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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

May 31, 2016

David Lingmerth

Dublin, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome David Lingmerth, the defending champion here at the Memorial. How does that sound to you, the defending champion here at the Memorial, Jack's tournament?

DAVID LINGMERTH: Sounds pretty good. Obviously, the first time ever getting to defend a championship title like this. I'm really, really excited about it. It was very nice driving in here yesterday for the first time back. I've got great feelings about this place.

Got to putt some on the greens this morning. The greens are pure. Brings back, like I said, some good feelings, and I'm feeling optimistic about this week.

Q. Being part of the longest playoff in this tournament's history, what was that like last year? What do you remember and what were your takeaways leaving that week?
DAVID LINGMERTH: It was a hard fought battle with Justin. This course is a tough one. We were grinding it out with a few pars there on the first couple of holes. I was super excited to be able to win the tournament in that way, in that fashion, beating one of the top guys of the game. It really boosted my confidence level, and knocking that first win off at this venue was very special and something I will for sure never forget. I hope I'll get to experience a few more of those.

Q. And that flipped pretty quickly on you last year, when Justin hit the shank and he had the difficult up-and-down holes, the 20-footer, and suddenly your 10-footer to actually continue on. Is that something you leaned on the rest of the time since in your contention?
DAVID LINGMERTH: That sort of putt in that sort of situation, you know, that's what's really challenging but also really, really fun to be able to pull that off in that situation. That's something that the great players of the game have done, and that's what have made them stand out a little bit more from everybody else.

It's hard to do it every time, and I certainly have had a few other chances to do similar things, but maybe I wasn't able to do it. So to get to convert that one in that situation was a huge, huge thing for me and something I could look back at and have good feelings about, and hopefully that will give me strength and determination to think that I can do it a few more times. So it was really cool.

Q. Can you just tell us a little bit how your year has gone and how do you feel about your game right now coming into this week?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Yeah, I got -- if we're talking about just this year, this season I started off with some solid play, but I hadn't had a whole bunch of great finishes. I did lose in a playoff earlier in the year against Jason Dufner out in Palm Springs, played really great then.

I feel like I've been playing some really good golf here lately. I missed a couple of cuts at THE PLAYERS and recently at the Irish Open, but both of those tournaments, I feel like I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I just didn't score well.

Even last week at the BMW -- PGA BMW in Wentworth, played really good for three rounds. The first round was a little so-so, but I played really good for free rounds and just let a few holes kind of slip away from me.

So I feel like my game is definitely trending. I'm hoping to play really good this week and defend this title in a good way and hopefully knock off another one. But I feel like every part of my game is heading in the right direction. I think it's going to be a really fun summer.

Q. It's still early in the week, but do you find, with you defending for the first time, you're coming in, is it easier to focus a little bit because of maybe a little adrenaline? Or is it distracting because it's new and you've got some other responsibilities?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Like I said, I've never really been in this situation before, and I kind of -- I guess I can imagine what to expect this week. There's obviously a little bit more attention from the media, like you guys, and I'm in a little bit different situation than I'm used to. But at the same time, this is the fourth time I'm playing this event, and I've always felt really comfortable.

Like I said, just now I had some short game practice. I love the greens. I love the way this rough is and everything. I feel really comfortable. So it's too early to say how it's all going to pan out, but my game is where I want it to be or close to. So I don't see why I couldn't play really good this week and maybe defend this title again.

Q. Other than playing in the Masters, some of the majors, what do you feel was maybe some of the best benefits that you've seen over the year from maybe getting the win here last year?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Not only the Masters, but getting the win here changed my scheduling. Aside from the Masters, I've been able to get into some of the bigger events, the events that I want to play in. I've been able to set my schedule in a better way, preparing myself for tournaments in a better way. It did get my confidence level, increased it a lot. So I feel like I've grown as a player from it.

Even before, I had a couple of second place finishes, so I thought I could win out here, but knocking one off is definitely something I can look back at and feel strength from, and I think I've had that with me all year. Less worried about things that I shouldn't worry about really. Just been able to focus on preparing for every week and growing my game long-term. I think it's been good. That win really helped me do all that.

