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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

June 28, 2019

Chris DiMarco

Notre Dame, Indiana

Q. Pretty good scoring conditions out there?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, you know, 13 birdies in two days is pretty good around this place. Just really seeing the lines well on the greens, making a lot of putts, and as long as I keep the nerves intact, the putts seem to go where I'm aiming, so that's a good thing.

Yeah, I bounced back really well. Every time I made a bogey, I made a birdie today, so it was good. It's nice out there.

Q. Ball-striking seems to be pretty crisp right now.
CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, in Japan in the second round I kind of found something that I kind of used to do. My club face was getting a little closed going back, and I kind of squared it up going back. And that's the only feeling I'm trying to do, and the club seems to be at the right place at impact.

It's a lot easier game when you're hitting the ball where you're aiming, and this is the first time in a while. Last week, same thing, I hit the ball really good last week, just didn't make any putts. Ever since that second round I've got par or better every round.

Confidence is getting more and more every week, every day.

Q. Big difference in course conditions yesterday compared to today?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Not really, no. It was still pretty soft out there. Greens were very receptive. I'm sure if we get no more rain, the greens will just be firmer, which is fine with me. There's a lot of really tough little undulations back there that you've got to get the ball in the right spot; if not, you have some pretty tough putts over ridges. And even that 4th hole today, which is an unbelievably hard hole, you hit a great 4-iron in there 25 feet short, and I've got to play a putt eight or nine feet of break.

You just have to stay patient, and it helps when you're under par and you're doing really well to stay patient because you feel like you can afford to maybe not go at certain pins. But, yeah, it was total control of my game the last two days, which has been nice.

Q. The other day when you were up at the point with us, you were talking about that stretch of holes, 3, 4, 5. How are those holes playing today?
CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, the tees are back on 3. I hit a good drive, and I hit a great 6-iron in about five feet and made birdie.

4 was a really hard hole. I hit a really good drive, hit a 4-iron in there, just two-putted.

5, they put the tees up. It still was a 215-yard shot. I two-putted and got out of there.

6 I hit a good drive and a 6-iron to about 12 feet and made birdie there, too.

So to play that stretch of holes 2-under, you're going to have a good round.

Q. You put yourself in position going into the weekend. To contend in a major, what's that feel like?
CHRIS DiMARCO: I was just telling my caddie, it's a funny story, this is like the first real cut that I've made in a long time. So, I mean, I missed the cut at the PGA, and on the Tour the last couple years, I really haven't played much, but the ones I have played I haven't made the cut.

So it was nice to kind of earn this right. It feels good. Every time you get to go on the weekend, in a major especially, it's going to be fun. It's going to be a good battle.

Strick is playing great out there. There's going to be no time to wait around for nerves to come around. It's going to be keep the pedal down and try to make birdies.

Q. When you turned 50, what were your expectations of yourself coming out here?
CHRIS DiMARCO: None, none. When I first came out last year, when I first turned 50, I hadn't really played much golf. I'll do a lot of Golf Channel. I probably have played more golf this year, this six months than I did the three and a half years previous combined.

So I really -- I just tried to learn what it was about out here. Everybody has been fantastic out here. Everybody has been like: Stay patient. You'll get it. It'll come.

I saw glimpses of it in Des Moines. I played a good round the first day. I shot 65. Last week I played pretty solid all week, just didn't make many putts. And then to great off to a great start here, right there in front of you.

I know what it's like to contend in majors. It's in there somewhere, and it's just a matter of me, again, keeping the nerves in check and just going out and just playing the kind of golf that I've been playing.

Q. Speaking of majors, 2005, you were right there. The last time Tiger won a Masters, and now all these years later, any thoughts when you were watching that unfold?
CHRIS DiMARCO: He's obviously really good around that place, and that was the one -- I thought Pebble would be good for him, too, obviously, because he's won there, also.

But Tiger Woods at Augusta, it's kind of a recipe for greatness. It's just a matter of time before he got that putter rolling and everything going again. Yeah, I see -- I like to see -- the golf is in a better place when he's up there and he has a chance to win. It's better for everybody.

Q. When you think back to that weekend, what do you think about?
CHRIS DiMARCO: That was 14 years ago. I can barely remember when I did last week. I did remember what I did that week, trust me. But, again, anytime you can draw from past, good things, and bring out the confidence that you had in those things, you know, golf is a hard sport, and it's easy to get that -- it's hard to get the confidence, but it's easy to lose the confidence, and I can go back and look and know that I did it in those circumstances. But like I said, 14 years ago.

Today was a good battle within for me today to kind of keep firing at pins and trying to make birdies. And to make seven birdies today was pretty good, especially four out of the last nine holes.

Q. You're talking about keeping the club square or whatever going back, you're talking about your full swing?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Absolutely, yeah. I'm just trying to feel like the club head rotates a little bit going back, which for me kind of gets everything in the right position. My shoulder gets behind me, the club head gets in the right hard at it and not hit it left.

When I'm hitting it left, that's when I'm in trouble. Right now, if anything, my ball is falling to the right, which is exactly what I want. My driver has been really good this week. I think I only missed one fairway today. You do that around here, you're going to have a lot of opportunities for birdies.

Q. Your bag gives away the fact that you're a big college football fan. What's it like for you being here at Notre Dame this week?
CHRIS DiMARCO: I can honestly say that I'm not a huge Notre Dame football fan because they're always so good in whatever it is, and they're one of the teams in the country that it's easy to not like. But I will say that going in that locker room, getting that jersey, the locker room gave me goosebumps. It really did. It was certainly a special place.

And then going in that stadium, you can see why this university is beloved for sure, because there's so much tradition here. And to be in that locker room, when I to No. 1 today from No. 18, I tapped that wall. Yeah, it gave me -- truly gave me goosebumps.

Q. You were talking about being patient out there today, but given where you're at and where Stricker looks like he's going to be at, do you stay patient tomorrow or do you have to be a little more aggressive?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, tomorrow, again, Saturday is the day to kind of make sure you stay within earshot. It's the old clichÃ©, right, you just want to have a chance with nine holes to go on Sunday.

To me 27 holes you have to get yourself in position, to maybe either chase down or keep the lead or whatever it might be going into that last nine holes, and that's going to be a shootout, that last nine holes. To me that's the easier side of the two. Like I said, that stretch of 3, 4, 5 and 6 is pretty tough.

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