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BUICK INVITATIONAL

January 29, 2006

Nathan Green

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

JOHN BUSH: We thank Nathan Green, runner up at the 2006 Buick Invitational, for sitting down with us today. Nathan, just your second start as a member of the PGA TOUR, and your first playoff. Talk about the week first. I know you're disappointed in the runner up finish, but to put yourself in that kind of position in your second event, just kind of give us a run down of your week.

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I wasn't playing great coming into the week, just at the practice round I got off to a bad I didn't know what club I was playing.

I wasn't expecting a great deal. I played really well the first day, that got me settled in. Second day, I was just trying to shoot somewhere around par. I felt pretty comfortable after the second round. I mean, I was playing well so that sort of helped me.

Coming into today I was a little bit uncomfortable with it all. I wasn't expecting to play with this many good players this early in the season. I don't know, the crowds are unbelievable, just a totally different experience for me, well out of the comfort zone.

I felt pretty comfortable coming into the back nine. I started getting a bit shaky and scrambling the last few holes, and probably the two best shots I hit all week on the last, just unfortunately couldn't finish off in the playoff.

I had an absolute ball this week. I don't know what else to tell you.

JOHN BUSH: You mentioned playing with all these great players this early in the year. I'm not sure how much leaderboard watching you did, but at one point with six holes to go, there were eight players tied for the lead at 9 under. Talk about how much you watched the board and where you thought you were throughout the day.

NATHAN GREEN: I checked the board really after about nine holes, ten holes, and I saw that no one had really made a move. 10 under was leading at the time and I was 9. It's just such a tough course, there's no sort of gimme pars out there.

I was just trying to sort of everything I hit I tried to have some sort of purpose in. I just didn't want to let an opportunity like that get away because you don't get in that position every week. I was happy with the way I played and I enjoyed everything about the week. It was great.

JOHN BUSH: You were the one that separated that group of eight with your eagle on 13. Walk us through that and then your holes coming down the stretch.

NATHAN GREEN: I struggled with the driver a little bit today. I hit it in the bunker there and laid up to a pretty comfortable yardage. It looked good off the club. It spun around the hole a little bit and I didn't know it had gone in and I expected it to be sitting on the lip or something. That got the heart racing.

I don't know, I was trying not to make a fool of myself the last four holes.

I made a really good putt on 16. That's probably the best putt I've hit all week. I got a little excited on 17 and didn't really commit to my shot there and hit it in the right rough and made a mess of that hole.

I saw on 18 that Olazabal had got it to 10. I wanted to put it in the fairway, give myself a chance, and my caddie said, Mate, you've got to have a crack at it, and I did and hit a really good shot in there. The second putt, I hit it and just hoped it was going somewhere near the hole, and it went in. That was one of the biggest rushes you could have.

Q. Your caddie's name?

NATHAN GREEN: Caddie's name is Shannon.

Q. What was the other one, the club on 13?

NATHAN GREEN: I think I was about 76 to the pin.

Q. What was the club?

NATHAN GREEN: Lob wedge.

Q. Did you feel differently when you had that two shot lead?

NATHAN GREEN: Not really. Well, I thought I was only maybe 1 ahead at that time. As I said, I putted really tough the two holes after that. That was just the main goal, to try to play two solid holes after that. I don't know, I played 14 well and 15 just sort of I don't know, just messed up on the green there. I wasn't really feeling all that comfortable with the greens today. I was a bit nervous and that sort of thing.

I don't know, I sort of just knew there was a lot of players around about 9, 10, 11. I didn't look too much at the leaderboard until the last hole when I realized what I had to do.

Q. The second shot of the playoff (inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I wasn't trying to hit it in the stands there (laughter). I hit it toward the right side of the green, and I thought it was pretty good until I got up there. It's really hard to stop that putt within eight feet of the hole. The second shot, I hit it at the pin, and if anything I thought I was going to hit it in the left bunker or long, which would have been fine. It would have been easy to sort of get up and down from there than if I had bailed out right side of the green. I just pulled it off the club, trying to give it a bit too much.

I took a bad play at the drop. I probably should have dropped it as close as I could to the fence and let it bounce back toward me and then get to place the ball. That was just a rookie mistake, I suppose.

I ended up with a pretty funky lie. I didn't know whether to clip it or play a bunker shot, and I went with the latter and it didn't quite come off. I thought Tiger was probably going to make his putt there. I wanted to give myself a bit of a chance at it, but it just didn't come off.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I suppose the whole last day I thought I played half decent, and if I could keep putting well then there was a chance to win. I don't know, it was easier than last night. I was pretty much shitting myself for the last six holes out there. My head was racing and I was just trying to do things and give myself every chance I could at trying to win it. I just didn't want to lose it, that was the main thing. I just wanted to try to get in the clubhouse.

Q. What did your caddie say to you out there?

NATHAN GREEN: He didn't have to say much. I think his pulse had quickened. I know he's not an excitable kind of guy. It's great to have someone like that on the bag. He's always sort of telling jokes, and they're pretty bad, but he's just a real good bloke to be around in general. We have a good time out there and I have a crack at him every now and then. It's sort of like he can keep me level headed, he knows my game pretty well, and he knows what to say at the right time and when not to say anything.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Not really, not at all. We kept our same routine, picked the right lines, that sort of thing. We just tried to have business as usual. It's not good to have a caddie who gets excited in that situation, and he didn't. He just kept trying to get the right numbers and helped me pull the right club. He did a great job today. I probably couldn't have gotten there without him.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Well, it was sort of sitting what I thought was okay and I thought I could just try and pop it out. I had to get it just over the fringe. I don't know, it obviously didn't carry the way I wanted it to. It was probably a bit of rust and that sort of thing. I don't know, I sort of wanted to get it over and done with as quick as I could.

I don't know, I felt like I had a really good shot at it, even with that chip. I haven't hit a chip like that all week, so it was a bit of a surprise. I don't know, I just wish I could get those two shots back over again.

Q. You said yesterday that if someone saw you with Tiger Woods (inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Pretty much all the way back there, there was people cheering and that sort of thing. I sort of can't prepare myself for something like that to happen. I tried to just put a good swing on it. I didn't want to think about anything else, I was just trying to play golf as good as I could. It just didn't even feel like it was happening. I probably was a little disappointed with the way it did end up. I wasn't able to get by Tiger.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, it's just been a big rush these last sort of three weeks. It was really unexpected. Our practice was going terrible over the New Year's period back home, and I came over not expecting much. I said the goal was to make some money before the re rank so I could play some tournaments. To come over and sort of achieve what I've achieved is I couldn't have scripted it any better than that. I've sort of overachieved on what ability I think I have. I'm just going to try and keep the same attitude up for the rest of the year, and if things go well, they go well. It's the best job in the world, so I'm just going to try and enjoy it while I'm here.

JOHN BUSH: Thank you, Nathan. Good luck the rest of the year.

End of FastScripts.

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