Q. You just mentioned you went back, played a couple of events on the European Tour. BMW maybe not quite as strong a field, not as prestigious an event as it has been in the past. Two parts. One, do you plan on playing very much on the European Tour the rest of the season? Number two, what is your feeling on the state of the European Tour at this point?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Part 1, I joined the European Tour as an affiliate member for this year. So I was planning on playing five-ish events this year to give myself at least an opportunity to be mentioned in the talks of the Ryder Cup. I need to play really well to be able to play my way into that team or be in the consideration.

But I have other opportunities in the majors here coming forward. You know, I'd love to play in the Ryder Cup. I'd love to play in it this year and be part of a winning Ryder Cup team. That's one of my dreams that I've had for a long time. So that was the reason I did it. Besides the tournaments I've played so far, I'll also play the Scottish Open, and the French Open is kind of up in the air.

And to the second part of the question, I feel like the European Tour is a great Tour to be playing on. I haven't played enough to see how it's changed during the last few years, so I can't really speak on that. But I sure enjoyed the last two weeks in Ireland and England.

Q. U.S. Open's coming up. By winning here and the type of game you have, keeping the fairways solid around the greens, do you feel you have a pretty good game, you're in a pretty good place heading to Oakmont? And have you played there?
DAVID LINGMERTH: I have not played there yet, but I've heard from a lot of the players and the other people around that Oakmont is probably the toughest one of the tough ones. I'm really excited about that challenge.

Like you mentioned there, I feel like one of my strengths is that I'm pretty good at keeping the ball in the fairways, giving myself opportunities to be aggressive into the greens. In any U.S. Open, that's a huge thing because the rough is usually very penalizing.

Also, like I said, my game is trending. I feel like I'm due for a really good summer. I'm just really excited about the opportunity to have some great finishes and some really good tournaments.

Q. Knowing golf is not an easy game to dominate, what are your thoughts on what Jason Day is doing and his game?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Jason, as well as Jordan and -- I mean, Rory hasn't maybe dominated the way he did maybe a couple of years ago, but those three guys both won their last tournament, I guess, leading up to this week, which that calls for an exciting week for the ones who follow the game closely and are excited about watching these players.

But Jason Day, I mean, the power off the tee, his mental toughness, and his putting has been unreal. So he's going to be a tough one to beat this week, I'm sure, being that it's in his hometown too, right? I'm sure this is one of the tournaments that he really wants to knock off one of these days.

Q. Congratulations, by the way, for last year.
DAVID LINGMERTH: Thank you.

Q. I just want you to -- now having the year removed from that event, how did it change your life?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Like I said, just a sense of confidence and ability that I can win out here on the PGA Tour. It changed the way I'm able to prepare for tournaments. I feel less stressed about knowing which tournaments I'll be able to play and get into the fields. So that's been very nice.

But also, I'm a dreamer, and I have a lot of dreams I still haven't fulfilled. I'm working hard to do that.

Q. A quick followup to that is how does your view change as a defending champion?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Right, yeah. That's something I haven't experienced before. So being the defending champion is -- it's going to be a crazy week. It's going to be emotional. I really want to do well. I want to defend well, but I feel like I'm in a good spot to do that. I'm sure I'm going to -- either winning or losing this week, I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot.

Q. What do you like about this course, and what's the key to playing well here, as you obviously did last year?
DAVID LINGMERTH: This course plays to one of the strengths of my game because it is really important to hit the fairways out here. The rough is very penalizing, and the greens are so pure. I don't know why, but these are some of the purest greens all year, and I've always liked them. I've putted well out here. I putted great last year. I just -- I don't know. I just get that warm, fuzzy feeling, I guess, when I'm on the greens here. So hopefully, that will keep going this week.

It's a long course, and I'm not necessarily a long hitter, but I feel like it's one where I could hit a lot of fairways and still be aggressive with the irons, 7-iron and down. It's really fun to play.

Q. You mentioned Ryder Cup. Where are you, forgive me, on the Olympics? You're in the hunt, right?
DAVID LINGMERTH: Yeah, right now I'd be in the Olympics. It would be me and Henrik Stenson right now. There's some other Swedes, though, challenging me and him, mostly me because Henrik is quite far ahead of me in the standings in the World Rankings there. There's still a month and a half or so until the cutoff date. So I have plenty of work ahead of me to make it in there.

But I'm in a good spot with the tournaments coming up. So if I play well, I should be able to get myself to Rio, which would be a great experience, great opportunity, and something I would be very honored to represent Sweden. I would probably never forget that experience if I get to do it.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much for coming in. Best of luck this week.

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