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RBC HERITAGE

April 20, 2019

Ian Poulter

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Q. Ian, not the start you wanted today with the double. Then you ramble off six birdies in a row. How were you able to turn it around?
IAN POULTER: It wasn't a good start, I have to say. The wind is hard enough, I'm trying to hit a nice cut and it pulled. So straight out of bounds.

But I knew it was going to be a difficult day today. The wind is a strong, 20 gusting to 30. I really had to kind of focus, take my time, take opportunities when they come and not make any silly mistakes like I did at first.

Q. You said the final three holes you could really start to feel the wind and it got more challenging. How do you control that when the conditions seem to change?
IAN POULTER: 17, straight into off the left-hand side. Only 144 yards and I'm up first, and that's always a bit tricky, when you can get a read from the other player sometimes. But when you're up first, hitting 7-iron from 144 doesn't happen very often on the PGA Tour. Only happens in kind of these conditions. So the last three you really have to control your ball flight. I did a good job today. I'm pretty happy.

Q. 67 today. Just how good was that round considering these conditions? We're standing behind the 18th green and the wind is so strong and kicked up most of the day?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, it was always going to be a tricky round of golf today. I started with a double bogey, which is not very helpful. From that position on obviously I played some great golf. I holed a couple of nice putts and played real solid where I needed to.

Q. Had the lead after the third round last year. You're back in contention again this year. I know the final round last year was not up to your standards. How do you feel about Sunday this time around?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm in position again. I'm in contention, which is what I like to be on a Sunday. As often as I've done that this year, I haven't quite finished one off. It would be nice to go out tomorrow and be aggressive where I can, and obviously see if I can go close.

Q. Another six birdie day for you.
IAN POULTER: Yeah, it was big. You don't want to start like that, but sat myself down and after that I birdied 2, five birdies from that position to close out on a tricky course. Very tricky, windy conditions.

Q. How good was the round today considering the wind?
IAN POULTER: It was good. You're in the trees. It's gusting because it comes through the trees, comes right over the top of the trees, sometimes it's strong, and sometimes it's not. You can get called out pretty quickly. But the last three were definitely a tricky wind. Strong winds.

Q. What are your plans tomorrow?
IAN POULTER: I'm just going to go out and have fun, you know? I don't put any pressure on myself anymore. It's not about the win, it's about being in contention, which I've done that a lot this year. I feel great about my game and I'm just going to go have some fun. My dad is here watching me play. And see if we can go out and do it.

Q. Assess your round today.
IAN POULTER: Poor start. Good finish. Double bogeyed the first hole of the day, which is not very helpful. And six birdies after that. So I have to say pretty pleased from the position of being 2-over par through 1 and obviously shooting 67 is obviously a good day.

Q. Not far off the lead, what's it going to take tomorrow?
IAN POULTER: It's going to need to not make many mistakes and obviously a few birdies.

Q. What is the mindset going into tomorrow?
IAN POULTER: The mindset is go to bed, wake up on time, come out and play some good golf and go home. I mean it's as good as that. I feel good about my game. I'm pretty relaxed. I just want to go out and have some fun. And obviously being in contention is a good place to be. So that's what I'm going to be trying to do.

Q. How fun is this tournament for you, especially with views like this?
IAN POULTER: It is a great course. Great tournament. And I've played some good golf around this golf course. I don't get sucked into the views, even though the views are great. Obviously my job is on the golf course and obviously don't get too carried away with the boats in the water. But, yeah, it's a good place to play golf. And I'm excited for tomorrow.

Q. How do you feel about tomorrow?
IAN POULTER: Yeah, six birdies on a tricky day is obviously good and I obviously feel pretty good about that. So we'll see what tomorrow brings.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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