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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

January 23, 2016

Jordan Spieth

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Q. How keen were you to get the job done there?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, very. We were on about No. 6 is when the shadows were pretty long and weren't sure if we were going to make it. Got up there and didn't really know if there were any rules around us, who tees off first. We let them tee off first, and I was first to tee off and as I struck my shot, the horn blew at the buzzer. We were all very, very relieved to have that happen. It saved us about five-plus hours in arriving to the course tomorrow.

Q. You haven't looked 100 per cent happy with your game this week but how pleased are you to go bogey-free today in the third round?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, very pleased. My short game is there when tee-to-green wasn't. But then when my tee-to-green was on, I just didn't make anything. I just haven't made any putts this week. I've made maybe one outside of ten feet, and I've missed a few inside ten feet.

So I'm struggling with my alignment on the greens and with my wedges and so I'm just not getting those extra chances but still 7-under, and some crazy round tomorrow has got a chance. Which oddly enough, the way I've felt my game has been at, if it all comes together tomorrow, who knows.

Q. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the most impressive things, isn't it, you haven't felt great about your game, but you're still in contention. How rewarding is it to feel that, and what do you feel it will take tomorrow to get the job done, granted the leaders still have nine holes to play in the third round?
JORDAN SPIETH: Sure, yeah, I started out this tournament not driving the ball particularly well the first 12, 13 holes and since then my driver has been on. And that's really given me chances, but it's also made sure that I'm not making that many bogeys and that's why I'm still in it.

But you know, some other parts of the game, it's just not quite there and it has not been there since I arrived this week. Hasn't really been the same form as Hawai'i, but that happens in long travel and limited practise. I can make excuses all I want; I still haven't made many putts and there's no excuses for that. It can all come together tomorrow. It's happened many times in random rounds. Why not the fourth round here; each day should be a little easier to get adjusted to the time.

Q. How much of an advantage is it to have finished tonight?
JORDAN SPIETH: You know, not much. It just takes away from sitting around the clubhouse for hours. I can at least spend more time, maybe go to the gym in the morning. I can do a little more than I would have been able to do if we were up before five. But all in all, as far as my play, I don't think it's going to affect much.

Q. Have you ever played a six-ball before?
JORDAN SPIETH: I have not. I haven't played a six-ball before. That was a first. We didn't really know what to do, and we kind of felt back. We were all asking the guys in front of us, if you guys want to, just go finish and we'll play behind you, that's the way it's supposed to be. They didn't really mind. Plus Eddie's ball was picked up and so they had to wait awhile in the fairway. Pablo just decided to go ahead and hit so we figured we may as well just hit them. They didn't care at all. They're good guys.

Q. Certain irony given what happened on Thursday with the 8th and 9th again.
JORDAN SPIETH: How about that. I even asked one of the officials on No. 7 green, I said, "Would you guys mind at least giving us a five-minute warning when the horn is going to blow," because it's blowing earlier than it is the times we've got it in blown the States. It's about now that they blow it in the States.

Like Michael said, we've played in much darker than this before. And I don't know if they saw us all on the tee at the same time and just assumed we would hit but we didn't get a warning. I'm just fortunate that ball got in the air. Very easily could have waited another ten seconds and we're standing on the ninth tee.

Q. Did you have to run between the eighth tee and the ninth green or just a quick walk?
JORDAN SPIETH: No, those guys were actually waiting on the tee. I had to say Andy had to hit another ball. Those guys actually had to wait longer, so we got to the tee but only one of them had teed off.

Q. Is it difficult, I know it's the same for everybody, but is it difficult when you get the stop/start?
JORDAN SPIETH: It's harder to get in a rhythm, especially because the wind swirls around, so it starts out in one direction and by the end of the day it's in the other direction. That makes it a bit challenging. If we came back tomorrow, 9 would have been probably a much harder hole playing it when it's cooler, kind of cold in the morning.

This morning, we would have liked last night to have teed off on 14, because we had to play it cooler and a little into the breeze, and I had 3-iron in today. So it makes a little bit of a difference, but not a ton.

Q. You talked about your driving has improved over the week -- what did you find and how did you turn it around?
JORDAN SPIETH: Just being a little more patient going around my body. I was getting a little quick early, so I was coming from the inside and just kind of miss-hitting them, hitting a couple hooks. So I've just been a little more patient.

My big thing now is I'm trying to roll the face open. I'm trying to roll the face to neutral because it's been a little shut going back. That's what I worked on last week with my coach. It's hardest to do with a driver because it's hardest to trust that the ball is not going to go right and I finally just started to trust it by being a little more patient with my backswing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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