
OLIN BROWNE: Absolutely. I think that the committee did what's appropriate for this tournament. The greens were really firm. There's a premium on accuracy off the tee. If you get it in the fairway you have a shot at some pins, but you can't go at every single flag stick.
On the other hand, they cut the rough to a level where you could try to hit some shots out of it. I remember here in '98 when it was wet and cool and the rough was waist deep, you couldn't play out of it. And this course is so narrow, I mean, you've got to hit the squiggle shot, it's challenging. Absolutely, there's some room on some holes to back it up a little bit, on a couple of holes.
But some of the longer holes, you know, for example on Thursday and Friday I hit 3-wood off No. 6 because it just pinches in so much your tee shot has to be, with the fairways firm, absolutely perfect to stay in the fairways.
On a hole like 12 is another one. I hit 3-wood and 4-iron into that pin. You can't shove it up there too far but the pitch takes it down to the left and you have to hit a quacker around the tree with a hole that's guarded by a bunker.
This course is well thought out and defensed by strategic bunkers, and the pins are in difficult locations. Yes, I think it stands out.

Q. What do you say about hole No. 2? It's going to be pivotal in deciding this?
OLIN BROWNE: Yeah, I made a nice birdie today. I hit the green and got it up and down, putted it up and down from the back fringe. It's a really short par-5 by today's standards, but it's a challenging one. You better hit a good shot into that green. You can't challenge that pin at all, because if your ball comes up short or right, you're going in the water, you force it to the left and you have to deal with that big hump. Even though it's a short hole it's a good hole.

Q. What's your reaction to four possible sub-par rounds by Bernhard?
OLIN BROWNE: He's going to hoist the trophy. He's playing at a super high level right now. He traveled all the way from Scotland. I was there, you know, took it to everybody over there and came over here and he's obviously on all cylinders right now.
He manages himself so well, he's so relentless out on the golf course. He's as tough as nails. And you don't win two Masters by accident and don't win the British Open by accident, looks like he's in pretty good shape today, too.

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