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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 16, 2016

Kevin Kisner

Honolulu, Hawaii

ALEX URBAN: Kevin, you're 15-under par through three rounds. Talk about your play today and going into tomorrow.

KEVIN KISNER: It was another solid day of ball-striking, a lot of chances on the greens, and hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in, but I hit a lot of good ones that did. All in all, a good day, and happy to birdie that last hole, get in the last group.

Q. Can you get frustrated when you have so many looks and they don't go in?
KEVIN KISNER: I think in the past I probably would have, but maturing a little bit, knowing how much it means and each shot means, I've learned a little bit of patience. If I'm hitting good putts, it doesn't really matter to me if they're not going in. It's frustrating if you're hitting it close and hitting bad putts. I was hitting a lot of good putts and catching holes, and that's all you can really ask for.

Q. You were in position a lot last year to win for your first time. What's that like, and what can we expect Zac to be feeling like tomorrow?
KEVIN KISNER: Zac Blair, yeah. Well, the more I was in that position, the better I was doing. I saw a cool quote from Kirby Smart when he became Georgia's head coach that he was going to teach the young men to be comfortable being uncomfortable. That's a good thing, a good quote that I'm sure wasn't his but somebody else's, and I think that's kind of what you do. The more you're in that position, the better, the more comfortable you are being in that uncomfortable position.

Q. When did that happen for you?
KEVIN KISNER: You know, Hilton Head is when I hit those shots coming down the stretch, and I remember the 14th hole, which is a brutal par-3, hitting a 6-iron to like four feet to the back right pin, and that's when I knew that I had it going on, and I knew that coming down the stretch I could hit the shots you have to hit to win.

Q. Were you surprised on 17 or did you know that you hit a nuclear 5-iron when it left the club?
KEVIN KISNER: When I hit it, I knew it was not what I was trying to do. That was probably a little too overconfident. I was thinking I could hit a cut shot and hold it up against the wind, and it did not cut, obviously. I thought I killed somebody in the stands.

I should have just hit a 6-iron out there to 20 feet and gave myself a look, but that's probably a little bit of impatience, hitting it close, missing it, thinking you're going to hit a 5-iron in there really close, and that's not really a birdie hole.

Q. How lucky were you with the drop?
KEVIN KISNER: Not very. I had to go downhill, downwind out of the rough. I wish I could have dropped short and left of the grandstand and had an uphill, but I hit a bad shot so it's not like I deserved any better.

Q. The other thing on the shot around the green that on 18 there was some question about, you putted through that stuff. Did you feel like maybe you could have used a wedge or not?
KEVIN KISNER: I would love to have chipped that ball, but it's so into the grain because it used to be rough in the years past, and they've just mowed it down and it's super grainy and not like experienced enough grass at that height. I thought it would just pop up straight off the club face. I had a huge scuff mark in the fringe that I didn't want to putt through, but I knew to make birdie and get in the last group that my best chance to make birdie was putting it.

Q. This is your third time in the last group from your last four tournaments.
KEVIN KISNER: That's where you're supposed to be, right?

Q. I don't disagree. Are you aware of that?
KEVIN KISNER: No. I mean, I'm here to win. I start on Thursday with the idea of winning, and that's where I want to be tomorrow going into it.

Q. If you were 15-under in the second to last group versus 15-under in the last group, how important is it to be in that last group?
KEVIN KISNER: I think it's huge tomorrow so you know what's going on. You're not having to look at scoreboards. Obviously you have to check early and see if anybody is going super low from ahead of you. But when you're coming down those last few holes, you want to be in that last group with the guy that's either winning or you're winning and the guy chasing you.

Q. Can you express the confidence that you're feeling and the stretch of good play that goes pretty far back in the last year?
KEVIN KISNER: Yeah, I'm super confident over the golf ball. In fact, my putter did not feel great the first two days, but it felt great today. I found a little something on the putting green this morning, and hopefully carry that over tomorrow and hoop a lot of putts.

But the driver has been unbelievable this week. I have just been hitting it on a string and right where I was looking, and that's what you've got to do around here is keep it in the fairway.

ALEX URBAN: Thank you, Kevin. Good playing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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