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THE SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 29, 2017

Corey Pavin

Royal Porthcawl, Wales, United Kingdom

Q. Corey we know well from 2010 and we might know you better if you walk away with the Claret Jug. What a round of golf today?
COREY PAVIN: It was certainly an easier day to play golf. No doubt about that. It was almost balmy out there. It was nice not to have to wear a sweater. The wind was down. It was definitely gettable today. There's a lot of good scores out there, and fortunately, you know, things went well for me today.

Q. Just one of those days you're in the zone and everything you hit worked?
COREY PAVIN: Well, not everything. But I played well. I made some good putts. I made a bomb starting off the round on No. 4, and that kind of made me feel good.

But I played very solidly. It was a good round of golf today.

Q. Only two players in red numbers, you're one of them. Very much in contention to win now.
COREY PAVIN: Well, I'm in a good spot. That's what we just try to do is get in position to win on Sunday. I'll go out there tomorrow and play the best I can and hit each shot the best I can and see where I end up.

Q. What would it mean to you to win the Claret Jug?
COREY PAVIN: Well, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, how's that.

Q. How did it feel to make some birdies out there for a change?
COREY PAVIN: Well, it was nice to have the opportunity. Obviously the wind was not up today, and the course was definitely gettable. There's no doubt about it. There was some good scores out there, and I knew there was going to be some good scores out there. But you still have to play your own game and hit your shots, do the best you can, and fortunately I hit some good shots and I made some good putts.

Q. You mentioned being aggressive. Did you think that your mentality was going to be that going into today, knowing the forecast might be a little different?
COREY PAVIN: I don't know if I felt aggressive, per se, but I just wanted to hit positive shots and just let my shots go and see where they end up.

You never know out here. You can get a bounce or two that's kind of funny, but this course is pretty fair. What you do is what you get out here, and as I said, today with the wind down, it was certainly gettable but you still had to play some good golf to do it.

Q. How do you approach tomorrow knowing you're in good position for Sunday?
COREY PAVIN: No different than today and the first two days. Just play the best I can and just let my game happen and hopefully the scores will come. All I can do is the best I can when I go out there.

Q. Is attitude the most important thing for you guys at this point?
COREY PAVIN: Well, it helps. I just think kind of mind-set is really important, just to go out there and play my own game and not try to do things that I am not capable of or that's a low percentage. I'm just going to try to play smart.

Q. If you look back on this round, can you pick one or two things that you did so well?
COREY PAVIN: Well, I hit the ball a lot better today certainly, and I putted nicely. I made about a 50-footer on four, which kind of got me going. It made me feel like, okay, things might be going okay today and I made three in a row right there.

Once I did that, I kind of eased into the round and felt pretty comfortable.

Q. You played a lot of golf all over the world. How would you rate the conditions yesterday?
COREY PAVIN: Extremely difficult. We were talking about it, some of the players, we talked about it. I think the '02 or '03 Open at Muirfield on Saturday was a pretty rough day. Those two days were similar. Muirfield was a little colder but yesterday was very, very tough.

Q. What kind of mentality did you take to the course today in sublime conditions compared to yesterday?
COREY PAVIN: When I saw there was a couple good scores, I think Frosty shot a good score and Faldo shot a couple under; guys were under par. There's not much breeze, and this course is gettable when it's like this. Certainly hasn't been like that the previous two days, but I still had to be patient, go out there, hit shots, take what the course gave me, and today it gave me a little bit.

Q. You're the fifth player to shoot 65 today. Standing on the first tee, did you feel a score was out there?
COREY PAVIN: Yeah, I felt that way. It doesn't mean I'm going to shoot it. But you know, the wind was down today. It was just a little breeze. The course is gettable but you have to play good golf to do it. Some of the guys played some really good golf today and I'm pretty pleased that I'm one of them.

Q. Did it help getting off to that fast start for momentum?
COREY PAVIN: Yeah, it helped. I made a long putt on 4. I made about a 50-footer on 4 and then birdied 5 and 6, and then 8 and 9. So it was nice to get a good little run there.

Then I just tried to keep playing the way I was playing. Made a couple more and made a bogey, but it was a good day.

Q. You had a great run on the front nine.
COREY PAVIN: I birdied 4, made about a 50-footer there, and 5, I made about a 20-footer. 6, I made about an eight, 9-footer there for birdie, and 8, the hole was playing pretty easy with no breeze. I hit a wedge up there, I guess about eight feet and made that. 9, I hit a beautiful 5-iron in there. It was basically a tap-in. So it was a good stretch.

Q. In terms of momentum, how crucial was that par putt on 17 you holed?
COREY PAVIN: It was nice to make it certainly. 16 and 17, I hit a poor second shot on 16, and ended up in a pretty tough spot and ended up making a really good up-and-down for bogey there. That was important. But the putt on 17 was nice to make. It's one of those putts, if you hit well, you should make it. But you have to execute. But it was nice to make that.

Then of course, birdieing 18 and hitting that chip up there close was a nice way to finish.

Q. Momentum going into tomorrow?
COREY PAVIN: Well, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I think the weather forecast isn't great tomorrow. It might be a tough day tomorrow, but either way, I'm just going to go out and play my game and see what happens.

Q. Chasing down that man again, aren't you?
COREY PAVIN: Who's that?

Q. Bernhard.
COREY PAVIN: Oh, that guy. He's just been playing exceptional golf for a long time now. As a senior, yes, but his whole career has been fantastic. He's a tough guy to go after. But I can be tough sometimes, too, and I just know I have to go out and play my game and let it happen. And if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I can't be concerned about Bernhard. Maybe the last couple holes, if it becomes the two of us, but a lot can happen tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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