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NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INVITATIONALAugust 2, 2009Derek LamelyCOLUMBUS, OHIO JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome Derek Lamely into our interview room, Derek with a course-record-tying 6-under par 65 today to get into a playoff and win the playoff over amateur Rickie Fowler. Derek, we asked earlier if it felt a little bit surreal to come from that far off the pace and wait around for a little bit and then win in a playoff. Talk about the emotions going through you all day today. DEREK LAMELY: The best part of the day was when we got to the course the wind was already blowing so I thought I had a chance, which is probably the best. So I knew I had to go out and play well obviously. I went out and hit a lot of really good golf shots. I drove it better today than I have all week, and I took advantage of it. JOE CHEMYCZ: Starting the day being eight back, your thoughts about chasing down the leaders. DEREK LAMELY: With the way the conditions were, holding the lead, I assumed 10 would be a good number finishing the day. I had hoped. And my goal was to get to 10. Then I got to 10 and I saw the lead was 11, so I thought, I've got to keep making birdies. I hit it close on 16, made birdie, and I didn't know at the time, but it was -- I guess Rickie had made a birdie somewhere else, and he got it to 12. So I parred the last two, nearly made birdie on 18, and I had to sit around and wait. Q. How was that for you? DEREK LAMELY: It was great. I mean, I played well. I knew nobody could catch me from the professionals. I knew I had first-place money which was going to be huge for me, trying to not only get status locked up for next year but hopefully get onto the big TOUR. Q. Your thoughts of the playoff, the first hole you both had chances, similar chances. DEREK LAMELY: I was probably a little fortunate there. I thought I hit an okay putt, it just broke more than Gary and I had thought. And then he saw it, which I was like, well, that's not good. So I figured he had a probably better than 50/50 chance of making it. Q. And the second hole playoff, you drew sort of an ugly lie long and left of the green in the heavy rough. DEREK LAMELY: Right. It was better than the plugged lie I saw on the front of the green, though. I knew I had a chance. I just kind of had to hit it softly just onto the green and let it trickle down to the hole, and it came out just like I wanted, and it went down there about three feet, and I made that. Q. When that grass was coming over the back of your ball like that, was it tough getting the club underneath it to hit it soft like you wanted to hit it, or not, behind 13? DEREK LAMELY: Yeah, it had a little bit of cushion underneath it, but you just kind of had to keep the club moving and just hope that you judged it right and it will come out the way you think it will. Q. From just looking at your record on the computer, you haven't had a chance to play in a lot of events this year, and I know that you got into this one by top-twenty-fiving in Omaha last week. DEREK LAMELY: Right. The money would have got me in, as well. I would have got in either way, but yeah, actually I had plans to go to Dallas this week, and then I got in, and everything changed, and here we are. Q. What were you going to do to Dallas for? DEREK LAMELY: I was going to go to the Callaway plant actually and go do some work with my wedges, ironically enough. Q. Including the one you hit to three feet on 13? DEREK LAMELY: Well, not that one necessarily, but I was just going to try to get some more wedges and try and fill in some gaps and stuff. Q. Were you watching the board today to figure out what everyone else was doing? DEREK LAMELY: You know, I really wasn't until 15. I mean, there really wasn't -- there was only a couple boards to look at. Front nine I made the turn at 2-under which I knew was pretty good. I knew I had moved up. And then I made great pars at 10 and 11, really kept my round going. And then when I birdied 12, 14, 15, 16 -- actually when I birdied 12, 14, 15, I looked at the board on 15, and I knew I was right there. I just had to kind of -- I either had to have a little bit of help or keep pushing, and I kind of did a little bit of both. Q. It says in your bio that you were born in Illinois, but did I hear you say outside that you grew up in Texas? DEREK LAMELY: I grew up in Lake Conroe, just north of Houston. Q. So you were okay with playing in the wind when you got up this morning? DEREK LAMELY: Oh, God, Florida is windy all winter. Yeah, this is like a normal day at home, really. This really wasn't too big of a deal. Q. And you just moved to Florida after turning pro? DEREK LAMELY: No, I've been down there for ten years. I played my last three years of college golf down there, and I've been down there ever since. Q. And since college where have you been playing? DEREK LAMELY: Geez, I've plays everywhere. I've played the Tarheel Tour, I've played the Hooters Tour, I've played the Dakotas Tour, I've played a lot of them. Q. And this was the first time you've had status, this year, on the Nationwide Tour? DEREK LAMELY: Right. Missed out of second stage a couple too many times. Q. Can you talk about the experience in Puerto Rico and Monday qualifying for that and what that did? You shared the lead or held the lead after the first round? DEREK LAMELY: I shared the lead. I'm not sure, shared or held. I can't remember. It's been -- there's been a lot of tournaments in between. Q. How was that for you? I mean, what did that teach you about your game and where you stood for this season? DEREK LAMELY: I don't know about so much for this season. I think it helped me for today. It really kept me -- I got ahead of myself a couple too many times when I played there, mainly on Saturday. It really kind of helped me in perspective of what I needed to keep doing. Yeah, because I kind of really struggled on Saturday out there. The wind was blowing, it was blowing harder than here, but I just let things get away from me, more mentally than my game. And it really helped me with how to keep myself under control of what I need to keep doing, just keep hitting good shots, keep hitting good putts, just try and do the right things as opposed to thinking about things that I can't control. Q. When Rickie had the putt on 18 in regulation to win it, where were you? Were you watching it? DEREK LAMELY: I was on the range, and I was listening to a radio once I heard he had a 15-footer. JOE CHEMYCZ: Take us through the birdie putts. You made six consecutive pars to start the day, then your first birdie was at 7. DEREK LAMELY: I was aggressive, I hit driver down there. I had 70 yards to the hole, hit a good wedge shot in there to about five feet, just like a right-edge putt, made it right in the middle. 