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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

February 2, 2017

Rickie Fowler

Scottsdale, Arizona

Q. You started out early with a couple of good saves. That's what you did this morning.
RICKIE FOWLER: I did. Had a good save on the first hole, 10th. Didn't hit the drive too far offline on 11. Ended up in the water but nice little up-and-down with a 9-iron.

Yeah, made some good solid saves on the first three holes. Was able to kick it off. Nice birdie putt on 13th. Got rolling from there.

Q. I have to talk about that bunker shot you hit at 12. That was a high degree of difficulty trying to spin that thing with not much room behind the hole there.
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I was on upslope there and I could feel that -- these bunkers, they come out quick. Sometimes there is some sand in the lips, but I felt like there wasn't a whole lot.

I knew it was going to come out quick. So I went back to the 60 instead of the 56, have a little thinner sole on that. Slide through there a little bit better. Didn't have to worry about it bouncing. I had a little bit of a ridge to carry kind of halfway between me and the hole and hit it perfect.

Q. I know the course doesn't ever owe you anything, but after last year, I know you're pretty excited being back here and giving yourself another opportunity, aren't you?
RICKIE FOWLER: Definitely. The last two weeks I haven't played as well as I would like to. It was nice to get to play the weekend in my first event, start the year in Abu Dhabi. Didn't play as well as I would like to on the weekend. Couldn't get anything going last week.

It's nice to be here. I have obviously played well here before. See if we can keep it in the short grass as much as possible. Did a good job of that today.

Q. You managed your way around the golf course well.
RICKIE FOWLER: I did. We got aggressive when we could. Played conservative but not too conservatively when it's not really a place you can push.

I made some really good saves early in the round, and stay level par, keep things going and moving forward. To par the first three holes was nice. I could have easily been 3-over there.

Q. Seven for seven scramble.
RICKIE FOWLER: That's a good stat. If you're scrambling, it makes the rest of the game a lot easier. You know you're chipping and putting the ball well. So it definitely frees you up kind of from the green back.

Q. 104 feet in putts, as well.
RICKIE FOWLER: That's nice. The first two holes helped. I made a couple of nice ones there. 10, 11, and 13. It was nice to see the putter warm up. I haven't made a bunch the last couple of weeks. Definitely didn't make any last week. So it was nice to see the ball disappear.

Q. You have had nice swings at winning this tournament. Came up shy a couple of times. Golf never owes anybody anything, but at the same time, you have to have good feelings and maybe business undone here?
RICKIE FOWLER: I do feel very good here. I have had a couple of chances. Last year was definitely my best chance, but yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Like I said, I love the atmosphere here. Played well here. The golf course is fun to play. I'm looking forward to getting some rest and getting ready for a good one tomorrow afternoon and roll from there.

Q. A lot of history at this golf course. Very easily could have been a champion here in the past. How good does it feel to get a good start today and give yourself a chance this year again?
RICKIE FOWLER: It's great anywhere, really. Any tournament you get off to a good start, it's nice.

Here, I have played well before and had a lot of good rounds. Not that it's added pressure, but once you get it going, you know that there are a lot of birdies out there. Nice to be swinging it and driving it well today. Keep that going, and hopefully live off some good memories this week.

Q. Do you feel like you picked up where you left off?
RICKIE FOWLER: Last year? Yeah, I mean, I played well last year and played well last nine holes coming in. Unfortunately didn't get the job done, but I felt like I played fairly well today. Hit a lot of fairways and didn't miss many shots.

It felt good to kind of have a stress-free round. Nice to make some putts. I made some good ones early to keep the round going.

Q. What is it about this event? The fans or the course?
RICKIE FOWLER: A little bit of everything. I have played well in the desert since I was a junior golfer. Being here, I like the golf course. It's fun to play. If you get it going, drive it well, you can make a lot of birdies.

Yeah, the energy here, the crowds, amount of people that come out, especially tomorrow and Saturday, it's fun.

Q. Your thoughts on Rahm being so young, seizing the moment like this, taking the stage?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, it's funny to think, he's not much younger than Jordan. Seeing some guys before him play well, I felt like I played decent coming out, and then the guys that followed me, you're seeing guys winning like Smiley did, and Justin winning a bunch now.

And obviously Jordan was someone that kind of showed that's the younger guys that were right behind that you could come out and get the job done out here. Jon's doing a great job of it. Obviously it's not easy to just come out and play well. Good to see him come out with confidence and build on that.

Q. (Off mic.)
RICKIE FOWLER: I don't think anything has necessarily changed. Anyone that's out here, we know they're great players, and we have known that Justin is a world-class, one of the top players in the world, but it was just a matter of time before he was going to be winning more than just one event.

I think he's done okay the past few months. Three wins to start the year and a 59 in there.

No, if he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to be tough to beat.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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