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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2017

Stewart Hagestad

Augusta, Georgia

Q. Did you know how close it was?
STEWART HAGESTAD: No, I haven't seen how close it was. No. I'm going to have some Facebook notifications today.

Q. What was it? What did you hit there?
STEWART HAGESTAD: 6‑iron. I was going back and forth between 7 and 6 and I decided to hit the 6, just by what the wind was doing and having to cut it that much and uphill. And my adrenaline was firing a little bit, because I knew kind of where I stood and I obviously knew the history with Mid‑Ams and the Masters and that's been something that's been on my mind the whole week.
So, I really wanted to grind out a nice par and the fact that it ended up about a foot, I'm really happy it wasn't much longer than that.

Q. What was the yardage?
STEWART HAGESTAD: I think I had 179, if I'm not mistaken. I think it was 79, and then factor in the wind and all the other stuff that goes into it. I call it 85. More or less. With adrenaline firing, so maybe 80.

Q. How was the adrenaline when you were even par there for the Tournament?
STEWART HAGESTAD: I was fine. I was totally fine there. That was easier, because my adrenaline was way worse when I started leaking a little oil on the back nine.
I mean, 11's really, really hard and it's basically playing‑‑ I don't want to say it's an easy par‑5, because it's a flat out hard hole. So, yeah, no, when I was even par for the event, I, you guys may not believe me, but I actually, I felt solid. Because I was playing my game and I was playing well and I was in my zone and hitting shots the way that I feel like I know how to hit them.
So, yeah, no, I kept waiting for my name to go up on the big board and then when it didn't go, I was just like, all right, well, you just try and convince your self that you got to do a little bit better and you got to keep hitting good shots and try to keep making birdies.

Q. How long was your putt on 10 and what did that do for you?
STEWART HAGESTAD: Oh, yeah, that was a good one. Well I was looking at potentially going to, I was potentially looking at making double, right? So to literally, I mean, I actually hit a decent chip. I don't hit a whole ton of draws and I wasn't going to change my game to fit Augusta National ‑‑ and with all due respect to the membership. I literally have to hit ‑‑ I'm sorry. You literally have to hit one draw on the entire golf course. And it's 10. You don't really have to hit one on 13. It's not, what No Laying Up and the boys on Twitter all want to see on 13, but you can still make birdie with wedge.
So, what I felt like was I hit two decent shots, the driver didn't turn and then the approach shot just came out really hot. And that let me steal one there. So I was pretty fired up. But I came back to normal ‑‑ the entire field will take four on that hole every single day of the week.

Q. I was here for, was it a seven‑hole playoff?
STEWART HAGESTAD: Yeah, it was seven. It started 23 for eight and then it ended up being whittled three for one.

Q. How much did that maybe prepare you for maybe a nerve wracking couple rounds such as this week?
STEWART HAGESTAD: I'll tell you what's been like the most nervous I've ever been on a golf course was the two practice rounds I played with Adam Scott and Thomas Pieters and Jordan and Kuchar. My nerves have gotten a little bit better since. I slowly but surely adjusted. I talked to Sammy Schmitz earlier this week, who is a good friend, and I obviously spent a lot of time talking to Scott and was very, very close to Scott, who was in that playoff, and then obviously that I played in the finals in the Mid‑Am with. And what Sammy said, he said, I'm not nervous, I love playing in front of crowds. And I'm, I don't want to say the opposite, but like I just, it was just very uncomfortable for me and it was really difficult to get into a rhythm.
And if anyone watched me during the practice rounds, I heard some guy say like, "Enjoy the ride," and it kind of ticked me off a little bit. And I'm like, shoot, man, I feel like I'm generally a pretty decent ball‑striker, like it's not that hard, it's just a golf course, come on, go out there and show them what you can do.
So, yeah, that was very, very nerve wracking for me, but to be with guys like Adam and Thomas and Jordan and Matt and they really kind of calmed me down. And it's been an adjustment process, but it's been great.
The big playoff, the seven hole one, that wasn't as much, because I've been in that situation before and I've been in playoffs. But, I mean, all you can do is take experiences like that and try and learn from them and try and get better.

Q. What club did you hit on 4 and on you got to 15 and you seemed like you were thinking about going for it in two. Did you seriously consider that?
STEWART HAGESTAD: Totally, yes. So I hit 3‑iron on 4.

Q. What was it playing?
STEWART HAGESTAD: All of 240. Well, I mean, depending upon what the wind did. I got really, really lucky on that hole. When I hit it, I didn't hit it as solid as I could have, I feel like I really had to get one really well. I mean, you guys all play golf, I'm sure, I hit it a touch fat, where it took some of the spin off, where it kind of bore through the wind a little bit more. So I really got lucky. And the fact that it landed soft, I mean the same thing there. That green is so tough and you're putting straight down grain.

Q. We're going into all these technical things about your round, but just express how happy you are to be going playing the weekend and making the cut.
STEWART HAGESTAD: I mean I'm just, I'm fired up to get to share the moment with my family and my friends that are staying here. So I was looking at going at 15 in two, by the way, didn't do it. No, I'm just excited to go home and hang out with everyone.

Q. Dream come true?
STEWART HAGESTAD: Talk about that on Sunday.

Q. (No Microphone.)
STEWART HAGESTAD: That was the goal to start the week. I would be lying to you if I told you that. I always said, if you go and ‑‑ no, I can't say that, too, that will sound arrogant. No, the goal to start the week was earn your way to have the opportunity to come back again.

Q. Does playing this well against the best players in the world make you rethink maybe ‑‑
STEWART HAGESTAD: Absolutely not. Nope. Nope.

Q. How does a guy from southern California wind up in New York?
STEWART HAGESTAD: Well, it was between work and a girl and I'll let you figure out the rest.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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