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THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 25, 2017

Jhonattan Vegas

Old Westbury, New York

Q. Scoring average so far, almost two shots over par, and you were 5-under, bogey-free. How did you pull that off?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, I mean, obviously a lot of good ball-striking. That's what this course requires. You have to drive it well. You have to hit some good iron shots, and obviously you have to play well. But I mean, you have to really drive it well and hit your irons, so that's a priority. That's what I feel like I've been doing great this week.

Q. These hole locations are brutal, especially 16 and 18, you have long birdie putts and you had tricky par putts and you made both of them. Those were good two putts?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I mean, obviously you know you're going to have a lot of those 50-, 60-footers out here with some of these pin locations especially if you miss fairways.

You know, you have to manage your game around this place. Obviously there's a lot of opportunities to have but there's a lot of holes that it's easy to get in trouble, as well. So you have to try to manage that and do your best to not make many bogeys.

Q. What have you discovered in your game since you won at the RBC Canadian Open, because you're playing some good golf right now.
JHONATTAN VEGAS: You know what, it's been simple. It's been my irons. The moment I went back to my MP-4 Mizunos, I've been striking it really well. I've been driving the ball great all year but my irons haven't been that great. So I put them back in and obviously I've been hitting the ball really solid with the irons.

When you start hitting the ball close like that, good momentum starts happening. A few putts are going in and it's easy to keep that going once you're hitting your irons that close.

Q. A good week this week and you're going to solidify your spot in The Presidents Cup. Is that something you're trying to nail down this week?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Definitely. I've got a couple of weeks to play good golf and keep myself in. Like I've said before, it's been on my mind since the beginning of the year. It will be amazing to be part of a Presidents Cup, especially for Nick Price.

Yeah, obviously I'm playing for that this week, plus all the bonus of playing good during the Playoffs.

Q. And lastly could, this be the year the International Team wins this thing?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I think it's going to be the year, as simple as that. I think we're due, definitely, for it. So I think guys are going to be a little more motivated to play great but it's going to be tough competition.

Q. Not easy today, some tucked pins, but bogey-free with the 65. As you look back on that round, what do you see as some strengths?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, I was able to hit my irons really well today, really control distances extremely well. Drive it on the fairway most of the time. So when you do that in a place like this, you're going to give yourself a lot of opportunities, and that's kind of what I felt like I did. I didn't really put myself in some uncomfortable positions, and then, you know, when you do that on a tough course like this, obviously good rounds can happen.

You know, we've got a long way to go but feeling good about just playing a good round today.

Q. Did you feel more of a comfort level compared to yesterday?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Definitely. Obviously it's a comfort level but at the same time, you know that you have to be on your elements to play well here. That's kind of what I knew yesterday, especially starting on the front nine in the morning where those first five holes play so long. So I was able to get some really good pars starting off. I knew that was going to be the key, and obviously after that, it gives you some good opportunities.

It's a course that obviously plays really hard. I was fortunate enough to have a good round today.

Q. You call the Houston area home, and your wife and daughter are there right now. Hurricane Harvey is bearing down on Houston and could be a natural catastrophe. How are you able to play strong golf and manage the emotions of what could be happening in your hometown right now?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's something extremely hard, especially when my wife and daughter are there. My mom is there, too. You know, obviously it's out of my control, what could happen. But I think we're a little bit fortunate that we live a little bit north of Houston.

I feel bad every time something like that happens, people get hurt. Luckily we stay safe but it's always hard to see hurricanes come, because nothing good comes with that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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