Press conference - Jean Van de Velde

JULIUS MASON: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Jean Van de Velde joining us with a 2-under today in the first round of the 82nd PGA Championship.

Jean, if you wouldn't mind, some opening thoughts on your round today, then we will go to Q&A.

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Some opening thoughts was it is good to be in the red. That is the opening one.

I think the golf course was this morning was very good and the greens were pretty receptive and there was no wind. Just played great. It was -- if you could hit the right shot at the right time, you could take advantage on a few holes, and especially around here, you have to keep your cool and keep relaxed, I guess, because there is a lot that can happen. You can miss some fairways and then you have to chip it sideways. So, it is a demanding golf course.

JULIUS MASON: Thank you very much. Questions, folks.

Q. How many greens did you hit today, Jean?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I don't want to know. I don't know, good question. Not too many on the front. Should I count them? More or less. About four, five on the front; and I played better on the back nine. I think I missed a couple only on the back nine.

Q. When you come out with a score like this after scrambling around for most of the day, does that kind of set up your confidence for the rest of the week?

Jean van de Velde chips on the first hole. Allsport.

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, yes, I hit on the way -- I hit some great shots and I started to drive the ball better. Usually I am a pretty decent driver of the ball, and for the last two weeks, I have been struggling like hell. So, it is hard to stand over the ball and wondering where it is going to go.

So, you have to -- I guess you have to take what comes, and I made a few good choices. And when I missed my drive, I didn't get upset or whatever. I just swallowed the pill and went to the next shot. Right around here, if you miss a fairway, you have got to be lucky to have a lie, because nine times out of ten, the ball is going to sit down and you are going to have to chop it out.

Q. Your first year on the U.S. tour is coming to a close. How do you feel like it has been? Could you describe what you think has happened this year and has it been what you expected?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Yeah, it was pretty much what I expected. I thought it was going to be tough and it was tough.

First of all, the courses, it is hard to discover a golf course every week. It is hard to discover everything around the courses, where to fly, how to fly, where to stay and where to go; and so, that doesn't help.

As well, the level of play is very high. These guys are good. They are right; these guys are very good. So if you are not playing on your best and you make a few mistakes in the way you see the golf course, you are out of there. I was lucky to have a good one in Tucson, and that really kept me going for the year. That is all I can dream about is go out there, try to keep as good as I can, and try to see as many courses as I can and learn them for next year. Hopefully, I will be here next year.

Q. My question was about next year. How many do you plan to play over here and how many will you play in Europe?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, I cannot answer that question yet. I can tell you in October, but it is more likely that I am probably going to play a little more here than in Europe. But we will see. Decision is not taken yet.

Q. The girls start school in a couple of weeks. Will you spend the rest of the year back in Europe or will you be coming back over for a while?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I think I am going to be back here during October for three weeks, three or four weeks, I don't know yet. But is it true that I am going to spend all September back in Europe, at least five weeks; probably six.

So, you have to make choices, and unfortunate him, not a good teacher. So, kids have to go to school.

Q. Mark Brown told us that you asked him how many Tour events he plays and he told you he sells clothes for a living.

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: That is pretty depressing, isn't it? For us, I mean, when he said that to me, I asked him exactly, I said: "How often do you play?" He said never.

So looked at him, I thought, well, geez, may not play every day of the year, and he hits the ball ten times better than I did. What is he thinking about? I think he has got the talent to be here; there is no doubt about it. He strikes the ball so well and he is very athletic. He has got a good attitude. He is very relaxed around. He has got a good feel.

You know, what else do you want? I think he should reconsider what he is going to do in his next ten years. If I was him, I would.

Q. On another topic, you came in off the 18th green, and already Tiger is 4-under on the leaderboard. You guys ever get tired of just seeing him up there from the first day on?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, he is the best in the world. He is the best there is out there and he is on top of his game and he is not making any mistakes. He is as good as it gets.

No, I am not tired. Today, I will be passed him, I will be very happy.

Q. How do you like this golf course? What is your opinion of it? Is there a hole or a stretch of holes that you think may prove to be pivotal on the weekend?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I think there is too many holes that are difficult. It is an extremely good golf course. It is very demanding on the tee, and I would say that it requires every shot in the bag. You need to hit drives; you need to hit fades; you need to hit low; you need to hit high. You have to have good feel around the green, because some of the banks are shaped so you have got to run away.

And I think when I came here, I didn't know what to expect, but the first time I played it, I said that was a wonderful golf course. It gradually builds up, like, you know, you start off and then you have a couple of tough holes in the middle. And then 9 is pretty difficult then, from 11 onwards; if you are not on your game, you probably need a bit of oxygen coming out of 17. So it is very good.

Q. At this point, this is August Midwest weather. As a European, what kind of adjustments do you have to make under these conditions?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, I don't know. Probably -- I think you have to come over here early. You got to get used to the heat, and especially to the humidity.

It is not really the heat. People ask me how hot it is. The south of France, it gets around 100 for months, but the problem is here the humidity; it must be 100%. So it kind of -- it is hot to you; so, you kind of sweat a lot more and you have to drink more. Physically, it is very tough. So, I would say you have to pace your time.

