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SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 25, 2017

Cody Gribble

Jackson, Mississippi

THE MODERATOR: Go ahead and get started. Like to welcome the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship, Cody Gribble. Cody, thanks for joining us for a few minutes.

Now that you're a year removed from a your maiden PGA TOUR victory, just a few comments. Looking back, obviously an impressive final round last year to get the job done by four strokes.

With that said, just a few comments on looking back and being back here again this week.

CODY GRIBBLE: Yeah, it was kind of a magical week, especially that weekend and the last kind of 54 holes. Just really good golf. A lot of fairways hit and putts made.

It was good. Great way to start off the year. A dream come true to win on the PGA Tour. I'm happy to be back here. I was down here a few weeks ago with some the media guys and had a great time playing nine holes and just seeing the head pro and seeing the greens superintendant and everybody around.

Happy to be back here. A bunch of great people. Last night was also incredible, being with Herschel Walker and few other guys.

Happy to be back, and looking forward for the tournament to start.

THE MODERATOR: I imagine last year when you came into the week there were probably a lot of question marks, a lot of variables. You know, what are you going to get into, how are you going to plan your schedule, that kind of thing.

Then in a span of a week, everything kind of takes care of itself. Was there a big adjustment or did things just kind of come naturally after the win?

CODY GRIBBLE: Really got off to a great start in Napa. That was my first tournament as a tour member. Finishing top 10 there kind of got the ball rolling a little bit, knowing that I'd get into the west coast and Hawaii, and kind of just kept running with it.

Getting a win was the best thing in the world for a tour card, knowing you have your card secured for a couple years. But, again, it kind of led into a good spring. I kind of wish the summer would've gone a little better, but still a lot of things to learn from.

Looking forward to trying to pick it back up again this week.

THE MODERATOR: My last question before we open it up: You had a chance to be out, play 18 hole today. Just your thoughts on the course and how it feels to be back out on the stage, to so speak.

CODY GRIBBLE: Definitely. A lot good vibes for sure. I am hitting the ball well. I have really worked a lot on my tee ball.

Rough is up. The course is in great condition again. The greens, it's always good coming back to bermuda greens, something I'm very familiar with. Course is in great shape.

It's going to be windy and colder this year, so I don't think 20-under is going to be a number this week if the wind stays the same. It's going to be a big challenge I think with putting, staying in the fairway, and I don't think you're going to see a 9-under this week if all stays the same.

(Indiscernible) will be incredible, I think, in my opinion.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You touched on it a little bit, but last summer was kind of up and down for you. What did you learn from that stretch? Seems like you've been playing well the last few weeks. What did you work on to get things back to where you wanted?
CODY GRIBBLE: You know, that's a good question. Really, driving. Early in the year last year I was driving it great. Hit a lot fairways. Starting off in Hawaii it was still good. Similar in the fall. This past fall was kind of a lot of missed fairways. It's hard to make birdies from the rough.

The way the TOUR courses are set up, if you're hitting a lot of fairways it makes life a lot easier on the course. I've been working lot on that, trying to get back to the fairways.

My putting has not been up to par, I would say, with my standards are, but not too worried about that. That goes up and down, too. But really trying to find fairways this week and going on to this year. A little bit of patience. There are a lot of things that I'm still learning, and love being around kind of the older guys and seeing it again.

Obviously these guys have seen the courses on TOUR; they've been playing for many years. So seeing it for the first time I think you're at a little bit of a disadvantage. Seeing it now, again, it's the same course, and now being familiar with it is a big advantage.

Q. It did end up being a longer year for you, more events. You've played three already this year. Energy level? Get a little bit after break in there?
CODY GRIBBLE: This fall already?

Q. Yeah.
CODY GRIBBLE: It's been a lot of traveling. Been in Napa, Malaysia, Korea. Just got in yesterday afternoon, so it's still jet lag. I wouldn't say that my energy levels are super high right now, but I'm obviously very comfortable with this course and love getting back here.

Saw it for the first time this morning this week, and it's definitely a lot different than what it was playing last year. So honestly, the biggest key is keeping it in the fairway and just being patient. Definitely not going to be low score out here; going to be more of a grind.

Somewhere close to par is going to be very good.

Q. Is it just the weather, or is it set up differently?
CODY GRIBBLE: A little bit of both. I think it's just a little more lush. I think they said they got a lot of rain this year, so the rough is definitely up in some places. Not as scarce as what it was last year. More consistent. Greens are still fast as ever.

Mainly the weather. Much colder. I was hitting drives this morning -- I think it was 40 degrees this morning. I think I was hitting -- cranking them out to like 280. It was going nowhere this morning.

So trying to just keep it in the fairway is key.

Q. That back nine last year, have you ever had anything like that, even back to Texas days, AJGA, even younger?
CODY GRIBBLE: It's happened a few times, yes. Not very often. Just kind of being around, you know, everything clicks at the right time. You keep giving yourself those chances, eventually they're going to start going in.

That week my driver was spectacular. It was on fire. I was hitting just about every green. When you have 10-footers, 5-footers, 15-footers and you're stroking it good, they're going to drop.

I was fortunate enough to give myself those opportunities and took advantage of it.

Q. What is your favorite part of Jackson?
CODY GRIBBLE: Favorite part of Jackson? The people here are the best. A lot of connections back in Dallas, so it kind of feels like a home event to me.

The food here. I'm going to make a stop by Tico's. Drinks are pretty strong there. The food, the people. It's just -- feels like a home event. It's a great feeling, so...

Q. I was told to ask you what would your walk-on song be?
CODY GRIBBLE: My walk-out song? Being from Texas I love George Strait. I think it would have to be something along with that, Texas country. Like probably Texas by George Strait, something like that.

Q. What is the key to playing in the wind? If you have one thought process when you're playing in the wind, what is it?
CODY GRIBBLE: Tempo. A lot of rhythm. Try and keep it slow. That's something I'm always working on a lot, and actually something I worked on all week last year here. Just trying to keep a good rhythm with the swing, keeping the ball low, keeping control. It doesn't matter if it's trying to hit it as hard as you can. Just -- you know, if you got to knock 'em down lower, your expectation is going to be lower.

Get on the green. Just minimizing your mistakes is key. So this week is going to be a little different obviously from the last year. It was so warm.

I think I was hitting --like I said, my driver was going 280, 285 this morning. I think No. 7, the par-3, was 208 and it's 193 front. It was hitting -- it would be a 6-iron I was hitting, and I think I hit 4-iron this morning just short of the pin.

Ball is going to be going a lot shorter. Just trying to keep it in front of you.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Anybody else? Going once? Twice?

All right. Well, Cody, thanks for your time as always. Appreciate it, and hope to see you back in here a lot this week.

CODY GRIBBLE: For sure. For sure. It's a good spot to be on Sunday afternoon.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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