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JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 11, 2014Tim ClarkSILVIS, ILLINOIS Q. Great start, five straight birdies to begin your round. TIM CLARK: Yeah, it's strange, I was really disappointed after yesterday's finish. I bogeyed three of my last four to shoot sort of 1‑over, and kind of how the year has been. Today managed to stay out of my own way and rattled off those five birdies, and I thought, well, why don't we try and birdie them all, but unfortunately that ended on 6. I felt like I could have made birdie there with just a wedge in hand. But overall very pleased with the round. Not to make a bogey, too, was nice. Q. You had 30 putts in the opening round, 24 putts in the second round. TIM CLARK: Yeah, I hit a lot of shots close today, too. I had one tap‑in from a couple inches on a par‑3, and really only made a couple putts of length, but yeah, you know, obviously this year I have not putted very well. I can see that in the stats. Nice to see some go in. Q. 101st in FedExCup points. It's time for you to make a move. This would be a good weekend to do it. TIM CLARK: Yeah, like I say, it's not been the year I wanted, but you never know, one good week can turn it around, so we just keep plugging away. Q. You've battled myriad health problems over these last couple years. How healthy are you these days? TIM CLARK: Yeah, just got to manage it. You know, it's tough when it's sort of elbows that makes golf a little harder. You know, the start of the year wasn't great. I missed quite a few tournaments on the West Coast due to that, but I'm feeling okay now, and like I said, it's more a case of just getting the ball in the hole. Q. Talk about the round today. Obviously started off really, really well for you. TIM CLARK: Yeah, I mean, to start with five birdies, things were going well. I was hoping to rattle off a few more there. It was a good chance on 6. I thought, well, this could be one of those great, great rounds. Obviously 8‑under is still very good, but with that sort of start, you're looking at that sort of 59 number. Q. On 13 you nearly holed out. Talk about that. TIM CLARK: Yeah, I mean, I just swung the club well all day, and that was one that actually looked like it might go in. What did I have, two, three inches there, tap‑in for a 2. Yeah, I hit a lot of good shots and then also made some crucial putts of that five to eight‑foot range which make these rounds just sort of happen. Q. Kind of put yourself right back into this thing, didn't you? TIM CLARK: Yeah, after yesterday, very disappointing finish, I was 3‑under early in my round yesterday and shot 1‑over. A bit disappointed in yesterday. Obviously a huge turnaround in the mood today. Q. How do you get things turned around from an over‑par round to shoot what you did today? TIM CLARK: You know, there's nothing really you can do, but obviously I was very disappointed yesterday. You know, I don't know. I think you've just got to come out and get out of your own way. I think sometimes we just try too hard, and that's probably what I've been doing. Q. Was it mechanical or anything‑‑ TIM CLARK: No, absolutely not. It's never mechanical for me in this game. It's mostly between the ears. When that's operating fine, you can shoot those low scores. Q. Has that kind of been your bugaboo this year, you've been having trouble making cuts? TIM CLARK: Yeah, I think I haven't putted great, and putting is pretty much all mental. That's probably been it. There hasn't really been one particular thing. I've hit them all pretty well. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going for a couple more days. Q. Did the course play any different from yesterday to today? TIM CLARK: It did‑‑ when you play well, it always seems easy, but it seemed like the flags were a little easier today. But guys shot these numbers yesterday, as well, in the morning. The guys shot 8‑under. It's probably playing much the same. Q. You talk about getting out of your own way now. How do you handle the weekend and the next couple rounds? TIM CLARK: Well, I'm not one to go to the range or try tinkering with anything right now. The round is over. I'm going to go back and relax, and hopefully when I wake up in the morning I'm in the same frame of mind. Q. You talked yesterday about a good start with a lackluster finish. Today you got the strong start and kept it going. What was the difference out there today? TIM CLARK: I think I just stayed more focused. Yesterday I realized I let it slip through a couple bad decisions, and today I really made sure I committed to whatever shot I was going to hit, and that obviously helped. Q. Talk us through the near hole‑out. That was on 13? TIM CLARK: Yeah, yeah. Q. What was the yardage? What was the club? TIM CLARK: I think I had 182, and it was into the wind, and I hit a nice smooth 5‑iron in there that was one of those shots that never left the flag. It always looked like it was going to be close, and yeah, in the end, right up there three inches from the hole. Q. Obviously you made a lot of putts today, but were there some lengthy putts in there? TIM CLARK: No real long ones. I made one on‑‑ I birdied the first two from four or five feet, and then I made a nice putt on 3 of probably 12, 15 feet, which has really been the putts I haven't been making this year. That's really where I've been struggling. And then I made probably about a 35‑footer on the next, and that was the last lengthy putt that I made. The rest of the birdies were all pretty close. Q. You talked about getting out of your own way. I noticed on 16 you made a club change right before your tee shot and ended up a little bit short. Why the club change, and did you change to a longer club or shorter club? TIM CLARK: Yeah, I hit 8, and I just felt like I wasn't comfortable with it. I felt like if I was to swing it that soft, there's a good chance I'd come out of the shot and I wanted to hit something full. When I hit the 9‑iron, we thought it was going to be really close. It looked like it was all over the flag. You just don't quite feel the wind there. In the end I left myself in a good spot below the hole. Those are the kind of decisions that make or break rounds. I hit a bad shot there with the 8 I might make bogey, so it worked out. Q. Sounds like the irons were kind of dialed in for you today; that's kind of the strength of your game? TIM CLARK: Exactly. I've got to hit fairways and then get it dialed in, but my wedge game is very good. When I was within 100 yards I was within 10 feet every time and managed to convert those putts. That always gives me a lot of confidence, when that part of my game is on. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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