And your effort, you can drain yourself pretty easily here if you play and practice too much on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Then by Saturday you are going to be on your knees, because the pressure; because you have got to be out there for six hours and it is draining you. I would say that you have to be careful about what you drink and what you eat and how you pace yourself. That would be the main adjustment.

Q. Your caddie at St. Andrews talked about how he was surprised at the way the American galleries received you when he came over here with you earlier in the summer. You know, kind of depicting you as some sort of popular cult hero. Can you address how what kind of energy you get from the American galleries and how they treat you now?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, I have got a very positive one. They are very encouraging. They are very friendly, very nice, and that makes me feel very good because I think sometimes people don't realize how tough it is to not turn your back, but to do something different.

When you -- whatever your age is, especially when you got a family, and when you have been around a place for as long as I have been in Europe, when you decide to move up here, it is like you start from zero again. Your friends are never here. You never go back on Sunday nights. You know none of the places. And then you have to, you know, probably rely on making a few friends out there on the Tour and be lucky and hang around with them.

And so from that standpoint, it is very tough. And the fact that the crowd is behind me and pulling for me and giving me all the support, that makes me feel really good; it makes -- it is something special.

Q. Do you feel the love from the galleries here more than you do in Europe?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I think the gallery here is a lot bigger there an it is in Europe. It is not that the people in Europe are not friendly, but when you have 50,000 people in Europe, here you probably will have 500,000; so it is just a question of numbers.

And I think on top of it, here people are probably -- are more -- they communicate more. They are more pretty straightforward. They talk to you. They yell. They say, "Hey, Jean, how are you," and "Hi, do we know each other?" That is the way it is here. It is good.

Over there, back in Europe they are a little bit more on the backfoot, like they probably are more shy or -- I don't know what the word would be, but it is a different culture.

But I like the reception here, there is no doubt about it. I don't like when there is too much water around, but --

Q. Other than putting up red numbers, what are the couple of keys in your game to be in contention all weekend long?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, I think I have -- I have to drive the ball well. I have to concentrate on putting the ball in play. And if I can do that, I think, you know -- I have got a pretty good feel of the course. For sure, it is depending how you are playing, but I feel comfortable around this golf course and I definitely feel good on the greens. So, if I can put the ball in play and if I can stick to my game plan, then I have to be patient and see what is going on; see what is going to happen. But I know that I can roll a putt; at any time I can make a putt. So, that is a good factor of confidence.

Q. I saw in the practice round or on the practice tee that you are looking at some new putters. Did you change putters or readjust your lie or loft on your putter before this week?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I changed putters. I use a putter -- still, I never compromise, but there is no offset to it. The shaft is inserted in the middle of the face and it goes straight down.

So I kind of felt like I needed a change because I was -- with all the offset, I wasn't committing to the putt very well. I was -- I didn't like the way I was striking it.

So, I took this putter two weeks ago and I tried a different one last week, but I didn't really like the look of it. I worked with the same line and same width of shot -- shaft insert in it, but a different type of head. I spent time putting on Monday and Tuesday, and, I don't know, find a pretty good one. It is working well.

Q. What are your other impressions of the United States as a place after travelling around?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: It is a big country, Mate. Huge country. The distances are incredible. It is -- how would I say that, when you play one week and you play, for example, Westchester and the week after, you go and play Pebble. You look at the time zone first, you go like, geez, man, what is going on here. You move three hours or whatever it is, and then you come back to another place. You say, "Can I drive there?" The guy says, "Yeah, if you take a week off you can probably drive over there, but you would be a week late for the golf tournament."

The distances are very big, but I like -- how would you say -- the changes in the countrysides as well, the variety in the landscaping. You go to the desert, you have a certain thing. Then you go to Denver last -- two weeks ago, and it is different. Then you go to Flint last week; is very different from here. That is pretty much -- I see that maybe because I am European, you move from one country to another and you see all the differences, but it is a lot smaller in terms of distances.

But I like it. You got it all here. You can surf. You can -- only problem is that if you want to ski -- where I grew up, I can wake up in the morning at 6 o'clock, drive an hour, ski for three hours, go in my car, drive for an hour, surf for an hour or two, and have a shower and then play 18 holes of golf. Here, it doesn't happen. You have to jump in a jet if you want to do that. But, it is very pretty, beautiful country.

JULIUS MASON: Would you mind going over your card?

JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Parred the 1st from the middle of the trees on the left side and made up-and-down from pin-high left.

2nd, I tried to cut a 3-wood on the green. I only had 50 yards or 40 yards to the flag and I hit a shocker. I hit it straight over the top and it flew straight in the water on the left, which wasn't very impressive; so made 6. Dropped the ball hit it on the green, 2-putted.

4, I hit 2-iron and a wedge to eight foot, made it.

On 7, I drove it down the right side and I hit driver, 6-iron, intermediate wedge to nine feet, made it.

Then I made a birdie on 16. I hit driver and an 8-iron to four feet. So made it.

Then I missed 17 green with an 8-iron in my hand and pulled it left in the bunker; couldn't make up-and-down.

18, I hit a driver and a 4-iron to pretty much pin-high on the right -- on the right side, and I 2-putted it from, whatever, 70 feet.

JULIUS MASON: Very good. Thank you. Anymore questions? Jean Van de Velde, thank you very much.

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