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June 27, 2014
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
Q. How do you feel about your round?
BILLY HORSCHEL: To shoot 3-under with no bogeys out here is pretty good. Obviously this is like a U.S. Open course, tight fairways, long rough. So I played well. I would say I hit a couple bad shots here or there but I was able to make some good putts early on to save par. Could have been a couple lower obviously but I'll take two more rounds under par and see where that puts me on Sunday.
Q. What was the toughest part of the course today?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I think just getting the speed of the greens. Yesterday they were pretty slow, probably the slowest I've ever seen them here, and a little chewed up. You know, probably the softest and slowest I've ever seen them, like I said. So just getting used to the greens and everything. There's no wind out there today, so we could be a bit more aggressive to some holes and take advantage when you put the ball in the fairway.
Q. Was the wind the big difference between today and yesterday?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, a little bit. I think some holes yesterday were nice having the wind help you on certain holes. The holes that they had, I think the only bad hole I thought yesterday was hole No. 2, playing 248 yards into the wind, blowing about ten, 15, I thought that was a stupid hole. But obviously I don't set up the golf courses. But today they did a good job, and like I said, it's just a tough golf course.
Q. The weather, do you feel the heat and humidity more today? How much different do you think the course plays in the afternoon?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I think it's going to be -- you're going to see some guys shoot some low numbers. Obviously there's no wind, so obviously that's one factor you don't have to worry about. But when you get it as hot and humid as it is, the ball is going to travel a little further. But it all comes down to the greens. With the weather, the biggest issue is always the greens, and I think they are going to be a little chewed up and slower this afternoon the way they were for us yesterday afternoon. I think you'll see guys struggle to get some putts to the hole and you'll see some balls bounce against spike marks but we all have to deal with it.
Q. How wide open do you see this tournament going into the weekend?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Doesn't matter how wide open it is. This course can put you back on your backside quickly if you're not playing well. I think Marc is at 6 and a couple guys shot 5. If they shoot 2-, 3-under, they can probably get to seven or eight. But I can't think about that. I'm not going to worry. It's still two more days of golf on a tough golf course, and you know, the scores are never very high here. What am I at, 4-under or something? If I can go out and do something on the weekend, I think I'll have a good chance on Sunday.
Q. You've had some pretty good finishes lately. How do you feel at this point in July?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, obviously last year I got off to a hot start and cooled off towards the end of the year and this year sort of flip flopped it a little bit, that's what I'm thinking. I put in a lot of hard work at the beginning of this year. My short game needed some work so maybe that took a little bit of the focus, sort of made me focus more on that on the golf course than playing golf sometimes, but I'm going a lot of good things. The putter started to come around. I made a putter switch after the Masters, and I felt really good with that. And the ball striking is always going to be pretty solid for me. I'm never going to have to worry too much about it. So I feel like I'm trending in the right direction. There's a lot of golf left to be played. You look at like a Zach Johnson or Henrik Stenson last year, they didn't play the greatest at the beginning of the year, played so-so and really turned it up the end of the year and really caught fire. Hopefully that's the way I'm going this year. I'm just trying to get better and that's all I'm trying to do. If I can focus on becoming a better golfer, things will fall into place.
Q. Your thoughts on the 68?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Obviously played bogey-free around this golf course. You've golfed your ball and did some good things out there. So I knew the last couple holes, I had a bogey-free round going and I just wanted to do everything I could to stay in it and not let a shot slip away.
Q. Playing with Marc Leishman, bogey-free at 6-under, did you feel like you could draw on the momentum of the group?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, we both played pretty well yesterday and shot 1-under. Today we got off to a good start, made a couple birdies. You see some putts going in in the group, gives you confidence that the ball goes in the hole and the ball does know how to go in the hole.
Q. Looked like you started to get your jive going with the golf swing; things trending in the right direction for you?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, they are. I've hit it pretty well all year. I was trying to focus on some weaknesses; my short game, the technique needed to get better. I worked hard at the beginning of the year and maybe my mind was more focused on that on the course once in awhile than what I needed to do, and sometimes the ball doesn't go in the hole when you hit good putts. But it's starting to find the hole now. My game is trending in the right direction and I feel like I'm a better player this year and I'm a better player than I was a couple weeks ago. I feel like the game is starting to turn around and I'm on an upswing.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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