|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDEJune 2, 2017Rickie FowlerDublin, Ohio Q. How happy are you with today? RICKIE FOWLER: Definitely pleased. I was able to get rid of some mistakes I made yesterday. I made a lot of really good swings, hit my numbers a lot, which out here you have to be pretty precise coming into the greens. Happy about that. Didn't lose too much ground. Happy I was able to get a few coming in to make sure I wasn't too far back for the weekend. Q. How much of an impact was that finish yesterday? Playing the bunker shot, how much could you use that as a springboard today? RICKIE FOWLER: It was huge. I mean level par would have been good if I didn't hit the bunker shot the way I wanted to. You could easily make double there very quickly. To walk away making the bunker shot, making the birdie, it's gaining at least a shot and a half there. Definitely pleased about that. Yeah, finishing at 2-under, definitely different being even or 1-over coming into the morning round today. Q. A lot of players are talking about how beautiful the course is. Is there much difference from morning starters to afternoon starters, as far as the greens, how it's playing out there? RICKIE FOWLER: Not too much. The greens were all pretty good in the afternoon. They tend to get -- like any course, they're going to get a little roughed up. But I felt like they held up pretty well yesterday. And the greens seemed to react fairly similar this morning. The golf course is in great shape, as always. I would say, if anything, the wind maybe laying down typically in the mornings and picking up in the afternoon, but right now there's still not a whole lot going on. Q. As well as you've played, still a good way behind Dufner so far, is this a golf course you can push him? RICKIE FOWLER: You have to be precise, like I said earlier about how I was able to hit my numbers and do a good job of that today. You have to hit fairways and you have to be pretty spot on on the greens. But with that you can make a lot of birdies around this golf course. And it's a fine line between being in a good position to make a putt for birdie to being in a position where you're almost having an impossible up-and-down. You don't want to wish bad on anyone but there's definitely some areas where easily one shot or two shots can happen. Q. That was a comfortable-looking round, with no mistakes. RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, it was. Really the only one that came close was on 18. Hit a good shot in there and ended up with a very tough up-and-down and was able to make a good par putt. But other than that, fairly simple. A lot of fairways, a lot of greens and threw in a few birdies and tried not to fall too far behind Dufner. Q. I didn't see 14-under out there for two days, did you? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I guess it was there. Maybe could have been a little closer if I didn't make a triple yesterday. But this golf course, if you're hitting fairways and hitting your numbers in the greens, you're going to have a lot of looks at birdies. It is a golf course that I feel like it spreads the field out pretty good. You can be just a little off and you're going to struggle getting the ball up and down. You can be in tough places where bogeys happen quickly, and vice-versa, when you're hitting your numbers and putting it in the right spot on the greens, you can make a lot of birdies. Q. Talk about the greens. Jon Rahm had a tough time on greens today. How difficult are these greens to really get comfortable as a player? RICKIE FOWLER: There's a lot of movement. You don't get many putts that are right edge or anything like that, especially from short distance, sometimes you have to play them outside your hole. I had some decent looks out there. And the ones that I made, I felt like, were somewhat on the straighter side for what they do out here. But I had a lot of good looks from 10, 15 feet. When you're playing a foot of break, you have to be very spot on as far as where the ball starts and then matching up the speed. Q. 8-under par for 36 holes. If you'd said that when you teed off yesterday, not knowing what Jason would go out and shoot, I think you'd be pretty happy? RICKIE FOWLER: Definitely. I missed the cut the last three years here, so it's nice to get the ball on the green the last hole, have a birdie putt and be playing on the weekend. I'm happy. I played well here before and it's definitely nice to get something out of the round yesterday after some mistakes and come out and not fall too far behind. Q. Yesterday you had the triple on the card and you're thinking we've got to turn it around. More proud with how you finished yesterday or kept it going today? RICKIE FOWLER: More proud of finishing the round and getting it under par. Making a triple on the second hole is not always a good thing. I started off with good swings on 1, made birdie and went the other way the next one. I was able to rebound, make the turn at 1-under and making the bunker shot on 18 was kind of a bonus. But nice to finish that way, gave myself some momentum going into today. Q. To have success, any adjustments you've made to the course after the last couple of years or just golf? RICKIE FOWLER: It's just golf. It's a fine line on this golf course. You've got to hit fairways, but from there you have to be hitting your numbers. If you're off with line or distance, you end up with some very tough up-and-downs around this golf course. I did a really good job today of getting the ball in play and then hitting my spots where I was trying to hit the ball on the green to give myself good looks. Q. Still no rain. It's firmer, faster. But I have a funny feeling you wouldn't mind it if it got more crusty? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I would love to see it firm up and dry out. I know there's potential rain Sunday. I think tomorrow is looking good now. But, yeah, the firmer and faster the golf course gets, the more it separates the field. Q. Efficient round for Rickie Fowler, no bogeys, six birdies, how would you rate that performance? RICKIE FOWLER: It was solid. I had one that might have gotten close on 18. I had to make a good par putt. But other than that, fairly simple. A lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Had a lot of good looks out there. You end up with some putts that do break quite a bit. So I had some slide by that just missed, whether it was high or low. Nice to get a couple more on the way in and trying not to fall too far behind Duf. Q. He was playing right in front of you, rolling in just about everything. Did that influence your play out there at all? RICKIE FOWLER: I didn't want to fall too far behind and not be in a good position for the weekend. I'd like to be closer, but it's not a bad spot to be. I know I can go play well on this golf course. I've made a lot of birdies over the last two days. It was fun to see did you have up there, to