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THE GREENBRIER CLASSICJuly 2, 2015Jonathan ByrdWHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Jonathan Byrd into the interview room after a bogey-free 7-under par 63. Jonathan, great start to the tournament. If we can get some comments on your round. JONATHAN BYRD: Well, today was fun. I got to play with two good friends, Michael Putnam and Scott Langley, and you know, Scott was playing really well all day, so we kind of fed off each other, and he was hitting the ball well, driving it well, and he was kind of our leader starting on most holes, so he kind of set a good pace and I was able to make some putts and chipped in once. Just kind of stayed out of trouble today, which was nice. JOHN BUSH: Wet start to the round earlier this morning, but just comment overall on the conditions if you can. JONATHAN BYRD: Yeah, I mean, the course is in great shape. I think what makes this course really difficult is when the greens get firm and when the wind gets up because it swirls around the golf course. But we didn't have wind and the course was soft, so scores are going to be great, and that's why you're seeing so many good scores. Q. Well, describe the hole and your chip-in and some of your better holes and shots today. JONATHAN BYRD: Well, I chipped in on 11. No. 9, I made about probably a 25-footer up the hill and got a good read off Michael's putt, and then 10, I made about probably a 40-footer, 45-footer up over a slope. That was kind of a surprise. And then went to 11 and hit a pretty good iron shot just left of the pin, landed on the front fringe and kind of spun off the green or came down a slope, and I had a pretty easy chip straight up the gut, but with the bentgrass being kind of soft, you're always kind of leery of chunking it because it's soft, but I kind of hit it just how I wanted to, and it went right in the hole. Q. How important is it to have a guy playing as good as Scott in your group, right there for you to watch? JONATHAN BYRD: I think it's -- I mean, you know, momentum is a great thing, and when you see somebody kind of playing well, getting some momentum in their round, it's playing out in front of me, so you go, hey, I can do that. He was hitting good shot after good shot, so it was something good to follow, and it gives you a good visual, and it helps a lot seeing a guy making putts and playing aggressive. Q. As good as you played with seven birdies, 11 pars, did you feel like you left a couple shots and could have been even better? JONATHAN BYRD: I always do. I would love to have made -- I made a great birdie on 16 -- 15, the par-4, I hit a 4-iron in to about a foot from 215, and then I had good chances on the last three holes. I had a wedge into 16, I had a wedge into 17, and I had a wedge into 18, and you know, had three good opportunities and didn't make any of those putts. I would have liked to have made one of those, but today was a great round. I haven't had many of those this year. Q. Did the course change at all? The sun came out momentarily and then cloud cover and then rain again towards the tail end? JONATHAN BYRD: It did a little bit, but the condition of the course never changed. Starting off the round, the ball -- I'd say the first three holes the ball was going normal distance, but up here at the Greenbrier the ball starts going a little bit further, and by the time we got on hole 4 the ball started traveling a little bit further, and then the rest of the day, the course played the exact same all day. Q. You got into the field this time on sponsor exemption, correct? JONATHAN BYRD: I did. I did. I was like fourth alternate last Friday, and then Johnson Wagner got in on his number, and then I got his spot. So very thankful to be just in the field this week. Q. Were there some tense moments going, am I even going to get to play? JONATHAN BYRD: Absolutely. You know, I had my wife traveling by herself with three kids on Monday, and she was all packed and ready to go, waking up that morning on Monday, not knowing if I was going to get in the field. It was a little tense for her, but I just kind of -- once you get to the summer, you start to have a few withdrawals, and I felt pretty comfortable that I was going to get in, but you just never know. Q. Do you have a -- JONATHAN BYRD: Do you want me to talk about Scott again? Q. Do you have a spot in the British? JONATHAN BYRD: I do not. Q. Talk about the motivation for that this week. JONATHAN BYRD: Who wouldn't want to play in the British Open at St. Andrews? That's enough motivation as it is. If you've got a pulse, you want to play in that. But doing it is another thing. You want to block it out of your mind. Probably on Sunday it will be difficult. Q. Did you feel like the course conditions allowed you to be more aggressive? JONATHAN BYRD: Sure. I mean, the greens are soft and there's no wind, so you've got to look for opportunities to make birdies and give your putts a chance and stay aggressive on all fronts. We were making -- some of the holes, the par-3 coming in on 15 is 215 yards with the green soft, so it's a green light, if you hit a good shot you can hit it close, and Scott and I both hit good shots and both made birdie. JOHN BUSH: Jonathan Byrd, thank you, sir. We'll bring Scott over. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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