WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 10, 2022

Graeme McDowell

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. Back here since 2006. How would you describe what you were able to do since you hadn't been here in 16 years?

GRAEME MCDOWELL: You're making me old for a start. But it's a fantastic week. I mean, obviously watching it on TV, heard the guys talking about it, this is a quite the show here, quite the party and quite the atmosphere. I mean, we played early this morning, so I got to see 16 fairly benign. We'll play it tomorrow afternoon a little later on when I'm sure there will be a few beverages starting to flow and the atmosphere should be a lot of fun.

But the golf course is sensational, not sure I've seen a better conditioned golf course than this one and it's playing firm and fast which kind of suits my fast a little bit. Greens are fantastic and it's been one of those weeks where I'm trying to wonder why it's been 16 years since I've been here.

Q. How quickly can you remember a golf course that long ago or there have been some changes and maybe it's starting from square one.

GRAEME MCDOWELL: Yeah, certainly felt like I was starting from square one this week. I spent Tuesday and really took my time around the golf course. It's a reasonably straightforward tee to green, but it's in and around the greens you have to be careful. There are some slopes and some runoff areas in these greens that you just have to be, you have to pay attention with your iron play.

And that was pretty much the key to the golf course really. It is hard to get the ball in the fairway off the tee, they're pretty narrow and pretty firm and fast, but I enjoyed it out there, it was fun, nice to make a few birdies and game's trending in the right direction and I just need to just take it day by day at the minute.

Q. You talked about the greens being pure, how about this pure effort on 17 from a mere 88 feet away.

GRAEME MCDOWELL: This might be the most ridiculous 3 I ever made in my life. I drove it in the right hand fairway bunker and I mean this putt is just greased lightning, it's a marble staircase down there.

From my angle I couldn't, I could barely see, I thought it was going to stay short, I really did. And I would have probably paid you about a thousand bucks for a 4 out of that right bunker after my tee shot, but I mean the 3 outrageous though, a lot of fun though.

And to birdie 16 and 17, 16 my first time playing it in the kind of stadium like that was fun and, like I say, I look forward to getting back out tomorrow.

Q. How do you build off what you were able to do today to keep it going?

GRAEME MCDOWELL: For me it's just day by day at the minute. I'm just really trying to layer good days on good days. And it's been a really tough 18 months and I'm really just trying to keep things simple, just work hard, have good days, hopefully those will add up to being in contention and I'll give myself some chances to win and that's really just the goal at the minute is just to try and be as patient as I can.