U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2008

Robert Karlsson

Q. You've got an 8:40 flight, did you not think you would be playing this late today?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I changed it. Actually there is one later on to Paris, but I hope I get the one at 8:45.

Q. Was it an earlier flight originally?

ROBERT KARLSSON: 8:45 to Munich. Yeah.

Q. How did the course hold up over the week?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It's been great. Really really good. I really, really appreciated the way the course has been presented.

I mean it's been -- I mean I have no comments, I don't think they could have done anything any better. It was in good condition, I think the way it was set up tee to green with the mix of tees, mix of pin positions, it's been fantastic, it's really really good.

Q. How much does that change your mindset on 14 when it's 450 yesterday and today it's 277?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Well, but it's just a bit of a smelly little 277 though. It's not really -- I had a bit of a problem in the traps this week. It's been so soft. So for me it hasn't been -- it was definitely no go and I'm pretty good with the wedges so I managed to get my birdie there anyway.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ROBERT KARLSSON: 17 it was a 3-wood and 8-iron to 20 feet and a great putt.

I haven't holed much today. All of a sudden I knocked one in. It was great. 18 was a driver and a 5-wood just over the back and chipped it up to 12 feet. It was a bit of a smelly pitch, but I knocked it in so it was a great finish.

Q. What was behind your good play?

ROBERT KARLSSON: The swing is in good condition. I'm hitting the ball well. And I also managed to stay comfortable on the golf course even when things are not going so well. Even yesterday when things were going pretty rotten on the front nine I managed to pull it together on the back nine and come out with a respectable score at the end of the day so it was great.

Q. Any affect of playing with?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Obviously every time you play with him it's so much things going on around you. It's not him, because he's a gentleman and he's an -- I'd love to play with him every day. But for us who don't do that, it's a different atmosphere to play and be around him and everything that comes with it.

Q. What's your thoughts on what they did with 14 today?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It's good. Good. Mix it up, keep doing that sort of thing. It tests us strategy-wise and that. I'm all for it. The only thing that I watch out for is obviously pace of play, but it worked fine.

Q. What was your thought process on when you got to the tee there?

ROBERT KARLSSON: My caddie told me before when we played there on the practice rounds that you can't, I can't hit driver because if I land on the green I'm in the back. If I hit a good 3-wood you can also be in the back. So it's a bit of a risky shot. And I have struggled out of the sand this week so it's definitely no go for me and I'm also a good wedge player and I managed to get 3 anyway.

Q. A top-5 finish here for sure, played well at Augusta, you're playing the Majors very well. Two very different types of golf course, two very different types of tournaments really?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I'm so happy with that. Because I have never done necessarily any good in this tournament before and now I played really well in two Majors in a row and I'm really proud of what I've achieved. So just keep building from here.

Q. Has it been a bit of an odyssey when you think about this tournament?

ROBERT KARLSSON: What do you mean an odyssey?

Q. The situation with Tiger yesterday, to come up and then to come back on a Sunday, play well, finish with such a wonderful birdie on 18?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It's good. It's been such a funny week. I played with Tim Clark and Craig Parry, which is two of the straightest players and quite short off the tee. And then I was sort of hitting last every time the two first days. And then Tiger, he's hitting first all the time and I was back with Jimenez, who is a bit of a straight guy, but not very long, so I'm hitting last again. And from playing with Tiger to Jimenez who I played with three or four times already this year, so it's been, it's been opposites every round.

Q. The thing that keeps coming up with you is you got to keep it fun out there. Is that hard to do?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It has been fun this week. I've only been in that thick stuff a couple times, so it's been fun. But when I was in it today I was like, oh, I can see now how really a lot of guys are shooting 8 to 10 to 20-over. If you stay out of that you'll be quite all right.

Q. Gain any confidence from that back nine, kind of gathering yourself back yesterday?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Definitely. If I would have shot another 38, 39 back nine yesterday I would have been off two hours earlier and I made my flight definitely.

Q. What changed at the time?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I talked to my caddie he's like, okay, let's start again, play well. And I knocked in that long putt there on 11 and then he got it going so we sort of, I at least fed a bit off him. So it was great.

Q. You've been in contention a lot lately, I guess you should start scheduling later flights?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Well, I can always change them if that's a problem.