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THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC

July 6, 2018

Anirban Lahiri

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Q. Nine birdies? You haven't made a bogey yet. You birdied 8 and 9. Big smile coming off of that ninth green. What a day for you.
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yeah, it was nice. It was a perfect day to go out there and play. The greens were pure. I think we played in the afternoon yesterday, and they were starting to get a little bumpy. Obviously the rain and just being out early I was able to take advantage of the conditions.

Q. We had a chance to talk at the Travelers Championship, and you said your game was turning around. Tied for 9th there, and top 15 last week as well, and then you come here and shoot 61 in the second round. Things are looking up for you?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I've been feeling good. I've been feeling good over the last two weeks. I've seen the improvement on the golf course and I've tried to plug the gaps that I've found over the last two weeks, and I'm happy that more than anything else I haven't dropped a shot. But I'm not thinking about that. The focus is just to put myself in the best position that I can, and that's a big positive for me.

Q. Based on the changeable conditions, we may get some moisture again later on today. How's the prospects for the weekend now and the position you are, at the top of the leaderboard?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Well, it depends. I don't know if I'll be leading at the end of the day, because the golf course isn't going to really change through the course of the day. It's going to stay soft. You can make a bunch of birdies. But I'm just happy with the way I'm playing.

I need to keep finding as many favors as I can, because if you do, you can really be aggressive with the greens being soft. So, yeah, if I keep myself in play, I like the way the golf course sets up, I should be good.

Q. Beyond golf, your first trip to the Greenbrier, what's it been like?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: It's been fantastic. It's a really neat place. It's unique. Obviously, when you get here, you talk to the other players and you kind of get a sense. There's people on both sides of the fence, but it's such a nice getaway. They've got so much to do here, a great resort, and personally, I love the golf course. I like old school tracks, and this is as old school as it gets.

Q. You were out first and set the tone. It's good to get out early and post a number talk about your round?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yeah, it's nice when you can get out ahead of the conditions. Kind of did the same thing last week on Saturday at quicken. I was first out and took advantage. Today was similar.

Felt really good out there. Found a lot of greens and just made a bunch of putts, stayed focused, it was great.

Q. Was there a time in the round where you thought this might be one of those 61s, 62s out there?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Believe it or not, I was getting a little frustrated on the back nine because I missed a short one on 14, no, 15. I missed a short putt. Then 16 and 17 I had, you know, little flip wedges and chips and didn't get up-and-down and didn't birdie either of those holes. I calmed myself down because I felt like I could birdie every hole today. Then it was nice, hitting it tight on two and made a nice putt on three. That just got me back in a good space, focused state of mind, and kept it on from there.

Q. Playing in the noon session yesterday, and then you had to deal with the delay, and then you come back with the turn around to begin with playing early today. How were you able to do that in terms of saving your round?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: I really don't mind playing early. I think conditions-wise, yesterday afternoon, obviously, we didn't have any rain. The greens started drying out and got a little bumpy, a little chewed up, which you'd expect because these greens are so nice.

So this morning I was actually just telling myself yesterday, just stay calm, you're going to get easier conditions in the morning tomorrow. Yeah, it was a bit of a delay, but nothing that we're not used to. So it was pretty comfy for me once I got going.

Q. There were a couple rain drops early on your front nine. How were you able to deal with that?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yeah, it was a wax-on, wax-off kind of round, we had the umbrella out and back in and out and back in, but it wasn't ever enough to make you uncomfortable. The temperatures were really nice. It never really got blustery with the wind there. So all in all, it was never uncomfortable, and I kind of just stayed in the zone.

Q. Your birdie on 8, that was big. That is not an easy birdie hole?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Yeah, yesterday I hit a bad shot in there and I just wanted to make sure that I just stayed focused on my process and made a good swing there. You know, like you said, it's not an easy hole. You just want to leave yourself a reasonable chance to make birdie. I putted good today. The hole looked pretty good, so it went in there and that was nice.

Q. Solid off the tee around here, was that pretty characteristic of a round today?
ANIRBAN LAHIRI: Absolutely. If you're on the fairway, you can control the spin. It was obviously a little softer today. Yesterday the greens started firming out. So if you're in the rough, it's going to be hard to access some of the front pins, because once it hits the green, it's going to shoot.

But, yeah, I mean, if you are in play, you can still negotiate your way around the golf course. You can leave yourself in a place where you can make par. But if you really want to be aggressive, you have to be in the shot zone, so that's key.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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