AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM

February 6, 2023

Denny McCarthy

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Your overall assessment of your final round.

DENNY MCCARTHY: Terrible. (Laughing.) No, it was great. Found a lot of confidence with my game over the last few days. Even the first few days I played poorly well. That's something that I've gotten a lot better at when I don't have my best stuff. So the first couple rounds actually allowed me to have these last couple rounds. Allowed me to just kind of hang in the tournament.

Then finally something clicked and was able to kind of go on that run yesterday, obviously. It's a nice confidence boost going into the next couple events.

Q. Is that something that's kind of elevated you a little bit is the fact that you can play with your B or C game and still contend?

DENNY MCCARTHY: Yeah, for sure. It's hard to have your A game every week. It doesn't come around. That's where you want to be, you want to get to where your bad golf is at a B plus level where you can still maybe compete to have a chance. Then obviously the A game would be you're in contention and having really good chances to win.

I'm creeping towards that level. I found something really nice the last few days mentally and physically in my swing. So I'm looking forward to the next stretch of golf. Been working really hard. Just continue to put in the work and stick to my process.

Q. What was the discussion before your second shot on 18?

DENNY MCCARTHY: Just trying to find a good lay up number. I was trying to turn a 3-wood. That fits my eye better with a 3-wood. So, a turned 3-wood, I actually probably would have had a hybrid or 4-iron in if it didn't hit the tree. It got a good skip. I hit a low bullet. It was going to chase out there pretty good.

So the second shot was 250 front. I don't love hitting 3-wood off the deck off a tight lie. It just wasn't going to leave me in a good spot. I could have tried to go up there and make eagle, but for me that's a one-out-of-five shot that I'm going to pull off. I just, my wedge game was so good this week. So we were just trying to find the right number to get. We did a really good job of getting right in my wheelhouse number. Obviously hit a good wedge shot and it paid off.

Q. I know you haven't gotten there yet, but what do you keep learning about yourself and your game when you put yourself in these positions to win?

DENNY MCCARTHY: That you can't be scared of the moment. You can shy away. When you get maybe a hint of feeling like you need to back off -- I went out and attacked the place yesterday for the most part. I was conservative on a few shots where the wind was really whipping. But I felt really comfortable. I wanted to go out and get the tournament. Nobody's going to just hand it to me. I knew when I, whenever I got to 12- or 13-under, whatever it was and I was tied for the lead I knew it wasn't just going to stay there, I knew I probably had to get to 15-, 16-under. I didn't quite do that. But that was the right mindset to have.

When I keep putting myself in these situations I just feel more and more comfortable and feel like that's the attitude that I have. It's a good mind frame for me to be in is knowing that I can execute these shots under pressure and know that I can do this.

Q. Are you one to watch the leaderboard?

DENNY MCCARTHY: No. I wouldn't expect them to fall. I think someone's at 17- right now. I don't think they're going to fall back. But I'm going to go up to the player hospitality and maybe get a bite to eat and relax with my girlfriend, caddie and just kind of take it easy.