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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2011

Luke Donald

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, better today. Obviously I think the course is set up where you can make a good score. I mean, there were some real, say, feeder pins; the ball is collecting toward the hole. But if you obviously miss it, you have a tricky two-putt.
But they moved up some tees on the front nine. Greens are obviously still receptive. Certainly you could make a score out there. I played a little bit better today, did the things that help you to score. I was getting up-and-down a few times and keeping the momentum going.
Not quite the tournament I wanted, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Q. Was the sort of added pressure maybe you put on yourself adding up through every tournament?
LUKE DONALD: Not necessarily added pressure on myself, but I think the last six or seven weeks has taken a lot out of me. I've certainly been in contention a lot, played a lot of golf in different countries, different time zones, and I probably haven't got my energy levels quite back up to where I would have liked them to be at the beginning of this week. But no excuses, I just didn't play well enough.

Q. You had that Monday morning where you played here with Pat and then you still were in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon. Would that still have been the case if you had not been No. 1, that was set up before?
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it was.

Q. I was going to ask about Rory, assuming he holds on and all that. What impact will that have on golf?
LUKE DONALD: Hopefully a great one. He's obviously -- as I've said before, I think he has probably the most talent I've ever seen from a golfer. Lovely to watch him play, such a fluid motion, and he hits it far. He's got a great attitude on and off the golf course, and I really hope he goes out and extends his lead and see if he can get to 20-under.

Q. When is the first time you saw him play? Do you have a memory?
LUKE DONALD: I played with him first at Dunhill Links in St. Andrews, and he impressed me there. He played very well. I think that was the time he needed to finish top 10 or something to get his card on the European Tour. He finished third. Yeah, just a lovely game, no fear, and goes out there and plays to his strengths.

Q. If Rory wins this by 15 (inaudible)?
LUKE DONALD: Yes and no. If Rory goes on to win, this is only his third win. He's not quite dominating the game yet, but certainly will have dominated this week if he goes on and plays a very good round. You know, a win like that would do wonders for his self-esteem, just like the win did for me in Arizona.
Yeah, he'll be a tough force to reckon with, I think, if he goes on and wins. He's going to be high on confidence, and he's already got the game to beat anyone.

Q. Do you think he'll be able to remain this sort of fun-loving kid, young guy?
LUKE DONALD: I hope so. He comes from a background where his parents gave up a lot for him to do what he's doing, and I think he still knows where he came from and appreciates that. He's very good with the fans, and it's very good for the game.

Q. What was he like at the Ryder Cup? Was he somebody who stayed in the background and soaked things up, or did he --
LUKE DONALD: I think he soaked them up, yeah, more of a background guy. But he spoke up when he felt he needed to. But he was only 21 at that point, and being his first Ryder Cup, I think he was trying to soak it up more than anything.

Q. Are you getting some time off now?
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I'm not playing until the Scottish, so a couple weeks off. My wife and I will take a little vacation in Italy for six days, so I'll put my feet up.

Q. Do you think you made any mistakes coming into this, playing too much or too much travel?
LUKE DONALD: It's hard when you play both Tours to try and get a good balance of finding those rest periods. You know, next year maybe it would be nice to try and find more two-week periods where you take off. Yeah, I played four in a row. But it's very hard to juggle when you're playing both Tours. I guess the focus should be around the majors, but there were some tournaments there I just felt like I couldn't miss leading up to it.

Q. When you see someone doing this, is it inspiring or is it demoralizing?
LUKE DONALD: It's both. You know, certainly I think if I had my best golf, I could get close to that. I don't know; what he's doing is pretty special. In a way it's inspiring just because as a golfer it's nice to know you have that full control that he's had over the last three days. It doesn't happen very often, and it's a good feeling to have. I hope he still has it today. The course is really set up well, but it's also set up where someone could make a charge, so he needs to go out and continue to play like he is.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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