VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 23, 2024

Peter Malnati

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. How big a lift do you get out of that last putt?

PETER MALNATI: One shot, for sure, maybe two. It was going pretty hard, but I'm pretty solid from that short range. It feels really good to knock in a putt. I hit it well today and I had, you know, I wasn't stuffing it in there tight all day, but I had a lot of looks on the back nine, kind of mid-range putts, and sometimes I get some of those to go, and I really hadn't today. To make that one at the end it felt really, really nice.

Q. How does it feel to have yourself right there heading to Sunday?

PETER MALNATI: You know, it's why I play and practice, to come out here on the PGA TOUR and have a chance to win golf tournaments. This is my 10th season. I can't think of very many times where I've actually teed off on Sunday realistically thinking of winning the tournament. So, it feels -- unfortunately, it feels special. Hopefully, it will feel normal by the end of the year maybe, but it feels special and it's something that I'm really excited about. It's why I work hard so I can have these opportunities.

Q. What's the challenge of not making too much of it as you say, I mean just --

PETER MALNATI: For sure. Like, at the end of the day, the golf course, I mean, obviously wind and conditions can change a little bit, but the golf course doesn't know whether I'm teeing off at 7:50 or whatever time I'm going to tee off. So if I can go out and just execute the shots, do my best, like that's -- the plan really isn't any different from Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon. So, hopefully, I can go out there and have that mindset tomorrow and just go play.

Q. Valspar Championship, most colorful event on the schedule. When did you start using the yellow ball and how does that help you more than using a White ball?

PETER MALNATI: (Laughing). Well, I started using it in Minnesota at the 3M Championship last summer. And the reason I switched to it is because my, at the time, three year old, who is now four, liked them. And so, he's kind of over it now, but it still makes me think of him, and that's worth a smile or two, which is worth a lot out there for me.