VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2023

Tommy Fleetwood

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. 69 today following the 68 yesterday. How would you compare those two rounds?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, very happy with both. I think today it definitely started to feel like a much more difficult day than yesterday. Even though we had wind yesterday, it felt like the course was pretty playable. I hit it in play a lot. I hit a lot of fairways yesterday, so it always felt like there was a score available, whereas today throughout the day I found it difficult to put it in play off the tee. Not that I was miles off but it just gets so difficult to score from there. So both different days in a way but equally happy with both.

Q. You mentioned the word patience a couple times. As you work to winning out here, what's the role of patience been for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, yeah, sometimes you have it, sometimes you lose it, sometimes you are somewhere in between. I think so far this week I've done a good job of it. I think it's just always something you pick up on, whether it's your own expectations or trying to force things when you feel like it's not going your way. It's such a difficult thing to do. I can only sort of speak about the last two days and I feel like I've done a good job of that. I just want to keep that attitude going into the weekend. Obviously the further you get sort of along the week the harder it gets in a way. But, yeah, just keep the attitude going and take each shot as it comes.

Q. Can you take us through the eagle at 1, what that did for you today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, yeah, I hit a really good drive. At that point, that was two fairways in a row, on 18 and 1, which was a rarity today. Then I was on like a steep down slope, and I just -- I had 5-iron in my hand, and I was actually trying to hit it somewhere up by the green. I didn't really think I could hold the green off the down slope that I had, so I was trying to hit some kind of straight-ish shot somewhere just right at the pin.

If it goes in the front bunker, it's fine, or anywhere around it. It's one of them that comes out perfect and I saw it take a little nudge maybe out of the rough and ended up at 3 feet. So it was a nice one to get to the green.

Q. What club?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: 5-iron.

Q. You've seen bits and pieces of some really nice stuff. The play Saturday at THE PLAYERS and other things. What are you seeing that's really encouraging and what are you just wanting to see like a little bit more consistent maybe?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, well overall four days play, I feel like I played some tournaments where I played relatively well and haven't scored as well as I should have done this year. So far just been lacking some really good results. But all you can do is keep playing. You look at Saturday at THE PLAYERS, obviously putting myself in a nice place on the leaderboard going into Sunday. Sunday wasn't really my day at all. But so far, halfway through this week, I'm up at the right end of the leaderboard again. Just keep doing that, just keep doing the right things, then see where my golf takes me, really, from there. But, for sure, the first thing you got to do is sort of play well with a good attitude and put yourself in positions. That's what the best players do more often than anybody else and that's what I keep trying to do.

Q. The pairing, you had a great pairing this week. What was the big topic of conversation with you three?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Just easy company, really. We all know each other so well. Any time you're out here being with people that you're so close to and comfortable to it's a nice little treat for a couple of days. I just enjoyed playing with those guys. It was really nice.