home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com		 ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP


July 18, 2015


Eric Gagne

Mark Mulder

Josh Scobee

Jack Wagner


STATELINE, NEVADA

THE MODERATOR:  We have our leaders.  Josh Scobee, you just tied the tournament record with 33 points, tying Billy Joe Tolliver in 2010 on his way to victory.  We have Mark Mulder, yesterday's leader, he's right in the hunt.  Jack Wagner just keeps on doing it.  Let's start off with Josh since you had the numbers today.  Take us through the round because that was something special.
JOSH SCOBEE:  Today was a good day for putting.  Honestly, getting the putter going early is what helped me.  My goal was to hit greens in regulation and give myself a chance at putts.
And the way I was putting, my mindset was just to get it inside 15feet, and I was going to have a chance at making the putt.  And I rolled a bunch of them in today and just kept myself out of trouble for the most part.
I made a couple of bogeys but it could have been a couple better obviously.  The bogeys were just a little unforced errors.  But overall it was a great day for putting.
THE MODERATOR:  Tournament record is 84 points by Billy Joe back in '10.  You're 27 within that.  I know tomorrow is another day and today was a good one, but what does that feel like to you?  How do you feel about that?
JOSH SCOBEE:  I didn't know that was the record.  I'm not even thinking about it, to tell you the truth.  I'm going to stick to my game plan and that's hitting greens in regulation, no three‑putts and no doubles.  Typically if you hit the ball well enough here and putt, then you're going to give yourself a chance.  So I'm just going to stick to my game plan.
MODERATOR:  Mark Mulder, 26 points yesterday, 26 today.  A little inconsistent, huh?
MARK MULDER:  Yeah, it was a little up‑and‑down, to be honest with you.  I didn't start off that great.  I then birdied 10 and 11.  Birdied 16 and then eagled 18.
I really‑‑ you know, it didn't feel like ‑‑ I think I shot 69.  It didn't feel like it, to be honest with you.  Ball wasn't coming off that good, but I made some shots when I needed to and ended the way I needed to.  I three‑putted 17 which I didn't like, but for the most the points are there and I just wanted to find a way to get myself in that final group, and 18 enabled myself to do that.
THE MODERATOR:  Jack, take us through your round ‑‑ 26 yesterday and 20 today.
JACK WAGNER:  I had a real ugly finish, but that's part of golf.  But I've been hitting the ball really solid.  I had it two under today after right around 11 or 12 or so, and I think just was‑‑ I birdied 14 to get it two or three under for the day, and then I just had a couple of wrecks coming in unfortunately.  The best part about this, like Josh's round today, if you get the putter going, everybody's long enough, these guys are super long, but even someone like myself that's an average ball, distance, you know, if you get the putter going, you can have a round like he had.  So we're all aware of that.  Tomorrow is going to be a great day for the final three groups.

Q.  Josh, what happened there on 18, 3‑wood, I understand and 52 degree wedge?
JOSH SCOBEE:  I wish that was true.  But it was a driver, I had 175 in from the rough.  The ball was sitting down a hair and the wind is helping off the right.
So I was trying to kind of cut a wedge or just kind of hold it off, but the rough grabbed my wedge and turned it straight over and I hit it in the water.
But the other bogeys that I made yesterday and the other one today, I just tried to not let it faze me.  Because I know that bogeys aren't going to be that big of a factor.  It's not like stroke play.  It's zero points.  So I'm not going to let anything bother me, especially when people yelling at me on the 18th green.  So that and the bogey didn't bother me.

Q.  I think you had a little bit better day than Tiger did, by the way.  Tough day.
JOSH SCOBEE:  No comment on that.  Zero comment on that.

Q.  Josh, since you brought up Tiger Woods, there's a story about you challenging Tiger to a round.  Can you elaborate on that?
JOSH SCOBEE:  Yeah.  If anyone follows me on social media, you know that 99percent of my tweets are sarcasm.  And I just happened to be sitting in line at Chick‑fil‑A one day picking up dinner for my family and I thought, this sounds funny.  Maybe I should‑‑
MARK MULDER:  At the moment.
JOSH SCOBEE:  Yeah, sounded really funny at the moment.  So I decided to tweet a joke of a challenge to Tiger Woods for an obscene amount of money, and offer him two shots a side.  But that's the funny part about it.  That's the joke is that it's two shots a side.  I would need a lot more strokes than that.  But people were commenting on it, saying that I was kicking him while he was down.
I understand that.  Maybe they're right.  But in all honesty, it was a joke and I would have no chance playing him, even at his worst.

Q.  What would you do if he actually accepted your challenge?
JOSH SCOBEE:  I would respectfully decline (laughter) and if we could take a lot of zeros off the dollar amount, maybe, yeah, I would do it, because it would be fun for the time on the golf course.  But I don't think I could compete with him even at his worst.

Q.  Jack, I wanted to ask, I know 17 is a distraction and it's crazy fun.  But looks like something actually happened in your backstroke.  Do you mind sharing what went down there?
JACK WAGNER:  It was just one of those unfortunate things.  But I think they escorted him out and might have had a little too much to drink, but shanked it over in the crowd and it happens, I guess.  But, you know, 17 is a great hole, so I have to keep my focus a little better, maybe.

