WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 25, 2021

Tommy Fleetwood

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Assess your match today.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Just really happy. I think I played really, really well, really, really solid. Just managed to stay up in the whole match, obviously out there my putting didn't feel the greatest, so I kind of just had to knuckle down and feel like if I could just use my ball striking to my advantage, then that would make the difference today. And you have days like that, I guess. So a little bit of practice on that this afternoon. But overall I think just the way I played in the wind felt like I hit just so much solid golf shots, felt really in control and like, yeah, obviously the result is the only thing that matters, but I think my game is very pleasing.

Q. Course play a little more difficult today with the wind direction?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Opposite wind, and then started firming out a little bit, but yeah, just holes played so different. Like yesterday was -- well 15, the final hole, or 14 and 15, they played opposite. Yesterday I hit driver and a pitch on 15 and driver, 6-iron to 14 and today it was the opposite, drive, pitch, drive, 6-iron to the other one. It's good, that's good though, just changes things up a bit and makes you think and makes you play. So there's a few tough holes out there and I feel like I handled them really well and just managed to control the match.

Q. I think you played Bryson tomorrow, correct? Have you ever played him in a match play situation?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I played him, we played him at the Ryder Cup but it was doubles. And that's the only time. So exciting, yeah, looking forward to it.

Q. Is that exciting, given how he's sort of transformed himself since then?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, well, of course it is. I mean for me it's another day where I have to go out and control my own game and see what we can do. He's, Bryson's been smashing it literally and figuratively, he's been doing great and clearly great for the game and it will just be nice to go toe-to-toe with him and see what we can do. I think getting to the two matches down, one more in this group stage and fate is still in your own hands in a way, I think that's a nice position to be in. So a lot to play for tomorrow.

Q. Any change in mentality as you go out there knowing if you hold kind of you are own fate in your own hands?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think that you still, there's 18 holes of golf, be ready to go until the end, be ready for any scenario, any situation, and play golf, that's all can you do, really just keep hitting shots, keep hitting putts, I know it's so cliche, but that literally is all you can do and take it from there. So like I say, it's nice situation to be in, feel like if I do things similar to today I'll be happy and then see what the result brings.

Q. Kuch had two close matches and he sort of conceded that it's more exhausting in match play to have two close matches just to keep it going. Along those same lines, would you want a more steady diet of match play events as opposed to stroke play or is the idea of it being exhausting? Are you okay one or two times a year?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I don't know, I don't know whether there's a need to change anything. I think it's good to watch, for sure. I don't know, try it out and see if people think it's great to watch when it's a few more or not. It is, yeah, the thing about match play is like it kind of should be less exhausting in a way because you can make a 10 and it only counts as one hole. But at the same time your final shot on every hole is kind of feels very decisive and how that hole plays out and what difference that makes. So I think, yeah, I think he's right, it's kind of tiring, when you think it might be a little bit easier on your mentality because you got a little bit more leeway, but yeah, I hope I'm really tired at the end of the week and I've gone all the way.