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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

August 13, 2016

Loren Roberts

Columbus, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to bring Loren Roberts into the Media Center. Loren with rounds of 73, 68, and 70 for 211. That's 1 over par and currently tied for third in the U.S. Senior Open.

Loren, really good playing out there today in what seemed like a very difficult day condition-wise.

LOREN ROBERTS: It was. Obviously, the wind started picking up on us on the back nine. Obviously, on the weekend, the tees are going to be back. So I thought 13 played tough. And obviously, 17 and 18 played really hard coming in. Especially that pin on 17, that's dastardly, you guys. Come on.

THE MODERATOR: It is a good challenge out there. Let's go through your card a little bit. Very steady on the front nine. You started with a birdie at the 4th hole.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah. Really, I missed makable birdie putts the first three holes. Gosh, I missed about a five-footer on the 3rd hole. I hit a good shot, just rolled off the right edge, and then I putted through the fringe and knocked it in. You never know. The one you shouldn't make, you make. So that's the way it went.

I got off to a good start. Hit a lot of greens today. I think I only missed three greens today. That's what you've got to do. You've got to hit fairways, and you've got to hit the greens out here. The greens are small. They've got a lot of movement on them for small greens, and you've got to get it up on the green and try to keep it below the hole. So I was able to do that a lot today.

Q. How far was that putt at 4?
LOREN ROBERTS: Oh, on 4, it was probably 18 feet or something from the right fringe, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Then you made a bogey on 8 but come back with a really good approach on 15 for your second birdie of the day.

LOREN ROBERTS: Actually, I made a couple of really good up and downs on -- good up and down on 13. Hit it in the left bunker over there and had an awkward stance and hit it up there about six feet and made that.

14 is just really hard to hit the green today. It's a long shot. It's 230, and that green is relatively flat. So it's tough to get it on there. Made a decent up and down there, just from the left fringe, but hit a good drive and hit a good 9 iron just right at it on 15. A couple of hops, and five feet behind the hole and knocked that in.

THE MODERATOR: And then a bogey on 17 but a great par save there on 18.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, I probably hit the best shot of the day on 17. Hit just a 3 iron and ripped it right at it. Unfortunately, it went so good I hit it 35 feet behind the hole, and I three-putted. But I saved that for a really good up and down on 18 out of the bunker. So I made a good probably 15, 18-footer there for par on 18.

THE MODERATOR: And you've been up atop the leaderboard in USGA championships before, your first three Senior Opens. Here we are again, right in the fight, tied for third. What do you have to do tomorrow to try to bring home your first title?

LOREN ROBERTS: Well, I'm going to have to -- that's right. I've got two of those silver medals, don't I? We're going to see what the weather does. I mean, if they're talking less wind tomorrow, if we get some humidity, get some rain, the golf course will soften. It will play a little longer, but I think you might be able to play a little more aggressively.

I don't know what Jimenez is going to do coming in. I'll have to see. I would think I would have to shoot under par tomorrow. Being at 1 over, I would think I would have to get to 2 to 3 under par, depending on the weather. Now, if it rains and gets soft, I'm going to have to go lower than that. So we'll just see.

Q. The wind is bad. How does wind actually affect the putting? Just your viewpoint. If it does, how do you adjust to that? Everybody talks about wind with the iron play or whatever, but on the greens, it is a factor, isn't it?
LOREN ROBERTS: It is a factor, especially some of these greens are perched up a little bit. If the greens are perched up, the wind's going to hit it a little bit more.

The greens aren't so fast here that you can't go ahead and try to make one, and I think if the greens were just really running out like, say, they were at Oakmont or something, it would be a lot harder. The wind would have a lot more of an effect.

But with the speed of the greens, I think, considering the weather situation we got, I think they're just right there where you've got to allow for windage uphill, I think. If you've got wind in your face on an uphill putt, you're going to have to hit it a little harder.