Q.  You've been in the final round a whole bunch of times before in the last group.  Do you have any advice to these gentlemen tomorrow, because I imagine they'll be in that final group?
MARK MULDER:  Yes, I do.  The only thing I could suggest to anybody is focus on your 4‑footers, because it really comes down to that.  Because if you can grind it out‑‑ whether it's for par, bogey, birdie‑‑ you know it really is a management‑‑ this format is about management.
So everybody chokes coming in and gets nervous.  So just manage it, boys, and you'll have fun out there.

Q.  Josh, two quick questions.  Tell us about 16, a par 5, you eagled it, you picked up six points, went from 50 to 56 and pulled away.  And then on 17 Rem picked up that kid, Grant, to wear the hat.  You were talking to him, interacting with him on the green.  Obviously your place‑kicking focus kicked in every time you had to approach the ball.  That was some great shots and that was some great moments.
JOSH SCOBEE:  Yup, 16, I eagled it.  Had 249 in, hit 3‑iron to about eight feet.  Rolled that in.  So that was a fun way to get the juices flowing.  On 17, like you said, my caddie was wearing the obscene, disgusting sombrero‑‑ he's just basically trying to steer the attention away from me.  And he did a pretty good job of it.
So we tweeted earlier that we were going to be giving that at hat away on 17 to someone in the crowd and let them caddie me.  So he gave it to that kid who happens to be an Indianapolis Colts fan, who is one of our division rivals.  I turned him into a Jaguars fan.  I told him if I got it upanddown on 17 that he was going to have to become a Jaguars fan.  Luckily I made that 4‑footer and he's now a Jaguars fan.
THE MODERATOR:  Eric Gagne has joined us.  Josh, I was mistaken, it was Gagne's caddie that said it was 3‑wood, 52‑degree wedge.  Is that correct?
ERIC GAGNE:  It was, 3‑wood, gap wedge.
THE MODERATOR:  Fairly serious.  Take us through your round.  The others have shared their experience with us so far.  Great round.
ERIC GAGNE:  It will be fun.  It was pretty easy, pretty fun, just to play with Josh, who had a good round.  And I had a great time today.  Good guys and it's always inspiring when you see these guys drop some putts every angle, so I just tried to follow up with them a little bit, just try to keep up and played good today.

Q.  As far as stroke play, what do you think you would have shot stroke‑wise today?
ERIC GAGNE:  No idea.  I think it was 4‑under.
JOSH SCOBEE:  Mine was 6.

Q.  Mark?
MARK MULDER:  I think I was 69.  I think I was 3 under.  But we had a bet, so our caddies are going to have to check it out.
ERIC GAGNE:  I checked it already.  I won.  That's why I was late.
MARK MULDER:  I made eagle so I think that made up for it.
ERIC GAGNE:  Where?
MARK MULDER:  18.
JOSH SCOBEE:  He hits the ball a mile.  Ask him how he hits the ball a mile.
ERIC GAGNE:  Swing hard.

Q.  Your 18 tee shot, was that unusual?  Shot out like a rocket.  Have you hit balls that hard before and that far?
ERIC GAGNE:  Yeah.  That's what I do swing hard.  That's it.  When in doubt, swing hard.

Q.  Did you think if you went driver there it wouldn't reach water?
ERIC GAGNE:  I can't hit a driver there.  It's too narrow.  I don't know what to do with a driver there.  4‑wood, tried to hit it as hard as I can and hit it good.  This one I hit it good.
JOSH SCOBEE:  I called it right off the tee I go, whoa!  I gave him a fist bump because I could hear the ones he was hitting today and when he catches one it's, like, oh my goodness.  It's impressive.

Q.  Jack, do you feel you let a few strokes get away on the front?  You missed I think you had maybe three or four 5‑ or 6‑footers for birdie?
JACK WAGNER:  Thanks for bringing that up.  Yeah, absolutely.  I mean, if I putted like Josh today I probably would have had a score like Josh's, but it kind of averages out in this.  I made a couple of 25‑footers for birdied, and I'm not good enough to make 6‑footers for birdie all the time.  I think that's part of this tournament, that you have a lot of wedges and sand wedges in and you just have to kind of accept that you're just‑‑ we're not good enough to hit it that close, at least I'm not.
But I hit it close and I think I choked.  I was close about three or four times and I didn't know what to do.  I was just sort of used to 15feet.  But, again, thank you for bringing that up at this point.

Q.  What effect do you think Timberlake has had on the crowd out on 17 and 18 coming in?  The numbers are huge right now.  It's crazy out there.
JOSH SCOBEE:  It's unbelievable.  Luckily he's deflecting all the attention away from us and taking about 5,000 more people to his group.  But it's been cool to have him here because we've got to meet him and interact with him, and he's been great with everybody.
ERIC GAGNE:  I got nothing.  It's pretty cool.  It's fun to see him play.  And the crowd, they love him.  So it's really, really fun to be here, first of all, part of this, and it brings a lot of big crowds.  And that's what we all play for.  We play every day, we think we are pretty good sometimes, but then to have the crowd around, have more people that you really challenge your game and see where you're at.  That's what it's all about.
MARK MULDER:  I said to him yesterday on the putting green, I said, don't take the whole gallery with you.  He said, you can have them.  But to be honest, that's honest.  And that's what I love is that it's very truthful.  He said a lot of the people follow him didn't quite understand the game.  So he had a lot of people moving when he's trying to make shots and making noises when he's trying to make putts.
So, to his credit, I appreciate him being out here because the more people, the better, man.  I think it's great.
THE MODERATOR:  Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
About ASAP Sports • FastScripts Archive • Recent Interviews • Captioning • Upcoming Events • Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297