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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 9, 2014Rickie FowlerLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY KELLY ELBIN: Rickie, comments on your round today and your status going into tomorrow. RICKIE FOWLER: There's a lot less to explain than yesterday. Got all the par5s and hit a really good shot into 3. Other than that, pretty simple. I had to be very patient out there today. I was playing really well, swinging it very well. Had a lot of looks for birdies, especially on the back nine, and just had some mainly some misreading there for the most part on the high side. But the good thing is, other than one of my birdie putts that I tried to hit a little on the firm side, I had perfect speed all day, especially with some longer putts that I was just trying to lag up there and take par and walk away. So very clean round of golf and in a great spot. I'm excited for tomorrow. KELLY ELBIN: If you would briefly go through the birdies. RICKIE FOWLER: 3, I hit 7‑iron in there about five feet behind the hole. 7, went up the left fairway and then was in between 5‑wood and 3‑wood, so just tried to cut a 3‑wood. Kind of hit it thin but got it up there in the bunker and got up‑and‑down. 10, drove it down the middle. Kind of had a funky 5‑iron that came out weird. I don't know if it was water or possible mud, but it was in the left rough. Hit a good wedge shot behind the hole and made a great putt there to kind of get things going for the back nine. Great swings and nothing went in and then finally at 18, probably one of my best rounds of the day, I just never really drifted left with the wind, and ended up having 7‑iron in, because I was playing a little bit of a jumper out of the rough there. Thought I made 3. It looked like it was going in the middle and somehow it just decided to dive left on me. So tap‑in birdies are nice. Q. I think you've established by now the comfort level you feel in major championships. Going into tomorrow, is there any thought process that you're going to take that you didn't take into a final round in some of your other ones? Have you sort of learned something new in this process? RICKIE FOWLER: I wouldn't say there's anything new. I'm expecting to be more comfortable tomorrow than I have in the past two final rounds, and with the past three‑‑ and Augusta and being in the final groups in the past two Opens and I think I'm second to last here and playing alongside Phil. We're going to have some fun and hopefully him and I are going to get things rolling like we do on Tuesdays against the boys. We'll have a good time, that's for sure. Q. I was going to just ask you, playing with Phil as much as you play with him in practice rounds and so forth; advantage at all? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, it will be similar to like kind of what Rory and I had Sunday at The Open. Him and I are comfortable around each other. I'm probably closer with Phil because I haven't had time to spend as much time with Rory yet. Him and I if we get off to a good start we're going to be able to feed off each other quite a bit. It's going to be a fun walk and there's a possibility if we get things going, it could come down to the two of us at the end. Obviously there's a lot of guys playing well right now and we have our work cut out for us. Q. As soft as the greens were, and as many birdie possibilities as there are out there, what's real par? I know it says 71 but what do you guys view it as? RICKIE FOWLER: Three and 4‑under was a solid round of golf. But I'd say, if you shot three and 4‑under, there was probably more out there. 6,7 and 8 was a possibility, but towards the end of the day, the greens started to get a bit bumpy and it was tough to make putts. And you had to be careful on 3‑ and 4‑footers. You had to make sure you hit your line and hit a solid putt. I'm pleased with my round. I wouldn't exactly ask for anything more out of it. Just maybe the putts that didn't go in today, they go in tomorrow. Q. In the CBS interview a few minutes ago, you talked about the process of playing well, not just here but the week before each of the major championships. Can you discuss how important that has been for you to get into that mind‑set the week before? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, the biggest thing for me the week prior is to kind of go through somewhat of a mental checklist with where my golf swing is, every golf shot, where my short game is at, how my putting feels, how I feel just on the golf course in general. And it's been very big for me because I can go into the week of the major, go learn the golf course, being that out of the three we typically play a new one that I haven't seen yet. Then I have less to worry about with my actual golf game. I can just go prepare for the golf course and all my prep for my golf game and my approach to playing has been done the week before. Q. You've obviously played well in the Majors so far this year, but we haven't quite had the drama on Sundays that we've had in the past. Can you remove yourself from a contender and look at it just as a fan from that standpoint and see what we have right now and what we might have tomorrow and be excited about it? