THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2021

Paul Casey

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Just an assessment of your round?

PAUL CASEY: Cracking front nine, wasn't it. And then messed things up a little bit on the back nine, but that's the way this golf course is. You're always on the hairy edge of disaster. Yeah, you're only literally one ball -- I was one ball roll away from another disaster on 17 just today. That's the way it is.

But you've got to be bold and sometimes you've got to take some risks and you've got to get a little lucky.

Q. Is that the biggest thing about this course? Maybe being aggressive tomorrow even though this place can bite you at any point?

PAUL CASEY: You have to. How else are you really going to make the birdies if you don't take the challenge on. If you don't take a little bit of risk you'll never get a reward, plain and simple. Probably a mantra for life, isn't it. With the leaderboard shaping up really nicely, J.T. will be hungry, to say the least. Johnny right here will be ferocious at the best of times. This isn't a golf course I don't think just to sort of -- although the scores didn't sort of get way out ahead today I don't think there's going to be much hanging around tomorrow. I think guys will be kind of going at it. Bryson with his firepower, for example. Who's up there right now? Westwood as well. Wes will be hungry after last week not clinching one.

Every green out there is receptive, apart from 17. 17 is a brand new green. Could be carnage with tomorrow's right-hand pin position, but the other than 17 I don't see guys won't go at it, be aggressive and try and make a ton of birdies.

Q. When you look at your record here, how would you best sum of your relationship with this golf course, complicated, eclectic --

PAUL CASEY: Keep going.

Q. And why I guess would be the question.

PAUL CASEY: You know, maybe it's that Pete Dye thing. Pete Dye, rest in peace, probably my favorite modern architect by a long way, as well. He can be incredibly infuriating with his designs, and one of his things was always to kind of scare, intimidate the players on the tee, and that's -- this golf course is a great example of that. It can be scary and intimidating at times and yet quite generous once you get up there. He'll reward the bold shots, and it's one of those, sort of like -- how do I put it? I find it beautiful, great architecture, but yeah, I've had a pained relationship with it at times.

Q. I don't know if you heard what Rory said yesterday about chasing speed, chasing distance in kind of the last year. Did you find yourself falling into that trap at all?

PAUL CASEY: I'm fast enough. (Laughter.)