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THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 3, 2011

Spencer Levin

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA

DAVE SENKO: Thanks for joining us, 3-under today. Maybe just some quick thoughts on your day and then we'll get your birdies and one bogey.
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, happy with my round. It was very difficult as you could tell by the scores out there. It's a heck of a golf course. Those last four holes are hard anyway. And then you throw a 30-mile-an-hour wind in your face on three of them, it makes it even that much more difficult. So very, very pleased with 3-under.
DAVE SENKO: Get your birdies real quick. No. 3?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I think that was the only birdie hole on the whole course. Hit a good drive down the middle. Pushed my 3-wood a little bit, but it was just short of the right bunker had a fairly easy chip and chipped it to about six feet and then made it.
DAVE SENKO: No. 5, is that a 3-putt?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I actually hit a decent shot to the middle of green and 3-putted from about 20 feet. I actually made a 4-footer for my third putt. A good 3-putt I guess if you can call it that.
DAVE SENKO: And then No. 9.
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, No. 9, the tee was up and it was still driver, 5-iron. It was dead into the wind. I hit a 5-iron in there about ten feet and made it. Hit a good second shot.
DAVE SENKO: And then back-to-back 11 and 12?
SPENCER LEVIN: Right good. Drive on 11. Hit a 9-iron. Almost flew hole and made about a 10-footer.
And then on 12, a tough tee shot kind of into the wind off the left and then I hit a 5-iron to about three or four feet. Hit a good shot in there.
DAVE SENKO: You've been on a pretty nice run here the last month.
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I've been playing good. I had a real good week last week. Almost won. And then the two weeks prior to that, I played well, as well. So the last month has been good.

Q. Anything when guys win a tournament and have a letdown the next week; what was your state of mind after losing the playoff coming here this week?
SPENCER LEVIN: I was disappointed -- the only real time I was disappointed was probably the first couple of hours after the playoff. That night, my dad was with me and my girlfriend was with me and I started thinking about it and I took the positives from it: It was the highest finish I've had, best check I've made, probably locked my card up with that week.
So all of those were real positive. I came into this week just feeling good about it, knowing I'm playing well. I think the only shot I regret, obviously it's funny as a pro, you always remember the one bad shot and then you listen to amateurs talk and they talk about the one good shot, you know. (Laughter).
I hit a bad drive on that playoff hole but other than that I played great. I just tried to forget about that and I just tried to take the positive I was fortunate to play well today. I had a good day.

Q. When the wind is blowing like this, what's your reaction going out there? Do you look forward to the challenge or do you dread it?
SPENCER LEVIN: That's a good question. I think you just have to be prepared to know that you're going to have to get a few balls up-and-down, that's kind of the way it is, no matter how you play.
And you get kind of in a par mode really where you just have to kind of take what the course gives you. If you hit a good drive, you don't want to get too cute and try to go at a pin that you might shouldn't and then make a bogey because you know pars are going to be a good score. It's more of just a mind-set of, try not to make a double and you know you're going to have to get a few balls up-and-down here today.

Q. Because of the wind did you see anything bizarre out there today, balls moving on the green?
SPENCER LEVIN: Like on 17, it started to wiggle a little bit. Didn't move. It was blowing pretty hard. It actually moves your putter around a little bit too. It was blowing so hard me and J.J. were saying, you could feel on 18; the fountains were I don't know how far behind the green, but you could feel the mist almost on the third shot. It was blowing hard out there, it really was.

Q. This run you've had, these three really good finishes in a row, you've been out here a couple three years now; is it just comfort and familiarity or is it any magical thing in your game that the lights come on? Got any easy explanation for me?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I think what you said. I'm feeling more comfortable now, getting to know all the guys. At first when you get out here as a rookie, obviously you see all of the guys you watched growing up on TV, and once you get out here, you know you're playing against the best players in the word. I think being comfortable out here, yeah; and then you kind of learn that one shot is really important.
You just kind of learn -- I'm learning how to play a little more, too. I've been putting well the last month, so that obviously contributes to playing well as anybody would tell you.

Q. You mentioned at the top, the final four hole, especially the 30-mile-an-hour wind blowing, how good is just walking away with four pars today?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I'm really happy with that. I think the guys in my group did, as well. We all hit good shots. I think we all hit the green on 17. We were saying, I wonder if another group all day, all three have hit the green. That hole was tough.
Then 16, I hit a bad drive. A couple bad drives I hit today I had a good lie, which doesn't happen all the time. So that contributed to my score, as well. I was fortunate in that way.
Like you said, in no wind at all, four pars is great. So I knew going into that, honestly I was thinking if I could play them 1-over, you know, 1- or 2-over, it would not be a train smash but even is a bonus.

Q. Does this feel like a 63 today?
SPENCER LEVIN: Somebody else asked me that. Yeah, it's a different kind of golf I guess. According to -- yeah, usually seems like somebody shoots a 63 in a TOUR event in the first round. Yeah, low round so far, I couldn't have played much better. Other than that 3-putt, that's about as good as I could play pretty much today.

Q. Correct me if I'm wrong; you have played every event since Sony, right?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, every one.

Q. Are you kind of built for these long stretches? Where do you plan your weeks off?
SPENCER LEVIN: I'm planning on taking next week off but now I don't want to because I heard if I finish Top-5 I'm in Doral, so I don't want next week off now. But if that doesn't happen, I'll take next week off.
Like last year, you've got to keep playing; in the position I was in, because I got in off the Q-School so I had to make as much money as I could, play every tournament I could to get in the reshuffles. I didn't have my card locked up until after Vegas last year. So I felt I had to keep playing to earn enough money to keep my job. But now I'll be able to pick and choose my schedule a little more, which will be nice.

Q. Is this the first week you can say, you know, not free-wheeling it, but is it a different mind-set when you know you don't have to worry about the money thing?
SPENCER LEVIN: Yeah, I think it is. For me, some guys, probably not, but for me it is. Like I said, I didn't have it locked up until after Vegas last year and then I went out and had I think my best -- I played great at Disney.
Yeah, it's nice not having to worry about that, but at the same time, obviously you want to play well, but it's something lesson my mind for sure.

Q. So what would this be, eight in a row this week?
SPENCER LEVIN: I think so, yeah. Is that how many? Two months, yeah.

Q. Have you had success here in the past? We can look it up, but on this golf course?
SPENCER LEVIN: I missed the cut last year but my rookie year I played pretty good. I think I finished around 25th my rookie year. And I've played well in Florida before, too. Yeah, I enjoy playing in Florida for sure.

Q. Did you play this golf course other than the Honda?
SPENCER LEVIN: No.

Q. Was there a significant difference in mind-set last week when you got in that playoff?
SPENCER LEVIN: You mean from the whole 72 holes until the playoff? I try not to be, but I think maybe a little bit.
I was the first to hit and I picked first and Johnson is a friend of mine, and it was a little -- I don't know if I want to say, I for it got, okay, I'm still in the tournament, but it was -- I don't know, maybe a little bit. I think that might have contributed to a bad tee shot. But obviously you want to win.
Obviously, but yeah, I think there was a little different mind-set. I wasn't thinking the way and maybe if I'm in that situation again in the future I'll try and remember back to that.
DAVE SENKO: Thanks, Spencer.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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