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RBC CANADIAN OPENJuly 25, 2014Graham DeLaetILE BIZARD, QUEBEC Q.  Previously here at Royal Montreal, the course record was shared by a Canadian, David Morland, and Scott Verplank. You now have a piece of that after a 63. What went so well for you on this day? GRAHAM DeLAET: I mean, I felt like I was in pretty good control of my game pretty much all day, a couple little hiccups, but I really rolled in a lot of good putts, even a couple good bogey putts to keep the round from kind of getting away. I mean, all three of us played great today. I never saw so many putts rolling in. Johnny was telling us at the 10th there that we made 22 birdies between the three of us. It was a lot of fun, and we were just kind of feeding off each other. Q. What was the energy, and particularly adding to the fact that all the fans are really pulling for you as the native home Canadian? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, it was pretty cool. I mean, the support throughout the day got‑‑ the crowds got bigger and bigger, and then coming on to 9, the entire green was surrounded by people, and it was nice to make that birdie putt. I think that they were cheering as hard, maybe not quite, for Jim and Matt. It was a fun day. It was good company. Q. We talked to David Hearn and he said he didn't think about the pressure of trying to break the drought until maybe the weekend. With the position you're in, how will you handle that? GRAHAM DeLAET: I mean, I would love to win this golf tournament. It would mean more than anything to me. But I know I'm only halfway there right now, and I don't know where I'm going to lie at the end of the day, but I'm definitely in good position. That's all I can do. Q. Congratulations. You picked up where you left off yesterday. That strong finish, and you birdied five of your first eight. GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, it was a great start. All of us were making so many birdies out there. You felt like you had to make putts just to keep up. I really putted well all day, and even a couple of big bogey putts to kind of avoid the doubles and keep some momentum going. It was a lot of fun, and to birdie the last two was just kind of icing on the cake. Q. We just talked to Matt. You were feeding off each other. Rarely do you see three players in a group lighting it up. GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, it was unreal. Johnny told Jim in the scoring tent there that we had made 22 birdies in our group today, so it was a lot of fun. I mean, there could have been more. But it was a good day. It was fun. Q. How about the conditions out there compared to yesterday? GRAHAM DeLAET: It was pretty similar I felt to what we played in yesterday afternoon. The wind was just kind of steady all day. It wasn't really pumping, but it was enough that you were aware of it for sure. It's still scorable but you just have to be in control, especially off the tee. If you're hitting fairways out here you can make some birdies. Q. I looked at your record from the Canadian Open Championship, and your best halfway point was '09 at Glen Abbey, you were 3‑under. Compare your game, your emotions as you head to the weekend now? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, I think my golf maturity is a lot better than it was back then. I'm handling the pressure a little bit better. I know there's a lot of hopes and expectations, but at the same time all we can do is play golf. I'm in a great position here through two rounds, and I'm happy and excited about the weekend. Q. It seems like the putter came alive for you. GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, it was fun. It was definitely fun to see some putts roll in. All of us were kind of making putts all day. Johnny was saying that we made 22 in our group, 22 birdies in our group, so I mean, when you see putts going in from everywhere, from all three guys, it was a lot of fun, and there was a lot of momentum in our group, and we just kind of ran with it. Q. How about tying the course record and you're not the only one to do it in your group? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, actually that's pretty amazing. I didn't know that until just a little while ago, but it's cool. This is the Canadian Open, and to share a course record here is pretty special. And yeah, obviously to have two guys in one group do it, it's pretty amazing. Q. How big was that bogey save on 18? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, that was huge. That was kind of what kept the round together. I actually made a really nice bogey putt, as well, on‑‑ I don't know what, No.4, our 13th hole, and those are the putts that just kind of keep rounds going. I was kind of counting a double when I was walking up to the 18th green there, so to hole that putt was a nice bonus. Q. How would you compare your form today overall compared to yesterday? Was it just the putting or ball‑striking wise? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, pretty similar. I got off to a little shaky start yesterday, but then I felt like I really relaxed and was playing pretty well. And then today there was just a couple loose tee shots, but other than that I felt like I was in really good control, and then obviously when you hole putts, it makes everything a lot easier, a lot more fun. Q. The attention is going to be ramped up from outside the ropes. How do you deal with that? GRAHAM DeLAET: Well, I've been enjoying it so far. It's been great. The crowd has been awesome. The entire ninth green was surrounded there. For a Friday morning group, it was pretty cool. I think you've just got to accept it and just try to enjoy it and have some fun. Q. Did the course play a lot differently today? To what do you attribute such an improvement over yesterday? GRAHAM DeLAET: I mean, the wind was down maybe just a hair, but it was the exact same wind as we played yesterday, and it was pretty just steady all day. It wasn't really bouncing around. We pretty much knew where it was all day. If you're hitting fairways out here, you can make birdies because the greens are soft. Yeah, I don't know if the wind is going to pick up at all this afternoon, but it's scorable. Q. It's such an individual sport, golf, but when you're playing in a group like that, do players feed off of one another when a guy is going well? Is it just something that builds for all of you? GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, absolutely. When you just see putts rolling in from everywhere like it was in our group today, you just feel like putting is easy or something, I don't know, and you just start holing them. But it was fun, and to‑‑ they're both great guys and great players, obviously, and we had good company out there, and it was a lot of fun. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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