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FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

February 6, 2015

Harris English

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Harris English to the interview room. 6-under par round today. 10-under for the tournament. No bogeys through two rounds the first person to accomplish that since 2011 at this event. If you'll open up with some comments, please.

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, any time you play the South Course and have no bogeys is a pretty good feat. I was very excited about that yesterday. Especially coming out this morning and having to finish some holes kind of in the cold and it's good to make some of those 6-footers coming out for par. That's what you got to do on the South Course and I kept that momentum going to the North Course today, which is a little shorter, a little bit easier golf course, you still got to hit some good shots over there because the rough is brutal out there. I feel good about my game. I'm hitting my driver really well this week. Kind of carried over from last week in Phoenix where I really started going my driver going, just couldn't get anything going on in the hole on the greens. But I feel good about it. I'm looking forward to the next two days and see in I can get in contention.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. What was your closest to making a bogey and where was it?
HARRIS ENGLISH: It was probably yesterday on number 11 my second hole of the day. I pulled my 6-iron left of the green, had a pretty tough chip and chipped it just past the hole and in the rough it was about 15 feet and ended up chipping it in for par. So that really got the momentum going and I had a couple other times where it was probably six or eight feet for par. Ending on No. 9 this morning I had about a 10-footer that I made for par. So, it's good to make some of those. That's what you got to do on the South Course, because you're not going to hit every fairway and green and 2-putt. You got to make some tough pars out there, and that's what I did.

Q. After the start that you had to last season and you got off to such a hot start, phenomenal year, was there anything that you felt like you needed to improve in your game?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I definitely needed to be more consistent, that was the main thing. I felt like my greens in regulation stat was really good. But my driving and putting were not consistent enough. On my good weeks my driving was really good and my putting was really good. On my bad weeks, they were off. So, I made a swing coach change last year in the last year and it's really helped to simplify things and to focus on the small stuff. Because I'm such a feel player, just to get back to doing the things that I used to do as a kid and I love playing the game of golf and to have more fun on the golf course. I've been having a lot more fun since I know where the ball's been going these past couple months and I'm looking forward to the next couple years with working with Scott and to see where we can, what we can accomplish.

Q. Who are you working with?
HARRIS ENGLISH: Scott Hamilton. Started working with him a little bit after the PGA Championship last year.

Q. So sounds like did you feel like you definitely got technically focused at some point over focused? How would you explain what you kind of went through to get to now to this point?
HARRIS ENGLISH: When you start struggling it's easy to try to find stuff that's wrong with your game. Wrong with your swing and that. I definitely was more swing oriented than playing golf. That's not me. That's not how I grew up playing the game. You're standing over shots thinking about swing positions instead of trying to see your ball flight and trying to play golf. That's what I was doing the latter half of the year, it was really frustrating and a lot of tournaments, because I'm usually a really good driver of the ball, I feel like tee to green I was a really, really good player and I was struggling with that last year. Then I would spend more time on my long game instead of my short game and then my short game suffered. So it was just a snowball affect. Then I had no confidence in my game. So I had to go a different route and I think it's paid dividends.

Q. This season, what was your mental outlook going into Sony where you obviously played really well, and also, what is it like coming to Torrey Pines because you've had two starts here that were middling finishes, nothing spectacular, so what was your thought process coming into Torrey Pines this year?
HARRIS ENGLISH: Well, this off season I kind of had a game plan of I was going to play four in a row out of the gate. Starting at Sony and finishing with Torrey Pines. And I worked pretty hard in this off season getting my game in shape and knowing I wanted to come out the first four events and compete and be in contention every week and see if I can jump up in that Top-50 in the World Ranking and get back in the World Golf Championships and get in the Masters. So that was kind of my goal. I'm very comfortable playing Waialae Country Club, and Sony and I knew that was a good filth for me, so I played well there. Obviously, Jimmy ran away with that tournament, but it was good to get some of that confidence going again. I played decent the last two weeks, nothing special, I didn't putt very good in Palm Springs and Phoenix. But I knew coming into here this golf course really sets up for me. If I can get my driver going and make a couple putts, I can be in the hunt.

