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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

August 4, 2016

Andrew Loupe

Cromwell, Connecticut

Q. Andrew, what a great way to start this tournament. Really, that finish, I got to ask you about that shot out of that right-hand rough. That is a tough one, and you made it look easy.
ANDREW LOUPE: A little bit of fortune went into it, but luckily I was far enough down there where I could just hammer a gap wedge as hard as I could. It came out perfect.

They don't always come out perfect out of lies like that, but it was really good to bounce back. I missed a short one an 16, and to finish like that, that's pretty big.

Q. So this is your third appearance at this event. Starting t0 figure this layout a little bit here at TPC River Highlands?
ANDREW LOUPE: I feel more comfortable. Just the fact that it's my third year out here. Seeing the course a couple times before helps a lot. I feel like I'm making strides in the right direction. I just got to keep my head down and keep going.

Q. Want to ask you about 15. Kind of an interesting hole. Can play 278 today as it was. What is your strategy there? We saw today that you laid back a little bit. Will you continue that during the course of the week?
ANDREW LOUPE: It wasn't on purpose.

Q. Oh, okay. You were smiling before I even finished the question.
ANDREW LOUPE: Yeah. Well, you know, it was one of those drivable holes. Sometimes you get up there and wait a little bit. I tried to rip a 3-wood up there and I just skied it. That left is a nasty little shot. That green is tough.

You look at the scorecard and say, Piece of cake, but it's not. You can leave out of there with anywhere from 2 to 6. It's really, really good short hole. I enjoy playing it.

Q. So seven birdies against one bogey. How would you assess your play today?
ANDREW LOUPE: I thought I was solid. Early on I hit a couple tee shots to the left, but I was proud of the way I adjusted. Just one hiccup. Missed a pretty short one up the hill. Guess I just pushed it a little bit.

Stepped up to the next short one and knocked it in. Really good to finish with a birdie on 18.

Q. You're coming in off a streak of missed cuts. I saw you working on the range yesterday. Feel like you found something ? What is it?
ANDREW LOUPE: I don't know if you -- sometimes you find feels, but I just think it's been a steady progression. I mean, even through the last couple missed cuts -- I feel like I gained on it a lot in Canada, even though I missed the cut there.

But I put a lot of work into it last week with my team. I feel like I'm gaining on my ball striking. Iron play is coming around. Driving it a little better. It's huge. I mean, to be able to not necessarily hit every fairway, but just drive it in play all the time.

You know, course is in great shape. It was gettable today. It wasn't blowing very hard. A little soft, but the rough is up. That's probably why you don't see a ton of super low scores.

It was fun out there, man, but just one round.

Q. Three birdies on the front. A lot of good scoring on the back nine today. Did you think you could go low with the back nine being a little shorter than the front?
ANDREW LOUPE: Yes. You know, turning at 3-under, missed a good opportunity on 9 to get it to 4. Didn't sweat it.

Really get through 10 and you kind of get after it after that. Good tee shot on 13; anything can happen on 15. But I kind of felt like it was coming around. Made a long one on 11. It did, it kind of felt like I could kind of start reeling some off.

I hit a good shot into 16. Just came up a hair short. Chipped it up there -- probably not the best chip. Missed a short one.

Besides that it was solid.

Q. What's it like having a round like today in this field?
ANDREW LOUPE: It's great. It's just one, though. We just started. The afternoon guys are just teeing off. There are going to be some guys in the afternoon that play great as well.

Just the end of the first quarter, so just got to keep it moving and stick to my plan, stick to my little practice routine. Go get a little workout in and just try to keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. Talk about your season so far. How would you assess it?
ANDREW LOUPE: I feel like I've done a lot of good things. I feel like could do a lot of things better. I've had some high finishes, a few chances down the stretch, but also I need to be more consistent.

I mean, that's what everybody strives for. More opportunities, putting yourself in that position, you know, instead of three or four times a year ten or twelve times a year.

That's what the guys at the top do. I'm learning. Feel like I'm gaining on it. Looking forward to the rest of this tournament.

Q. What are you gaining on?
ANDREW LOUPE: Self-belief; knowing what I have; not trying to do too much out there.

Mechanics in the golf swing, too. I just feel like it's a steady progression and I just got to keep going.

Q. This tournament has a lot of famous winners and a lot of winners that have won for the first time or not many people know about them. Does this kind of course like give you more confidence out here?
ANDREW LOUPE: You know, was it Bubba's first win here?

Q. Yeah.
ANDREW LOUPE: He's a long hitter. You can draw confidence from that. But it's a long time from now. Three more days. You can dream about winning, but I'm not really going to be thinking about it too much.

I really just want to focus on what I need to do after this round: Get some food, go work on whatever I need to work on, and then just rolling into tomorrow afternoon.

Q. What went well for your round today?
ANDREW LOUPE: I drove it in play for the most part. I didn't hit a ton of fairways, but all of them were in play. I had one chip-in and made a couple putts that were pretty lengthy.

I'm hitting a lot of my lines. Thought I hit my 3-wood pretty well for the most part. I just stayed even keel. Next thing you know, you look up and you're 5- or 6-under.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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