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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 7, 2016Danny LeeAugusta, Georgia THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to introduce Danny Lee. Danny carded a 4‑under 68 today. He had birdies on 2, 5, 8, 10, 12 and 16. This is Danny's second appearance at Augusta National since his debut in 2009, when he was U.S. Amateur champion. Q. 68, you must be very happy with that? DANNY LEE: Yeah, I cannot ask for any better place to finish off the first round. I was very pleased with my round today. Q. How much were you looking forward to coming back this year? Obviously seven‑year difference, so much has changed for you? DANNY LEE: Very. Q. Obviously you're more ready now? DANNY LEE: After I make the winning putt at the Greenbrier Classic, all I was thinking about was coming back to this place. And now it's finally here. I got here a little bit early last Thursday and played a lot of practice rounds. You can't ask for any better golf course. I'm having a blast out here. Q. You were able to make a birdie on 12. That was a tough hole today. How strong was the wind on that hole and how tough was it to judge the wind on that hole? DANNY LEE: I would say wind was strong all day today and tough‑‑ tough thing with that hole was the wind was always swirling. Kind of feels like it's straight into, and it moves back to straight right‑to‑left, so you've just really got to suck it up and just hit your best 8‑iron you can hit, which I did. It went a little bit past the hole and behind the back edge, and I had a straight‑in, downhill putt, and made a good stroke and made birdie. Q. What kind of experience was it out there to look up and see your name on the leaderboard? DANNY LEE: Obviously it's very good and exciting. Ever since you started playing golf as a kid, you grow up watching Masters. I was watching Tiger Woods shooting 4‑over on the front nine and winning the Masters, and I still remember that round. And it's just good to see my name up there on the leaderboard. Q. How did you feel today about the green conditions? DANNY LEE: It was definitely a little bit softer than the last couple days because we had a lot of rain last night. I didn't even see it coming because I was asleep. It looked like the ball was stopping pretty good, and that definitely helped me a lot today. Q. The second hole, your approach from the fairway which hit the pin and almost went off the green, how frustrating was that to happen so early in the round? DANNY LEE: I was actually pleased at the flag, otherwise it would have gone back over the green and that would have been a very tough up‑and‑down from there. I actually had a lot of good breaks today. Q. And obviously it's only Thursday, nothing's won or lost yet, but where would you rank today's round in your career? DANNY LEE: Probably Top‑5. I mean, it is tough out there. It's blowing 25 miles per hour all day. There's a lot of times, it felt like 50 miles per hour; there's a lot of gusts. It's very hard to commit to the line on the putting green, because the wind was blowing so hard. And I was just really trying to focus on my routine and I did a great job today. Q. How much do you remember from 2009; is there stuff that you can use from then or were you pretty much starting from scratch? DANNY LEE: It's definitely helping me a little bit. I remember it not very clearly, but one of the things I remember from seven years ago was making a 6‑putt on the 10th green. I was very disappointed about it, but Adam Scott and Trevor was just laughing at me. I was like, seriously guys? (Laughter). Q. You made a very challenging shot, second shot, at the 18th hole; how satisfied were you with the shot? DANNY LEE: I had a very good break there. I thought I was going to be right against the tree or under the tree. I actually had a very good gap and I am very comfortable with shaping my ball both ways, and I pulled off a good shot, and thank God I ended up in the back left edge there. Q. During your television interview, they were going over the highlights and at one point you got to one of your birdie putts and you said nobody clapped for you. What was going on there? Do you take that as a sign of disrespect? DANNY LEE: I don't know, but I guess nobody was watching my putt. I was just waving at myself to the crowds, I made birdie, guys (laughter). Q. What's the difference between shooting 81 here and shooting 68 here? DANNY LEE: Wow, well, if you look at the leaderboard, I can see my name up there. And when you shoot 81, I don't think you're going to see yourself up there. Q. Obviously a brand new caddie this week. In terms of auditions, how does that go? DANNY LEE: Obviously it worked very well. It was very hard for me to let my ex‑caddie go. It was a very, very tough decision for me, and I'm still a little bit upset about it. But we're a little bit thinking about different stuff out on the course, and it wasn't matching up very well. And I wanted to bring my AGame this week, because it means a lot. And I prepare myself the last nine tournaments I played at the beginning of the year, and I felt like I was playing really, really good. My putting game and short game wasn't that good. So we've been working very hard on my short game and putting the last couple weeks, and I think I can see some good results coming in. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again, Danny. It was a fabulous round of golf. We wish you well for the next three rounds. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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