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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2015

Graham DeLaet

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

DOUG MILNE: Graham DeLaet, thank you for joining us for a few minutes here after a successful 6-under 64 in round three after I guess taking advantage of some pretty benign conditions Saturday. With that, you find yourself in great position heading into Sunday. Just a few comments?

GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I played well all day. It was just a fun kind of stress free round of golf. I had to make a few five or six footers for par on the front nine. Settled in really nicely and just kind of got on a nice little run on that back nine. I had a lot of good chances. Didn't make them all, but I played really well and I was happy with the round obviously.

Q. Could you talk about your eagle there on 15?
GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, it was a fun shot. It's such a great hole, especially being the 15th hole. I think it's positioned perfectly on this golf course. I hit a great 3-wood. It was right at the hole, and I knew it had a chance of being good, but at the same time you kind of need to get the right bounce to have a really good look at eagle. Judging by the crowd's reaction out there, it was pretty close to a one, and really just left myself in a perfect position six feet below the hole, left edge and just kind of banged it in there.

Q. We understand it's your wife's birthday today, and you guys are expecting twins. Can you talk about how much does being in a good place personally affects your golf game?
GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, it definitely helps. Obviously, this is special today for Ruby being her birthday. She had a nice round and getting into contention. I mean, having kids is something that we've both been looking forward to for a long time. To have twins is even twice as good. Yeah, I mean, everything is just great in our lives right now. It definitely doesn't hurt to be playing good golf and everything is just super positive.

Q. Obviously you're here to win, but there are also four places in the Open at St. Andrews on offer here this week. Is that on your mind at all?
GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a goal. It's disappointing that I've kind of fallen down the World Rankings and I'm not in that event as it is. So it's important for me especially at St. Andrews with the history there, obviously. But at the same time, I think tomorrow I just need to go out and take it one shot at a time, as clichÃ© as it is, and try to win the golf tournament. If I can play good golf, then that should take care of itself.

Q. You were third round a couple years ago, you were in the exact same spot at this time. Could you talk a little about what you remember from that weekend? Also, could you walk us through your beard, I know you've had it on and off a few times.
GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, this is a golf course that I really enjoy playing. I feel like it suits my game well, so I've had some experience here. I was in the final group on Sunday, so I can kind of draw off that. As far as the beard, I was playing some bad golf so I kind of just needed a change. But those guys from Sky Sports and CBS had some pictures of the beard and it looked pretty good, so it might not be long before I bring it back.

Q. It's supposed to rain pretty heavily overnight. How does that affect your preparation going into tomorrow?
GRAHAM DELAET: Well, obviously the course is going to play a lot softer. There is a chance of mud balls for sure. But going off both tees, the tee times aren't going to be spread out quite as much, so everyone's going to be kind of playing the same thing within a two-hour window. So we're all going to be basically playing the same course. If there are mud balls, it's going to happen to everyone. But at the same time with any kind of softer greens, I mean, it's going to be kind of target practice there too. So if you're hitting fairways and your irons are on, you have a good chance of going super low.

Q. You had some pretty serious back surgery a few years ago. Do you ever think about that anymore? How much of a difference is it playing now if you're not thinking about it?
GRAHAM DELAET: I think about it every single day. It still is a lingering problem that I'm always working on. I haven't been super healthy this year. But the last couple months I've been moving really well and feeling a lot better. My golf game's starting to come around too, which is nice. My last three events I felt like I've played really well and haven't gotten much out of it. I wasn't really making putts, a couple silly swings here and there. But you always know when you're playing well deep inside. I feel like it's been like that a month and a half. Just kind of getting some confidence going, and it's all kind of starting to roll together. That's why I find myself in this position.
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