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KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 23, 2019

Marco Dawson

Rochester, New York

Q. Great round today. How proud are you to put together that score in these conditions?
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah, I've been playing pretty good, but this was a tough day. I made some putts that I could make, that were makeable. And I had a couple long putts I two-putted. But I really never got much into trouble. I think I hit most all the greens, except into the third hole, but I hit a good chip, tapped it in. First two holes I drove it in rough, but I think after that I don't think I hit it in rough again all day after the third hole I missed the green.

But after that, I don't think I missed. Other than the first cut here or there, but nothing in the -- well, no, I take that back. On 17 I hit a perfect drive down the middle, and it ran through the fairway. But, I mean, I don't consider that a bad drive. Just kind of went a long way and went through the fairway. But other than that, I played it good. Hit my irons good where I wanted to. Had good distance on them, distance control. Because that wind is tough to figure out. Three guys on the par-3 hit three different clubs because the wind changed, you know, in a matter of minutes.

Very happy with that round. I wasn't expecting it. You know, I thought it was going to be a tough day. 2-over par was probably a pretty good score with this wind.

Q. All things considered, major championship, tough venue in Oak Hill, the weather conditions. Is this as tough as playing conditions as you've played in a while?
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah, the only other time I can think of that was at tough was like the British Open when the wind picks up like this and the ball just goes sideways and you just can't control. There are no trees over there on the British Open course either. So there's more wind. But here in the trees it can get tricky. You don't feel some and it's up there, where you feel a lot, it's not up by the green, and vice versa. So it can be tricky out on a course like this with a lot of big trees.

Q. Are you hitting the ball lower than you might week to week --
MARCO DAWSON: Yes.

Q. -- because of this wind and the lack of trees here? There's a lot less trees (indiscernible).
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah, it was actually a blessing that it rained because it kind of softened the greens up just enough where you could hit a lower shot in and it would still hold. But if they were playing the way they were yesterday, 80 would be a good score. The greens were rock hard yesterday.

Q. The context here, the rounds today were remarkable, because all the scoring came in morning in pretty benign conditions --
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah, that's pretty obvious, you know, before the rain and the wind.

Q. For you to be up there playing in this wind, which is probably a difference of 25 miles an hour, that's kind of remarkable.
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah, I mean, all of us, all three of us in our group, I know, and probably every group, we backed off I don't know how many times because the wind gusted. Then you change clubs. Then it stops. Then you change again. You're just going back through these routines all over. That's why it takes so long to play.

Q. Is it going to be hard to go -- tomorrow's calling for a little bit more normal conditions. Are you a wind player through the course of your career, or are you more, you know -- what's your MO?
MARCO DAWSON: I think I play better in the wind only because I'm not aggressive. And when it's not windy, you just feel like you got to go at all the pins. But a course like this, major championship course where you have a lot of rough and the greens are kind of firm and fast, after playing yesterday, I thought, well, probably the best thing for me, just hit it towards the middle of the green, just see how that works. Because the greens aren't that big where you're going to have a long putt if you're in the middle of the green, but you're not going to get into too much trouble unless you start trying to get at the pins.

I saw some guys trying to do that and it bounced over the green and then in a bad spot and now they have no shot. I just tried to play towards the middle of the green and give myself a good putt. When I had the chance, if I had a wedge in my hand or the shot felt comfortable with an 8-iron or 7-iron, I might hit a little closer to the pin. But I don't think I went at any pin today, right on it. I was playing -- it was left, I was right of it; if it was right, I was left of it. Wasn't too aggressive. That worked better on a major championship course.

Q. What's your history with this golf course? Have you played here before?
MARCO DAWSON: Never have.

Q. This is a first. Baptism.
MARCO DAWSON: Well, that's -- yeah. So on a hole like 17 now, you know, now I'm thinking, well, if I hit the same drive I did today, I might go through the fairway again. One guy I played with hit it, it looked to me like it went in the right trees, and he was down there in the right side of the fairway perfect. I thought it was my ball. Because one of the other guys was in the right rough, and the other fella that that was his ball was standing in the right rough. So I thought he was just waiting to hit his shot. And then I saw him start to walk towards that ball.

So I looked over, there's a ball there just in (indiscernible). Can't believe that. Just hit it perfect down here, you know, center to right center, and it still went through the fairway on the left. So, anyway, now I'll have that in mind that that's probably going to be a cut shot now instead of a straight ball. But it worked out good. I hit it close. I just missed the putt. I mean, I hit it close, about eight feet from there.

Q. If you had to describe this golf course to someone gave you a call tonight and said, hey, great job, Marco, but asked you to describe Oak Hill to them in a couple words, what would it be?
MARCO DAWSON: I would say it's -- you'll hit every club in your bag, and you'll probably hit every different shot: Left to right, right to left, high, low. You'll have to have every shot to play it well. You'll have to hit every shot or have every shot, being able to hit every shot.

Q. How sharp does your concentration (indiscernible) --
MARCO DAWSON: Stay short of the pins.

Q. How sharp does your concentration have to be when you get a gust maybe in the top of your swing or as you're taking your putter back? I mean, you have to feel it as a player.
MARCO DAWSON: Yeah. So, you know, sometimes you just kind of react real quick. So if you get a gust of wind into you, you might swing it harder. Or if you get a gust of wind at the back, you might swing it easier on a putt. But, yeah, there's been several times where a gust of wind has come up, and a guy may hit a shank. I've seen that before where it blew them on their back and then blew them forward and they hit it just close enough they shanked it. Or hit one off the toe of the club. It happens. This is -- to me, this is kind of borderline -- I wouldn't go play with my buddies at home in this wind. It's just -- the ball goes all over the place. You can't tell what's a good shot and what's not a good shot. If you feel like you hit a good shot, it ends up in a crap place, and you watch somebody else hit a mediocre shot and it ends up good. It happens a lot. It's a tough course with the rough like it is. And the greens (indiscernible). Glad to see it rain because it did soften up just enough where it was very playable.

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