MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2021

Will Zalatoris

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize your round out there today?

WILL ZALATORIS: I played well. I just didn't get anything out of it. I kind of had a tough time getting the speed of the greens at the restart. My wedge play this week hasn't been the best, to put it mildly.

Just like on 13, I'm trying to get something that lands behind the hole and spin it back, and just a little bit of water takes off the spin and kind of shoots up in the air and carries a little too far, then left it short, put a good roll on it and just misread it.

That just kind of summarizes the day. I played well, but just didn't really get a lot out of it.

Q. At the start of the week if someone said to you you'd be tied for second going into the final round of the Masters, your reaction would have been?

WILL ZALATORIS: Cool. I've been playing some great golf, so I've been preaching it pretty hard about how lucky I am to be here considering the last 17 months. So like I said, I've been playing great golf. It's nice to see that I've been playing well in the majors so far in my career.

Q. So you've watched a couple Sundays of this tournament in your lifetime?

WILL ZALATORIS: Probably the last 24.

Q. So what would be your expectation going into tomorrow? Not so much about winning or losing, but just about the experience?

WILL ZALATORIS: Yeah, enjoy it. You'll see me every single time when I'm on 12, kind of looking back when we cross the bridge and just kind of looking back on Amen Corner. Enjoy it. I've been wanting to do this my entire career, and I put myself in a pretty good spot.

Obviously, I'm four shots back, so I've got a good chance.

Q. Did you look at the leaderboard at all down the stretch? What was your reaction, if so, to see Hideki start putting the numbers up?

WILL ZALATORIS: I thought mainly, specifically going up 18, I was trying to get into the last group. I knew that putt was going to put me in the last group. It would have been a big advantage, obviously, turning four shots into three shots, but I wanted to be in that last group. Obviously, I won't be there. But four shots back, a lot of great players are right there with me. Keep doing what we're doing, hit some wedge shots a little bit tighter, and run the tables.

Q. Even though you didn't play your best today, did you gain confidence in the final round even from the round today?

WILL ZALATORIS: Yeah, I mean, I thought I might have been a little bit more nervous than I was, to be honest. I think it's just something that I've wanted to be here my entire career, and like I said, I'm not going to shy away from it. I've wanted to do this. I've wanted to put on a green jacket my entire career, and I've got a good opportunity to do it. So let's go do it.

Q. What experience will you lean on tomorrow?

WILL ZALATORIS: Oh, man, everything's been so new and shiny. I think, if anything, I've had -- over the past year and a half, I've had to make a lot of putts on 18 to make a cut or get into a playoff or Monday qualify, and the fact that I've done that very consistently over the past year and a half, I think is what's really led me to be tied for second going into Sunday at the Masters.