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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 17, 2017

Jordan Spieth

Carmel, Indiana

Q. Jordan, thank you for hanging with us while golf was going on. I now you wanted to win the BMW Championship but one of the other stated things was to be No. 1 going into next week at East Lake.
With lofty goal, what does that mean to you going into that event?

JORDAN SPIETH: Michael and had a bit of a conversation about that today on the course. He was reiterating going to Atlanta with the mindset, you start playing for position is when you kind of take your foot off the pedal.

I'm comfortable at East Lake. I'm in a great position. Just going there and getting work in the next few days.

Q. Remember 2015 in the Bahamas we had a conversation. You won the FedExCup that year. You said one your goals moving forward was to remain consistent out here, one the best players in the world.
You picked up another Major. You picked up four wins on the PGA TOUR and now you're No. 1 going into the Tour Championship.

As you look back on the last three years, how important is it for you to retain such a lofty goal week-in and week-out.

JORDAN SPIETH: It's certainly difficult. It's a grind physically and mentally. I've done a better job this year versus last year of learning how to rest and recover and how important it is in a long season.

By the time we get to East Lake -- I had a lot of adrenaline '15 putting there. I didn't strike the ball well. Last year I didn't putt as well and was a little tired and this year I feel like I've done a lot better job resting and recovering to kind of have my legs ready for East Lake and then, obviously, whatever is left in the tank at the Presidents Cup.

Putted beautifully the first day. I was real tentative. Today I came out saying let's be a little more aggressive. It worked really well for most of the round.

I kind of got a little tentative at the end. Really pleased with the final score. Came here with the intention of winning the tournament. That's not going to happen.

Q. You are retain No. 1 in the FedExCup rankings.
JORDAN SPIETH: Which is great. Obviously the best position to be in for the best scenario is in order to win the FedExCup. That was really important today to go out and shoot a low round.

Obviously that was kind of my goal today, to maintain the No. 1 position, and we'll go into East Lake really trying to win the golf tournament and trying not to focus on anything else.

Q. Stay aggressive, you may be No. 1 a week from tonight as well.
JORDAN SPIETH: Thanks, Fred.

Q. Jordan, what are you taking away from today's round and this week overall?
JORDAN SPIETH: Good momentum. I thought yesterday I started to really feel like I was hitting the ball the same as the last couple of weeks, at least it was really close.

I felt like today it was a slight improvement on yesterday and I made a few more putts. Really good start. It was a round that could have been extra special, it was a really special round, but all I could ask for today on a Sunday where the only thing really that I was playing for was trying to maintain the No. 1 spot.

Q. How important is it for you to have the 1 spot versus one of the Top-5 spots?
JORDAN SPIETH: You just have more scenarios. I'm not even going to look into the math. I don't care. I'm sure I'll be asked about it and I'll be presented with enough information that I don't need to do it on my own.

Point is, if you win week it doesn't matter. When I was No. 2 I had a little bit of that -- Jason is going to be there, in the thick of things, he's playing so well, I have to win East Lake. That's kind of -- I think that kind of helped.

So, the more I focus on being at No. 1, which obviously was the goal, the more I focus on it I think it hurts me. I go into next week trying to work my way up the leaderboard early.

Q. Is there such a thing as momentum created here heading into the next week?
JORDAN SPIETH: Absolutely. Anytime -- I shot 2 bogey-free, 6-under rounds. I know the way I've been playing in the last few months, I know that that golf is still there, it's just a matter of going out and executing and these rounds in between how can I improve from being 1-under or even par, 1-over rounds like I had to start Boston, if I can get those to 2, 3-under on an off day -- East Lake is a very difficult tract. I'm talking relative numbers. If I can just improve a little bit on an off day, then we're in good position.

Q. When you win like a whole bunch of awards, I know it's kind of hard to appreciate each one for their own -- what did you think of the Vardon Trophy when you won it? Did you understand the meaning of it and appreciate it?
JORDAN SPIETH: I don't think so just because --

Q. You know you won it?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I have it. They all -- all the awards came in like at the same time. They were all -- I just got back and there were a bunch of boxes at the house after the Presidents Cup that year from Korea and you take them out, kind of look and do research on each of them and no, I don't think I've appreciated even to this day all the trophies and the different awards that year brought.

Yeah.

Q. You're leading it now. Did you know that?
JORDAN SPIETH: I thought so. I thought I was leading in most of the categories, scoring, money list, so be it.

For me if I go out next week -- not only win the FedExCup, I think I have to win the tournament next week to be Player Of The Year or at least have a chance to be Player Of The Year and that's really -- that's our MVP, that's the most important award.

Q. Even though JT would have one more win than you?
JORDAN SPIETH: It would make it a tough call for other people if I were to win and win the FedExCup. You know, you start looking at depth of the years and how they compare but the Major and five wins, if he doesn't win next week it's still tough not to give the trophy to him.

I'd like to make it --

Q. Major four wins plus the FedExCup and the Vardon Trophy.
JORDAN SPIETH: I'm saying, Justin, where he's at right now it's harder for anybody to beat him in my mind but I could make a difference, yeah.

Q. Have you voted every year that you've been a member?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yes. Yeah.

Q. You voted for yourself every year?
JORDAN SPIETH: I voted for myself one year.

Q. Just one?
JORDAN SPIETH: Just one year. I thought I had the best year. You're supposed to vote for who --

Q. If you win the FedExCup this year would you vote for yourself?
JORDAN SPIETH: That would be tough. I'd have to sit back and kind of -- I would have to -- I'd have to be neutral.

I'd have to look statistically in the entire year that we just had because I don't know it. The guy shot 59 this year and shot 63 at the U.S. Open. He's had some awards mid-year that I haven't had this year but we'll see.

Q. How important is Player Of The Year, where do you rank that after the Majors?
JORDAN SPIETH: Probably right after. I would put it next on -- if you look at accolades that are read off when you're done playing golf, you go this many Majors, this number of times Player Of The Year and then this many wins, you know.

Q. Do you think somewhere, because you're young and 20 years or so from now when that gets to that point, the Hall of Fame, do you think that will be it or FedExCup wins will be it?
JORDAN SPIETH: I'm not sure. I think it would be pretty close. I would say Player Of The Year because FedExCup Race is supposed to obviously come -- an ideal word from the PGA TOUR's perspective it advertises a year long race for the FedExCup.

The Player Of The Year race is oftentimes a different player, like it was last year than the FedExCup winner. I find a Player Of The Year award greater than a FedExCup.

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