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THE SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 29, 2017

Bernhard Langer

Royal Porthcawl, Wales, United Kingdom

Q. I would describe that round as very efficient. What words would you use to describe?
BERNHARD LANGER: Definitely efficient. What happened really good today was my driving was really, really good. Hit a lot of fairways. Hit the ball solid, which then gives you the opportunity to have shorter irons with distance control and I hit some really good irons to pin-high, pretty close. Gave myself opportunities.

The putter wasn't brilliant but it wasn't bad. So overall, a very, very solid round.

Q. We chatted before your round today and you said you wanted to be maybe a little more aggressive under better conditions today. Do you feel like you were able to do that?
BERNHARD LANGER: Yes, I was. It was a lot easier to play. The first ten, 12 holes we didn't have any rain and the wind was only ten to five miles an hour, which makes it a lot more playable than 25 gusting to 35 and rain in between. So it was a lot more fun today.

Q. Looking ahead to tomorrow, this is the fifth time in this championship you have held the 54-hole lead. You've converted two of those previous four leads into victories. What mentality do you take to the first tee tomorrow chasing this championship once again?
BERNHARD LANGER: Same mentality as the last few days. I've still got to be aggressive. There's a lot of guys waiting for me to fall apart or whatever. So I need to shoot a good round, hopefully under par, depending on the conditions. If I can do that, then I make it difficult for the other guys to catch me. So my plan is to go under par.

Q. Once again leading the Senior Open Championship at Porthcawl. Your name is at the top of the board going into the final day once more.
BERNHARD LANGER: Yeah, played a very solid round today, no bogeys. Drove the ball in the fairways and gave myself opportunities with some good iron shots. Overall, very solid and very happy.

Q. You very nearly avoided the weather, too.
BERNHARD LANGER: Not quite. I knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. We had about ten or 12 nice holes and then we're back to rain.

Q. What's been the key to you playing so consistently over the last couple of days?
BERNHARD LANGER: Just today I played the best I've played all week. I just drove the ball very solid, pretty much where I was looking most of the time. Hit a lot of fairways, which then makes it easier to control the distance into the greens. Just didn't hit a lot of bad shots. Just hit a lot of great shots and good shots. You know, fairways, greens, and then gave myself opportunities for birdies.

Q. And that must give you a lot of confidence going into tomorrow?
BERNHARD LANGER: Yes, it definitely does. If I shoot under par tomorrow, it's going to be hard for anyone else to catch me I think. But first you've got to do that. It's not that easy.

Q. 13 shots when you won last time. Can you get near that this time?
BERNHARD LANGER: I don't think so. Probably never will. That was exceptional. I'm just happy to be in the lead and hopefully have another great day tomorrow.

Q. And to win here again, what would that mean to you?
BERNHARD LANGER: Oh, it would be fantastic. Just made me honorary member here at Royal Porthcawl. So I'm very privileged to have that, and to win it a second time here would be fantastic. It would be really great.

Q. After not feeling really well early in the week, does today's round reflect on how you're feeling?
BERNHARD LANGER: A little bit. I felt better today. I can actually talk. Before, I don't know what it was, but I had a hard time and it's hurting; my throat's not very good.

Yeah, I had more energy but I certainly played a lot better. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Gave myself lots of opportunities for birdies and didn't have to scramble for par very often, which was a very enjoyable round of golf.

Q. Did you feel a score was out there when you stood on the first tee this afternoon?
BERNHARD LANGER: Yeah, I heard from some of the early guys that there were a couple of -- a 4-under or even a 6-under, I believe, by David Frost. I knew the wind wasn't as strong; that there may be an opportunity to go under par, which was difficult to do the first couple days. The wind didn't pick up. It was five to ten miles an hour. I played very solid, and the end result was a 6-under.

Q. Does bogey-free make it more impressive?
BERNHARD LANGER: Bogey-free is always nice. Puts less stress on everything, and it's just fun playing golf without making bogeys or worse.

Q. Having missed out on the last senior major championship, did you have a bit between your teeth this week trying to get the record of Gary Player's?
BERNHARD LANGER: Well, the last one, I pretty much gave it away. If I had finished the way I should have done, I would have won it. But it was up to me and I didn't. Hopefully I can finish tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

Q. Is it fair to say you quite like it around here?
BERNHARD LANGER: Yes, I do like the golf course, that's fair to say. I like links golf in general. It's just a lot fun. We don't play very often on links golf courses. I just line the turf. The way you can spin the ball and the creativity that you can have or display on the greens, you can use almost any club. You can probably use 12 clubs to chip the ball or putt it or whatever, flop it, and I like that part of it.

Q. Is that in your mind at all, beating the record of Gary Player?
BERNHARD LANGER: No, I don't really play for records, and I'm not sure Gary Player has the record. I believe we're tied for the record. If those British Senior Opens count that he thinks they should count; but they weren't official then. So I don't care, anyways. I just play golf to do the best I can and win tournaments as often as possible.

Q. Four-shot lead, you must be looking forward to tomorrow?
BERNHARD LANGER: I am. Hopefully I will play somewhat similar as today and it will be a nice walk coming up 18.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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