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THE BARCLAYS

August 27, 2011

Matt Kuchar

EDISON, NEW JERSEY

JOHN BUSH: Matt, if you can't successfully defend, I guess finishing second is not too bad. Just comment on-great week.
MATT KUCHAR: It was a great week. I think the TOUR definitely did the right thing in putting this to a 54 hole event, teeing us off early today. I thought we were going to be playing in a lot of rain. It turned out to be a good day for golf. Just a few small showers out there. It was an exciting front nine.
Dustin and I each had it going on the front side and made for some exciting golf and then bummer not to defend. I was right there with a shot at it and to come up short, it's frustrating I had a couple not so good shots coming in.
I had the two basic 3-putts and then for me, that seems just very uncharacteristic to have those 3-putts. I felt like just giving shots away. Never pleased with giving shots away. You understand a few bad shots here and there but for me, 3-putts are kind of out of the order.

Q. Did it almost feel that at some point if you made par, you were losing ground?
MATT KUCHAR: The front side, there were definitely holes with opportunities to go low to, make birdies. But I think there was just a couple par 5s that you felt like you had to make birdie there. I think one was No. 6 maybe, is 6 a par 5? 5. No. 5. That was one. No. 4 was another one. It was kind of a hole you kind of were looking at birdie. So those two holes I think you were really looking and expecting birdies.
Other than that, there were opportunities, and the way Dustin was playing, it felt like if I didn't make some birdies, I was going to get way behind.

Q. You mentioned you were not sure what you would be playing through today. Were you coming in today prepared for stoppages, taking the rain suit on, taking the rain suit off type of thing?
MATT KUCHAR: I had all the gear with me. I had all the preparations with me. So yeah, it was -- I think yesterday's forecast was pretty bad for today. And then it got better and better as I kind of continued to check into this morning, the forecast looked like it was getting better.
Was definitely glad to see that forecast. The stoppages are no fun. I think we all wanted to get this thing completed and be able to hopefully get out of here and get out of here safely.

Q. Your thoughts on Dustin, he's always been looked at as one of the premiere players. Talk about his talent and potential and what kind of player he is?
MATT KUCHAR: Guys like Dustin Johnson can make golf seem really easy. I don't know if I've seen a guy drive the ball a whole lot better than Dustin Johnson. For his length, it seems like he really goes off line. He might have missed a number of fairways but they weren't ever big misses. They were like, that's a good-looking drive. You're just not sure how far it's going to carry and if it will make the rough or not make the rough. It's impressive.
If you could have any one attribute as a golfer, you would want to kind of drive it like Dustin Johnson. You would want to hit it that far and that accurate. From there, golf gets a whole lot easier. I think it's hard to miss greens. Even if you're not making putts, you probably are not going to make a whole lot of bogeys when you just drive it 320 yards down the middle of the fairway. You may not light it up if the putter is not working that day but it's hard to play really bad golf.

Q. Can you talk about 12 and specifically if you had any -- secondly what kind of a third shot that is.
MATT KUCHAR: My lie on the first cut was just not clean enough and the ball was on a downslope sitting down, ball above my feet. Vijay was right next to me, I think he smashed a 3-wood right to the front. Just wasn't a smart shot. I wasn't that upset. Kind of took the decision out of my mind and knew that my wedges are really good this week, I was perfectly fine to lay up.
My ball got a big bounce in the fairway and I hit it up on a downslope, and it just was one of those awkward numbers. I had 103 yards to the hole off this downslope and I could hit my 57-degree 100 to 105 -- and on a downslope I might be able to get a little more I figured off that downslope, see if I can get a little more.
But going to the next wedge, the 52-degree wedge, it was just a shot that would come out so low that it would be hard for me to pitch it on top. You had to get kind of up the next tier. So the way the pin was sitting and my lie and in between club, was just awkward.
Kind of frustrating to get you one of those numbers where you think you've played it smart and get a bad number. I hit an average shot that turned out to be a poor shot and then my mentality is to try to stay aggressive. Putts like that -- I know Sunday tendencies are come up a little short and gave it a little extra and hit it six feet by. Normally feel pretty good about those comebackers, but just didn't break left coming down. I did it on back-to-back holes and knocked a long putt from the fringe way by, and very frustrating because I feel like that's the strong part of my game.

Q. A couple guys went low early, but you guys separated yourself; did you get a sense it was you and DJ and that was it?
MATT KUCHAR: I did. I got that feeling. I know that behind us, it was kind of another little gap in scores to start the day. There wasn't a whole bunch at 12 or 11. Didn't seem like there were guys bunched up at 12 or 11. Seemed like a small group and a gap and another small group. Seemed like after that front side it was kind of Dustin and I. Got exciting. Had birdie opportunities on 10 and 11 and made the one on 11 to pull square and just had the two bogeys on 12 and 13.
I still felt like I wasn't out of it. You know, I had good chances and I just -- with the incoming holes, I didn't put myself in many places to make birdie. On 15 I put myself in a good place to make birdie and I thought I made the putt. I started walking it in and it caught the topside of the hole and lipped-out.
And then 16, Dustin drives it in the rough and I'm thinking it's not a whole I can really get there in two, but with a decent drive, I should have just a chip shot for my third and just barely catch the rough and the struggle from there. Driving it in the rough on certain holes is just really penalizing and that was one of those holes that was pretty penalizing.

Q. After the way last year's Playoffs finished up, is second such a bad thing here in this round?
MATT KUCHAR: First is a heck of a lot better, I know that. (Laughter).
I'm certainly excited to have another shot. A goal of mine last year after finishing No. 1 on the Money List, finishing No. 1 in stroke average, tough to kind of put new goals out there. Finished second in the FedExCup, and I said, well, I know I can go higher than that, it's only one spot but it is doable.
So that's been a goal, to try to jump up that one more spot. Now I've put myself in position where a few more good weeks and I've got THE TOUR Championship to try to get in that No. 1 spot for the FedExCup. So that was one of the few kind of goals that I could say was out there, I had a chance to improve in that FedExCup positioning.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about your opposite number. DJ has now got five wins in his 20s, which is the most. Just sort of comment on his game and his upside and then from your standpoint what it's like playing against a guy that's turning par 4s into par 3s and driving them into green side bunkers?
MATT KUCHAR: I said earlier, if you could have anything as a golfer, if you could have any kind of trait, it would be driving it as long and as accurately as he does. Just he can make golf look so easy.
And I think when you drive it that long and that straight, it's hard to play bad golf. I mean, it's just when you have wedges in your hand all day, if you're not hitting them good, you're not going to miss many greens and if you're not putting good, you're still going to be making pars.
So it's quite an attribute. He can make golf look really easy.
JOHN BUSH: Mat, we appreciate your time. Good playing this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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