	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

TURNING STONE RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP

October 2, 2009

Matt Kuchar

VERONA, NEW YORK

MARK STEVENS: Okay. Welcome Matt Kuchar to the interview room. Thank you for coming out of the lovely weather and joining us. Matt followed up a 67 yesterday with a 68 today, and one stroke off the lead. If you'll talk a little bit about your round today, and then obviously a little something about the weather as you were coming in here. Then we'll take some questions.
MATT KUCHAR: All right. I've been playing some good golf. I've been real happy with the way things have gone. Had a nice run in the Playoff, almost cracked into THE TOUR Championship today.
The weather gave us a break there in the middle. We kind of got a good break of at least clear skies, and I played some pretty good golf. Ended up with an eagle on 12, hit a 3-wood from about 252 yards out to about 15 feet, made a little left-to-right putt and was able to birdie 14, 15. Had a bogey on 17. Just a tough hole today. I had 193 yards to the hole into the wind. Hit a 4-iron just right of the green, and the rain had picked up pretty good at that point and my chip just skidded by. A chip that you kind of expect to land soft had a little jacket. It didn't do it with the water on the greens. Just skidded by and missed the putt. Was glad to make a 5 on 18 and get in the clubhouse.
MARK STEVENS: Okay. Questions?

Q. Matt, you did tie for the lead with that birdie on 15. You were 10-under.
MATT KUCHAR: Right.

Q. Are you even aware of that?
MATT KUCHAR: I saw Vaughn Taylor was up there, so I knew when I made that birdie on 15, that put me tied for the lead, but at this point it really doesn't matter. It would have been nice to have birdied the next to the last three holes. They all add up the same, whether it's this round or Saturday or Sunday. You know, they all count for one shot.
So I'm pleased that I shot 4-under today. It was nasty in the start of the round and nasty at the end of the round. We had a nice little window there for about two hours with pretty fair skies.
It's amazing we've gotten this in. I feel pretty lucky to have played it. I don't remember ever playing an event with lift, clean and place everywhere. This is new to me. I'm assuming we'll do the same tomorrow, but it looks like the forecast is much better for tomorrow, and I think we're all looking forward to a little warmer weather and some drier skies.

Q. Can you put a number on how many strokes that has helped playing lift, clean and place all the way through? I mean a couple shots a round or is it just hard to tell depending on where you hit the ball?
MATT KUCHAR: In the rough, I'd say if you miss the green, you're always going to have a good lie. You're never going to have one of those bad lies where it's not going to come out well.
Seemed like yesterday -- I think they put a few more tees up today. Seemed like yesterday was a lot more long irons into the greens, and if you weren't able to tee it out from the rough, you'd have a hard time getting a 4-iron in to the green from the rough, so I'd say probably three shots, three shots a round, playing lift, clean and place just probably being able to lift it around the greens, in the rough, off the tee.

Q. Also, you're one of the highest ranked players money wise playing in this tournament. What's your reason for playing? Are you trying to get into the Top 30 or is it just you're playing well and you want to keep that going?
MATT KUCHAR: I enjoy playing golf. I wasn't ready for a break. I came up here two years ago. It's a beautiful place, and I was looking forward to coming back here.
I think it's a real shame not to be able to show off this place a little better because it is a beautiful place. It's a real bummer for this weather. I wish for you guys up here we could have some great weather over the weekend and hopefully let this place show like it should.
But I enjoy playing. I've been playing well. The one goal, if there is one, is to -- if I could crack the Top 40 on the Money List. That'll earn me an exemption into the Masters last year. So if there is a goal. And to win tournaments. I think I've got a couple chances. I'll play four out of the five events in the fall and looking just to win some tournaments and got a few things to work on trying to get better for 2010.

Q. Couple questions. First, 17, did the weather factor in the bogey there?
MATT KUCHAR: I think just the extra water on the greens caused that chip to slide off. It just -- it skidded a lot more than I anticipated. You get a little extra layer of water on the greens and the ball won't grab. And the greens are beautiful here, but that extra amount of rain that got on the greens I think caused the ball to skid and go five feet by the hole.

Q. Almost like a hydroplane thing?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah. Exactly. I felt like I had a very good chip and was kind of surprised to see it go that far by.

Q. And just overall for the last two days, was the course playable? Should they have played golf on these two days?
MATT KUCHAR: I'm very impressed that we got it in. I did not expect it. I've never played casual -- or played lift, clean and place everywhere, including the roughs.
I remember the Pro-Am on Wednesday we had some pretty rotten weather in the afternoon, and on the, I guess it was the 9th hole, I hit it in a puddle of water, and so I knew you get your club length. Club length didn't get me out of the puddle. So I said I know have to take release, and I know I have to take full release. When you take casual release, you can't just go to a nearby spot that's a little drier than the puddle. You have to go to a completely dry place, and the only place I could find that was completely dry was about 30 yards backwards, and that made golf awfully tough on a nice hole as long as it is to find a dry spot going that far backwards was tough.
I think most guys are taking balls into the rough if they can't find a place that close. Seems like the rough offers you a few drier places where at least water isn't puddling up around your feet, and then teeing it up in the rough is not such a bad thing to have to take it in the rough.
So I'm glad we're playing. I'm glad to be where I am, glad to have gotten 36 holes in. And from the look of it, the forecast is good, hopefully it'll be a nice weekend for us to continue playing the tournament.
The greens, I'm amazed by the greens. The course is 100% saturated, and I would have assumed that the amount of water we got would have led to standing water on the greens, and when you get standing water on the greens, then you basically have to call off play. And for the greens to hold up as well as they have is amazing.

Q. Do you think, then, many of the other venues that you play this kind of weather would have made them completely unplayable?
MATT KUCHAR: Yes. Yes. I'd say a fair number, with this amount of steady rain we would not have been able to continue play.
MARK STEVENS: Any last questions? Okay. Thanks a lot, Matt, and good luck this weekend.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297