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AT&T BYRON NELSON

May 19, 2016

Jordan Spieth

Irving, Texas

Q. Jordan, just comments on your day if we can, please.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah. Solid start to the tournament. I got off to a good start with short-siding myself but holeing the chip which is a nice bonus, really saved a stroke and a half on that shot and took advantage of the easier holes and made a couple mid-range putts I haven't been making or at least I didn't last week.

So this work we've been putting in on the practice greens is paying off. Lost a little control with my iron play today on some pretty easy shots that I looked to improve on but, other than that, I'm very pleased.

Q. How did the course feel for you?
JORDAN SPIETH: You know, it was soft and wet but still very playable. The greens were -- given the amount of traffic and the weather, I thought they still held up nicely. Fortunately the forecast looks good so it should, by the weekend, get at least a little firm back to where it normally is.

Q. Mid-range putts, was that the difference between today and last week?
JORDAN SPIETH: A bit. I hit it better last week than I did today. I certainly felt more comfortable over the ball last week than I did today but I think it may have been just been kind of an off day because I've been striking it great even this whole week. At least again with the iron play.

Didn't seem to find that many fairways considering how I've been feeling with the driver, too, so I got it in decent spots still and was able to take advantage again from really 8 to 15 feet.

Q. Contending here since were you 16 is there a little bit more of a focus on this week to get back into contention this week?
JORDAN SPIETH: This week felt a bit different than the past couple years as a professional. I don't know what it is. Maybe -- I came out and maybe kind of the bad weather has kind of softened the crowds and hasn't felt the same.

At this point if you're in contention on the weekend it doesn't matter where we're playing, there are huge crowds. Yeah, I don't know what it is. Everything has been a bit more calm this week and it's been a lot easier to just stay in a normal rhythm.

Q. Given the way that you struck the ball today, 64 about as good a score as you can put on the card?
JORDAN SPIETH: Certainly there. One 3-putt. But for the length of first putts I had today, it was going to be hard to hold that together but, yeah, I would say it was -- I got of the most out of the round which is what I was looking for, you know, last week that I just couldn't get. I felt like I played so much better than my score. Today was the opposite, which is fantastic.

Q. Jordan, last week you talked about kind of changing your mental state on the course where you want to be a little less emotional. Do you think you worked on that today?
JORDAN SPIETH: A bit. I noticed a couple times and I was getting frustrated, "It's okay, let's take a breather" and I was getting frustrated with these iron shots because it was like throwing darts out there and I was 40 feet with an 8-iron. It's a driving range shot that normally expecting within 15 feet and after a couple misses and really almost a two-way miss today, it's frustrating, but the fact that I was still controlling the speed well and then taking advantage of the easier holes certainly settled me down.

Q. What is the most difficult part about that as you try to overcome that frustration and not let it get to you?
JORDAN SPIETH: The most difficult part? I'm not really sure. Yeah, I mean it's just kind of something that everyone goes through. You got to learn to deal with it your own way and everyone gets frustrated when you play golf. You can't be perfect in this game. Everyone who is out here is on some level of being a perfectionist. Kind of counters each other. That's where you get frustrated.

So, again, this was nothing to really focus on that I was saying last week. It's just little bits and pieces here where I can maybe stay a little more neutral and yeah, when you're playing well, when you're 4, 5-under par it's a lot easier to be happy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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