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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 10, 2016

Matt Kuchar

Carmel, Indiana

Q. Only the lone blemish on the scorecard, that's a solid round out there. That's a changing golf course today.
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, it was interesting to look up and see a leaderboard, I wasn't sure how scores were going to go. I know it was soft, lift, clean, and place conditions, but it was pretty windy out there, there was some challenging holes out there. 4-under today, I'm awfully pleased with it.

Q. Wonderful finish. Did you realize how close that was on 18 to going in? It was right in the heart. I thought had you a chance to make it. How good did it look from your angle?
MATT KUCHAR: It was a little left, which was kind of the place to be on that hole. There was a mound that kicks it forward and to the right and it was on a good path left of the hole, which I just needed a good bounce, it got one, and the crowd let me know it was going to be close with where it ended up.

Q. You're 11-under par, we have got 18 holes to go, but we know this is an ever changing leaderboard, so you're still very much a part of this. What's the game plan tomorrow? Just start shooting at flags out of the gate or do you stay in your own and keep the same game plan?
MATT KUCHAR: I'm certainly a long shot, but I have a chance. In golf on Sunday it's fun when you at least have a chance. Certainly the goal was to come out and play good golf, but if it was as easy as, hey, I want to go out and just try to make birdie every hole and I'm going to shoot 10-under, it would be great if it was that easy. So, it's, unfortunately, not that easy of a game, you go out and you just play the best shots for your situation and see what they add up when you're finished.

Q. 11-under with a 68 today. How did you get it done?
MATT KUCHAR: What was that? Sorry, I can't hear you up here.

(Laughter.) It was a nice round of golf. Awfully pleased. Shooting 4-under today, it was windy, difficult conditions, I'm certainly still a long shot, I'm a long way back of the leaders and some great names on the leaderboard, but I got a chance and golf on Sunday is fun when you have a chance. So I'm really looking forward from tomorrow.

Q. Speaking of way up there, you're really close to being able to seal the deal, not only is tomorrow final round here at the BMW Championship it's a chance for you to punch the ticket to go to Atlanta? How important is that for you tomorrow?
MATT KUCHAR: Atlanta is a big deal for me, that's kind of a second home. I did my schooling at Georgia Tech, lived there for a year, so East Lake was kind of a second home course, so it's always a special week for me. I remember my first TOUR Championship. I remember being just so, so tickled to qualify for the TOUR Championship. I made a good run lately of qualifying and then having a good run at the FedExCup. Certainly hoping to play good golf, one, to try to win this tournament but also to make sure I solidify that berth in the TOUR Championship.

Q. You looked as mad as I've ever seen and yet it's only a stroke difference basically, you must feel a lot better today than you did yesterday?
MATT KUCHAR: Sure, sure, what could have been. I had a lousy break on the 8th, but it turned into a double and then I missed about a relatively short birdie putt on 9, so I was frustrated, I felt like I pulled my best Steve Stricker and try to keep the head down and keep going with the hat down and just go quietly about my work.

Q. This time of year when you know you're going to Atlanta, is it a little better at the end of the season when you know you're going to be there?
MATT KUCHAR: Atlanta is a, I don't know if it's a goal, it's certainly a nice reward every year. It started years ago as a real goal. There was one year, I can't tell you exactly when it was, but I remember I had my chance at Cog Hill and then not playing great on Sunday and just missing out. I was really bumped. I had not qualified for the TOUR Championship at that point and Atlanta being kind of a second home, something I've wanted to do, East Lake being kind of a second home course. It's always fun for me to get there. It's always something that I relish and enjoy.

Q. Big picture question, on the evolution here of the FedExCup, it's going to be the 10th one now coming up, how close are they to getting it right, do you think, and as far as maintaining golf's relevance I guess even through into the fall and into football season?
MATT KUCHAR: It seems to have gotten a lot of traction amongst the casual golf fans that I talk to. The players all kind of understand it, nobody really knows how the points are going to play out, it's just too many variables going on, it's too much math for anybody to try to do in their head. But I think that the golf fan has learned the system pretty well and I think they got a pretty good system in place. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some more tweaks coming out, but I think that they will be relatively minor. So, all in all, I think it's a good system and it's been learned and I think that appreciated. I think people really enjoy, not just the who moves on, who doesn't move on is of interest. So I think there's some excitement to following who may win the FedExCup as well as who may or may not move on to the next week. So I think there's some excitement. When FedExCup was first proposed it was proposed to cut the season short and end before football. Then it went into kind of weeks two and three of football. And then there was the idea that there was just a rollover of eyeballs, so kind of like the program that follows the Super Bowl people are just in front of their TV's, they're going to be watching, so there was just this rollover and I think that's been a bit of a misconception I think for fall as we know, football is the king as we know, it's hard to compete against the NFL, and I think that the PGA TOUR's working to combat that.

Q. How does the patriotism that you experienced at the Olympics compare to the atmosphere at the Ryder Cup?
MATT KUCHAR: It's cool, it's uniquely different and you have so many different countries at an Olympics. And the support for all the different individual countries is unique. Certainly as an American, as a guy representing the United States of America, there's an amazing amount of support. I wasn't anticipating there being so many USA fans. It was very cool to see. The Ryder Cup, it's kind of one way or the other and the Ryder Cup's so different in that the team atmosphere versus individual atmosphere. So, I think that there lies the biggest difference, but there was amazing patriotism and I thought it was cool seeing people like Mikko Ilonen from Denmark and cool to see so many people from Denmark cheering for Denmark. So I thought that was one of the cool things about the Olympics.

Q. Does one or the other feel more organic to you?
MATT KUCHAR: I don't know that I can exactly say what organic would mean as far as golf fans and patriotism, but.

Q. Like you said until the Ryder Cup it's almost like you're for Team Europe or you're for Team USA and even if you're for Team Europe, you don't, like you'll have the Swedes rooting for the Englishmen and that. But I've always thought that the Olympics there's something sort of organic about it. It's not this team event, it's not contrived, it's springing from your roots, but I don't know. That's why I'm curious what it's like from an athlete's standpoint, because that's how it feels from an outsider's standpoint.
MATT KUCHAR: Can I just agree and say yes?

(Laughter.) I don't know. I don't know, really, how to expand on that. I vaguely get where you're going but it's hard to say.

Q. Can you see a time when maybe people feel the same, the patriotism at an Olympics eclipse the atmosphere of a Ryder Cup? Or do you think they have their unique --
MATT KUCHAR: It would be hard to, just between the team and the individual. When you get so many people rooting for one side, there's such an amazing energy that exists with that. When it's -- I think that if you go to just a Major Championship, an event like this and people see greatness going on like Tiger in his day, I think there's an amazing level of energy and support when you feel like you're witnessing something truly great and remarkable. So, you could somewhat evenly compare those. But the kind of one-sidedness of Ryder Cups leads to a little bit more of an energy that seems to exist.

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