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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 17, 2017

Sergio Garcia

Carmel, Indiana

Q. All of our projections show you headed to Atlanta.
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, that's great. You know, it's obviously -- it was one of the goals for the year to get to Atlanta. I would like to probably get in the Top-10. But obviously my game hasn't been amazing the last two months.

Felt some good things this week. The thing that I -- I think I did some good things here and there. So, hopefully gives me some confidence for next week.

Q. Tell me about the 18th hole. Were you really going to play that bank shot off that rock and did you know what you had to make on that hole? What was your strategy?
SERGIO GARCIA: I didn't know. I thought I had to make 5. That's what I was thinking. I was prepared to do it. I mean we've obviously done it at the road hole at St. Andrews and if it's flat because the rock was flat.

I knew if I got good contact on it and just -- it would pop-up and probably go in the grandstand behind the green and try to get up and down from there. We started looking at that.

The grandstand was in my way. I was able to get relief from it inside the hazard and then even it wasn't a great lie, you know, I could hit it out of there and get my up and down.

Q. Sergio, take us through the drop and all the stuff you had to go through with figuring that out.
SERGIO GARCIA: Obviously I had the possibility of playing it against the rock because it was flat and we've done it on the 17th hole at St. Andrews, which you chip it into the wall and then it bounces back nicely if you get a little bit of loft.

I knew it wasn't an easy shot but I knew I could probably hit it hard enough and make good contact, hit the rock and hopefully come straight and probably goes in the grandstand behind the green.

Because of that the grandstand on the right side of the green was in my way so I was able to get relief from that. Obviously drop it inside the hazard.

So, dropped inside the hazard, place the ball because it bounced forward towards the green and that was the only spot where it would stay. Then from there hit the green and good up and down.

Q. Did you know what you needed to make on that hole for Atlanta?
SERGIO GARCIA: I thought I needed to make 5. My wife Angela was saying I probably needed 6 but now when we finished after making 5, they said I'm 25th and I'm not mathematically in.

Lot of weird things have to happen. But, you know, what that tells me, if I would have made 6 then I would have had a bigger chance of not getting to Atlanta. So I'm glad that we're able to make 5.

Q. Did you ever recall a situation like that where you're taking a drop inside a hazard?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, but that's -- I mean not for me. I don't know if -- I feel like I've seen it before but that's what happens, you know, when we have these big tournaments and grandstand.

Obviously any other day when the stands are not there you're in the hazard and just play it, if you want to play it. But because the grandstands are there and the rules are there so I was able to take relief from it and kind of worked out well for me.

Q. We saw Phil Mickelson come over. I was wondering if maybe he was giving you advice, knowing Phil, he was saying go ahead and hit it.
SERGIO GARCIA: No. No. No. We were talking about dropping equidistance from the hazard. I was wondering if I could go all the way, kind of like front right side of the green, left of the bunker and everything but the referee said equidistance, still going to be behind the hazard. I couldn't do that.

Phil kind of walked in and kind of said the same thing, can you not go equidistance to the other side where that little bit of fairway is.

That was out of equation.

Q. As you're getting to like the 18 minute mark, are you feeling bad for the people behind you?
SERGIO GARCIA: For sure. I was feeling bad for the people behind me and for Phil because they were waiting but it was an important moment and I wanted to make sure to -- I would do what was best for me at that time and obviously within the rules and that's what we did. I obviously didn't want to do anything wrong either. So, it was important to get it done the right way.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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