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NORTHERN TRUST OPENFebruary 15, 2014Charlie BeljanPACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA LAURA NEAL: Charlie, familiar territory this time last year, looks kind of similar. Talk to us about your round today and heading into tomorrow trying to get it done for the Northern Trust Open title. CHARLIE BELJAN: It's a good feeling being in here right now compared to last time. Played a solid three rounds of golf. Need to make a few more putts, but giving myself plenty of opportunities, be in the final group tomorrow for the second straight year. So I can't complain too much about that. I love Riviera. I love walking around this golf course. It's just beautiful. And I think it's I've got a great opportunity tomorrow to further my career. LAURA NEAL: Is this exactly what you would have written coming into this week? CHARLIE BELJAN: Yeah, if you would have told me I'd be sitting here after three days, my agent, Andy Dawson, after the first day of interviews, he said he'd like to see three more. We've knocked out two, and I hope I have one more tomorrow. Q. There seems to be some issues on the 12th hole, you kind of struggled. Can you talk us through why that maybe? CHARLIE BELJAN: I think the 12th hole is the most difficult hole out here. I think you've got to hit a perfect drive. There's out‑of‑bounds left, which is the only place we really see out‑of‑bounds on the golf course, and there's big trees on the right. And then just after you do hit a good drive, you still have a tough approach shot with a mid‑iron in.  So if you can make four pars, you're definitely picking up ground on the field. Q. Have you got the eating disorder and the anxiety attacks under control now? CHARLIE BELJAN: I would say I can at least handle them. The eating disorder, I still can't stand food. I'm waiting for somebody to put out a pill I can swallow and that will take care of it. I still face a little anxiety. Thursday and Friday, I had a little bit, but now I know what it is and I know how to take care of it. I haven't had any episodes not even close to Disney a few years ago. Q. Eating bananas on the course? CHARLIE BELJAN: Lots of bananas, yeah, probably a lot of junk food, too, that I shouldn't be eating, but it tastes good. Q. You pretty much called it yesterday. You said, "I don't always make the weekend but when I do, I do really, really well." What explain that is all‑or‑nothing results? CHARLIE BELJAN: I just don't want to lose. I get out here and on the weekend, that's the time to make birdies; the time to move up the leaderboard; the time to get invited to the media room; the time to get the fans yelling for you, and I really thrive off that. So I guess, yeah, every time I move up that board on the weekend, I just enjoy playing the weekends, and I'm really going to enjoy 18 holes of golf tomorrow. Q. Last we saw you in here, you were dealing with the disappointment of losing in a playoff here. What did you learn from that experience, and how do you think that will suit you moving forward tomorrow? CHARLIE BELJAN: Well, I learned to never hit driver off No. 10. I've laid up with 5‑iron every day. I've made two pars and a birdie, so I'm way ahead of the curve. I actually really enjoy playing No. 10 now. It's much easier from the fairway with a wedge in your hand than it is hitting drivers. But I learned that that's golf, that's how it goes. You win some, you lose some, you get a few breaks, and you give a few breaks, and you know, I still finished second on the PGA TOUR. Unfortunately I lost out on that bid to go to Augusta, but I've got a great chance to do it tomorrow. Q. Your group as a whole today played very well. Talk about feeding off each other maybe and the dynamic of you three playing so well. CHARLIE BELJAN: It was great.  We came out of the gates and played the first hole 4‑under and then Will and Brian put on a putting display and I was getting frustrated through the first six, seven, eight holes here. Here these guys are 3‑, 4‑, 5‑under, but I knew if I just stayed patient, Riviera, the final stretch, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and then 18, you just make some pars and maybe a birdie or two. And some guys are going to slip up, so I knew if I just stayed patient, at the end of the day, I would still be in striking distance for tomorrow. Q. Little incidents such as what's happened to you a year and a half ago or so, you go to each tournament and everybody asks you about the same thing, I assume. CHARLIE BELJAN: Yeah. Q. Does that bother you? Some people just shake it off, and others, really it disturbs them. CHARLIE BELJAN: It doesn't bother me. I hope I can run into the right person that has the ultimate fix so I don't have to deal with it. But you know, that was something that I went through, something that millions and millions of Americans go through; I shed a little light on it. It's no big deal. I still get asked every week out here; and I'm shocked about the 2002 U.S. Junior that I won and that's pretty cool. But hopefully after tomorrow, they will be asking me different questions. Q. You said getting you through that in Florida that day, was a big help from your wife? Is she still the one pushing you to go out there and do it? Is she the psychological strength behind this? CHARLIE BELJAN: Yeah, and my son, I have my 17‑month‑old son now, so he's turned out to be a lot of fun. That's why I go do it. And now, for a while there, golf to be a job and now I've got it back to loving what I do instead of making it a job, and I think that that's been a big difference. But yeah, she's the one that when I start to freak out, she says, "You're fine, quit being a diva, let's just go."   That's the truth. But yeah, she does a great job with that. Q. When was golf a job and not fun? CHARLIE BELJAN: It's been a job ever since I got out here on TOUR, really. As funny as it sounds, I enjoyed playing mini‑tours and my buddies and all that. I got out here I didn't really know anybody. There's a lot of things going on out here, a lot of distractions and a lot of things I've had to learn to deal with. Now I think I've kind of got a grasp on them and now I've gotten back to just loving playing golf and not focusing so much on what the result is at the end of the day. Q. Was that part of the deal going into that Florida tournament; it was a job more than fun? CHARLIE BELJAN: That was life or death. I needed to make‑‑ I needed to finish like solo third to keep my job that year at that tournament, and ended up winning. It worked out well there. Q. But if you had not finished third, would you have lost your card? CHARLIE BELJAN: Yeah. Yeah. So that was playing for your job. Q. You mentioned the conditions that you were afflicted with, the things that lots of people around the country go to; have you had people that come up to you and say, hey, I'm going through things like that, I really appreciate that you can let me know that I'm not alone and that you have a platform to do that. CHARLIE BELJAN: Every week people express to me how grateful they are that I shed a little light on it. My mailbox at home, which is kind of scary, still fills up with letters from people that have sent them to know, just saying how neat it was and how thankful and they struggle with it, and I hope that just one day, somebody can find the answer how to take care of it. LAURA NEAL: Thank you and good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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