see him rolling it in, to see him hole out on 18 -- I didn't get to see it, I heard the crowd and the roar. Like I said, I was just trying to kind of hold on and keep up. Q. You said it seemed like a simple round for you today. Mechanically does the swing feel simple right now? RICKIE FOWLER: It's getting there. I'd say early on this week, the arms and the body and everything wasn't syncing up properly. But yesterday, other than a couple missed swings, yesterday was good. Today was a lot better. It felt like it was kind of more just -- I know the number, pick my line and just step up and swing. Sometimes I get in there, it's funny to think about it, how am I going to do this? Things have been good, I'm driving it well. You've got to hit the fairways out here. And like I said, hitting the numbers, makes the golf course easier when you do that. Q. Talk about your position through two rounds here. RICKIE FOWLER: I'd obviously like to be closer to Duf out there. But he put up two great rounds and just happy I was able to kind of keep the round going today. No bogeys, six birdies and at least somewhat keep up. Only lost a shot today. That's not a bad thing when a guy goes out and shoots 7-under in front of you. Happy about the way I played. Happy with the way I hung in yesterday to give myself a chance to be in a good position for the weekend. Looking forward to the next two days. Q. Can you expound on your last point, about how critical the last few holes were you yesterday? RICKIE FOWLER: Well, I mean, you're going to have potentially one if not two rounds in a four-round tournament where you don't have your best, maybe a rough day and you're trying to squeeze as much out of it as you can. To have a triple on the second hole and be 3-over through four, really the more you can get out of that and kind of somehow get momentum to go to the next day -- I got a bonus making a bunker shot on 18. But turning around what could potentially be 75 to 70, it's a big difference. Q. You've had such a good start to your career, good career. I'm wondering, you missed the cut here, I think, the last three times. Have you had a course like that -- I think you finished second here one year. What has it been the last couple of years about playing here that gave you trouble? RICKIE FOWLER: I would say I haven't been spot on swing-wise. This golf course is such a fine line as far as even if you are driving it in the fairway, if you aren't hitting the number into the green or missing your line, it's penalizing. You end up with some tough up-and-downs. The difference between making birdie and bogey here is very fine. So it can happen. And, yeah, it just happened the last three years. But I know I've had a lot of good rounds here. I've played well, been in contention. Looking forward to getting back to that this weekend. Q. Where are you during the round with what Duf's doing? RICKIE FOWLER: I know exactly what he's doing. Q. To stay in contact with him, you mentioned that, do you feel like at least I'm there with what you hit today? RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm keeping an eye on what he's doing. You hear the shot that he holed on 18 from the crowd roar. But really just trying to make sure I'm moving forward or not falling too far behind in that case when he's out there shooting 7. 6 is a good number today and put myself in a good position for the weekend. Q. What differentiates these greens from most on Tour? RICKIE FOWLER: There's a lot of movement on the greens. You get a lot of putts with a decent amount of break, which is more so than normal. And you get some Augusta similarities, in a way. But I would say that's the biggest thing is just the amount of movement and how precise you have to be with line and speed. Q. Does the course seem to be playing a little differently today than it maybe has in years past to allow you to get to this point here? RICKIE FOWLER: There's been times when it's played soft. And I'm not a big fan when it plays soft here just because -- in a way I would say the course plays easier that way and doesn't separate the field as much like when this place gets as firm and fast, as it can. And I know that this afternoon into tomorrow should do that. Hopefully the storms and rain will stay away on Sunday from what it looks like. No, the firmer and faster it can get, like I said, it will help separate the guys, and the guys that are swinging the best and playing the best will rise to the top. Q. Pretty firm today? RICKIE FOWLER: It's still not firm yet. It would be nice to see it continue to firm up. Like I said, it makes it to where you have to be pretty spot on out there. Q. A couple of years ago you had the 84 here. Is that something when you leave the course you forgot about it or does it stick with you? RICKIE FOWLER: I hadn't heard it until now. Yeah, you remember pretty much all your rounds whether they're good, okay or bad. Yeah, you remember it. You understand what was going on, how you could do things differently, how you could think differently. And ultimately you want to learn from everything. So the plan is to not shoot 84. Q. On a personal note, how well did you know Nicky Hayden, and what you're going through with a friend of his that lost his life? RICKIE FOWLER: It's been pretty tough. I've been around him a handful of times, but I would say more so some of my really good friends that were very close to him, to see how affected they were with it. He was one of a kind. Obviously I don't want to go into too many details. But he was a special man. And really unfortunate. Q. Have you thought a lot about him over the last seven or eight days? RICKIE FOWLER: For sure. I was on vacation in the Bahamas when everything kind of happened. So, yeah, it's been definitely a tough couple of weeks kind of in that world of everyone who knew who he was or was close to him. Q. Can you expand on your relationship with Dufner? The type of friendship you guys have, that sort of thing? RICKIE FOWLER: He's one of my favorite people out here. Obviously a close friend. He was living with me a little bit over the winter for, say, four or five months, just because he was wanting to spend some time down in South Florida and practice. So I opened the doors to him. And we were somewhat roommates. I wasn't always there and he was in and out, but we got to spend a decent amount of time together and that was fun. He's one of a kind. He's one of the best guys I know out here. I know he would do anything for me. And I think that -- I would say there's not -- as far as fan-wise or people outside the ropes or people that haven't spent a whole lot of time with him, maybe don't know him too well. Because he's fairly quiet on the course, you don't get to really see who he is as a person. He's one of the funniest guys out here, too. But fan-wise you wouldn't really see that, the way he carries himself is pretty chill and mellow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|