PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 22, 2021

Louis Oosthuizen

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Quick Quotes

JOHN DEVER: We are joined by Louis Oosthuizen, who posted an even-par 72 today, 5-under for the championship, currently in third position, two shots back.

Solid play. Maybe not your best, but tell us how you felt out there and what you see happening overnight.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I wouldn't call that solid play. That was probably the worst I've played in a while. So you know, especially the first ten holes going along with Phil hitting it beautifully and playing great, I was all over the place. I could sense early on that I wasn't on song, especially I felt a move in my driver that I didn't like, and from there it wasn't good.

So I was just sort of fighting to stay in it, and you know, at the end there, started judging the greens wrong and everything just fell apart. All in all, two behind going into Sunday, I've got to take a lot of positives out of that with the way I was playing today.

Q. Not really sure where to start at, but where do you think too much is too much for anybody to overcome tomorrow? Meaning the score.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I don't know what the weather is going to be like, but around this golf course, definitely saw quite a few 68s I think this morning. I thought it was good scoring. There was a lot of birdies out there. Phil showed us over that first ten holes that he played.

I do believe there was birdie opportunities out there, but major, Sunday, afternoon, I don't think you can be too far back. I think anyone within four or five shots is still in for a good shot.

Q. Did you feel like it was all slipping away when you hit it into the water there, and were you surprised when Phil followed you in, and what did that do to give you more hope that you were back in it?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Look, to me, it felt way earlier than that that I was all over the place. So I wasn't really surprised with hitting a bad tee shot on 13. It was a tough wind left-to-right, and I was just not doing the right move I should have.

Phil hit two bad tee shots and cost him three shots. Other than that he played beautifully. He putted well. He drove it unbelievably long and straight. I think we all got lucky that he came backwards into the field.

Q. Are you glad to get into the second-last group tomorrow and away from some of that hoopla?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I think there's going to be a lot of people following that group.

But you know, it's nice when you do play in that last group because you sort of can look a bit more at what the group in front of you is doing and you and your partner playing that day, but it's fine. I'm two behind playing second-last group, so I need to start good and definitely play a lot better than today.

Q. When Phil gets to ten, is that an indication of how quickly things can change on this golf course?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Definitely. I mean, you know, he nearly birdied 11, as well. So you can really -- the way the wind was today and not really a breeze compared to yesterday, you could have started really with a good run in the first six, seven holes.

So you know, someone teeing off at 1-, 2-under tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon and got a good start, you know, there's a lot of opportunities out there.

Q. It's been a long time since we've had a gallery this size. What was it like, and did it take any adjusting having to deal with that for the first time in a while?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: It was good. I think after coming back from the break we had and everyone was like, man, it's going to be nice not having crowds, just playing, but you quickly realized that what it's all about, to get the adrenaline, to get that little bit more especially major weeks, today was brilliant.

I think the people was a little bit more behind Phil than behind me (laughing) which is fine, but it was good. A great crowd and I think tomorrow is going to be awesome.

Q. You've been driving it beautifully and hitting the long irons great. Are you surprised it was loose today?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I didn't have a great warmup. Sort of didn't feel good. And then obviously a horrible tee shot on 1.

But yeah, sort of middle of the round, I hit a few good shots, and the good thing is I know what I'm doing wrong. I just need to go and fix it. It's tough to fix it on the golf course, especially with lots of trouble all over the place.

Q. What's the rush of being there with a chance on Sunday?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: That's why we practice every day and why we play the game, to have a chance to win a major.

JOHN DEVER: Thanks so much, sir. Have a good evening.