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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 15, 2017

Scott Stallings

Silvis, Illinois

Q. 17, as soon as you hit it, looked to me like you thought you missed it, and then somehow this thing rolled right into the cup.
SCOTT STALLINGS: Yeah, obviously kind of anticlimactic. We had a unique situation on 17 with Martin's ball. You know, Troy and I were just kind of in a situation where we didn't really feel like anything, any infraction took place.

The rules official explained it very well as far as how they came to the conclusion at the end, but not very often you take ten-minute breaks in the middle of a hole.

I thought I left it short, to be honest. I knew I had the line. I just didn't think I hit it hard enough. Lucky enough it fell in the front door.

But, yeah, my mind was not thinking about the putt. My mind was trying to think -- just kind of go over what exactly had happened. Fortunate enough was able to go in. It is what it is.

Q. You faked me out on that one, that's for sure. You open up with even par 71 and follow it up back to back-to-back 64s. What have you discovered on Friday and Saturday?
SCOTT STALLINGS: I mean, I played really well on Thursday. I got off to a really funky start. I three-putted 1; made bogey from just off the side of the green on 2.

Just kind of really struggled with my speed early in the round. Went back to an old putter that I used in '13 and '14, and I started hitting putts significantly more solid than I have all year.

Really struggled just throughout the first part of the round. I was 2-over through 13 and was able to make a couple birdies coming in and finish with even par.

Just kind of worked on my speed throughout the remainder of the day. Started to feel more and more comfortable and was able to see some putts start going in. It's amazing what kind of confidence you can get, especially to free your game up, when you start seeing some putts go in.

Q. What was that ruling, by the way?
SCOTT STALLINGS: They deemed that he caused it to move. We didn't think so, but they did.

Q. That lasted a long time.
SCOTT STALLINGS: A while.

Q. Back-to-back good rounds has you in contention. How do you feel heading into the last day?
SCOTT STALLINGS: Just happy to be where I'm at. Obviously today was a great day to kind of overcome a little bit of a slow start. I felt like I put myself in a lot of positions on the front and just didn't capitalize very, but was able to hit some nice shots coming down the stretch and see some nice putts go in.

Any time you can do that, it's a successful day.

Q. The putter Friday/Saturday hadn't been working for you. Do anything different after Thursday?
SCOTT STALLINGS: No. Actually the last six holes on Thursday I made a little bit of a tweak in regards to my speed and kind of how I was seeing the putts. I missed a lot of short putts early in the round on Thursday and really struggled speed-wise as far as matching the line up and everything.

The last six holes my caddie and me just kind of talked about a few different things as far as getting comfortable. Was able to transition in the last few days.

Q. What's the mindset heading into payday being two off the lead?
SCOTT STALLINGS: I could care less about that. All that stuff will take care of itself. I can't control what anyone else does. I couldn't event tell you some of the other guys that are on the leaderboard.

Obviously coming down the stretch my caddie will be apprised as far as what we need to do. We've gotten ourselves this far, and we're happy to be in the position we're in. Look forward to go and continue to do the same game plan we've had the last few days.

Q. Anything you can draw on in the past?
SCOTT STALLINGS: I think just knowing like what that feels like and knowing like when that little bit of fluttering comes out of nowhere you know how to deal with it. You expect it, and then next thing you know you're in the middle of the fairway and you start, Oh, man, I can hit this 9-iron 180 yards.

Just kind of learn how to understand that it takes a little bit of practice. Early in my career I wasn't the best at it. It's nice to t kind of be able to draw upon that.

Just look forward to a great day. I love the golf course. The fans are great. I had a great day today. Look forward to hopefully doing that again tomorrow.

Q. For you, how important is a good start tomorrow?
SCOTT STALLINGS: A good start is important any day. Doesn't matter if it's Thursday or Sunday. I know these sound like redundant answers or kind of cliche or whatever, but it is. Put yourself in position off the tee; try to capitalize on par-5s; try to minimize mistakes.

It doesn't matter what day you play, when you play, that ultimately that stays the same all the time. When you get out of position, try to get back in position as fast as you possibly can. Try to make use of the scoring holes and put yourself in position on the tougher holes.

Q. Heck of a third round. Take us through the eagle on the par-5, 17. What were you seeing out there?
SCOTT STALLINGS: You know, I kind of pulled back a little bit off the tee. I fade my driver, so down off to the left doesn't look very good on that hole. My 3-wood is the only club in my bag I can really draw.

You know, just kind of fit the hole a little bit better, and was able to hit a nice one in the fairway. Just a perfect 4-iron. Landed just on the front of the green and came off nice. Thought I left my putt short, and it was nice to see to fall in the front.

Q. Good conditions today for scoring. A lot of people went low. You went 7-under. What was the key to your round overall?
SCOTT STALLINGS: Just being patient. You know you're going to have days like this when the scoring conditions are great, the golf course is in incredible shape. You put yourself in position off the tee, you're going to have a lot of opportunities to make birdies.

I shot 1-under on the front and didn't really feel like I played that bad. Just kind of stayed patient. Walking down 10, my caddie just kept, you know, more, more. We're going to keep having chances, keep having chances, you know not press.

Continue to put ourselves in position off the tee, what we're comfortable with, and I was able to capitalize a little bit better on the back.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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