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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

February 2, 2019

Matt Kuchar

Scottsdale, Arizona

Q. Are you happy with that round, bogey-free 6-under par, I guess you kind of let one slide away at 17, but you really had a nice save at 18. So that's pretty much what you should have shot?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, 6-under is a good round of golf. Certainly 17 was disappointing. I was certain the putt broke right-to-left, I watched my playing partner hit the putt, it looked like it was dead straight, Trey hit a putt and from a similar line and I just couldn't get myself to believe it. I was really disappointed with missing that birdie putt. It was a good save, certainly a terrible wedge shot on 18, that was one I tried to just hammer a sand wedge, put it back in my stance, when you do that it has a tendency to over hook and I over hooked it and it's just not a place you could miss it. But to make a 10-footer to save par there was a great save. Certainly to shoot 6-under on a Saturday, that's good golf.

Q. You're going to be playing catch up in the final round but this course lends itself to some come from behind winners, what are your thoughts going into that final round?
MATT KUCHAR: I played with Rickie the first two days, he's playing great golf, certainly he's going to be the player to beat, especially if he keeps up on the form he's on. But however I feel like my form's pretty good as well. And if I can try to make a run, I know that there's nothing -- I can't control what Rickie's going to do, I can only control what I can do and try to keep playing the golf I've been playing of late.

Q. How does it feel to shoot that kind of round?
MATT KUCHAR: Another good day. To shoot 6-under par, there's some tough hole locations, the course is playing fantastic, it's such a great test of golf if you're playing well you can make some birdies if you're not you're going to get in trouble and fortunately I've been on some good form and hitting some good shots out there.

Q. After playing that nice round you save par on 18, how did you keep it together on that last hole?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I missed a short birdie putt on 17, I was kicking myself over that and then hit a terrible wedge shot into 18 and was awfully pleased to save par from an awkward position. I really would have been kicking myself to feel like I threw a shot away on 17 and if I threw another one away on 18, it would have been tough.

Q. You won earlier in January, you're in contention again, what's working right now with your game?
MATT KUCHAR: The game's good, been in pretty good control of the ball, feel like the shot shape I like to see, a little fade, has been working, been holding up very well. So I stand over the ball and feel pretty comfortable.

Q. How do you catch Rickie now?
MATT KUCHAR: It's certainly going to be tough. I played with him the first two days, he's on great form, I only can control what I can control, so Rickie keeps playing great golf like he's been, not much I can do.

Q. What do you like most about this course?
MATT KUCHAR: Well I think the setup of you can make birdies if you're playing well and if you're not it's a challenging course. If you're missing fairways, if you're kind of struggling off the tee, it is a course where you're going to see some, a lot of bogeys.

Q. With the rain tomorrow do you feel like that helps you as you try to catch Rickie?
MATT KUCHAR: I wouldn't say so, I'm not real sure what exactly is forecast, I'm hoping it clears out, nobody likes playing in the rain. Hoping we kind of maybe goes through early or doesn't hit quite as strong. But we're pretty good at adapting, pretty good at dealing with things and I think we'll all go out there and figure it out.

Q. If someone would have told you at the beginning of the fall that you would be in Phoenix looking for your third straight win, what would you have thought?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, it would be amazing to get three wins this early. Yeah, having two wins I'm so proud of that. It had been a number of years since I found the winners circle, to have gotten two in this year has been amazing. My game's been good, last year was frustrating, last year was certainly not my best year but I think the frustrating part was it felt like I was doing a lot of good things and not seeing results and it's tough when you don't get results to keep moving forward, but nice to see things have turned around and get rewarded with a couple wins.

Q. You have been such a stable in international team play, you weren't able to make the Ryder Cup this past year, how much has that been a motivator for you?
MATT KUCHAR: I was really bummed out, I don't see it as a motivator, I was certainly really bummed, disappointed. But you kind of -- it's a great game in that you kind of get what you deserve, we're paid based on how we finish and how we perform and you're selected to teams based on how you perform. I didn't perform well enough, I kind of understood that, and I knew regardless of making or not making Ryder Cup I mean I needed to get better and it's been nice to see things turn around.

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