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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2018

Rickie Fowler

Southampton, New York

THE MODERATOR: Rickie Fowler, 1-under 69 today, plus 2 for the Championship.

Q. Well done today, Rickie. Talk about the round and putting yourself right there in the hunt.
RICKIE FOWLER: It was a solid day. I knew I needed to play well after yesterday, at least getting off to a good start. 3 over yesterday wasn't all that bad, especially not having a birdie. So it was nice to get a couple of those actually on the card today.

I left a lot out there on the greens. Had a lot of good looks and just couldn't get them to go. So hopefully, that means we're just saving them for the weekend.

Q. What's your mindset going into the weekend?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, for this weekend, really just continue to do what we've been doing. I feel like we've been driving the ball well and getting ourselves in play. That's the biggest thing out here. You at least have to get started.

If you don't drive the ball well, then you're really stuck behind the 8 ball and just trying to dig yourself out of a hole all day. Get in the fairway. We don't necessarily have to hit it long or anything like that.

Today, I just tried to hit my kind of go-to cut out there and get it in play and go have fun. At least from there, it allows you to get after some pins or at least get some looks at birdies.

So continue to do that and just get a few more putts to go in.

Q. How is -- being in this position so often, how does that help you going into the weekend?
RICKIE FOWLER: It feels great. Felt really good out there today. Obviously, coming off of the finish we had at the Masters, the way we played there, especially on the weekend, I'm looking forward to it. Definitely very comfortable on this golf course. I love playing here. I feel like it suits my game, it fits my eye. I have fun with it. You get to hit different shots out here.

I'm kind of hoping that the wind picks up a little bit. It was nice that we got it kind of calm this afternoon, but I'd like to see this place dry out a little bit and start separating the field a little bit more. At least making it a little bit more, you know, where you have to hit the proper shots on the greens. They're still a little receptive right now.

Q. We were talking to some of the guys this morning. They weren't so happy playing out there. It's like a tale of two completely different days. Your thoughts on, you know, coming to the course and having the winds calm down, clears up a little bit. Did you feel like it was a time to go out and maybe try to make a run?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah. I mean, I knew, obviously, if I got the ball in play and drove it well today, I would be able to score. I've made plenty of birdies out here playing for fun. It's obviously not a U.S. Open setup. There's a lot of pins that are tucked pretty good and on ridges and, you know, on fall-offs or close to fall-offs.

It's not easy. But I knew I just needed to put together a solid day and make sure that we kept ourselves in a good position for the weekend. Like I said, I feel like I could have had 64 or 65 pretty easily out there if we just got a few more putts to go in.

Like I said, nice to think that we're saving them for the weekend.

Q. How were the greens?
RICKIE FOWLER: With them being receptive, on the flip side, you know, they kind of get marked up a bit. They get a little bouncy. I'm sure you can see a little bit on coverage.

Really, all you can do is just hit solid putts and what happens happens. It was nice to get a couple to go in today. And everyone's playing the same golf course.

Q. What's the challenge chasing D.J.?
RICKIE FOWLER: Well, he's obviously playing well. Number 1 player in the world. It is going to be tough, but I definitely feel like the way I've played the last two days, tee-to-green, I should be with him right now. I just haven't made anything.

Typically, I'm a good putter. I believe I'm a good putter. And so I will get some to go this weekend. He will be tough to catch, but I have given myself a lot of opportunities out there, especially today. And we should have been a bit closer, but we'll -- there's a lot of golf to be played. It's going to be a fun weekend.

Q. Sounds like your mindset is not super conservative.
RICKIE FOWLER: You can't play conservative, but you can't play too aggressive out here. I mean, you have to commit to the swing that you're going to make and swing aggressively at whatever you're going to do.

I would say conservative lines. There's not really conservative lines off tees. You've just got to get it in the fairway. But there's definitely pins on certain greens where you have to play conservative and you can't try and get too aggressive there.

It's really just playing smart around here. But the thing is, even when you're picking, I guess, safe lines, still if you miss by just a little bit, especially going in the greens, you're going to get yourself into trouble pretty quickly. So there's not a whole lot of room for error.

Q. Thanks for your time.
RICKIE FOWLER: Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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