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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2010

Nick Watney

KOHLER, WISCONSIN

KELLY ELBIN: Nick Watney, ladies and gentlemen, in with a round of 68 in the second round of the 92nd PGA Championship. Nick is 7-under, one shot behind the leader, Matt Kuchar, at this moment.
Must feel pretty good playing in major championships this year; do you feel about good your chances going into this weekend?
NICK WATNEY: Yes, very excited about the weekend and the way I've played so far. Try not to get too far ahead of myself and just enjoy the process.
KELLY ELBIN: Five birdies and a bogey today. Could you go through the birdies and bogeys, please, in terms of clubs hit and distances on putts?
NICK WATNEY: Yes, started on No. 10. I hit a lob-wedge about 15 feet and holed it.
No. 11, two shots over the back of the green into a bunker and made about a 5-footer for birdie.
No. 13, I hit a sand wedge from 107, I believe, to about 12 feet and made that.
No. 4 was definitely my best hole of the day. I hit a hybrid from about 220 and made a 30-footer.
And then No. 6, the tee was up, so I hit a 3-wood just left of the green and chipped to about two feet.

Q. The golf course today, how did it compare, with all of the fog and so forth, how did it compare condition-wise for you from yesterday?
NICK WATNEY: I would say the conditions are similar until the wind picked up later in the afternoon. The golf course is a bit soft from the rain that we got early in the week.
Overall, I mean, the rough is deep and thick, so it's a good test.
KELLY ELBIN: You hit 27 of 36 greens in regulation for the first two rounds, has that been a strength of yours, the iron play?
NICK WATNEY: Yeah, I've been striking the ball well all year and this week I've started to putt well, so it's a good combination.

Q. You played well last week at the Bridgestone through three rounds, and you even had a great start to your fourth round. As you get into the weekend here at this major championship, what do you feel is going to be the key to keeping it together and staying close to the lead, if not in that lead?
NICK WATNEY: I think it will come down to sticking to my process and not getting out of my routine mentally.
Obviously it's a major championship. It's one of the four biggest events of the year, but I need to try to slow things down and play each shot and see where I end up.
KELLY ELBIN: Nick, you had not made the cut in either PGA Championship you've played in before. Did you have any sense at all that you would be in this kind of position this year midway through?
NICK WATNEY: Well, I've been playing well coming in the last, probably, month. So I was excited to try to break that streak, and hopefully I can keep playing well for the next few days.

Q. I just wanted to ask you what it's like for you as a player; does it feel like you've finished -- that you're at the halfway point of a tournament, not physically, but the fact that there are guys that still have another hour probably before they tee off?
NICK WATNEY: Yeah, it's definitely different than normal. I was actually talking with my caddie this afternoon, and we were talking about something that happened this morning, but we both thought it was yesterday.
So it's been a long day, and you know, I'm not sure when I'm going to tee off or when they are going to finish the second round even. So it's a bit strange when usually the cut is being made around this time. Like I said, it's been a long day, so I'll have no trouble sleeping tonight and wake up tomorrow and see where we're at.

Q. In a more general sense, do you feel like you're capable of winning this major, and if so, why?
NICK WATNEY: (Smiling). Well, yeah, I feel like I'm definitely capable of winning.
And why? I mean, I think this year I've played well in a couple of the other majors. I'm doing a much better job of mentally preparing for rounds.
I feel like I've played with -- I've played with major champions. I've played with guys that have won many, many tournaments, and I've been trying to learn from them, what makes them great and what makes them champions.
So hopefully I can apply some of that, and like I said, we'll see where I end up.
KELLY ELBIN: Nick, you're currently 16th on The Ryder Cup points list for the American Team, is that part of your thinking to try to play your way on to the team this week?
NICK WATNEY: Well, I definitely want to make the team, and I'd like to not leave any chance to it. But that's kind of like, you know, I view that the same as going into tomorrow; thinking about winning is not going to help me win the tournament. I need to think about each individual shot.
So the Ryder Cup would be a great honor to play, a great thrill. I definitely want to play on the team. But at this point I need to just play and let that take care of itself.

Q. Even though we don't have the full second round in, there's not major winners at the top of that leaderboard; it's people like yourselves. Not so much the intimidation, but you are more than likely going to be paired with people who are in the same boat as you are, not Tiger or Mickelson or someone like that. Is that easier? Is it more like a TOUR event because you're playing with guys that you ordinarily would play with?
NICK WATNEY: I guess. I suppose you could say that. I'd like to think as a competitor that it doesn't matter who I'm playing with, even if it's Tiger or Phil. They are here, so in order to win, you are going to have to beat them.
And it would be pretty cool to win a major playing with one of those guys. At the same time, you know what, at this point, to be in second place through two rounds, I don't care who I'll play with in the third round.

Q. Risking a really stupid question, so bear with me. In terms of learning to control your emotions and keeping everything in check, do you feel like you learned more out of Torrey the year you won, or more the year you went with Phil in the final round at Doral, just because it seemed like there was so much more energy around that that last day?
NICK WATNEY: Yeah, I think Doral would be -- I learned more at Doral, just because I came up short and it was a World Golf Championships event. I saw what it took. I saw what Phil did to win. So I think I learned more at Doral.
That having been said, I prefer the outcome of San Diego, obviously.
KELLY ELBIN: Winning beats everything. Questions for Nick Watney?

Q. You mentioned earlier in the week that you've got your whole family coming out here from Dixon, California. As we get into this off-time now, you finish your round, you've completed your second round. What are you guys going to do to just relax and take your mind off the game just for fun?
NICK WATNEY: I don't think we're going to do much. I think we're all pretty tired. So it will probably just be -- have a good dinner and retire pretty early. I don't think anything too exciting.
KELLY ELBIN: Nick Watney, one shot out of the lead at the PGA Championship. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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