|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 14, 2015Matt KucharPALM HARBOR, FLORIDA Q. All right, Dan. Talking about that 68 that Dan Hicks was talking about. Put on a good show for mom and dad, considering the difficulty of the golf course and the conditions in the air, how would you access that 68? MATT KUCHAR: Fun having mom and dad here. They don't come to that many events. I could have stood to hit a few more greens in regulation but aside from that, chipped the ball well and I was in position in the fairway and took advantage and made some birdies out there. It's a tough golf course. It's one of my favorites. I can remember probably three, four years ago sitting at home watching this event on TV saying I need to play this course. Q. You're the kind of guy who plays here and kind of likes to play the Humana Challenge in the California desert.  Completely different approaches to playing. When you have to go crazy like that how do you compare it to having kind of hang on at a place like this? MATT KUCHAR: Certainly different. I look at Humana as a great start, perfect weather. Three rounds guaranteed. Good way to build into the year. Of course, you got to drive it well and Humana is a lot more wedges. If you wedge it well and putt it well, which I tend to do, you got to go deep. Here it is drive the ball straight and try to make a bunch of pars. I'm doing all right this weekend. Q. 70, 70, 68. What are you pleased about your game the most? MATT KUCHAR: It's a tough golf course. Staying out of trouble. There aren't too many bogies today, a couple par-3s got the best of me which I was hanging some iron shots. This golf course, to go around -- and I don't know, maybe it's the first two rounds, all got to stay out of trouble. Q. You had a birdie at 12 and 14. How about the shot at 17. The bunkers are set well back from the green. MATT KUCHAR: This hole is one of my easiest of the week so far. It was an uphill lie. Pretty standard bunker shot. I think most guys on Tour will be looking to get that up and down. I hit it to a gimme, which was a nice shot. Q. Second to 18, nice to finish off with a birdie. MATT KUCHAR: In between hitting a big wedge and trying to figure the wind out. Judged it pretty well. Just straight across. And to be right of this hole is a tough thing. This pin is top right. Miss it right, tough up and done. Below the hole today. Pretty makeable putt. Q. Most Top-10 finishes since 2012. You're 12 ahead of everybody else with. Why are you so consistent? MATT KUCHAR: The work of my instructor, Chris O'Connell. Eliminating as much club face rotation through the ball as possible. If your palm comes in open and leaves closed there's not much time with the club face to square. I try to come in with the club face square and having not a whole lot of club face rotation through the ball. Hoping to do a lot more of these and hopefully find myself in the winner's circle. Q. You've had 50 Top-10s. That's 40 percent of the starts. You've won five times. Do you think five is enough or do you think you should have won more? MATT KUCHAR: Certainly would love to win more. I've had a couple great wins, couple that I would have liked to have had right back. Last year in Houston I had a lead going into Sunday. Had a chance to par 18 to win the tournament. Couple of that slipped away and a couple I lucked into, the bunker shot at Hilton Head last year. Certainly hope to have more to come. Q. Kuch, what a great way to finish with the birdie at 18. MATT KUCHAR: Tough cross wind, left to right and my ball flight is going to ride the wind. Makes the fairway a little more narrow when you got to ride the wind like I do. Hit a great shot down the middle. I think ended up I had about 140 to the hole and trying to figure out wind if there was any help or hurt. Mostly across but it was right between. I kinded to need to know if there was a big wedge, if not, little 9. Hit a little 9 and the pin that's tucked right and right of the green is not a great place to be. Certainly if you're the safe side of the green and left you got a really tough putt. I was able to leave it just below the hole with a quite makeable 12-footer. Nice way to end the day. Q. Really was. You hit a great drive. You only missed two fairways today in a tough wind. You have to be proud of the way you're driving the golf ball. MATT KUCHAR: Definitely a good day driving the golf ball. That's key out here. This place is a demanding driving golf course and you can play some good shots, you can make some birdies if you're driving well. I think it's a sign of a great course, you're playing good golf and make birdies. If you're not playing great the