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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 12, 2019

Jhonattan Vegas

Silvis, Illinois

Q. Well played out there today; everything looked spot on. How did you feel out there?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Probably the best I've felt all year, to be honest. I mean, I hit the ball extremely well, kind of what I've been struggling with a little bit the past few months. I was able to kind of figure out a little bit something yesterday on the range after I got done playing, and I was able to carry it through today and literally it felt really good, in control the whole time with the ball-striking, which is my type of game. So I'm glad that stuff is back.

Q. Talk me through that fifth hole. You had a good tee shot down there, looked like you had a good number, maybe a little wind behind you, over the back of the green and a tough lie. Talk us through what happened after that.
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Yeah, it was one of those things where I hit two good shots. Went shot was a little bit shorter than I wanted. Maybe I thought the wind was playing a little bit into us a little bit more than helping, and then the second shot the same thing. I felt like it was hurting a little bit, and I hit a perfect 7-iron, faded over the flag. I got there, and it was a horrible lie, a big hump behind my ball. I couldn't even get the club anywhere close to the ball, so we just tried to play some kind of a chunk shot to run and it actual it came out way too hard. But my caddie told me after I did that, hey, you can still make it, so focus on this one, and luckily I made it.

Q. You've played this golf course a number of times. All the players talk about the condition of this place. How do you think about the condition here?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I mean, I think it's the best I've ever seen it. It's usually soft, and it's been a little firmer because of the conditions, obviously a little warm. It's the best I've ever seen it. The greens are perfect. The fairways are rolling more. It's actually a little bit tricky because a lot of the fairways, as undulated as they are, you have to be a little careful with some of those run-outs. But yeah, it's amazing. I can't wait for the weekend to get a little firmer, too, and play a little more challenging.

Q. Presidents Cup coming up at the end of the year. You're outside the top 20 right now but obviously this week would go a long way to getting you hopefully on that team. How important is that to you?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, it's been my top goal pretty much since the Presidents Cup two years ago at Liberty National. I had such a tremendous time there playing in that Presidents Cup that I definitely want to play in this one. Especially playing for Ernie, such a big guy for us internationals, and it would be amazing to be a part of it. I've got to step it up these next few weeks and hopefully give myself a chance.

Q. Nine birdies out there; how big was the hole that you were putting at?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: You know what, it was a good size today. I've been working hard on my putting pretty much the past -- this whole year. That's kind of one of the areas that I have to get stronger at if I want to do more here on TOUR. But I think today was just purely ball-striking. My ball-striking was really good, probably the best it's been all year, and obviously super happy. I felt like I was in really control the whole time, and golf is fun that way.

Q. As good as your ball-striking was, even though you had more than 100 feet in putts, you seemed to be in total control of your game.
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I was. That's kind of what I told Ru (Ruben Yorio), my caddie, that it's been a long time since I've felt this good. I've been working really hard the whole year to kind of feel good with my ball-striking, and found something yesterday on the range, and it was so good to carry it through to today, and it paid off, so hopefully we can continue that the next two days.

Q. We've seen this side of you before where you're flying under the radar a little bit, I remember Canada, RBC a couple years ago, it seemed like out of the blue you're on the leaderboard and you ended up winning that?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, I feel like I've been playing pretty solid all year. A little up and down the past month or so, but I feel like I've been playing solid all year. Just my ball-striking hasn't been sharp really the whole year to give myself more chances to win. But luckily things are coming in stronger this week and hopefully I can continue to do that.

Q. When was the last time you shot 62?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: The last time I shot 62? I can't remember to be honest. Probably a while. I've shot 63 not that far ago. But 62 is good, so I'll take it. Good round today. Obviously super solid from the beginning all the way to the end. Ball-striking was impeccable. I hit it absolutely great, close a bunch of times, and I just felt comfortable, and putting was solid, too. This is one of the rounds that you want to keep fresh in your mind, and especially coming into the weekend.

