THE 149TH OPEN

July 16, 2021

Johannes Veerman

Mixed Zone

Q. Thanks for joining us today. Did you really enjoy the nicer conditions out there today?

JOHANNES VEERMAN: Yeah, it was a little cold this morning. Maybe not -- because I'm not from here. I'm used to warmer temperatures.

But it was good. It was a little windy, but that makes it more challenging. This is a championship golf course, and when the wind comes you definitely have to bring your A game.

So, yeah, I enjoyed it.

Q. Looks like you did bring your A game. Couple under par in the second round, a few nice birdies. Any highlights stand out for you?

JOHANNES VEERMAN: Yeah. I had a lot of stand-out moments today. Tee shot on 3. So my opening tee shot you're very nervous. You just want to like -- you got so much energy inside of you. I flushed that straight down the center of the fairway, so that was obviously a very good start.

You kind of build your whole round upon that. If that goes sideways you have to regroup. I started with a good drive on 1, and from there was able to put my round together shot by shot.

I hit a good shot on 3 and that just affirmed that, Hey, I'm playing well. Let's keep hitting good shots.

Q. Looks like you really took advantage of the par-3s out there. Talk to us about your tactics on the shorter holes.

JOHANNES VEERMAN: Yeah, I think mostly it's just picking good targets. I made a birdie on 6, the par-3. I was actually aiming two or three yards left of the hole. I pushed a little bit to the right.

So it's just kind of maybe more managing where to hit it. The wind is blowing. Sometimes it's hard to know where the wind is coming from, especially with the grandstands behind the tee box.

So just picking good targets and staying patient is the key out here.

Q. You're not from here, but links golf, is it the kind of golf you enjoy playing?

JOHANNES VEERMAN: Yes. Sometimes you play in the U.S. a lot, and a lot of golf courses you're kind of on autopilot the whole time. You know what shot to hit because you've hit it so many times before.

Here on links golf it's not just around the greens, you have all sorts of lies in the fairway. Ball above your feet, downhill. So everything is thrown at you, even if it's just a standard shot for 150 yards and you are holding a pitching wedge, it's not standard because, like I said, the lie's, you know, something that you would never see other than a links course.

Brings a lot athleticism into golf, which is a lot of fun to play with.

Q. What's the mindset for the next two rounds at The Open?

JOHANNES VEERMAN: I think I have a long day ahead of me so I was one of the first tee times. Now so just chill out, have some lunch, maybe a little bit of practice, and just keep doing what I been doing. Try to stay patient out there and try to string as many good shots as I can in a row.