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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2011

Yong-Eun Yang

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Q. You had a front row seat really to an exceptional and historic round of golf. I know you were trying to compete yourself, but just kind of talk about what it was like to be out there trying to compete, maybe trying to contend for the lead but also realizing that you're seeing history in the making.
Y.E. YANG: Yeah, I played here with Rory for two days, and my impression is that he hasn't primed yet. There's still a lot more for him to grow on. He's got a great basis where most players would dream or want for, and his composure, his play, his strength, his strategy and his focus are probably -- I think he's still growing, and it's just scary to think about it.

Q. Padraig Harrington said yesterday that he thought that Rory could be the one to break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors. He's younger than Jack was before Jack would be his first by four months. Do you think it's realistic that he could win that many major championships with the game that you've observed?
Y.E. YANG: 18 wins, let alone 18 majors, is never an easy task. It's easy to talk about it, but it's not easy at all. And while he is thriving to get better and probably surpass Jack's record, it's going to take a lot of time for Rory, as well. And while he's doing that, there are going to be more Rory McIlroys coming out to the scene, and he's going to be in a position, like I was today, probably in the next few years. So it's going to be a daunting task for him, but I'll never say never.

Q. If a fortune teller before the tournament were to say that you'd shoot 6-under par and that you'd be ten strokes off the lead at a U.S. Open, what would you have thought?
Y.E. YANG: I wouldn't comment on what I thought about before, but afterwards I'd probably go back to that fortune teller quite a few times. (Laughter.)

Q. Are you happy, though, with the way -- reflecting on the whole tournament, you can't help what Rory does but you can help what you do. Are you happy with the way you played?
Y.E. YANG: I thought it would be about minus 8, minus 5 to minus 8, that would be the winning score. So I tried to target my own game towards that number. I achieved that. Unfortunately there was some guy who shot the hell out of it today, or for a whole week. But overall there could be so many regrets, the two bogeys in the last few holes, and the overall -- I had a lot of opportunities where I could have made birdies. But at the same time I've missed the last two cuts in the last two U.S. Opens, and this is my third U.S. Open. So coming in third, I mean, I think there is a lot more positives than there are negatives.

Q. At what point did you realize Rory wasn't going to falter and that it was kind of out of reach?
Y.E. YANG: After playing nine holes yesterday, I sort of realized that this guy is uber-talented, and it's a course that really fits Rory's game, I think. He has a bit of a draw, and it's a course where it accepts a lot of draws, and there's a lot of doglegs to the left. Considering the whole setup of the course and how it's designed, it probably would be very advantageous towards a player like Rory. And the fact that he had so much composure, not just because he hit it so hard and he had good strength and composure on the greens, but overall the way he was progressing hole by hole -- the first two days I didn't really know how he played, I just saw the results. But on the third day after nine holes, I finally realized that unless I play 110 percent and I have a lot of fortune on my way, I'd never catch him.

Q. Is it composure that you think is his greatest strength or what do you think is his greatest strength?
Y.E. YANG: I think he has a beautiful swing, great tempo. I've been trying to fix my swing on my own for the past year and a half now -- well, past year now, so I know what a good swing looks like. It's hard for me to emulate it, but I definitely know how a good swing looks like, and he has a wonderful swing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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