SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 7, 2023

Scott Stallings

Country Club of Jackson

Quick Quotes

Q. You're a past champion of this tournament. How nice is it to get in the mix again and have another chance to win?

SCOTT STALLINGS: Anytime you're in a position to have a chance to win is a positive.

I had a super busy week last week with all the junior golf stuff I do and the Tennessee Golf Foundation there in Nashville, and sort of made the tour of the middle of the state across the board.

I actually played a decent bit of golf, which is a little bit abnormal for me during that week. I do a thing we call the Tennessee Junior Cup. We split Tennessee down the middle, 10 boys and four girls, and just watch these high school kids just grind all weekend and just see how much they love it.

It was really rejuvenating even though I didn't hit a single shot, just to see how much they love the game. It was super encouraging to be there with them this past weekend and sort of be able to carry it over into this week. Got a lot of texts from some of the kids, and it was cool to see, hey, you actually can do this a little bit.

Q. That's pretty cool to get that inspiration and bring it to a tournament and put it into practice.

SCOTT STALLINGS: Yeah, it's very cool. We've been doing it for this is our 12th year, and knowing a lot of different kids and kind of seeing it throughout, it's really neat to sort of carry that on. A lot of times after that week I feel sort of -- man, sort of glad it was over, but every year it just gets more and more enjoyable, and the kids just love it.

Now like Sunday afternoon, it's like man, I can't believe it's over until next year. It's definitely a passion and probably one of my favorite weeks of the year, even though it is super busy.

Q. How would you assess that round today? What did you do particularly well?

SCOTT STALLINGS: Yeah, I kept it in front of me. Definitely not some of my better shots into the green. I definitely hit some, but when I missed, I was in position to get it up-and-down. Plenty of green, I didn't short-side myself a lot, or if I was in position I could use the wind to make the ball slow down.

I feel really comfortable here, and the course is only going to get a little bit faster as it goes along, but I still think it would be very receptive, and the scores will continue to be good.

Q. Just talk about that 15th hole where you made the eagle. You said in an earlier interview that you credited Wesley Bryan.

SCOTT STALLINGS: Yeah, Wesley was in the rough, and I thought he hit a really good shot, and next thing I know, he was over the green. The front of that green is just set there where everyone walks on it. It's downwind, kind of in the shade, not in the shade.

I was going to play a completely different shot until I saw how fast his ball -- once it got past the hole. I was literally trying to check-spin it just over the edge, and obviously it got super lucky going in.

But I was happy with the way I executed it, especially after using some experience from seeing his shot, how it reacted and just how fast it was.

Q. Your year has been a little up and down, missed a lot of cuts through the middle of the season. Did you look at this fall coming in outside the 125 as an opportunity for you?

SCOTT STALLINGS: Yes and no. I'm not playing a ton. Just an opportunity to get to Maui. I had an unbelievable experience there last year, and picked some tournaments this fall where I feel comfortable with some of the changes and stuff I've been working on in my game, just sort of gearing everything towards as many reps as possible gearing up to Hawai'i and Sony and kind of building up to a good strong start to the season as I've kind of been behind the 8-ball all year.