SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 5, 2023

Henrik Norlander

Country Club of Jackson

Quick Quotes

Q. Henrik, a great start. Nice stretch there on the back nine. Talk about that round a little bit.

HENRIK NORLANDER: I got off to a good start. I've been telling people and I told them in the previous interview, I've struggled for two years really with my ball-striking, and that's the best part of my game. When I have to rely on my putting, it's not going to be very good, and I think the scores have showed that in the last two years.

I haven't really been able to figure out what's really been strong, but the last few weeks, I went back to Sweden, saw my old coach, and my current coach has helped a ton. All my coaches have helped. But I think we sort of finally found the main issue. I've got to turn better on the way back. But for me to do that the right arm needs to fold early. It's a little geeky, but when I sort of understood that, I sort of could get back to my old ways, so pretty good.

Q. Matt NeSmith was just in here and talked about his coach and said he was having a good week. Is that the same coach you're using? What's his name?

HENRIK NORLANDER: Gary Cressend.

Q. What was the issue you were talking about, you had some injury --

HENRIK NORLANDER: I mean, I was playing hide and seek with my one and a half year old at the time, and I was hiding behind the couch, and when he found me I couldn't get in vertical position for about 48 hours. That was Wednesday of Greensboro two years ago, and then I went to New York to play the first playoff event hurting a lot, and that's sort of where I think it started, without really catching it. I started lifting on the way back, and you do it enough times, it becomes the norm. It's taken a long time.

We have a nine month old at home and a three and a half year old and they've been keeping me pretty happy, but this game humbles you pretty big time.

Q. What did you do particularly well today to shoot the score you did?

HENRIK NORLANDER: I just felt like everything was pretty solid today. I hit it nice. Drove it -- that's always been my strength, and the last two years it's been left, right, left, right and short and just hacking it from the rough, and today I think I hit my first 12 fairways, and I hit -- I missed it on 16 and 17, two tough tee shots for me.

When I drive it good, I think for everyone, but it gets pretty easy --

Q. You said in an earlier interview that you've had a couple of top 5 finishes here and this is one of your favorite courses on TOUR. Why is that?

HENRIK NORLANDER: It's in great shape. We play a lot -- I've lived in Augusta for the last 16 years. We play a lot of the same grass. It sort of feels like home.

I think from Steve Jent, the tournament director, to the superintendent, they do everything right here. They always take care of us, and the golf course is always in -- it's hard to say there's any golf course on TOUR that's in better shape.

Q. The stretch you had on the back nine there to start, how easy is it when you get those first couple birdies to fall, kind of build some momentum and gain some confidence going into the back half there?

HENRIK NORLANDER: Yeah. I mean, I birdied 2 and 3, and then I felt like I hit a lot of good shots, I just couldn't get anything to fall.

I hit a great 2-iron on 11 to about 13, 14 feet and just missed it for eagle. Sort of chunked my wedge actually on 12, got lucky, it caught the front edge of the green, made a 40-footer, and hit it close on 13, made birdie. Then I couldn't really get to 14, but I hit 3-wood up there and chipped in.

It's easy to say, but the last two years I haven't played great golf, and why I haven't really been in the right head space. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. My attitude was good today, but I felt very calm. I didn't get too up. When I started getting on a run, I tried to hit the only shot that matters is the next one. It's boring, but if you can do that, it really makes it easier.

Q. You're Swedish; Ryder Cup just finished, Europeans won. How much did you watch it, and where were you? What did you feel about it?

HENRIK NORLANDER: I mean, I would say my wife and my two kids. That's on the top 3 list what I like, and then No. 4 is the Ryder Cup. Growing up in Sweden, it's like everything. You can probably see when you watch it -- I'm not saying the Americans don't care. They do. But we just were born that way. Being on a winning Ryder Cup team is like winning a major.

Yeah, it was just really cool to see Ludvig who's never played a major, but he's so good, and I wasn't worried about him not performing that way.

Yeah, it's just fun. It fired me up for sure, and yeah, it gives me motivation.