	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2017

William McGirt

Augusta, Georgia

Q. Overall today. Thoughts?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: It's hard. I mean, it's a hard golf course even under benign conditions. The greens were much, much firmer today. A little bit faster, too. Can't wait to see what they're like tomorrow. If they get any faster tomorrow, it's going to be a lot of fun.
Just two really bad swings, 17 and 18 off the tee, just didn't have anything.
The second shot on 10, I was just trying to cut it in there, it was a green light special, and just over‑cut it. You're completely dead in that bunker.
But, all in all, solid day. I mean, still got a chance to play well tomorrow and a good solid round, I get to come back next year. So that's my goal right now.

Q. You've had success in the past in the final round coming back chasing, what will your mindset be tomorrow as far as a target?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: Well, we got to go out and shoot probably 2‑, 3‑under to maybe even 4‑under, just depends on if they give these thirsty greens a little bit of water tonight. Just go out and take advantage of the opportunities when you can.
I hit so many good putts on that front nine that didn't go in. Hit a really good putt on 14 for birdie and left it a quarter of a turn short on 17 for par. So, could have stolen a couple more. But just a couple loose swings there. So we're going to go hit a few balls and see if we can't fix it.

Q. Did the missed birdie try on 14, that was such a makeable putt, did that have any affect on you coming down the stretch? If you had made that would that have changed anything at all?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: No, not really. The wedge shot on 15 is hard. And I couldn't have been anymore in between clubs there. The thing is, you get out there and you don't know what the wind's doing. It felt like it was helping a little bit back in the fairway, where we were, but as soon as you got down to the bottom, you could feel that it was hurting.
So, I feel like we made the right decision there, because if you hit a hard 5‑wood and it gets over that green, I mean all you're doing is trying to chip is 20 feet short of where I was putting from and just trying to make five.

Q. You mentioned your practice rounds that you played prior to here were all kind of always in tough conditions and you didn't mind, even were looking forward to hopefully getting more tough conditions. How much different was the golf course under more friendly conditions, as far as weather conditions?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: The biggest thing is the greens are so much firmer and faster than what I've seen them. The only day that really compared to these speeds was Sunday, this past Sunday when they were getting everything prepared. But they were still soft.
I really, I've never ‑‑ I have no experience with the greens this firm. The first two days they were closer to what I was accustomed to playing. But it's a lot different. It's fun, but it's a hard golf course. Like I said, just a couple of loose swings and I'm right where I want to be.

Q. What was your strategy on 15? You almost made a birdie putt there, it looked like.
WILLIAM MCGIRT: Yeah, I mean, we're trying to find a place that's going to leave us 75 to 80 percent chance to make birdie. Is that hitting it over the green? To that pin, no. I just, I hit a wedge shot through, probably three paces too far and I missed the upslope, so it stayed up top. If it lands a couple paces shorter, it hits into that upslope and it comes back to it. But I felt like we had a much better chance of making birdie with a wedge than we did shooting it over that green.

Q. You mentioned a good round tomorrow you get to come back next year. When did maybe the Top‑12 and ties enter your thinking? After the one good round to start off with or, obviously, going into today, you had a chance to win this thing. When did it maybe you thought, hey, Top‑12 and ties I get to come back kind of enter the thought process?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: Probably once I learned that I was in the tournament.
(Laughter.)
This is one I want to make a regular stop. I would love to come finish Top‑12 here every year. But we know what we got to do tomorrow, so that's the good thing. It's not like we're unsure, it's not like we have to go out and shoot something crazy, either. If I go out and shoot something crazy good, we might have a chance to win, so you never know.

Q. You talked about what a thrill it was to make the weekend for your first Masters. Was it any different going out there today having kind of accomplished that and kind of starting over, so to speak?
WILLIAM MCGIRT: Well, the first two days I was dead calm. I told Brandon Thursday it was scary just how calm I was. And today I was a little bit amped up and got a little quick, had a little death grip on that driver and kind of pushed it way right on 1.
But it's just fun. There's so many friends and family here, so many people that I know from Spartanburg and from all around Carolina, I've heard, "Go Wofford, go Terriers," so many times, it's awesome. And you know, it's huge for our school and it's huge for our community, it's huge for where I grew up and it's just been fun.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297