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SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN

November 1, 2018

Jordan Spieth

Las Vegas, Nevada

Q. You're playing this week obviously maybe to gain some confidence going through the rest of the season.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah. I try and play at least twice from the team event until the first of the year. Not going to be able to play where I normally play around Thanksgiving and the week after this year, so this week and next week were events that I've always looked at and talked to the guys and heard they're awesome.

Really good golf courses, really well-run tournaments, and great hospitality. Just fun in general. So it was nice to be able to work them in this year given I'll have a longer break after.

Q. You made a couple really good putts coming in. One there at 7 and one at 9. Obviously last year was not your best putting year statistically. What did you do in the off-season to try to correct some of that?
JORDAN SPIETH: Well, it's not just the off-season. It's been really the last kind of six tournaments or so of the regular season too I started to clean up kind of in the setup and vision. It's getting close to where I feel like I can just kind of point, aim, shoot, which is where I want to be.

Really solid inside of ten feet today, even with somewhat trickier ones as the wind picked up coming in. That's where rounds go to 5-under instead of 2. I was certainly able to save a couple there coming in.

Ball striking was not necessarily 7 birdies worth, so want to tighten that up a little bit on this golf course. You do get a lot of wedges. Good start.

Q. First time here. What do you think of this golf course, TPC Summerlin?
JORDAN SPIETH: It's gettable without the wind. We got really, really good conditions this morning, so and 8-under, certainly thought that was out there. To see Peter shoot that was no surprise.

Then the guys in the afternoon are going to have it tougher. Looks like we might get the good end of the draw. It's always nice having a little bit of luck in Vegas, right?

Q. (In progress.)
JORDAN SPIETH: It's fantastic out here. Couple bogeys were just decision errors, just kind of having not played in a month. Kind of tournament errors that you don't get in trouble with the pins I normally see at home, but you get in the trouble with the pin placements out here.

Try and tighten that up a little bit with the approach game, but very pleased with the putter today for sure.

Q. Pretty amazing your seventh season and your first time playing in this tournament. First round at TPC Summerlin; impressions of that?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it's a second-shot golf course. It's not too difficult off the tee. Wider, but you can't really hit a foul ball. You've got to to keep it in the barriers.

And then the defense is really the pin locations with kind of around the greens, how difficult it is. I feel very comfortable on this grainy bermuda grass around the greens. I like the way the bent grass greens putt. This is kind of -- as around the green complexes, this is advantageous for the strength of my game. Trying to hit as many greens as possible and roll 'em like I did today.

Q. Speaking of putting, you made a couple nice putts that you made on 7 and 9 coming in. You talked about how you wanted to clean up your short game; you've been working on it. What did you see as far as a pay off today?
JORDAN SPIETH: I saw that it did a bit. You know, it's going to. Whether it happens -- and I've been saying this -- whether it happens this week I'm talking about it or it happens a little bit later, I'm in the right direction, working the right way.

Certainly nice to see some putts go in and see it pay off with a bit of results. I have belief in what I'm doing. Just continue to do it; stay the course.

Q. The putt on your 18th, the putt there that hit the birdie, what did you see there?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I was just outside left and really put a nice stroke on it, a nice compact stroke. But I got into a good setup. Felt really nice about the putt. Just wanted to give it decent speed, and I gave myself chances from that range the entire day burning lips or making one or two.

I was putting confidently, which was nice, and speed was dialed in. Certainly a bonus for it to drop.

Q. People at this tournament, at this course, haven't seen a gallery like this on a Thursday. What was your experience like? How would you describe the atmosphere?
JORDAN SPIETH: It was great. It was good to see the turnout. To be honest, it was kind of a smaller gallery I think than typical just the last few years. At the same time, they were really knowledgeable. You could tell they were really golf fans and really understood it all.

They were really wild by Cam Champ. It was like going over in Korea when they watch DJ hit a drive. You just heard the ooo's and ahhhh's after he tee'd off. I was just trying to tee off before him so I didn't try and catch him.

Q. How many rounds you think like this where you're third, second in stokes gained putting before people stop asking you about it?
JORDAN SPIETH: I don't really care at this point if I get asked about it or not. It bothered me for a little while just because I was trying to get out my own way, too. It was just an extra speed bump.

But like I said over there, I'm working on the right things. Something like today will work into being the norm for me going forward. I know why and how not to have it get so off again.

Like I said, it's really nice to see the results from it, but all in all, I've been hitting some pretty good putts for the last six or seven tournaments. I saw some good in at the Ryder Cup under the biggest pressure, so today kind of felt, at least heart rate-wise, like a little bit of a breeze.

But hopefully stay towards the lead and change that.

Q. What's the first thing that comes to your mind today about the round?
JORDAN SPIETH: Satisfaction. Yeah, put in a lot of really good work this off-season knowing that I step on the tee not really feeling that tight with my ball striking and driving. Kind of testy with the short game, but I know it's going the right way.

To kind of really trust it all and see it pay off into a good round, certainly I'm satisfied.

Q. You know you have to go low here to win. How low can you go on this golf course, do you think?
JORDAN SPIETH: I think if I shoot three more rounds like today it's probably good enough. This course is going to bake out. Even with the lack of wind it's still difficult enough to feed it in close to holes. We had some of the easier pins on a few of the holes today. It was gettable.

I think if I just try and not do anything special, just do what I did today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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