course is going to let you know and you'll make some bogies. I was pretty pleased to be on the right side of things. Q. Is this one of your favorite courses on the PGA TOUR? MATT KUCHAR:It's a sneaky good one. I do enjoy it. I think most players will say the same thing. Guys will be in there top of the list in there, we play a handful of really good ones. This one is up there. Q. What about tomorrow, survival and patience? MATT KUCHAR:Be an exciting day. Bunch of guys bunched up within four, five shots of the lead. It's a course you can make birdies on and got some holes that can really jump up and bite you. It's not the Bear Trap. The Snake Pit is a tough little stretch to get through. Q. Matt, 68 here on Saturday. How pleased are you with the effort? MATT KUCHAR: Very pleased. Very pleased. Could have stood to hit a few more greens coming in. I came up a little short right on a handful of shots but all in all, played really well. Stayed out of trouble. I think I haven't had that many bogies on my card thus far and this course is pretty good. Q. How do you approach this place, difficult, windy conditions? Do you pick and choose? MATT KUCHAR: It's a tough one to figure out. The pin location for me depends on the club I have in my hand. If you come in from the right side you can be aggressive. I played the 16th hole, it's tough out here. I tried to drive it off the tee because it's a shot shaped. There are a handful of ones that I try to be a little more aggressive. You're right, it's picking and choosing. Q. Where do you pick and where do you choose in Sunday's final round as you're in the mix? MATT KUCHAR: It's exciting. Great place to be. I think it will be fun to see. There's a bunch of guys within four, five shots of lead. Should be exciting. This is a golf course you can get hot and make some birdies. It's such a great of course. Playing really good, you can score. If not, you're going to make some bogies. Q. It's tough, you've never played in front of your parents before. When they come out is it a little bit of celebration? MATT KUCHAR: It's nice. Certainly they come out and you think to yourself Friday, you don't want to have things go badly and miss a cut and make the effort to get here and turn right around and go home but possibly some extra pressure just to make -- Q. You think about that. MATT KUCHAR: Yeah. Let's see. Within -- you're out there rolling and you're rolling. You're kind of doing your thing. We get to have dinner together and hang out and get to see the grandkids. It's kind of a fun couple weeks. Q. Do you have any interaction during the round with them? Where did they come from? MATT KUCHAR: Live in Ponte Vedra. Q. Dad says he plots out every shot for you. He's playing along in his head. MATT KUCHAR: I'm sure he is. Q. If he was on the bag he'd be helping you strategizing. MATT KUCHAR: I got a good man on the bag now. It's fun having mom and dad here for sure. They don't come that often so it's always fun. Q. Enjoying living and dying all those shots? MATT KUCHAR: Any father would. I know I got two kids now and they're starting to play sports. I love being on that side of it where you can stand back and watch and be proud of what they can do. Q. Were you really watching the tournament on TV and decided to come? MATT KUCHAR: Yeah. Yeah. I missed a couple years and I can't remember just scheduling and then was sitting back at home watching it, I need to get back there, it's a fantastic golf course and glad that I've made that decision. Q. What is your explanation for the leaderboard so tight, just a product of the golf course or everybody just -- MATT KUCHAR: You never know, like there could be a guy this week that got hot and -- there's no reason why there couldn't be a guy that's got a 4 shot lead. It's one of those things hard to really say why there's not a Jimmy Walker that's 4 up right now. It's doable. 10-under is certainly out there for three rounds. Hard to say why it's so bunched. I think it's a fantastic golf course. Doesn't matter if you're a longer hitter or short hitter, you can play here. You've seen Gary Woodland and Luke Donald win. That's pretty cool when a golf course can put out winners that differently. Q. Still a lot of holes not hard -- the par-3s try not to give something back. MATT KUCHAR: Par-3s are tough. I mean certainly par is a good score around here. I still could see could see a guy posting 10-under pretty easily through three rounds. You haven't gotten anybody really hot. Got a lot of guys playing some pretty good golf. Q.  I don't suppose you're routing for that now. MATT KUCHAR: Certainly not. 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
|