Q. What did you find on the range that worked for you?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: So the best part was just the ball-striking. Yesterday I started working on my posture a little bit on the range, was able to find a pretty good setup that kind of felt really comfortable today, and it gave me the stability to start hitting solid and straight shots, which I'll say that it's something that I've felt like I've always done well, and I hadn't been doing it for a long time, but I'm glad it happened today.

Q. What's it like out there course conditions wise, and are the low scores surprising to you or is it playing pretty well?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: No, this is the type of course that if you hit your irons well, you can score well. It's not a super long golf course. But it's tricky with some of the pin positions, so you have to be sharp with your irons, which I was today. But the course is going to play I think harder as the weekend goes on because it's going to get firmer, and the firmer it gets, it's going to be harder to hit fairways, and obviously the greens are going to be a little more tricky.

Q. Talk about No. 5; it looked like you were struggling and then you chipped in. That really kept your momentum going?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Yeah, it hasn't been the best hole for me this week, but like I said, we all got holes like that every week, and just got to find a way to do a better job on that hole.

Q. Can you talk about 14? You've birdied it two days in a row. That's the Aon Risk-Reward hole. A birdie on that hole is not a foregone solution by any stretch.
JHONATTAN VEGAS: No, it's one of those holes that whatever your plan is, you have to really commit to it. Obviously it's a hole that if you place your tee shot on the wrong spot, you're going to struggle to even make 4. But I mean, it's an opportunity for some of us long hitters to take advantage of our distance, and I've always liked to go for it, and it's paid off the past two days.

Q. You're one of the few who can gain some ground on that this week.
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, I mean, this course doesn't really favor any type of player, long or short. It favors accuracy, obviously. That's the type of stuff that you have to do better this week.

Q. Where are you with your game compared to when you won the back-to-back RBC Canadian Opens?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I mean, today felt pretty good. It felt as good as that where I was in total control with my iron play. Didn't quite feel that way yesterday. I scrambled a lot more yesterday. But it felt really good, as good as I've felt my game on TOUR.

Q. How soon do you know when you can carry that over to the course?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, you start feeling it. It's something that builds on. It's confidence. It builds on you. You hit one shot on line the way you want it, the way you saw it, and the more you start hitting shots like that, the higher the confidence goes, and then it gets a lot easier.

Obviously it started with me I would say on 12 hitting a really good 6-iron that I left about 10 to 15 feet, and from there I got loose and got a little more confident and hit some really good shots after that.

Q. (Inaudible).
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, it's a long season. Sometimes I've struggled with managing how much I play, and it wears you out. You play 20 something weeks, but by this time you start feeling it. You start getting angry on the course and your body starts feeling it, everything starts hurting, all of that stuff. It's good to kind of take a few weeks off, kind of get your mind in the right place and focus on hitting golf shots.

Q. How easy is it to get back in the groove after an extended period off?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: Well, I know that I've been playing pretty solid all year and I knew that I just needed to get my body and my mind right, and obviously it worked the past couple of days.

Q. Second-round 62, bogey-free. How much did you get out of this round?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: I mean, a lot. Obviously a phenomenal round. It's easy as that. I felt absolutely in control today. Hit my irons extremely well, something that I've been missing all year. Found something really good on the range last night after I got done, and I was able to carry that to the course today, which it was a lot of fun. It's been a while since I've had a good round like this, and hopefully something to build on.

Q. What exactly was it that you sorted out on the range last night that led to this?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: You know what, I feel like I've been struggling with my ball striking all year for some weird reason, and just kind of decided to reset my posture, get in a little different posture, and it was magic. I started hitting better shots today on the course, obviously confidence went up, and decided to fire at a lot of pins, and golf is fun that way.

Q. Putting was great, as well; it's really difficult to follow up a round like a 62, so this weekend what does the mindset have to be to stay in the groove?
JHONATTAN VEGAS: You've just got to keep playing. It's as simple as that. Every day brings something different. You've just got to find a way to manage whatever that day brings, and hopefully something really good. But I feel like my game is in a good place that I've just got to focus on playing good golf.

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