9, I hit sand wedge to about two feet, made that one. Like I said, I made great pars on 10 and 11. 12, I hit 6-iron in for my second shot to about 20, 25 feet, two-putted. 14, I hit 6-iron to about five feet, made that one. 15, I hit 8-iron to about three or four feet, made that one. 16, I hit sand wedge to about a foot and a half, two feet. Q. You were dialed in. DEREK LAMELY: I think the longest putt I made all week -- I made one outside of eight feet. I made a 25-footer on 8 yesterday. JOE CHEMYCZ: When did you realize that you had a real shot at winning? DEREK LAMELY: After I birdied 15 and I looked at the board. I knew I still had to make at least another birdie, maybe two. I was trying to see if I could win it outright, but it didn't quite work out that well. It's never that easy. Q. What did you think after you parred the -- obviously you know where you started out the day, how far behind you were, and you parred the first six holes. Was winning the last thing on your mind or one of the last things on your mind? DEREK LAMELY: No, I mean, there's still a lot of holes that you can really do well on, and there's a lot of holes that you can really mess up. I had already seen that the leaders had come back a little bit, so in my mind I was telling myself that I had already moved up a couple strokes. So I was just trying to be as positive as I could and kind of keep trying to motivate myself to keep making birdies, and then I kind of -- the pars on 10 and 11 were almost better than the birdies because they really kept my round going. Q. And I know we asked you outside before, how long were those putts on 10 and 11? DEREK LAMELY: 10 was about a foot. I hit a great chip. And 11, I hit a good bunker shot but I still had an eight-footer down the hill. Q. So now instead of going to Dallas you're just going to keep on going and playing out the string? DEREK LAMELY: I'm going to take next week off. I've already got next week off, and after that I probably won't miss many. Maybe one. Q. And you're going to leave the wedges alone? DEREK LAMELY: No (laughing). The wedges and the short game can always get better. Q. So the wedge you used behind the green there -- DEREK LAMELY: It's staying in the bag. Q. Was it a sand wedge? DEREK LAMELY: Yeah, the weak sand wedge. JOE CHEMYCZ: When does this sink in for you? DEREK LAMELY: Hopefully at the end of the year when I get my regular card. That would be ideal. JOE CHEMYCZ: Does this change -- obviously it changes some things for you, but what changes most for you? I don't know, schedule, perspective, goals. Goal still is the same. Goal still is to get to the big TOUR, the same goal I've had forever. I just helped myself significantly today. Q. I didn't look up your age. How old are you? DEREK LAMELY: I just turned 29. Q. When you're grinding on those Tours you mentioned, Tarheel and Dakotas, and you haven't yet made it to the Nationwide, how do you keep yourself going? You kept seeing yourself getting better? DEREK LAMELY: Yeah, I saw myself get better every year. It was frustrating not to get out of second stage every year. Q. How many times did you miss? DEREK LAMELY: Second stage, I think three. You know, it's tough when you see yourself getting better every year and then you kind of maybe miss by a couple at second stage or not playing well at second stage. It does get frustrating. But you can't -- in my case this has been a dream of mine for so long that one week can't define you. I knew I kept getting better, so as long as I was getting better, I said I'd keep playing. So that was my deal. I told myself as long as I was getting better, I'll keep going. Q. Is there any one part of your game that maybe in the last year or so has meant the difference to you getting on the Nationwide and now winning on the Nationwide? DEREK LAMELY: God, everything has gotten better. I don't think I can put it all on just one thing. My ball-striking has gotten better, my chipping has gotten -- that's probably the one I would -- if there is one, I would say that one. My chipping has gotten significantly better. Q. Is 13 an example of that? DEREK LAMELY: Yes. A year ago I might not have got it on the green (laughing). I might have got it on the green, but it definitely wouldn't have been three feet. Q. So a year ago standing over that ball -- DEREK LAMELY: I'm not even going to tell you what my thoughts would have been. Q. Would your throat have been a little tighter than it was today? Do you have more confidence in yourself? DEREK LAMELY: Much more confidence. My thought process would have been on the other end of the spectrum. Q. And is that just practice that has made the difference? DEREK LAMELY: You know, practice, technique, a little bit of both. I think it's -- obviously seeing good results makes you think better and makes you more confident and everything. It's a little bit of everything. Q. And was there anybody -- did Jim or anybody else sell you on the fact that that part of the short game makes a lot more difference in your score maybe than you thought before? DEREK LAMELY: No one sold it on me. I finally just said this is where I'm weakest and this is what I have to do. Not what I need to do, it's what I have to do. So it was pretty much my focus went straight to there. Q. I just want to clarify one thing. If you wouldn't have gotten in this tournament, you would have gone to Dallas this past week during this tournament? DEREK LAMELY: During this week, yes. Q. Not this coming week? DEREK LAMELY: No, this week. Q. Because in the original entry list they had you committed as an alternate, so I didn't know if you were going to come here as an alternate or not. DEREK LAMELY: I was like 15th or 16th alternate, so I didn't even think I'd get in. I figured my odds of getting in were very slim, so I figured I was going to go to Dallas, take care of some things that I really thought would help me for the rest of the year, and I figured it would be a great way for me to have a week off, relax, take care of some things I'd love to take care of, and I'd be able to play the rest of the year out. I thought it would only be good things for me. That was my whole intent. Q. Because the alternates went down so far, Schultz was actually behind you on the alternate list. DEREK LAMELY: So I guess I was meant to be here, I guess. JOE CHEMYCZ: Derek, thank you. End of FastScripts |
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