THE 152ND OPEN

July 19, 2024

Dean Burmester

Mixed Zone

Q. How difficult were those first five or six holes going out?

DEAN BURMESTER: They were a little easier for us than they were yesterday. That I can tell you. The first seven holes yesterday were brutal, rain coming and going. It was cold. Ball really wasn't going anywhere.

We got to those holes today and they were a little easier. But yeah, I spent quite a bit of time on the range last night trying to figure out what was going on because I was hitting it everywhere yesterday and it was probably a very scrappy level par. But links golf, anything can happen. You've got to ride your luck. I had more of that today. On some holes I got lucky a couple times.

Look, I'm enjoying it, and it was obviously a super special round of golf for me.

Q. Any particular fix that worked well for you today?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, kind of my right side gets up and out and that causes me to fall underneath it, and yeah, the moment you get underneath it on the way through, you can't control the club face. I really worked on trying to stay on top of it and moving left enough so that I can kind of hold that face and hit my nice little fade. So yeah, that's pretty much all I'm doing.

Q. What would be an example of a bit of luck that you had today?

DEAN BURMESTER: I blocked one way right on 13, and it actually hit my coach, and it was going towards the grandstand. Yeah, it was heading towards the -- it was heading towards the gorse bush and it kind of split in between them and I managed to have a swing and hit a shot that was going left of the green, bounced right and bounced on to the green and made 4. Hey, that's links golf for you, and if you go around here, there's going to be good bounces and bad bounces.

Q. Did you specifically put your coach there for that purpose?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, of course. I actually told him, I can't believe you got in the way because the one that hit him was on the way to the grandstand and nice and open, flat grass; it's like being in the fairway.

Q. I looked it up; if your position holds, this would be your best position after any round in a major. How confident or how good are you feeling about your chances going into the weekend?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, I like the way I'm hitting certain golf shots. There's some things obviously I could do better. But take it one day at a time and see what happens, see what tomorrow holds, because at the moment it's kind of who knows who wakes up. But I'm just going to enjoy it. I'm going to relish where I am. I'm going enjoy being part of this amazing event. It's just super cool.

Q. You talked about yesterday not beating yourself up. On the flipside, are you also trying not to get too ramped up, too pumped up and kind of maintain that equilibrium there?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, at the end of the day it's just a score, right? It's just 18 holes of golf, and it's a score. It's what I tried to do in Miami. I didn't get ahead of myself or anything. That worked well. If I could do that on a daily basis, if I can just remember to do that, so I must write that down.

Q. How much will you draw upon previous experiences, maybe specifically the PGA, when obviously you were in the hunt there?

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, look, I'll draw on a lot. I'll draw on the PGA. I'll draw on Miami. I'll draw on St Andrews, the 150th Open. A lot of good memories I've had not only in majors but in tournaments, and I've won on tough golf courses before, and this is no different.

Q. What specifically might you have learned at the PGA that you'll take into here?

DEAN BURMESTER: Just that I'm human, that I don't have to be perfect to win golf tournaments. I think that's probably the number one thing. Like I said, you ride your luck, there will be good, there will be bad, and at the end of the day you've just got to stay true to yourself, and whatever happens at the end happens.

Q. The par-5 16th you're loving this week, a hole-out from the bunker yesterday, a 9-iron second shot in today.

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah, I'm enjoying it. This wind direction hopefully stays for me because if it doesn't, it could be interesting.

Q. The wind was picking up as you were coming in. It's expected to strengthen this afternoon. You've got to be happy with your position now, which could look even better.

DEAN BURMESTER: Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, the British Open there's an element of the luck of the draw those first two rounds, and this will be no different. I'm lucky I'm on the good side, I suppose. It is going to strengthen, but that's going to make the back nine shorter, as well. So we'll have to wait and see. I think if you hit good shots, you'll get rewarded. That's pretty much it.