THE 152ND OPEN

July 19, 2024

Joe Dean

Mixed Zone

Q. Positive end to the round with that birdie. Just tell us about that.

JOE DEAN: Yeah, managed to finally hit -- saw three golf shots consecutively. I knew I was really tight on the cut line on the last hole. Really we were just hoping for just a par in and see what happened with everyone else.

Yeah, to finish with a birdie were really nice.

Q. The crowd always love that, don't they?

JOE DEAN: They do, yes. Although I think they could see how battered and bruised I was for the day. It was a nice finish.

Q. Just talk about the changing conditions from the front nine to the back nine. The wind is really getting up, it seemed really challenging, particularly around the turn for you on the back nine.

JOE DEAN: The front nine, it was heavily into off the right, and it was almost challenging to get your tee shots in play, and stopping the ball wasn't a problem.

Then obviously when we switched onto the back nine, everything was down off the left pretty much, and then you've got the complete opposite of trying to figure out how far the ball is going to finish.

I admittedly didn't hit my wedge shots great, but I had a couple of wedge shots into the greens and me and Max were looking, and a lot of the pins weren't front either, it was middle-ish pins, and we didn't have a club in the bag that could stop it on the green.

Yeah, just got it switched and went downwind, it wasn't any easier. If anything, it was slightly tougher.

Q. But you're here for the weekend, and that's the main thing?

JOE DEAN: Yeah, hopefully. I think tied at 50th for the minute, but yeah, I wasn't in a very good mindset after 11, 12, so to be -- well, all fingers crossed -- to be here for the weekend will put a high to it, so yeah.