THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY WORKDAY

June 3, 2022

Denny McCarthy

Muirfield Village

Quick Quotes

Q. Could you walk us through your round. You made some putts, which is nothing new for you.

DENNY MCCARTHY: I started on the back 10, 11, 12, pretty tough start. Even 13 -- threw a 13 in there. Made not a great bogey on 11. Bounced back with a good shot on 12. Just hitting the green on 12 is nice. That kind of settled me into the round, I'd say, a little bit.

Hit a great shot on 13, using the contour, and fed it all the way down. And then hit a great wedge shot on 14 to the back pin. It's a tough little sliver back there to hit, and made a nice curling putt.

The shot on 12, and then the birdie, 13, 14, just got my round going. Got me comfortable.

I've just been doing everything very solid. Been driving it pretty well, hitting some good iron shots. And I feel really comfortable with the putter. These greens are so good. You've got to get them started on line, and they have a pretty darned good chance to go in.

Q. You've always been a great putter, how comfortable do you feel on these greens, in particular, and where does that putting gift come from?

DENNY MCCARTHY: I think canned eye. I played a lot of sports growing up. I can shoot a basketball pretty well. I play ping-pong pretty well. Just feel, hand-eye. I don't know what else to say besides that.

Just a lot of experience. I've played golf for 25 years now. So just a lot of trial-and-error things that have always worked over the last four, five years for me.

These greens are so good. I really like fast greens. I like greens that break a lot. I think that is an advantage for me over most guys out here.

The course I play at home, Medalist, my home course in Florida, those greens are really fast, similar to these speeds. I like when they get fast.

Q. For you on the fourth hole, obviously short of the green, just how quickly do you transfer the missed club to the mental approach of putting it off the green and getting that bonus?

DENNY MCCARTHY: Obviously it wasn't even a missed club. I was been 6 and 7. And 6, you just don't really want to go long there. I was pretty comfortable with being short. I missed the 7-iron a little bit. If I hit it good, it would have probably covered the front.

And the fairways are so tight here in front of the green where I was always going to pull putter there. They roll so smooth. It's almost like just a slower green, if you will. The fairways are still rolling pretty fast up near the greens.

So it was nice -- that was a bonus. I was just trying to get that one pretty close. Obviously trying to make it. But just trying to get it up there dead, and that was a bonus for that one to go in.

Q. You're no stranger to success recently after 36 holes. What have you learned from these past recent weekends that might help you shape your golf to this success again for the next 36?

DENNY MCCARTHY: I'm just more comfortable -- the more I get in this position, the more comfortable I get. I didn't even -- I knew I was towards the top midway through my round. But that didn't really bother me.

I've been really comfortable. I'm really just trying to get better in my game, honestly. It's great that I'm playing well, but I'm trying to just improve as a golfer, really.

And I feel like my caddie and I, Derek, did a really good job just staying in the process and not really worrying about the result of each shot. Just hitting a shot, getting into my process, hitting it, and then stop caring after it happens and just move on to the next one.

Q. Denny, Wells Fargo, where it's tough, now the Memorial; why do tough golf courses seem to suit you so well?

DENNY MCCARTHY: I think I'm just a really gritty competitor. I know what it's going to take on a hard golf course. You can't let your bad emotions get the best of you. If you have a bad hole or two and you let that linger on hard courses, it's just going to bite you even more.

I think I have putted really well. I've done a lot of things well here. I've driven the ball in the fairway for the most part. I've hit a lot of iron shots that when I've had good opportunities with wedges and short irons, I've taken advantage of them. If I have mid irons in my hand, I've made good swings and maybe a little more conservative playing to 20, 30, 40 feet and letting my putter do the work from there.

I think just understanding what these harder golf courses require. Obviously, I'm not the longest guy out here. So I need to think my way around a little bit more than some guys.

Q. Did your heart sink on 8?

DENNY MCCARTHY: Yeah, I actually had one of those little white cotton things came down like right on -- as I was hitting the ball, one of those white cotton things came down, and it totally threw me off. Yes, my heart did sink. I used the whole hole there.

Q. And a half.

DENNY MCCARTHY: Yeah.

Q. Guys have been asked this week about what it takes, what it takes to be a great putter and who are the better putters. Rory, first person he mentioned was you. Just to have that reputation, is that good? Do you feel I've got to live up to this?

DENNY MCCARTHY: I would like to drive it like Rory. Everyone has the best part of their game. Obviously putting is part of mine. Driving the ball is the best part of his game. I'm no slouch around the course, like putting is not the only thing I do well. Everyone brings up my putter; yes, I'm a good putter, but I need to do good things to get to those putts.

Yeah, that is a strong part of my game. I'm very comfortable with it. But Collin Morikawa is one of the best iron players, Rory is the best driver. Everyone has a piece of their game they're most comfortable with.

Maybe it just doesn't -- it frees me up a little in that like I don't need to feel like I stuff a 7-iron from 180. I can feel like I can just hit it a good, conservative shot on the green to 25 feet, and I like my chances from there. I don't need to be super aggressive.

When I get wedges in my hands, wedges and short irons, that's when I need to attack. If I start getting 7-iron out, that's when I'll be a little more conservative and trusting that my putting ability is going to help me out.

Q. Is there a putt the first two rounds that you wish you had back, or have you been pretty --

DENNY MCCARTHY: It's easy to say. There's a couple shots I'd like to have back, but I've done everything very nicely. I cleaned up around the hole very well and made a lot of good par saves inside of five, six feet.

So now I can't say -- because I made a handful of longer ones off the green, too. I can't say I would -- they all even out.

Q. Everyone would like to putt like you. Drive for show, putt for dough. You feel like, because of your putting game, your ability to putt, you give yourself a chance all the time? Do you feel like you're ready to break through and win here?

DENNY MCCARTHY: I've said it for a while. The other parts of my game, I'm no slouch to the other parts of my game. I'm just not as good as the other top players in the world in that part of my game. That's what I'm working on. I'm always working to become a better iron player and driver of the golf ball.

Slowly I'm seeing some really good improvements over the last year. And I think the more I put myself in this kind of situation, that can only help me.

Q. What's been your best putt the first two days here?

DENNY MCCARTHY: Best putt? Man, it's very underrated. I made like a 15 footer for par on 1 yesterday that broke like four feet to start my round. Obviously I made a lot of longer ones outside of that. But that was a very underrated one. It was a tough pin on 1 yesterday. I made a par putt that broke three, four feet. That was the first hole yesterday.

Q. Much better start.

DENNY MCCARTHY: Yes, it is.