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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 8, 2015

Patrick Rodgers

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

AMANDA HERRINGTON: We'd like to welcome Patrick Rodgers here to the interview room. Patrick, you do have tonsillitis. You were diagnosed with that yesterday, so we'll try and be brief for you since I know it probably doesn't feel great to talk right now. You do have a special history here at the John Deere Classic. This is your fourth start here, and I know as a junior golfer you got the chance to come over and were actually here the year Jonathan Byrd won, and now playing here as a professional for the second time. Record book, you are the only amateur to play here with all four rounds in the 60s so certainly a special history of this event for you. Talk a little bit about being here and your Midwest upbringing, what it's like to play here.

PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, sorry about my voice, guys, but yeah, very, very excited to be back. This is maybe the most special event on the PGA TOUR for me, obviously playing well here as an amateur, having such great memories coming to the event just as a spectator and watching some of the best players in the world. I can remember walking the back nine after play was over and walking down the fairways and just kind of imagining myself being in that position, having a chance to win. It's been really cool to play this event three times now, and I really feel like I've progressed nicely as a player, and I feel like I'm ready to be in that position that I saw myself being in, I think it was in 2007. I feel like I'm ready to win out here, and I'm excited for the opportunity this week.

AMANDA HERRINGTON: This tournament does have a special meaning for a lot of players. You have guys from the local areas, guys that have done well and it's been a catalyst for their careers, so what are you looking for specifically this week with how wonderfully you've been playing this season?

PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, this is really exciting for me because a lot of my friends and family come over. It's a four-hour drive from where I grew up and where a lot of my friends and family still live, so I'm really excited to see everyone. I know my dad has been bugging everybody for tickets, and I think we have plenty of people coming over this week, so I'm excited to see so many familiar faces.

Q. Spieth won a couple years ago. Having seen what he did as a young guy, how much does that inspire you to say, this could be my week, this could be my launching pad?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, obviously this week was everything for Jordan, not only was the win that got him into the British Open but it got him all his FedExCup points that he had earned, and I think he ended up making it to the TOUR Championship that year and I think making a Cup team. This was everything for him. I obviously have ambitions to be in contention and to win every week, but I couldn't think of a more special place to kind of have my springboard event than to be here for sure.

Q. Spieth was on special membership at the time; so are you. Do you look at comparisons between you two at all?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, Jordan and I have been good friends for a long time. We grew up playing golf together throughout the junior ranks, played a lot of golf together my freshman year in college, and obviously his trajectory just happened a little bit earlier than mine with him turning pro after his freshman year. He's definitely earned all the success that he's had. He's taken advantage of every opportunity, and it's really, really cool to see. He gives young guys like me, especially guys who have grown up playing against him, a lot of confidence that when we get in the same position we can have a lot of success, as well.

Q. Talk about your throat. When did you come down with this?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, I started noticing it last Sunday. Just had a little bit of a sore throat, and just kept getting worse and worse, and so I went to the doctor yesterday, wasn't feeling very good, had trouble eating and drinking because I couldn't swallow very much, and he said I had pretty bad tonsillitis. They had to give me a shot. I don't really like shots. I'm kind of a weenie when it comes to all that. But it was definitely well worth it. I feel better today despite how bad I sound.

Q. Did they talk about just taking a round?
PATRICK RODGERS: No, they're just trying to treat it with antibiotics.

Q. Michael Jordan-esque, playing through illness, is it going to help you focus? Is it going to be a distraction?
PATRICK RODGERS: It's not quite that bad. I sound bad. I feel okay. But I didn't come to the golf course yesterday, just kind of hung out and rested. I'd say if there's one event that I know the golf course well enough to not play a practice round, it would probably be here. But I feel like my game is in a good place. I'm going to get a good practice in today and luckily I have an afternoon tee time tomorrow, so I'll be able to get some more rest and sleep in, and the antibiotics will keep kicking in, so I'm sure I'll be fine come tournament time.

Q. 2013 tournament was obviously a special time for you. What do you draw away from that coming back here now that it's your fifth time here?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, that year, 2013 was my first time really being kind of in contention or in the mix at a PGA TOUR event, so even if it wasn't here, that's great experience to drawback on. But especially coming back here and being on the same golf course, the same event, it definitely gives me a lot of confidence that I can be in the same position again. I feel like I've progressed so much as a player in those two years, and just have so much more tournament experience on the PGA TOUR that I think is really invaluable. I have a lot of belief that I can get back to that position, and if I do that I can play really well.

Q. What's working with your game right now? Obviously the Wells Fargo, great finish there, you've made the last four cuts.
PATRICK RODGERS: I'm just getting more comfortable out here. I'm putting myself in the mix a lot more. I'm playing a lot more consistent golf. I need to do a better job of finishing off golf tournaments. That's something I'm still working on. But it's definitely good for me to see myself towards the top of the leaderboard through two and three rounds week after week.

Q. Do you feel like you're getting closer to figuring out how to finish off a tournament out here on this level?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yes. This week could be the week.

Q. Do you look back -- 2013, do you just kind of do the same things or have you improved what you do each round?
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, it's all about -- every event has been a little bit different. It's all about getting comfortable in each unique situation. But the more I can make a Sunday near the top of the leaderboard feel like a Thursday and Friday, I think, the better. I'm still figuring it out, but I think I'm very close.

Q. Talk about being back here as a TOUR professional this time other than as an amateur.
PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, I played last year as a professional, and it was a cool experience for me. It was my fourth week in a row, which was a really unique experience for me, playing every week in the Monday pro-ams. It really felt like a busy schedule that I wasn't used to, and I think it showed in the way that I played here last year. I was frustrated not to play as well as I can. But this year I'm used to it all. I'm used to the travel. I'm used to the routines of playing golf out here on the PGA TOUR, and so I feel very confident that I'll have my "A" game.

AMANDA HERRINGTON: Thank you for sharing your special history with this tournament, and we'll let you go and get some more rest.

PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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