ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 20, 2023

Doc Redman

Sam Ryder

TPC Louisiana

Quick Quotes

Q. Third place finish last year, picking up right where you left off. How did your round go today?

DOC REDMAN: I think it was good. We started well. It was really just solid. There was no stress. I think we had a lot of good birdie putts. Some just happened to go in. We played our game well, and it worked out nice.

SAM RYDER: Yeah, Doc off to a really solid start. I kind of got off to a little bit of a slower start, kind of making pars. You feel like you try not to press too much, but in this format, you really want to start making birdies.

He was able to make a couple nice putts, and then I snuck a few close in there around the turn. He finished strong for us.

All in all, it was a good day.

DOC REDMAN: It was.

Q. Good year last year, obviously starting strong this year. Is it the format? The course? What do you kind of attribute to when you come here it works out well?

DOC REDMAN: I think the course is pretty good. We enjoy playing that. I think the difficult par-3s lends itself well to us, especially in tomorrow's format.

I think we do a good job of playing our own games. We're confident in that, and we don't press anything. We just want to have as many birdie looks as possible and know that they're going to come.

SAM RYDER: I think there's a comfort level. We've played quite a bit of golf together. We play golf together back home. Having played in this a couple times now, it's like, yeah, we just -- I kind of know what he's thinking a little bit. He knows kind of what I'm thinking, how we play.

There's not too much overanalyzing things. We're kind of just treating it normal, and it's nice to have a good player to kind of have your back. It's just fun, and it's a nice change-up. They've done a good job with this event. It's a nice mix-up in some of the monotony of the schedule at times.

Q. Obviously a different type of event than you face week in and week out. Doc, can this be something that sparks you as you look to improve on rest of your season?

DOC REDMAN: Yeah, I think it's always nice to -- one, it's nice in this format just to have someone who has your back, like he just said. You don't have to play 18 perfect holes or even great holes because your Buddy has your back, and you can still post a good team score.

Every week is a good opportunity to get some confidence, and this week is no different.

Q. Sam, I think your coach was out there today. How is he recovering and doing at this point? I don't know how many weeks it is off that injury. Just wondering if you had an update.

SAM RYDER: The pelvis injury has been tough. We've been doing it from afar. He's been in Scottsdale kind of healing up, and that's been the priority. I've been wanting him to take it slow.

So it's nice to have him back out. It's similar to -- there's kind of an analogy with the team format and this. We're not trying to overhaul anything, but it's nice to have him out here. He's doing well. I think he's just happy not sitting still. He doesn't like to sit still, like most of us don't. So it's nice.

Q. Has he been out to a few events this year?

SAM RYDER: No, not since the fall. He broke his pelvis in -- it was after RSM. It was in mid-December, I think. It's just been tough.

He's gotten a lot of support from the people out here. People asking about him, texting him. I know that it lifts his spirits too, but it's good to see him out. He's kind of crutching around a little bit and just trying to build strength back. It's just a process, slow process.

Q. You mentioned you have to kind of go get it today. How does the mindset shift for tomorrow in alternate shot?

DOC REDMAN: I think it's similar. You still have to go get it, but I think we were patient today and took our chances. I think tomorrow is the same. When you're out of position, you've got to take it easy.

Pars are really good, and if you can sneak in a few birdies with a good shot or a good putt here and there, it's great, and I think we do that well.

SAM RYDER: I think alternate shot is the epitome of the cliche one shot at a time. You don't know what's going to happen with the next one. Whatever you get, it doesn't matter if someone hits a bad shot, good shot. You just take it as it comes and just deal with it. It's fun. It's a nice change-up. We enjoy it.

DOC REDMAN: It's different like having to go a few holes without maybe hitting an iron shot or you haven't hit like a 20 or 30-footer in a few holes. I think that's a good mental challenge that we handle well, just overcoming not having hit the shot you have in a few holes, which is obviously rare for what we usually do.

SAM RYDER: Playing your own ball, you can kind of start to get ahead of yourselves maybe at times or dwelling on some of the other shots, and you don't do that. You just play this next one, however it counts. They all count the same.