A miracle occurred in the second round. Azuma Yano gave it his all in the US Open - the second world major! Participating in the US open, the second world major of the season, Team PRGR's Azuma Yano was the lone Japanese player to make the cut in the tournament. Despite a trying schedule in which the tournament was repeatedly suspended due to rain and stretched over five days of competition, Yano finished in a tie for 27th. On the global stage of the US Open, a tournament regarded as being at the peak of international competition, Yano strongly made his presence known to the golf community. Upon returning to Japan, Yano was immediately thrust back into competition without the benefit of a practice round in the Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic. In the midst of this hurried schedule, Yano willingly granted us an interview.

-- The US Open was the first time you were able to make the cut at a major. And at the end of the second round, you were in a tie for 6th only four shots off the lead. You really put up a strong showing. Can you start by telling us how you felt finishing the US Open?

Yano
I had a great time. That expresses everything. After I arrived in the States, my golf game and my swing got better, and in this second round I was able to post a great score of 65. In the third round, I hammered out a poor 77 and went down in the standings, but that was also a good experience for me.。

-- Were there differences between the US Open and the other world major, the British Open, that you participated in last year?

Yano
The first thing that surprised me was that the position of the tee boxes was different every day. For example, on one day, a par 3 hole was 230 yards and you were shooting into the wind. On the next day, however, I was confused because the position of the tee box had moved up and the distance to the pin had changed to 140 yards. That was a 90 yard difference on the same hole.
Also, the distance was definitely tough. If you weren’t able to make the ball carry for 260 yards with the driver, you would end up in the bushes or a bunker just before the fairway. I felt that long hitters had an advantage. The bad weather also affected the course and it was hard for balls to run much, so that’s why my average distance with the driver was 250 yards (laughs). Sometimes even if you used a driver with the tee shot and hit a good second shot with a 3 wood, you wouldn’t reach the green. There were quite a few holes like that.
I was also surprised at how much the galleries were behind the American players. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and David Duval were especially popular, and the support they got was just amazing.
For the third round, I was in the same group as Mike Weir, and he’s also a popular player, so the cheering before his shots was amazing. Even if I hit a good shot, there were times when there was no applause at all. If you put it in soccer terms, I was definitely the away team.

-- For the third round, you were in the group just before the last group.

Yano
Actually, on the first hole, I had a birdie chance from eight metres. The cheering from the gallery around the green was really loud, and my hands were shaking when I took the putt.

-- At the Japan PGA Championship the week before playing in the US Open, you ended up playing 36 holes on the last day and then travelling to the States. It must have been really hard for your body to deal with that.

Yano
It wasn’t that hard. Actually, I was really in control of my shot at the Japan PGA Championship, so I headed into the tournament with a positive frame of mind thinking I could put that to use. In the actual qualifying rounds of the US Open, my shot improved and my putting touch really came together. In the first and second round, my tee shots were perfect. I only missed the fairway once. The thick fescue grass around the fairway is actually more dangerous than the fairway bunkers. If you hit your ball in there, you won't find it again. And even if you do find your ball, you can’t easily hit it out. I know this because, in the third round, my ball actually got trapped in the fescue grass and I missed it once trying to hit it out.

-- In the second round, with putts that could go either way distance-wise, it seemed like you sank absolutely all of them. Your Silver Blade centre shaft putter was on fire.

Yano
A miracle occurred in the second round. I only missed the green once. I was playing perfect golf. When I finished the 14th hole, I was at six under par with no bogeys. I knew the course record was 64, so I started thinking that I could set a new course record if I shaved one more stroke off my score. And just as I started thinking that, I went to the next hole and put up a bogey at the 15th. But that actually put me at ease. My nerves were settled and I was able to finish with a 65.
The course was the type where you won’t post a good score unless you’re doing everything well from tee shots to approach shots to putting. Because I was in a tie for sixth before the final round, I was seriously thinking at the time that I had a chance to win.
Looking back, though, my main impression is that scoring a 65 in the second round was really remarkable.

-- In the end, though, you ended up lower than 15th place, which would have given you an automatic qualification for next year’s US Open.

Yano
It was disappointing. For a short while I had a chance to win, and then I had a chance to finish in the top ten or somewhere in the top fifteen. But I did gain a lot of confidence in my ability to compete at a high level.

-- Could you tell us what your hopes are for the third major - the British Open?

Yano
I just want to post a result that I can be pleased with. That says it all.

-- You came back and played in the Japan tour and next week you’ll immediately be going to the UK to play in the Scottish Open and the British Open. That’s a really tough schedule.

Yano
The schedule is hard, but knowing that I’m going to gain more new experiences wins out over that. I’ll be giving it my all, so I hope that everyone will be supporting me again even more so than during the US Open.

-- We know that you’ll do great. With your tough schedule, be sure to take care of yourself.