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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLF

August 12, 2016

Marcus Fraser

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Q. A little bit up and down because you left a lot of putts past the hole for birdie.
MARCUS FRASER: I felt like I putted very similar to he had why. Just the ball found a way to avoid the holes. But that's golf. That's the way it goes some days. Overall, I felt really comfortable out there. I did the same again today. It's always hard to back up a score like 63, but I felt like, you know, 2‑under 69 is a good effort after yesterday, as well.

Q. Just enjoying the course? You say you're looking forward to getting back out here and playing again?
MARCUS FRASER: Yeah, today felt so different from yesterday. I think that's a testament to how good the golf course is. It can feel so different the next day, and even though it was a similar wind direction, different pins and a few different tees and that kind of stuff, the course was set up perfectly.

Q. Did you feel any nerves at all?
MARCUS FRASER: Always makes you feel those nerves, but I've done a really good job of controlling it over the last couple days. Obviously having my best mate on my bag to have a chat to and laugh with and laugh at, it's been good fun. We're having a great time out there. He's taken the week off work to come over and caddie for me. It's a lot of fun out there with him.

Q. What's his name?
MARCUS FRASER: Jason Wallace. We've known each other since we were kids, ten years old. He used to be a professional golfer. He's not anymore but we've been good mates for a long time.

Q. Is this something you had in mind; that he would come over and do this job for you?
MARCUS FRASER: My regular caddie wasn't able to come over. So first thing I did was give Jason a call and see if he was available, and it was a pretty quick response we said says.

Q. Is he from Corowa, too?
MARCUS FRASER: Yeah, his parents live back in Corowa. My parents live back there.

Q. Pretty competitive rivalry as childhood mates?
MARCUS FRASER: Absolutely. He still strikes it pretty good. He's still a scratch golfer himself, even though he plays about five times a year. He's a pretty handy golfer.

Q. Will you take us through 16? Will you continue to go for the green? Missing hurt there.
MARCUS FRASER: Yeah, absolutely. I think it just proves what a good hole it is. I was probably three or four yards too far left of my line and got a little bit greedy with the tee shot and all of a sudden you're fighting to make par. Normally you'd be pretty angry with yourself for making bogey, but you walk out there, and you think, well, the hole beat me up there, only because I got a little bit greedy.
I'll still continue, depending on the pin position, I'll continue to go for the green. But when there's options like that on a short par 4 that you're going at and you're thinking about laying it up or thinking of going for the green, it just proves what a good hole it is.

Q. With only three prizes at the top and no money, do you have a different kind of approach? There's no glory in tying for 10th. Would you take riskier shots?
MARCUS FRASER: Yeah, I think we probably won't know that until Sunday afternoon if we're still in the mix. I think whenever you play, you want to play your absolute best and give it everything. You want to finish as well as you possibly can. That will be no different on Sunday afternoon. Whether I'm well back in the pack or whether I'm fighting out for a medal, I'll be giving it everything I possibly have and lying it all on the line.

Q. Tell us about the role Finchie is playing?
MARCUS FRASER: Yeah, there's a list a mile long to be honest. It's monitor, coach, captain. He's driving us to the course all week. He actually was singing in the car last night which was a bit concerning. No, I said yesterday, it's obviously pretty humbling to have somebody like Finchie here this week offering advice.

Q. Is he allowed to talk to you during the round as team captain?
MARCUS FRASER: No.

Q. What about the weekend, you're obviously with the Open Champion in the last group and Thomas Pieters. What's your feelings on that?
MARCUS FRASER: Well, it's fine, because I probably will feel like I'm playing on my own because they will be about a hundred meters in front of me. It's fine. Those guys have completely different games and bigger games to what I have, but at the end of the day, we play 72 holes and we hit a certain amount of shots on each hole. There's more than one way to skin a cat, if you want to say it that way.
We play a game, I think the best game in the world, and it will be good fun out there with those guys. Any time you get to play with Stenson on the weekend, you know you're doing something right.

Q. Do you have a lot of experience playing with him?
MARCUS FRASER: I've played with him quite a bit. He's probably one of the most‑liked guys on Tour. It will be good fun out there with him. He's one of the nicest guys to play with on and off the golf course. He's just a good man and a lot of fun to be around.

Q. Got some nice support from Henny. Are you embracing the team culture?
MARCUS FRASER: Absolutely, we're here for one reason, to try to win a medal for Australia. We're good mates and it was great that he came out and wanted to watch. I might blame him; as soon as he turned up, I made bogey on 16. No, obviously it's been a pretty close‑knit group this week, so it's been a lot of fun.

Q. Now that you're halfway through the tournament and we've got the start of this event going on, does it feel like it's going to be a serious attitude, as opposed to maybe a celebration of golf the first two rounds?
MARCUS FRASER: I think all the guys that were here were pretty serious about it. I think they wanted to do as well as they can like we do every week. There's a big buildup to it, and so there should be. It's a pretty momentum occasion, and I think it's nice, getting into the weekend, I think everyone would be able to knuckle down and get stuck into their games and try and grab one of those medals.

Q. If things go well, will you continue to steal the spotlight from the Australian swimmers the next few days?
MARCUS FRASER: We're all here for one reason, so if they are winning medals and we're winning medals, I think everybody's happy back home.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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