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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BY COCA-COLA

September 25, 2015

Jordan Spieth

Atlanta, Georgia

Q. Jordan, 4-under par, 66 out there. Nine for nine scrambling. How tough was it out there today?
JORDAN SPIETH: It was a tougher day for sure. With the mist and the rain coming down here and there, tougher to drive the golf ball because there's water on the face, water on the ball and it's easy to let shots get further off line than normal.

So to salvage the round, 5 and 6 were big holes for me for this tournament. To be able to get those up-and-down and to stay at even par and then get a couple birdies, it was huge.

Yeah, it was not pretty tee to green for me, and I got a lot of work to do in that category for the next two days.

But around the greens I feel comfortable on Bermuda, this is exactly the stuff I grew up on. It's as comfortable as I feel all year. I love the greens here, I love the tough rough and the bunkers.

So, if we can hit a few more greens and not rely on nine for nine, that would be fantastic. But to shoot 4-under, hitting nine greens is another thing that's, that I can take as a positive.

Q. How was the condition of the golf course out there today?
JORDAN SPIETH: It was wet, but not too many mud balls. This Zoysia is very mat-like, so it doesn't get down into the dirt very easily. And when there was mud on it, it was normally wet mud, which doesn't affect the ball too much.

The hardest part was just around the greens in the rough. When it's wet, it can be diabolical sometimes. The ball just sits right down to the bottom and it's hard to get to.

But the greens were still rolling great. There's only 30 guys, so they're not spiked up. You get a nice, pure -- and the speed of them are easier to make putts on than normal.

All in all, I think that we're going to get rain the next day or so, but the course is holding up nicely.

Q. What was your goal for the day in relationship to the lead?
JORDAN SPIETH: I wanted to shoot 4-under. I wanted to shoot 4. I think if I can double what I'm at now -- this golf course even though it seems like you can shoot some really low scores, it doesn't tend to yield them. I've seen that over two years time now. 6-under is about as, 6-, 7-under is about as low as you normally see. So if I can try and get three each round the next couple rounds would be a good goal to have.

Q. How critical was 5 and 6 for you?
JORDAN SPIETH: It was huge. 5, I thought I may have to re-tee, and I was just kind of all over the place at that time.

I played 4 nicely, missed a short birdie putt and I was a little frustrated.

And that third shot I hit on 5 is -- I mean, one out of ten, maybe. It wasn't -- there was no other option, but it wasn't necessarily smart. And I had to have the wind blowing this branch back and forth, I had to hit when it blew it this way or else it would have gone up into it. So, to get that one up-and-down and then to make that putt on 6.

I stayed mentally in it. That's what Michael mentioned today when we had just finished the round, he said, mentally that was the best round you've played in a while. Especially there on 5 and 6. And that kept us in it. It kept us in the tournament, it kept us in the round.

And when I stood over the putt on 6, I felt very, very comfortable, even though it was a longer par putt. I just felt a little bit better over the ball than I have recently and throughout the rest of the round it really felt that way.

Q. You talked yesterday about wanting to square the club better than you did yesterday. Did you do that better today?
JORDAN SPIETH: Not necessarily, no. It's still a struggle tee to green. It really is. I'll figure it out. I think it's close. It looks fine, it's just a matter of ball position or setup, it's something minor that I think once it clicks and I have a go-to ball flight. I just don't feel like I have a go-to ball flight right now, which is normally when I play my best. I have a reliable shot at least to hit if you're off that day.

Yeah, it wasn't quite squared up. It was a little bit better though. But I missed it where I could get up-and-down and was really careful to do so and that's why we were able to salvage the round.

Q. You're supposed to be able to score well. You're supposed to keep it in the fairway here from what I've been told. What's the difference of the importance of being in the fairway when it's wet and when it's dry?
JORDAN SPIETH: I don't think it makes much of a difference here, just given the rough. It is sitting down into this rough and it -- I think it can play a little bit thicker on full-swing shots out of the rough when it's wet.

I found today that the few time we were in the rough, that it just didn't get through the grass as easily as it does when it's dry. It just -- it's a little heavier grass, I guess with the dew laying on top.

But it is -- these fairways are not very wide and there is a big premium on hitting it in them, because can you catch some good breaks, the ball sitting up a little bit in the rough, but then you got to worry about the flier.

So when it's sitting down, you just got to advance it short of the green. And when it's sitting up, hopefully it comes off the way you want it.

Q. Jason said he had 195 yard 3-wood today out of the rough. Did you have any of those?
JORDAN SPIETH: I have probably hit a few 220 yard drives this week, but that was off of a tee.

I had a -- I hit a 7-iron on number 10 about 135, 140 yards, when I had 185 to the hole. And it wasn't even a bad lie in the rough.

So, yeah, you got to be careful. You got to keep the ball in play.

Q. The mental issues you referenced in tournaments prior, was it just a long year?
JORDAN SPIETH: Maybe, yeah. Maybe just a little bit of mental fatigue. I don't know. I'm not going to throw it to that because by the time I stand on the first tee, I've got plenty of adrenaline and excitement and I love competing, so it's still there.

But I think that mistakes wear on me a little bit. They have worn on me a little quicker recently.

Today it wasn't the case. I know that this golf course, like I mentioned earlier, I know that 2, 3-under is a good score. And that actually in the past, in the past rounds I played with Jason, I mean he's 6-under at the turn and that's when it will really wear on you.

When you know that the course is a bit harder, and you don't need to do as much, it's easier to stay patient. So that's why I like playing on challenging golf courses, that's the reason why. Hopefully nobody goes nuts this weekend and if somebody does, it's me.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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