ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 8, 2024

Corey Conners

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice way to finish. Can you just go through the birdies.

COREY CONNERS: Yeah, did a good job on the par-5s on the first nine. Yeah, had a pretty simple up-and-down on 4 for --

Q. Oh, I just meant 17 and 18.

COREY CONNERS: Oh, okay. Yeah, was leaking oil quite a bit. Made a sloppy bogey on 12 and 15. Made a mess of 17. Then, yeah, I tried to refocus. I had a couple nice yardages, two 9-irons into those holes, basically the same number both holes, and gave myself nice looks and was able to roll them in. Yeah, just tried to reset after making a mess of a few holes, and it felt good to finish like that.

Q. Are we looking at another difficult weekend out here?

COREY CONNERS: I think so. If the weather stays warm and sunny, it's going to continue to bake out. It was nice to play this morning. The greens were still pretty firm, but I'm sure they will be quite a bit firmer this afternoon. Yeah, always look forward to some tough conditions on the weekend here.

Q. Were you surprised how firm it was today already?

COREY CONNERS: Honestly, I was surprised how firm it was when I first played some holes on Tuesday. Wouldn't say it's firmed up a crazy amount since then, but continued just a little bit. Yeah, the rest of the golf course is fairly soft. The fairways are fairly receptive, not getting tons of roll yet. Yeah, it's great that the greens are firm, really makes you think, and you got to control your ball.

Q. Can you talk about how difficult 8 and 9 are, because there seems to be a pretty good pileup of bogeys and some doubles there.

COREY CONNERS: Yeah, particularly No. 9, the tee shot's really, really difficult. There's not a lot of room to fit in the tee ball. Some of the longer guys can maybe take it over the bunker, but for the most part it really pinches in, certainly where I hit it and where the majority of the field probably is driving it. The wind direction today, a little in off the left, doesn't really set up for the shape of that hole. So, it's a really tricky tee shot.

Number 8, again, if you hit driver, you got to be pretty aggressive down the right side. 3-wood is probably a popular play. It's a demanding approach shot on the front pin today.

Q. Held the 36-hole lead here in 2021, finished third that year. A couple other solid results. Does the difficulty of the course bring out the best in your game?

COREY CONNERS: I think so. I think managing my game and managing my iron play and having control with my iron shots is a strength. It's definitely an asset playing around here. I was looking forward to getting back here, and I'm happy with how the course is set up. You got to hit it well and be in control of the ball.

Q. Does this place remind of somewhere that you played when you were younger or at all?

COREY CONNERS: Not really, to be honest. Yeah, it's kind of unique. There's only one Bay Hill. Yeah, not really, I guess. Yeah, I just like the challenge of it.