SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 3, 2024

David Skinns

Country Club of Jackson

Quick Quotes

Q. Opening round 60 but with a chance for 59 on the final. How did you feel about today?

DAVID SKINNS: Yeah, it's hard not to be a little bit disappointed because how many nine-footers are you going to get to shoot 59? I'm sure I'm not going to get many. Tough not to be a little bit disappointed, but I really want to just look back on how kind of in control mentally I felt, how I kept attacking. Wasn't really thinking about the future at all, which is kind of the thing I'm going to take away from today.

Q. What's it like to have a round that looked so effortless and have the putts roll in?

DAVID SKINNS: Just a bit of a dream, really. Those are the ones that you turn around and you're 7-under, you're like, wow, I didn't feel like I did too much.

Great to see a couple go in that maybe some days don't. Just kind of catapulted, and I was able to keep the momentum going, which is what I was most pleased about, and I never really thought about the score too much, just where I was going to hit the next shot.

Q. What does it take to not get ahead of each shot and stay consistent in that area?

DAVID SKINNS: Just got to keep reminding yourself of it a little bit because everyone is going to naturally creep ahead; that's just human nature. You don't have to buy into it, though; you don't have to keep thinking about it. You can get yourself right back to something you can focus on now. There's always a next shot coming up. I did a good job of focusing on that rather than can I make birdie on this hole or what's my final score going to be. So yeah, I was proud of that.

Q. Could you talk about the last putt; a little bit over nine feet, looked like a downhill right to left?

DAVID SKINNS: Yeah, I had it about probably a ball outside the cup. If I could do it again I'd have it a cup outside. But yeah, just broke way more than I thought. I thought it was more downgrain than across the grain. That's kind of this golf course. Sometimes the grain is a little different to what you think. Just so happened that that was for a 59. But there were a lot out there that I got right, so I'm going to focus on the ones that I got right.

Q. Scores are generally really low today. Just good scoring conditions?

DAVID SKINNS: Soft greens, yeah, not a lot of wind. The rough is thick in places but you can get some spots where you can get some okay lies. The fairways aren't particularly wide here, but the soft greens is always -- you go to any golf course on this TOUR, somebody is going to play well when the greens are soft. Doesn't matter where it is.

It's a great golf course, and this is probably as scorable as we see it with no wind and soft conditions.

Q. Have you ever had a round where you were looking at 59?

DAVID SKINNS: Just when I was younger at my home course. I did it once. I think on the Korn Ferry TOUR I've had a couple going where it's kind of entered the back of my head, but that's the closest I've got as a pro for sure.

Q. I know there's a nine-footer you'd like to have back, but if I told you at the beginning of the day you'd make 12 birdies and shoot 60 on this golf course you would have signed up for it?

DAVID SKINNS: Anybody in the world would. Yeah, it was just one of those great days. I had a few go in that weren't expected. One from off the green on 15 and then a couple -- the one on 7, the par-3, was unexpected. I think you were explaining how difficult the putt was. Yeah, I just happened to hit a great putt and read it perfectly.

It was just one of those dream days where I was never really in a bad spot. Even if I missed a fairway, I was in an okay spot, and then par-5s wedged it well, and yeah, took advantage when I could.

Q. You don't get to thinking about magic numbers until you can kind of see it in the distance. When that 54-footer goes in on 7, it's like, okay, wait a second, a couple birdies coming in and we could break 60. The shots you hit on 8, to flight that little one off the tee and the wedge in there really shows how in control and comfortable you were today. Did it feel as comfortable as it looked?

DAVID SKINNS: Yeah, it did, especially that hole. My goal was to be aggressive there. I didn't want to leave too far in because you can't really go at that pin if you do, so I left a great number. I was pleased with the way I was aggressive to that pin. Just hit a great shot, happened to go to a foot, and then I was pleased with the way I played 9. Off the putter I wouldn't really want it back, I just misread it. Yeah, I'd want it back now, but like you said, it felt fairly in control, and I was pleased with the way I played those last few holes. Back of the mind it's easy to start thinking about it, but pleased with the way I didn't get ahead of myself, and pleased with the way I stayed aggressive.

Q. What are you most proud of, from the game, or is it mindset, or is it dealing with the success of that round? What are you most proud of when you reflect on the day?

DAVID SKINNS: The mindset probably with the not getting ahead of myself. It's the start of a long run of golf for me. I'll reset and play the first hole first tomorrow. Try to focus on just that first hole tomorrow is going to be my goal. But yeah, the mindset was great of not getting ahead of myself.

Q. What did you want to accomplish with this stretch of golf this fall? Your position in the FedExCup standings is good, not great, but you're in position where you know if you play good golf you can take care of things for next year. What did you want to accomplish, and obviously whatever you're working object certainly worked for one round of golf.

DAVID SKINNS: Yeah, the goal really for the last stretch is to -- it's a long run of golf for me, four weeks in a row coming up, and just to kind of have a good mental attitude because it's easy in my spot to try and push too hard and try to do too much. Yeah, everyone wants to be in the clear and locked up and all of that, but my goal is to put that aside. I've been playing some decent golf all year. It hasn't really showed the last few weeks.

But yeah, that's the main goal is to just focus on playing that one hole at a time and enjoy this kind of long stretch of golf of tournaments I'm really excited about playing.