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I would say that leaderboard is the most jam‑packed it's been, maybe since the start of the final round at the Masters before kind of Jordan and Bubba distanced themselves a little bit. Obviously with Kaymer, he ran away with the U.S. Open, and Rory put himself out in front and was very much in control of that golf tournament. This one's out there for the taking, for sure. Anyone can go out and post a number tomorrow. With the way the golf course is playing, it's not out of the question that someone can go shoot 8‑ or 9‑under; being five, six, seven shots back, post early and you never know what can happen. It's wide open and someone is going to have to play some good, solid golf tomorrow to win. KELLY ELBIN: For the record, we have 18 players within six shots of the lead. Q. As well as you've played in the Majors this year, do you have to battle frustration or do you sense an inevitability that you will break through and win one? RICKIE FOWLER: It builds confidence for me. Every time I play a solid round in a major, the past few Majors have been building blocks and time I feel more and more comfortable. I feel right at home this week and feel very comfortable on the golf course. I feel like it's just a matter of time before I'm putting myself in great positions. Just got to get one and the rest will follow. Q. Even though you're not in the final group, you're closer to the lead than you were the last two Majors. Does that change your approach at all? RICKIE FOWLER: Not necessarily. I still need to stick with my game plan and what we've kind of established on how we want to play the golf course. Stick with the same lines that I've been taking. Conditions can change, wind direction can change a little, but as far as how I've been playing the golf course is how I'm going to continue to play the golf course. You know, maybe there's some pins down the stretch where if I need to make some birdies, I'll be able to tighten some things up and maybe try and make some things happen if I have to. But I'm not going to change anything. I like where my game is at right now, both physically and on the mental side with where I'm going, and through my process before each shot‑making sure we're ready. So, yeah, nothing's going to change. Do the same thing tomorrow. Q. What are the biggest challenges in trying to chase down a player like Rory? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, he's playing with a lot of confidence right now, and this golf course, if you're able to drive it long and straight, it makes it a bit more playable and it's a lot easier to make birdies. He's up there as one of the longer guys in the driving category right now, and he's probably been driving it some of the straightest the past few weeks. So if he continues to do that, he's not going to back up and we are definitely going to have to go out and show him that we're around. Like I say, he's not going to back up. If someone is going to beat him, they are going to earn it. I feel like being alongside Phil, and there's quite a few guys within a few shots, it's going to be a fun day tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it. I feel like I can put up a good round and see what happens. Q. Talk about your relationship with Phil and playing with him tomorrow. There's so much on the line tomorrow, do you prefer playing with somebody that you know and have a relationship with than maybe playing with somebody you don't know and may be as social with on the course? RICKIE FOWLER: Kind of doesn't matter if I know the person well or not. I still talk to them, even if they don't want me to talk to them. I may ask them some questions down the fairway and they may give me short answers and try to get me away. I prefer to play with friends, guys that I'm close with. It's a bit more relaxing. It's more fun, especially‑‑ I talked about earlier, if him and I are able to get off to some good starts, we're able to feed off each other and kind of push each other along. I mentioned, you know, there's a possibility if we get that going that it could come down to the two of us, and who knows, we might be playing the last hole and throwing punches at each other (smiling). Q. You mentioned not changing your strategy. But if you're on the back nine, other than 18, what are the green light holes, without knowing the hole locations at this time? And what are the holes that you have to have that caution light on no matter where the hole location might be? RICKIE FOWLER: The par3's you have to be careful with. You'll take three there and walk away for sure. Green lights, par 5s, typically they always are. Outside of that, like you said, not knowing where the pins are at, I wouldn't say there's exactly green light holes. They become green light holes when you drive the ball well. If you don't, then they are all pretty cautious. The biggest thing is getting the ball in play off the tee, and from there in, you're able to play a little bit more aggressively and they make themselves green light holes then. Q. A lot of us have been Googling Bernd Weisberger in the last hour. How much do you know about his game and are you surprised to see him on the leaderboard? RICKIE FOWLER:  Not surprised. He's been playing well this year and he's been up there a couple times and won the past year or two. He's a good, solid player, and I wasn't surprised that he was able to kind of go back and forth a bit with Phil coming in and make some birdies. Like I said, there's a lot of guys up there playing well right now. I know it's not his first final group, maybe in a major, but not someone you can look past, that's for sure. KELLY ELBIN: Rickie Fowler, in at 11‑under par, two shots back of Rory McIlroy, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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