THE 150TH OPEN

July 17, 2022

Marcus Armitage

Mixed Zone

Q. Marcus, are you going to say something similar to me as you have the last two rounds. Solid but you got going?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: I got off and went for a little physio. After round 3, I fit in some balls and got off for physio on my back. We did a little work on it. It's just stiff. No big issue there. It just needs to rest a little bit.

I played a lot of golf recently. I had to pull out of the Munich event four weeks ago because of a bad back that I pulled in the gym. So that resurfaced last night. So I wasn't too comfortable out there today.

I just didn't quite have me A game or even my B game, to be fair, which you need on major championship Sundays to give yourself a chance to go out there. The course was playing pretty benign.

Yeah, a bit of a shame. We'll rest up and move on.

Q. Was there a doubt at any stage that you might not play the final round?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: There was at one point. When I first went on the treatment bed last night, I couldn't get up. I was like, oh, no, we're in trouble here. We did some work, and it got manageable. I'm quite happy that I finished with nine pars actually. That back nine is a little bit tricky.

I did what I did, and I just couldn't hole a putt either. I did well enough to shoot level-par today, but I couldn't get the ball in the hole.

It is what it is. The golfing gods weren't on my side this week, but it's been an amazing championship. It was super to compete in it.

Q. Tell us how special it's been. Just the atmosphere and being around The 150th Open.

MARCUS ARMITAGE: I took a little step back on the Road Hole green on 17, and I just said to my caddie, just have a look down there now. Have a look to the clubhouse and the grandstands and The 150th Open. This won't happen again. There will be another Open at St Andrews, but there won't be one of these.

I had a moment there, and it was pretty nice. It was really nice, inspiring me to get going and to be here again and hopefully one day win it at St Andrews.

Q. In terms of going forward, you mentioned your back. Are you going to have a bit of a break then now?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: I've got Hillside next week.

Q. The Cazoo.

MARCUS ARMITAGE: The Cazoo Open. There will be a lot of local support there, and I really want to play it. So I'll probably play Hillside if I can manage this back, but I won't turn up till Wednesday. So I'll be having two days off and enjoy just being at home for a couple of days.

Q. Is that a course you know quite well?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: Yeah, I've played it tons and tons of times. I can show up on Wednesday morning, play the Pro-Am, and have a bit of prep done for next week. I've had plenty of links golf this week and last week as it is. So we're all good.

Q. Marcus, are you close with Rory at all?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: Rory? I don't know him that well. I've seen him around and said hello, but I don't know him to -- I'm not one that could go sit at the table with him and have a conversation.

Q. It seems like the fans out here are just rooting for him in a huge way.

MARCUS ARMITAGE: Yeah, massively.

Q. What, as a fellow player and as a fan of golf, do you love about Rory?

MARCUS ARMITAGE: Rory is just a kid who's really good at golf. He's like all of us really. He's just a kid who's really good at golf. He's a really nice guy as well. He's got that competitive streak that they all have and you need at the top level, but he's just a nice kid. He's just a nice guy. I think all the fans can relate with him.

He does everything right and in the right manner. He spends a lot of time with fans after playing. It's been too long for him not to win a major championship.

I like Viktor. I played with Viktor early on this year when he won in Dubai, but I'm just rooting for Rory. I think Viktor's going to win quite a few majors, but I think Rory to get the monkey off his back and to win today would be massive for him and his family and his whole team.