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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

August 13, 2016

Scott Dunlap

Columbus, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: Next on the flash podium, Scott Dunlap, 1 under for today, plus 2 for the Championship.

Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTT DUNLAP: Yeah, trying to think. Probably the -- did I bogey -- I can't even remember now. I think I was probably 1 over through five with a bogey. Got it back at 7 and 9, hit a good shot into 9.

Hooked it into the trees on 10, and I got out of there with a 4 somehow. And that kind of -- that was a big thing, I think, just not really screwing that up. I could have maybe not cleared the water on the second shot and probably make 6. That got on the green and got 4 and got out of there, had a nice spell.

But the course is so hard that 13 and 14 were two bogeys with really nothing bad happening. But then a nice putt at 16 and then 17 is just such a nightmare, and hit it nice but a thin 5 iron to about 12 feet and made that.

So birdieing 16 and 17 were gravy. So it's a little bit up and down, but most of it all very good.

Q. The wind, obviously, today was the worst we've had this week. Talk about that and how that changed the course, an already difficult course.
SCOTT DUNLAP: That's the thing. I mean, the golf course, if there wasn't any rough, it's a Championship caliber golf course because it's narrow, the bunkers are tough, the green complexes are small and they have slope. Then you have four inches of rough, and then the wind's blowing.

Today, it got ratcheted up a notch, but it's been pretty tricky. The first day, when you were finishing up in the afternoon -- I'm sure it was the same for the guys yesterday. The afternoon, when the greens dry out, even from the fairway, if you don't land in those first three or four paces, you're chipping out of the back rough.

So I'm very happy with today's round.

Q. Mindset coming into today? You were 3 over. You had eight shots off. Now, good round today brings you back right back into the mix for tomorrow.
SCOTT DUNLAP: Like any Open golf, anything in the red moves in the right direction, and like I said, the golf course is so good, you just know it's a war of attrition. At the end of the day, if you end up with a zero or, God forbid, anything in the red, you know you'd have a chance.

So I've got two more to get back to zero, and three more to maybe find something in the red. So, yeah, we'll see what tomorrow brings. I know the weather's going to be pretty bad. So take that as it comes, you know. We might end up playing when it's calm and soft, and the scores might be good. You never know.

Q. Now that you're in contention, was it worth all the hassle to get here?
SCOTT DUNLAP: It's always worth the hassle to get here. There's never any question about that. I was a little tired at the end of my practice round. It wasn't so much the drive, it was the 5:00 wake-up call to make the 7:30 flight.

If I had slept in and got in the car and gotten here by 10:00, it all would have been good, but I was just kind of wiped from the early wake-up call and then all the driving. But by dinnertime Wednesday, I had no excuses.

Q. Your general thoughts on No. 8.
SCOTT DUNLAP: On No. 8?

Q. The type of hole it is, whether you like it or not.
SCOTT DUNLAP: In a USGA event, when you take a traditional golf course -- and it's only one on this golf course, invariably it's two -- par 5s turn to par 4s. Those holes were par 5s. They had par 5 greens. They were small green complexes. Then you play it from 490, and everyone's like, gee whiz.

My philosophy is I like hitting 3 and 4 irons. That's the strength of my game. So bring those on. If they're still a par 5, make a birdie. It's just a number, isn't it?

I did hear someone mention, oh, you know, the hole should be played as a par 5, just back. Maybe the tee shot isn't over the edge of the trees. But, hey, you know, I mean, that's part of it. There's going to be some toughness out there, and that's one of them, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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