|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SONY OPEN IN HAWAIIJanuary 17, 2015Matt KucharHONOLULU, HAWAII JOHN BUSH: Matt Kuchar joins us here in the interview room after a 2‑under par 68. A little bit of a roller coaster on the front nine, but you closed strong, two birdies on your last holes. If we can get you to assess the entire day. MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, it was kind of slow and steady. There weren't any things of real interest. I didn't get real hot. I actually felt like I hit the ball pretty well today, and the kind of 10‑ to 15‑footers to 20‑footers that I saw a lot go in the first two days seemed to come up short today. I don't know if there was anything to the green speed. The greens were firm, the iron shots were hitting and releasing. It felt like the greens were fast. It seemed like our whole group was just coming up a little bit short, so not a whole lot other than that to report. I shot 2‑under par, a pretty steady day today. Q. Just knowing the nature of this course, is there any concern when you guys all seem to be stuck in neutral? MATT KUCHAR: You knew guys were going to make birdie. Perfect conditions, wind was blowing 5 miles an hour. It was interesting, it went a direction today. I think yesterday I hit a 5‑iron into the first hole, today I hit a pitching wedge into the first hole. The course had some holes playing a little bit differently. But other than that, with only a slight breeze, you knew the course was there to make some birdies and to take advantage. You knew some guys were going to shoot 5‑, 6‑, 7‑, 8‑under par. We needed to get it going, and even though we were kind of neutral on the front nine, you still had hopes that at any point you could start making some birdies. It took me a while, I was finally 16 and 18 before I got a couple, but I finally got a couple. Q. What did you hit on 16? MATT KUCHAR: I hit 9‑iron on 16. Q. Were you pretty aware of what Jimmy was doing when he was making his run? MATT KUCHAR: No, not really. As far as leaderboards, there aren't a whole lot, and even if there were, I'm pretty focused on just watching what I'm doing and not doing a whole lot of leaderboard watching. Q. Being a couple back, I'm curious what your philosophy is on final rounds, if you prefer to be in one position or the other. MATT KUCHAR: As many ahead as you can get would be my preference. Not much you can do about that now. I'm two behind. It makes it‑‑ being in the final group, playing with Jimmy tomorrow, he's playing great golf. He should have won last week. His year last year was fantastic, certainly got a good track record here, knows how to play this course, and I don't expect anything but a really good round out of him. I think it's going to have to take a great round out of me to have a chance. Q. How far back is someone in the hunt? MATT KUCHAR: With Jimmy and myself, you've got the ability to shoot an 8‑ or 10‑under round out here. I'm guessing six off is still in it. Q. Are you disappointed with today? MATT KUCHAR: No, no. I played good golf, and actually I'm very pleased with the state of my game. I feel like I hit a lot of really solid shots. I felt like I hit a lot of really good shots. I'm excited for tomorrow. 2‑under par is not a great round by any means out here, but it's also not a bad round. Still have a chance, still got an awfully good shot tomorrow, and I'm quite pleased with the state of my game and what's going on with me right now. Q. I don't know if you talked to the official on 9, but the fact that an out‑of‑bounds fence you get relief from, I can't imagine it's like that anywhere else on TOUR, is it? MATT KUCHAR: I don't think so. I asked. I asked the question. I said, I was pretty sure anything that defined out of bounds was not‑‑ there was no relief from it, and he said they had a pretty big discussion as to what to do, and the fence is a temporary fence. It's not a permanent structure. I don't know when something becomes permanent, but it's wooden, is it permanent? It's hard to say exactly if a wooden fence could be considered temporary or not. I've certainly seen wooden fences where I thought you got no relief, but it is the rule, so good for the guys that get to take advantage of it. Yeah, it was a surprise to me to see a free drop from an out‑of‑bounds lie, as far as my golf rules knowledge goes. You don't get a drop, but I guess in this situation the rules officials I completely trust, and they had a discussion and decided that was a temporary removal object. Q. (Inaudible.) MATT KUCHAR: I don't know. He just said it's a temporary structure. Q. They told you ahead of time, right? It's not like it's a news flash? MATT KUCHAR: I was unaware, but that rule was certainly made‑‑ it wasn't made this afternoon. It was made prior to the start on Thursday. Q. Playing with Justin today, I was curious how much you knew about him going into the round and how closely you pay attention to guys before they get out here. MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, he's one of the guys with Excel Sports Management, so I've had dinner with him and know him and understand ‑‑ it's the first time I've played with him, but had dinner, chatted with him on the range before, heard about his length and club head speed, that he hits it a long way, a lot of club head speed and a lot of talent, and it was certainly on display today. He's a talented player that can hit it a long way. Nice kid, as well. Enjoyed playing with him, and I think he's going to be around for a while out here. Q. Do you typically know a lot about rookie guys? MATT KUCHAR: No, it typically takes me a little while. I still think of this as kind of the first tournament of the year. I know it's the seventh or so, maybe more, eighth tournament of the year, but it still feels like I'm learning new guys, introducing myself to new guys. To me it still feels like the first one of the year. JOHN BUSH: Best of luck tomorrow, Matt. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|