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SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN

November 1, 2017

Rod Pampling

Las Vegas, Nevada

DOUG MILNE: Obviously back to a place near and dear to your heart. If I could just take you back to round one last year that really got a great jump start. Just kind of what you remember about that?

ROD PAMPLING: You know, it was just -- it was just a nice start, and then I made a chip on 3, which has kind of always been a nemesis hole for me. So just to get through there with birdie and it just kind of flowed from there. I think it was the 6th hole I holed out, and things kept going from there. It was a good, solid day. Never really any danger. Yeah, nearly got the 59, but 60 is good.

DOUG MILNE: You've defended titles before, but here you are back this week. Feeling like you might be able to rekindle that magic as you step on to the ground?

ROD PAMPLING: The form is good, and it's a place I've putted really well most times. So, that's a good combination to have. So I feel good. Definitely the game feels good. With the memories you have, it's hard to not have any positives out there. So I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Q. You shot 60, I think, Smylie the year before shot 61. Do you have to go low here?
ROD PAMPLING: You have to have one of those rounds. I guess you don't have to, but it certainly is nice to have one of them, and the golf course genuinely sets up so you can do that. That's the beauty of the course here. If you're playing good, you can shoot really low. But if you're a touch off, it's still a struggle. So, yeah. If you give me a 60 already somewhere in this, whether it be first, second, third or fourth round, I'll take it.

Q. You like your chances?
ROD PAMPLING: Yeah.

Q. You have to really take advantage of the back nine? Is there any stretch that you really have to?
ROD PAMPLING: I think it's all gettable. I think you have three that's obviously a strong hole. 3 and 17 are strong holes. But other than that, if you're playing good, you can kind of get to most holes. I think putting well, that's the key. Just being careful on those couple, but the rest are definitely gettable.

Q. Last year was dominated by 20-somethings, 25 and under, especially. But you were the outlier at 47. What do you have to say about the game and your game that you can still get it done?
ROD PAMPLING: That's the beauty of golf. Look, guys last week, I think 41. You know, Davis won at 52. We might not feature as often as the young guys do, but when we're there, we have a chance. We know how to wind so the experience comes rushing back. So the key is just when it comes, you know, we're prepared for that and we can, hopefully, take advantage of it, which we did last year.

Q. You shared that when you had that short miss on the back nine on Sunday, but you were able to bounce back with, I think, three birdies the next five holes. Is that the experience?
ROD PAMPLING: Yeah, we've seen enough of it where you do miss a putt. But if you let that get to you, the chances of winning are gone. So it's water off the Ducks back. Step on their necks, and we made a nice putt there, so that whole thing completely forgotten about. It was just all ahead. Putts kept going in from there which was great.

Q. We talked about it yesterday when we were doing the live. On the 18, you had two putts on win. But to make a putt, what's that feeling like? That's what everyone dreams about when you're little to have that?
ROD PAMPLING: There's no one out here that hasn't been on the putting green growing up as a kid that this is to win whatever tournament. As I said yesterday, it's nice to have had the two-putt win and the relaxing win. But to make that was, yeah, it was a bucket list. It was something I've always dreamed of to make the putt to win an event.

It was great. Six foot in was no chance of missing in my eyes, so it was all just awesome.

Q. I guess better that go in than the 59?
ROD PAMPLING: As I said yesterday, I'll take 60 every day if you guarantee me a win with it. So 59 would be great, but the win definitely is higher up.

Q. This being Las Vegas, can you give me your favorites? Five favorites?
ROD PAMPLING: Tournaments?

Q. No, in the field this week.
ROD PAMPLING: Oh, five favorites. So that would be four without me.

Q. Okay, four, four.
ROD PAMPLING: I guess I haven't really looked at the -- well, I don't know. Bubba's obviously a good player. But it will be interesting to see with his changing balls now to see. But it's hard. I think this golf course opens itself to a lot of big hitters, shorter hitters, so it's hard to pick four. I'll go with five of me. I don't know.

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