Q. Going back to that stretch last summer when you were frustrated, how additionally frustrating was it because you were kind of within sight of the Ryder Cup team and did that add to the frustration and when did you, was there like a last straw where you said, one round or shot where you said that's it I got to do something different?
HARRIS ENGLISH: Obviously I wanted to make the Ryder Cup team. I felt like I was playing well enough in the early part of the year to be in consideration for that team and I watched it the past number of years and really wanted to be there. I feel like that's the pinnacle of our sport. Playing for your country, playing against Europe. I was part of that Walker Cup team in 2011 and I had a blast. That was one of the highlights of my career. So, I did really want to be on that team, but I don't think it added more pressure on me. I knew that I wanted to be at the top, I wanted to be the Top-50 in the world, Top-25 in the world, but it was just frustrating to get off to that good of a start and to really keep doing the things I was doing and nothing really worked. I really worked harder, I hit more balls, spent more time on the putting green and it almost made me worse. It got you in a rut where you couldn't get out. Which was tough. I mean, it's hard when you're struggling to think that you don't need to practice more. It was one of the first times I have had to deal with that. But I feel like I learned a lot from it and I learned a lot about myself and how to persevere.

Q. Was there a shot or a tournament or a weekend where you, I don't want to say breaking point, but a turning point where you said I need to find a different direction?
HARRIS ENGLISH: It was the PGA this year. I felt like Valhalla is set up really well for my game. Long, soft, big fairways. I couldn't keep it on the golf course with a driver. I was hitting it in the rough every hole. I think I missed the cut by one or two, but I hit it awful. That was kind of the point where I was like, I have no clue what I'm doing on the golf course. I'm practicing, I feel like I'm doing the right things, staying committed, but it just wasn't working out. That's when I knew that I had to do something. I was with my coach for three or four years, I started working with him senior year of college and it's a tough thing, because you get so close to somebody and somebody's such a good friend to you, it's hard to take a different direction, but you got to take a step back and say this is my business, this is me wanting to get better and trying to get to the top.

Q. How did you find Scott?
HARRIS ENGLISH: He was working with a lot of friends of mine. He's working a lot of Georgia boy, Chris Kirk, Brendan Todd Russell Henley, Boo Weekley, Steven Bowditch, he works with a lot of guys that I'm really good friends with. So I would see them on the road a lot. I think after the British Open we were on the same flight back. I missed the cut and we were on the same flight back on Saturday. I got to talking to him about some swing stuff and if he had watched me hit any balls and he is very smart, very attentive and watches a lot of guys on the range, whether you know it or not, and I really liked what he was saying and I talked to a lot of guys he was working with and ended up that that's the direction I was going.

Q. Have you got, what was the single best shot you hit today?
HARRIS ENGLISH: Probably that shot on 17. I felt like I almost holed it with an 8-iron. Coming down right on it. It ended up making birdie. But the best club in my bag has definitely been the driver because if you're on your driver out here, it can really, really help you.

Q. A couple, best putts today or what were the best putts you made and also the way you played 18, perfect drive it seemed like, and then flew it long and tell me a little bit about that. And it was disappointing with how the round went that that's how it ended.
HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, I made a lot of good putts today but probably the one that I can probably sleep on tonight is number 11. Long par-4, missed the fairway just left, hit it short, chipped it to probably five feet, just left of the hole, and made it for par. Those are the putts the momentum savers that they really keep your round going. I really, really focus on those, because those can keep you playing aggressive. But, yeah, on 18 I hit a really good drive. I had 201 back edge. So for me a 6-iron maximum is probably 190. The wind I felt like Smitty felt like it was more off the right, but it might have been a little help to it. I guess I was a little juiced up, hit a hard six, drew it a little bit, going right of the flag and hit it a little long. But it's not like I'm disappointed, really, anyone issuing that way, I played aggressive, trying to make a three to finish out. But I take a lot of positives from today. I hit the ball well, made some really good putts and hit some good wedge shots.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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