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July 13, 2012
LAKE ORION, MICHIGAN
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. We're pleased to have Corey Pavin with us. Corey is the 1995 U.S. Open Champion. Posted a score of 1 under 69, 4 under for the championship, one off the lead.
You seemed to play better, at least statistically, today than you did yesterday. What made the difference in the scoring?
COREY PAVIN: I guess that would be putting. Actually, I hit the ball better today, and I putted fine. I had some putts that were difficult, some 10, 12 footers that were just hard putts to make. We get a lot of those out here.
But I played well. I was very pleased with the way I played. Tee to green, I played better today than I did yesterday. Putter was the little bit of difference today.
THE MODERATOR: Any difference in the consistency and how the course is playing today?
COREY PAVIN: It's playing beautifully. I think it seemed very much like it did yesterday. It might have been a touch softer this morning just because it's the morning, and it didn't have a chance to dry up like it did yesterday afternoon.
Course is playing very nicely. If you keep the driver on the fairway, you can go ahead and attack the course a little bit, but still you're going to end up with some very difficult putts even with the good shots on these greens.
THE MODERATOR: Let's open it up for questions.
Q. Corey, with the tough break on 5 yesterday, how much were you able to put that out of your head and just start over today?
COREY PAVIN: I'm not sure what you're referring to. You know, to me, it's no big deal. It's something that happened, and it's the rules of golf. That's the way it is. It was very easy to see on replay that the ball moved a fraction, just a fraction.
What I saw when I was out there is I thought it oscillated. It didn't, and when I saw it, it's a two‑stroke penalty, and that's it. Didn't change anything of what I did yesterday. I played well yesterday. I like the way I played yesterday. It's just something that happened, and that's the game of golf.
So to me, it was over the second I saw the tape. It was done. So it was time to get ready for today.
Q. Corey, does liking a course make a difference to you in terms of how to set something up? In terms of scoring and how you look at it?
COREY PAVIN: I think it's always fun to be on a golf course you like, that you feel comfortable on. It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to play well. I've had courses where I love to play, and I like the way they look, and I haven't had much success. But it is more comfortable being on a golf course that you just feel good on.
Q. On that note, is this a course that you feel comfortable on?
COREY PAVIN: It is. I like the golf course. It's a golf course that fits my eye pretty well. There's always going to be a couple holes that are kind of tricky for comfort. But I really like the way it's set up. I like the greens. I like the green complexes a lot. I like that they have a lot of slope on them.
You really have to think out there. You've got to hit good iron shots. If you miss the green, you've got to miss them in the right place so you can get it up and down. That's a typical U.S. Open setup.
Q. Corey, how are you?
COREY PAVIN: Good. How have you been?
Q. Very well, thank you. There's been a good bit of firing and falling back today. Guys that reached 3, 4 and 5, in one case 7, and then kind of falter. What do you attribute to? Is it the conditions, the weather, the golf course, what?
COREY PAVIN: It's a hard golf course. I think typically or historically, what you see at USGA events and most major championships is you see fairly good scores the first round or second round, and then it starts getting more and more difficult. I'm not really sure exactly why, but maybe the course just plays harder and harder. It gets set up and gets a little firmer. Typically, that's what happens.
The guy shoots 4 or 5 under the first round, and it's hard to follow it up again on a golf course like this. If you shoot even or something like that, it's still a very good score. So it's hard to continue on that pace.
But it is a hard golf course. It's tricky. There's some places you don't want to be out there, and if you hit an iron shot in a bad spot, you're going to make a bogey. If you try to be a hero, you're going to make a double bogey. So you've got to be careful out there.
Q. You know all about U.S. Open setups and whatnot. You wouldn't be surprised if the greens got a little bit firmer, drier over the weekend?
COREY PAVIN: Well, they can. I think there is a little rain in the forecast. This is a very tricky course, even with receptive greens. It's not real easy. It would be easier if the greens were soft. Obviously, to get the greens rock hard I don't think would be a great idea because the greens aren't that big. They do have a lot of contours. But firm greens are a very good thing. Again, it makes you think and play different types of shots when the greens are like that.
So personally, I hope that they stay as firm or get a little bit firmer.
THE MODERATOR: Will you go into the weekend preparing a particular aspect of your game, or will you rest up?
COREY PAVIN: No, I'll go work. After this, I'll go out and hit a few more balls, hit the putting green a little bit. I didn't like a couple things I did with my putter today, but I think I know what it is. I won't be out there very long. It's pretty hot.
And it's kind of a hard course to walk. There's a lot of ups and downs out there. So I don't want to overdo it and get tired. Still have two more days. I want to make sure that I'm physically ready and ready to go.
Q. How many drivers did you hit today?
COREY PAVIN: How many drivers did I hit today? I've got to remember all the holes and everything I did. Let's see. Probably easier to remember how many holes I didn't hit driver. One, two, three. Go around the golf course here. I think three holes I did not drive on, I believe. So I guess that would mean 11 that I hit driver on. I'm pretty sure.
If I change my answer, I'll let you know.
THE MODERATOR: Corey, thanks very much. Good luck this weekend.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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