Believe it or not, I think, these are bentgrass greens. I know they're relatively new, but I think there's actually some grain on them. More grain than I've seen. And I know uphill putts are going to be into the grain, and you've got to hit them a little harder really to get them there. So that's what you've got to really pay attention to.

Q. Hi, Loren. Two things. Yesterday you said the heat was good for the body, the back, and whatnot. How does the wind affect the back and the body in -- I forgot the second part already. I was listening to the rain. Go ahead and answer that.
LOREN ROBERTS: A lot of us guys are getting a little older obviously. So you've played golf for a long time. I just think, when you've got good heat, especially when you've got humidity, I play better when I feel like I'm hot. I feel like I could move.

And I just felt like today, I swang at it better today than I have all week. So I felt pretty good about the way I hit the ball today.

Q. What are you doing better now than you have in the last little while?
LOREN ROBERTS: The last few years, I really have not hit my long irons very well. Unfortunately, I'm such an old school guy, refuse to take my 3 iron out of my bag. So I still like hitting long irons. That's kind of what I need to focus on. I need to hit the ball a little more solidly and just get through the shot a little better.

Hopefully, I'm trying some new things, and I can get my body in a little better shape.

Q. Loren, are you relatively healthy now? I know you had some trouble on 11. Everybody's battling something, but are you pretty good?
LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, I feel pretty good. I have to watch myself. I can't hit a whole lot of practice balls, but I can still stand over and practice putting and things like that. Some guys, that's what they struggle most with is standing over, bending over putting, especially if they putt with a short putter, and that doesn't seem to bother me. So I feel pretty good right now.

Q. You're only going to be, looks like, four back. So you'll probably play in one of the last groups, obviously. When's the last time you were there? How do you think you're going to feel?
LOREN ROBERTS: It's been a while. So I'm liking -- I'm feeling good about what I did today. So we'll just see what I wake up with in the morning.

Miguel, I mean, he's playing good all year. He's still relatively young. He hits it a mile. He's still competitive on the regular European Tour, for heaven sakes. So I would think he would be the favorite.

Me personally, I'm going to have to shoot -- depending on the weather, I'm going to have to get to at least 3 under par, and if he shoots under par, which I would guess that he would do if the wind doesn't blow, it's going to take a low round for me.

Q. What's it feel like just to be in the position to have a chance to win a Senior Major?
LOREN ROBERTS: Well, okay, I'm 61 now. I will tell you I'm having a lot more fun playing golf now than I used to because it's like, hey, I just like being out and around the guys. I like trying to hit shots and play, and I'm having fun. So I feel like I'm a whole lot looser, you know.

Obviously, we still want to win, and I'll try everything I can to win, but I enjoy just -- I enjoy being around golf. I love to play, and I love to play different golf courses, and this is -- I've never played here until this week. So I'm just happy about traveling around playing golf.

I like to tell everybody that asks me about it, hey, I haven't had a real job in 36 years. Why would I complain about anything?

Q. We talked about this yesterday briefly, but ten years ago you shot 62 at Prairie Dunes. Wonder if you remember the feeling of that day and the specialness of it.
LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah. I hit the ball good, but I really putted good that day. I hit a lot of greens. I didn't say I hit it real close because I remember I made probably about a 20-footer on 17 for birdie, which was a reachable par 5, so to get to do that.

I had a look at 18 and didn't make it. But that was special memories. I liked it because I love that golf course. I know they've changed it since we've been there. They've added some length and everything. But that was a great golf course. I love that golf course.

Q. This is probably one of the easiest questions you'll ever have. Listening to that, how do you feel about the decision to move up to split tees at 7:45 this morning?
LOREN ROBERTS: Well, obviously, it was a great move. Looking at the weather forecast, they've been predicting rain every day, and we haven't had it. I think it was a great move, and I think we got lucky. I know the weather report for tomorrow is not looking good. I thought, well, maybe let's just repair and keep going today. Let's go. Come on.

THE MODERATOR: One over par, 211, Loren Roberts in position to compete in the final round tomorrow.

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