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JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 8, 2014Patrick RodgersSILVIS, ILLINOIS DOUG MILNE: Patrick Rodgers, thanks for joining us for a few minutes before the start of the 2014 John Deere Classic. Obviously the tournament means a lot to you. You're making your third start. With that being said, just some comments on being back here at the TPC Deere Run. PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, this is a really special week for me. This is one that I've highlighted on the calendar for the summer. I've been fortunate enough to have some playing opportunities on the PGA TOUR this summer, but this is for sure a special week, kind of a home game for me, being a Midwestern kid, only a few hours from home, and my family and I requested plenty of tickets. It's going to be special to see some familiar friends and family, and I just can't say enough about how excited I am to get the week started and excited to be back here for a third time. It's going to be a really special week. DOUG MILNE: Coming into the week, what are you feeling most confident with as far as the mechanics of your game goes? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, it's been a fun process. This is my fourth week in a row playing out here on TOUR, so that's kind of been an adjustment for me. Amateur golf isn't quite as full of weeks and you're not playing so many weeks on top of each other. But I feel really comfortable. I felt like I've improved a little bit each week from the Travelers to Congressional to last week at the Greenbrier and now this week. I feel like my game has been in a little bit better shape. This week I'm trying to work on my short irons and wedges and hitting the ball close. I know from past experience you have to make a lot of birdies out here to compete, and for me I'll have a lot of wedges and short irons, so trying to get the ball close to the hole and convert a lot of birdie opportunities this week. Q. Talk about what an advantage it is to have played this course previously. PATRICK RODGERS: For sure, yeah. Kind of the last couple weeks I've been learning on the fly trying to really take advantage of my Mondays and Tuesdays to learn the golf course, but here, not only knowing the golf course and having that advantage on the course but just kind of knowing the surroundings off the course and being really comfortable here in the area, knowing what restaurants to go eat and knowing where I'm going to stay. Everything is a big comfort here, from like I said, on the golf course to the off‑the‑golf‑course stuff, just seeing familiar faces. But for sure, knowing the golf course, knowing where the pins are going to be, knowing what it's like to be out here on a Saturday and Sunday kind of up near the top of the leaderboard, all that is going to prove really valuable here I think towards the end of the week. Q. You talked about a home game for you. At what point do you tune everybody out and say I'm not your complimentary ticket broker, I've got to focus on a big tournament. PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, you just put other people in charge of all that stuff. For me it's still the same. My focus is about playing my best golf this week. Obviously with limited playing opportunities, each time I tee it up is really important, and obviously I put some added importance on this week with it being such a special event and special week for me. But my focus is just on playing my best, going through my routines and my process that I know is going to make me have my best golf on Thursday. I'm just trying to focus on what I can control, and that's playing my best. Q. How much do you draw off what Jordan did here a year ago? How much does that inspire and motivate you? PATRICK RODGERS: For sure. Obviously Jordan being a good friend of mine, I'm just really happy for the success that he's had, and it's really cool to see him come through and break through, especially here this week. But not only Jordan, the success of so many young players recently and guys that I've played against a lot in amateur golf and college golf, to see them come out here and have a ton of success at the pro level and here on the PGA TOUR just gives me a lot of confidence that I can come out here and do the same thing. You know, their success is reflected in my decision to be a professional here this summer, and I feel like I have the game to come out here and compete and win on a regular basis. Q. Trying to avoid the Web.com series, does that play into your thinking here as you go through these exemptions? What's the rest of your schedule? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, I know that I have seven starts for the summer, and I'm basically just trying to play my best in those seven events, and where I go from there, there's a lot of different options, but I know if I'm ready to play each time I get the opportunity and I'm very prepared and I'm playing my best golf at the right time, then the results and kind of the process it's going to take for me to get to the PGA TOUR will kind of take care of itself. I'm not too far focused on the future but I'm just trying to make the most of the opportunities every time I get the chance to play. I'll be playing in Canada, Reno and the Wyndham. Q. If you follow Jordan the way you should, you'll be playing Ryder Cup and‑‑ PATRICK RODGERS: (Laughing) I hope so, but like I said, I'm not too focused on the future, I'm focused on playing my best this week. Q. What was the experience like last year, seeing the third round your name right there on the top of the leaderboard? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, it was really cool. Like I said, not only to be at the top of the leaderboard, I was kind of playing a little bit earlier than some of the leaders, but just to be kind of in the mix and get those feelings, it was my first time making the cut on the PGA TOUR, and to be kind of thrown right into the mix there on Saturday and Sunday and feel like I had a good chance to win, it's just invaluable experience to build on. I definitely learned a lot from that week, things that I did well and things that I wanted to improve next time I was in that situation, and it definitely leaves a fire burning inside you to get back there. Hopefully this is the week to do it, and definitely if I am in the same opportunity I'll build off the experience from last year. Q. How about the experience of last week? What do you take from that? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, I played well in the first round last week and kind of caught a tough draw with the wind in the afternoon on Friday and didn't play my best and was fortunate to make the cut on the number. But every experience, whether it's making the cut on the number last week or being in second after the first day, or I've struggled a little bit on the weekends my first couple events, everything is invaluable experience to learn from and build on. That's the one thing that I'm lacking out here is experience at different events and in different situations. I've been trying to do my best to learn from other people and really take advantage of learning from each opportunity and each success and failure that I have. Q. Is the rough much different this year compared to a year ago? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, that's the one thing I noticed yesterday. The golf course is really green and lush. The rough is definitely up. I'm not sure if they're going to cut it the rest of the week, but I'm sure it'll play a factor into the outcome of this golf tournament because you definitely have to put the ball in the fairway, and staying out of the rough is a lot more important than it has been in years past. Q. Has Cameron been talking to you and some of the other younger guys about your experience on this golf course? Have they been leaning on your wisdom? PATRICK RODGERS: I don't want to share too much. I'm trying to beat them this week. Like I said, it's nice for me to have the comfort factor of being able to be here on a golf course that I know. I'm not having to feel like I have so much to learn on a Monday or a Tuesday. I can kind of have a relaxed and more stress‑free practice round, and I'm happy to share any information from where the pins have been or what it's like playing here on Saturday and Sunday with anybody. Q. Talk about this being a tournament that particularly does it right for young guys like yourself and obviously with Cameron and Bobby Wyatt and a lot of the other young guys that are in the field on exemptions. Talk about how different that is from your experiences at other events. PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, obviously I'm extremely grateful, and for a young guy like me trying to find my way to the PGA TOUR, these opportunities are truly invaluable. They're now kind of our only path to the PGA TOUR in immediate fashion, and so these are so important to get opportunities to play out here, and for a tournament to be so committed to supporting young players and giving guys like me a chance to find our way, like I said, I'm so grateful. I owe so much to this event, and hopefully this is kind of my stepping‑stone to the PGA TOUR. Q. Zach had the early exemptions and he's kind of become the face of the tournament. Is that one factor? Do you see that being the same for you 13 years down the road? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, this is always going to be a special event for me. This was the first tournament I ever got a sponsor's exemption into. Getting that letter back from Mr.Peterson, just hearing back from him that I'd have a chance to compete on the PGA TOUR was just the most special experience maybe of my golfing career. But to have so many great memories here, like I said, for it to feel like a home game for me, to have so many family and friends come over from Indianapolis, this is always going to be a really special event and something that I'll always circle on the calendar. DOUG MILNE: Patrick, we appreciate your time and wish you all the best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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