NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

August 29, 2020

Austin Ernst

Pinnacle Country Club

Press Conference

Q. Austin Ernst, another great round of 65 out here at Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Talk to me about that birdie-eagle finish.

AUSTIN ERNST: Yeah, I hit a really good shot into 17. Hit it up there about five feet and then had a nice easy look; rolled that one in.

And then on 18 hit it just in the first cut and had 190 in. Hit a 6-iron up there about 40 feet and made a really nice putt there.

So it was a great way to finish.

Q. How much confidence does that give you going into the final round tomorrow, especially with a finish like that?

AUSTIN ERNST: Well, it's huge because with Sei Young still out there playing, you don't know. I saw that she was at 12-under when I came in, so you kind of know you can make a lot more birdies.

So it was try to make as many as I could coming in. I hit some good shots kind of 12 to 18, and then finally got one to fall on 17.

But, yeah, I think it's huge for tomorrow just to not have quite as big of a gap, and then obviously see what everyone does this afternoon.

Q. Yeah, talk to me about the weather delay and where you were on the course and how you passed that time today.

AUSTIN ERNST: I was on 12 and we saw the cloud come in on 11, and it looked awful. I was really happy that it was short.

I had just hit it in the water on 12, so we walked in and then I came back out and hit it up there about five feet and made my par putt, so that helped.

Q. You've had a runner-up finish here before. How comfortable are you at this golf course and at this tournament?

AUSTIN ERNST: Very. I mean, you just kind of -- you know where it hit it off the tee and you know that you can be really aggressive around the greens. They've got a few new pins this week, but with the greens so soft you can still attack them.

You just have to pick your spots, especially on a few of the par-3s; 3 and 6 were in tricky spots where if you short-sided yourself you would make a bogey pretty quick.

So you're just going to have to pick where when you've got this mid-irons maybe you're not quite as aggressive as when you have wedges in your hand, and then you know you can go right at it and maybe even hole it from the fairway with those kind of shots.

Q. Knowing how many birdies might be out here tomorrow depending on the conditions and that you might start the day a few shots back, how does that change your strategy, approach?

AUSTIN ERNST: It doesn't. I'm trying to birdie every hole out there. I know that you can birdie every hole out there, too. It's just one of those things that I'll pick my spots, and when I have to hit it 15 feet, hopefully I make the putt.

When I can attack, I'm going to try to hit it right at it and get as close of a look as possible.