VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 22, 2025

Ricky Castillo

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. You played the Korn Ferry Tour and there are a lot of courses where you need to make a lot of birdies. This course is very different than that. Do you like that challenge or do you like to have it mixed up a little bit?

RICKY CASTILLO: Yeah, I mean, it's always nice to get on a harder golf course, for sure. Just where you're not having to shoot 25-, 26-under to win a golf tournament. It's nice to be single digit under par and be in contention. But I think just we all like the little bit of mixture of everything, but it's nice to come to a course like this where you really, really got to play well and have all parts of your game working to be in contention. It's just a really brutal golf course from tee to green.

Q. Is there one part of your game that you feel like is not up to speed as the other parts of your game?

RICKY CASTILLO: Well today, honestly, I felt like I really had everything kind of under control. I felt like I drove it well, hit a lot of good iron shots, and hit a lot of good quality putts, so I felt like I was moving in the right direction. The first two days was a little squirrely off the tee, but obviously the first day I got super hot with the putter and it worked out. But, yeah, I feel like I'm moving forward and making good progress.

Q. What would you say your comfort level was out there today and what do you think it will be like tomorrow now that you really have kind of firmly in contention here?

RICKY CASTILLO: I really don't think it's going to change. I played competitive golf since I was five years old, I've dreamed of this, being in contention and stuff like that. It's just, you just got to have to just go easy with it and just take it as it comes, not take anything too seriously. We're out here trying to have tons of fun, I'm playing golf as my job, it's my dream, I mean, it's pretty incredible.

Q. As a rookie how critical are these weeks where you're in contention and fighting for valuable FedExCup points, just knowing what's ahead and what's possible toward the end of the season?

RICKY CASTILLO: Yeah, absolutely. You're always trying to focus on points and get higher up in the points list and stuff. You want to think about that, but at the same time when you're on the golf course you kind of have to block that out and just focus on playing golf and forget about all the standings and points and money and all that stuff. It can be difficult, but over time it gets a little bit easier, for sure.

Q. (Question about his first event as a pro.)

RICKY CASTILLO: Yeah, I mean, I wasn't even really expecting to win that event either -- or win that event. So I was just super excited to be there. And same thing here, I just tried to have a better mindset this week and just being happy to be playing in this event. Just felt like my mentality was getting the best of me over the first month and a half, two months or so, and I feel like it's really turned around this week, just really focusing on just having a good positive attitude, whether we make birdie or make triple, doesn't matter.