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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 16, 2015

Jordan Spieth

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

Q. Talk about the birdie on 18.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was certainly nice to finish that way. I hit a drive that would have been in big, big trouble on any other hole. Luckily it was the 18th at St. Andrews. Got a good number. I walked the entire thing off. It was like 92 yards I walked to the green because we weren't sure from that angle how far we had. To see that putt go in was nice. To steal the one back from 17 and to shoot even par on the back nine, which once you turn into that breeze, is a good score.

Q. What was the hardest shot you had today and the hardest shot you pulled off today to your satisfaction?
JORDAN SPIETH: Hardest shot I had today has to be just the first two shots on 17. That's just -- I was actually lined up to take it down the left side of the fairway there knowing that if I didn't strike it well, it'll get up in the wind and actually hit the right fairway. So I wasn't trying to hit it where I hit it, just worked out that way. And then 17 today, you purposely try and miss the green on the second shot. There's almost no other way around it. That kind of takes away the point of the hole, but at the same time, it's the Road Hole at St. Andrews, and today's pin position is really the only time you can't really play the hole. I got it into the bunker there and hit a good bunker shot and just not a great putt. But the best shot I pulled off today, I'm not sure, maybe birdieing No. 11 was nice. It dropped about 10 degrees on our 10th hole and the wind started picking up, and to get that ball to stay up there and knock that putt in to go to 6-under gave me a little extra breathing room.

Q. 67 for your first round, you might be delighted.
JORDAN SPIETH: I am, I'm very pleased with the start. I saw a 65 in our group, and if D.J. keeps driving it the way he is, then I'm going to have to play my best golf to have a chance. It's hard to argue with somebody who's splitting bunkers at about 380 yards and just two-putting for birdie on five or six of the holes when there's only two par-5s. I don't have that in the bag, so I've got to make up for it with ball-striking.

Q. Fortunes went different ways between you and Dustin at Chambers Bay. What was it like to play with him today, and what has the chat been like between the two of you?
JORDAN SPIETH: Same as always. No chat about the U.S. Open at all, as I wouldn't imagine there would be, other than talking about the differences in the course or here and there. But I enjoy playing with Dustin. I've played a lot of golf with him. You know, it was unfortunate -- it was an unfortunate ending to the Open in general, and today we just got off to a normal round of golf like always, and we were able to actually feed off each other and enjoy the day.

Q. Do you think you can beat him?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I think I can -- if I didn't, I would go ahead and walk off and take a flight back home tomorrow.

Q. With the changing weather does the real Open start tomorrow morning?
JORDAN SPIETH: Well, no, the real Open started today. You need to put yourself in good position to have some shots to spare and not worry about a cut line or anything, so once tomorrow -- we never know with the forecast. It's definitely going to be a brutal day tomorrow. We just don't know when the rain is going to start, when it's going to stop, if it's going to come back. I think that tomorrow is a true Scottish day that we all should enjoy the challenge ahead, but today is certainly a big day to try and get off to a good start.

Q. Given the way you played today, do you think there's been too much made of the lack of course knowledge, not getting here early, all that stuff?
JORDAN SPIETH: I didn't know that there was any of that stuff, but I appreciate it (laughter).

Q. Seriously, there was some talk about you could have come early and all that.
JORDAN SPIETH: I certainly could have, but I wanted to come off of a competitive tournament. I could have played the Scottish, as well. I wanted to go somewhere I was comfortable playing and figured I could get in contention and feel the nerves, and that's what happened. Our game plan worked out perfectly, and we knew -- Michael has walked two or three extra rounds on this course this week already. He also was out here at 4:00 something this morning walking the course and the pins. It takes a little extra work when we're over here maybe than if we were over early, but all in all, we had full and complete trust in our knowledge.

Q. When Dustin is on top of his game and hitting it as long as he is, what's it like to deal with that?
JORDAN SPIETH: I'm sure it can be -- I would imagine it can be for some. I've played enough golf with him to where I believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has. No, I expect when he stands on the tee it's going to be up there miles and down the fairway. I also expect that I can birdie each hole when I stand on the tee. It just happens to be a little different route.

Q. What are the differences playing in front of British galleries to the American ones?
JORDAN SPIETH: The differences in the galleries? Great fans everywhere. Very, very knowledgeable fans over here. I love the giant grandstands. You don't have those as much at Augusta. You certainly didn't have many, other than the closing holes at Chambers Bay. You know you're at the Open Championship when you're walking these fairways and seeing these grandstands on each hole. It's cool that the patrons here are able to see multiple holes at once and multiple greens at once when they're shared. I think it's a very spectator-friendly golf course and one that people really enjoy coming to. We love playing it and we love the fans over here.

Q. Did you expect Dustin to bounce back after Chambers Bay?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I think he played extremely well at Chambers. I expected him to continue playing well because he really doesn't play bad ever. It's not like he really messed up Chambers. It just was an unfortunate last hole for him. I think that I certainly expect him to be a guy to beat every single time you play. He's got as much talent or more than anybody. You just have to outplay him.

Q. What's the vibe out there? Is it different than a Thursday than it might be on a Sunday?
JORDAN SPIETH: Possibly, yeah. I imagine on a Sunday it's different with everybody, even if you're with your best buddy you've played a million rounds with. It's certainly going to change from Thursday to Sunday just because you -- just because you're more just getting into a groove versus when -- you're kind of rooting for each other to get into contention versus on Sunday you're just rooting for yourself to just outplay.

Q. Do you give DeAndre Jordan (inaudible)?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I don't know the details of everything that happened. Whatever is the best decision for him.

Q. Is it frustrating to have a five-hour round?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, a little bit, but if today took a little over five hours, tomorrow might take a little over six. Can't think too much about it. It's tough when you stand on those tees and you have to wait for two groups to play and then you've got to hit a tee shot into a small area with the wind whipping into you from the left. It definitely makes it more challenging because you want to just keep it in the groove. But it happens. It happens on challenging courses, especially in major championships, and as long as we make it through tomorrow, then you should have pairs on the weekend that will go a little quicker.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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