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FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSICJune 12, 2015Russell KnoxMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Q. One of those you've done that's really impressive, 64, 6-under par. How did you find conditions and scoring throughout as that round progressed? RUSSELL KNOX: It was a little breezy. It was so warm. I mean, the ball was flying for miles and the greens are so perfect that if you can give yourself looks and the ball rolls so smooth, I was lucky to make something. Q. Just how much is the game clicking right now? RUSSELL KNOX: Everything feels great. I'm not working on anything. I'm just freewheeling it and my stroke feels good. It was nice to see some putts drop for sure. Q. Obviously it's a reasonably good day. There's your stats for today and room for improvement perhaps but -- RUSSELL KNOX: I hit a couple first cut in the fairway. Probably doesn't show exactly how good I drove it, but anytime I have less than 30 putts, I'm delighted. Q. Absolutely. As we say, a great 64. But this season, just remind you, I'm sure you don't -- the Honda, 3rd place finish. Another illustration of how the game is shaping up nicely this season. RUSSELL KNOX: I've really seen gradual improvement over the last couple years. I always like to look at it. This tournament has been -- the Honda has been very nice to me. Everything is coming together. I've been putting well. My head is finally becoming a little smarter and just got to wait my turn. Q. Tactical in the mindset as well. Is that the key thing you've learned over recent years? RUSSELL KNOX: Staying super positive. It's a long way to go obviously. I mean, I holed two great putts yesterday evening to stay at even, and all of a sudden, you shoot 6-under. So it's amazing, especially this course, I mean, it's very difficult. And if you take your foot off the gas for one second, you're toast. Q. I mean, somehow at 6-under heading into the weekend, what are the thoughts looking ahead to tomorrow? RUSSELL KNOX: Got to keep going. It's going to take another 6, 8-under on the weekend to have a chance or I hope it's windy. I like playing in the wind. No, I look forward to it. Like I said, the greens are so great, looking forward to it. Q. Greens are going to suit you. RUSSELL KNOX: Absolutely. Q. Russ, we spoke last after a good run on Friday and another good round on Friday. You're a Friday guy? RUSSELL KNOX: I think the trick is four rounds. I've had some good individual rounds, but it's going to take four good ones if I ever want to win one of these things. Q. It is picking up, the wind. Tough conditions out there. Bogey-free 64. That's solid playing, Russ. RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah. One of the things I really focus is to try to make as few bogies as possible. So I made a couple nice par saves and, I mean, the greens are so perfect, I love the bermuda here and I see my lines nicely. Nice to see some putts go in. Q. The putt saved you some strokes. I think it did today. You -- 54 percent fairways hit. The putt made up for a few mistakes off the tee, didn't it? RUSSELL KNOX: The fairways are pretty tight here at times. I was in the first cut a couple times, I think but, no, good putting makes up for bad hitting for sure. Q. Talk about the SeeMoore for our listeners, got the little red dot on the top.  Payne Stewart won, Jack Nicklaus won a Masters with one. Why does it work for you, the SeeMoore putter? RUSSELL KNOX: Gives me the consistency. It's the same every time, same ball position, get it flat on the ground. Just allows me to release the putter nicely and it's been working so far. I hope it continues. Q. It worked great today. One last question about the tee shot at 8, the par 3. What a great tee shot inside 3 feet. RUSSELL KNOX: I needed the wind to die a fraction. I smashed the 8-iron in there, caught it perfect and released. It's always nice to go up there when it's that close. Q. Let's keep it going this weekend. RUSSELL KNOX: I agree. Q. Looked like a low stress second round for you, Russell. Six birdies, no bogies. How did you get it going on Friday? RUSSELL KNOX: I mean, I putted well. It all comes down to rolling in a few birdie putts and a few nice par saves. That's key to me. If I can drive it good and putt it good, then normally you score well. Q. After shooting 70 on Thursday, you had four birdies the first six holes today. Did you have an aggressive mindset starting on the backside? RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah, finishing my round yesterday I made two 10-foot par saves on 17 and 18. They were huge. Now I go out and start well this morning and I'm in the tournament. If I miss those coming in, shoot a couple over, I mean I'm in big trouble. It's amazing how silly this game is. Q. What are you going to try to carry over in the weekend with 36 to go? RUSSELL KNOX: I got to swing as free as possible and try and get on the green and aim at the hole. It's pretty simple. Just got to go for it. Q. Working formula so far. Thanks for the time. RUSSELL KNOX: Yes. Q. You know, it's rare in these kind of conditions where somebody can go out and put a bogey-free, 6-under, 66 today. The conditions are tougher. The wind is blowing. You have to feel good about the way your game is today. RUSSELL KNOX: I feel great. There's so many holes on this course, you're a little on edge. There's a lot of water. Obviously I managed to keep it out of the water and hit good shots when I really needed to. Q. When you put this together, you know, you come in and you're even and now you're right there at the top of the leaderboard while there's a lot of guys still left to play. Obviously this is the kind of move you were hoping for today? RUSSELL KNOX: Yeah, I made two good par saves at the end of my round yesterday and last night to even keep me at even and now came out and shoot 64. I mean, it's a silly game and it happened so fast. It means nothing. It was a great round but still two very difficult days to come. Q. When you look at the course, was it tricky? Was the wind tricky? Because again there's some guys that are putting up some scores, but for the most part it seems like the course is biting back a little bit. RUSSELL KNOX: It's not overly windy. My ball flight growing up in Scotland, I can pierce it through the wind pretty easily. So it's warm, too. The wind doesn't affect it too much when it's this warm. It's not too big a deal. I wish it would pick up this afternoon. Q. When you put together 64 like you did today, you know it's out there for your game, is that what -- is that what you'll go to bed tonight thinking about, I know what takes to score well out there? RUSSELL KNOX: This is my best round ever on this course. So at least now I've proven to myself, hey, I can do it, I can shoot a great score around here. Obviously a huge confidence boost going into the weekend. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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