|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SONY OPEN IN HAWAIIJanuary 12, 2019Matt KucharHonolulu, Hawaii THE MODERATOR: Going to get started here with Matt Kuchar at the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii. Matt is our 54-hole leader with a 2-stroke lead over Andrew Putnam. Matt, another solid round of golf. If we could just get an opening comment as you got into Sunday. MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, it was good steady golf. I was pleased pretty much -- it felt good. It felt easy out there. Didn't find myself in hardly any trouble; 17th was about it. Thought I hit a great shot. Ended up in the bunker. It was a really tough hole. Awfully glad to save par and keep the scorecard clean. A little disappointed to finish a with par on 18. Other than that, good, steady golf. Awfully pleased. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: I think Mexico must've been. Is it really? Must be in relation to Paul though maybe. Yeah. All right. Cool. Keep going. Sorry. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: Both courses are very tight, very demanding driving golf courses. That would probably be the biggest similarity. The state of my game has felt similar; I've felt very much in control of what I've been doing with the golf ball. Funny, I had a good session with Chris O'Connell week before going to Las Vegas and hit it beautifully in Vegas. Didn't score overly well, but was really, really pleased with how I was hitting it. Continued on to Mexico where you've got to hit it well. Hit it well, scored well, and ended up coming out with a win there. Here I feel like I've continued on. I feel like I'm in good control of the hitting. It's so crucial here, particularly off the tee. If you somehow miss fairways, even with shots to the green, it's so hard to get close. You're really hoping for par when you miss fairways. So I feel like I've driven the ball well and been in nice control of what I'm doing. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: There are certainly enough doglegs left, which aren't my favorite. Yeah, I hit a little bit of a fade. They're tough tee balls. There is kind of some indecision. 18 is a decision: Do you try to hit driver high over the corner? Do you try to hit 3-wood? There has been a couple of moments like that; 8 is one of them. Is it a driver? Is it a 3-wood? Just making sure you find the fairway is critical there. But that's been just kind of stressful, is debating what club I'm going to hit. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: It's awful nice. It's not often. When you feel like you know what you're doing with your golf swing and the golf ball is reacting the way you want it to, it's a lot of fun. Doesn't happen that often. I tell people -- I don't think they understand as professionals we're all tinkering and trying to make it better. We're always fiddling with the golf swing if the ball is not doing just what you want it to do. It's nice when I it does come together and you're able to maneuver the ball the way you want to. Doesn't happen near as often as I think most people think for us. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: Right. I haven't seen the weather forecast, but assuming it's similar to the first three days. Been perfect weather. Scoring conditions are great. I anticipate to shoot another good score tomorrow. I'm going to need to make birdies. Just there are enough birdie holes out there and enough good players that I know that I can't just coast. I need to continue playing well. The goal is to increase the lead as much as you can. That would be the goal tomorrow. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: We figure there is something to lose. It's certainly nice to have that mentality, but nobody wants to go crazy and shoot 80. You've still got to play smart. You don't want to ruin your chances on the third hole by being reckless and making a double. I know the guys are playing good enough. I played with Andrew today. He's a very steady player. He's a good fit around this golf course. I expect him to come out and play some more good golf tomorrow. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, would be amazing for me. I mean, it would be two out of three PGA TOUR starts for me. It's a longer gap, but any time you find the winner's circle it's a real thrill. To do it twice in a year, two out of three tournaments, would be amazing. Trust me. Find the winner's circle once and it's a real thrill. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: Like my 3-hybrid. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: I love it here. I love this event. I would come without going to Kapalua. The last few years I traveled a little more. Last year I went to Abu Dhabi and just started my schedule different. Just kind of ran a different schedule for a couple goes. But I love this event. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: I think it's going to be a big plus for me. It's not often you get in a final group Sunday afternoon. I tell people a lot of nerves that happen in golf you start getting used to. I tell people the nerves in golf are kind of like public speaking. The more often you do it the better you deal with it. They may always be there, but you get more comfortable with it. First tee experience I this is one when I was young, the first tee I was nervous on all the first tee experiences. I've had couple hundred first tee experiences now, so first tee doesn't give my quite the jitters anymore. Not had that many final group Sunday experiences. I think the more often you experience that the more comfortable you get. I certainly think having than experience recently will be helpful tomorrow. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: (Laughter.) Have to start some of those. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: Absolutely. Definitely think there are a handful of pins, handful of shots where I wasn't comfortable attacking. I was trying to play conservative, middle of the green, knowing they weren't likely birdie opportunities for me. Had some longer putts than I probably would've liked, but it sure is nice when you're looking at a 50-footer to be able to walk up and tap the next one in. Doesn't happen all that often, but my speed has been great this week. It helps add to that stress-free day. It's nice to kind of have that where you're just able to kind of coast around, tap in those, know you got par in the bank. That was a nice bit of my round for sure. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: (Laughter.) I got gray hair. Listen, the game of golf is not easy. Talked to Rex earlier that it's not often you're in full control. Those times you're not in full control you're faced with a lot of situations where golf is going to find a way to stress you out and test you. I've been through it. But I enjoy the challenge even when you're not playing well of trying to figure out shooting a score. I enjoy that challenge, but it is that: It's a challenge for sure. Q. (No microphone.) MATT KUCHAR: No. You know, that reference was more to qualifying for Kapalua. It's a great perk that winner's perk of going to Kapalua. I mean, everybody loves Hawaii and loves Maui. For me, I know it's the two weeks which I love. We're spending a couple more weeks in Hawaii after this. We love it here. Certainly be a big feather in my cap if I could be champion this week. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Matt? We appreciate the time. Best of luck tomorrow. MATT KUCHAR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|