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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 3, 2011

Brandt Snedeker

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Brandt Snedeker into the interview room here at the Deutsche Bank Championship after an eventful 7-under par 64. Brandt, tremendous round, tremendous front nine. Take us through it.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: It was a lot of fun. You know, I made a good par save on the first hole, then got it going on my third hole today, 12. I hit a 6-iron in there about eight feet behind the hole and made a birdie there to kind of get the round started. Then on 13 I hit a wedge in there to about eight feet, made another putt for birdie. And then on 14 I hit -- I think I hit a 5-iron in there from about 200 yards to about 40 feet at least and made a bomb.
Really felt pretty good about my game at that point, and then on 16 just kind of one of those fluke things. I hit a perfect 9-iron, guessed the wind correctly and kind of hit just right of the hole and it spun in the hole for a hole-in-one, which I had not had one for probably about ten years and never had one as a professional, so that was kind of a monkey off my back, I guess.
And then turned around and messed it up on the next hole and made a bogey. Actually ended up being a good thing. Got me right back in the right frame of mind and made two good swings on 18, driver, 6-iron to about 15, 20 feet. Made a good putt for eagle there. Kind of there I knew I was going to have a pretty good round, to shoot 6-under on that nine. It's a tough nine.
I played really well on the front, just didn't get a whole lot going on. I birdied the 4th hole, hit driver up there just short, pitched it up to a couple feet, made birdie there, and then I birdied the 6th hole or 7th hole, the par-5. I just chipped it up, hit in right in front of the green, chipped it up there a couple feet and made birdie.
8, made a bogey, worst iron shot of the day and didn't get up-and-down. A little frustrated it went down that way because thought I was playing so good, but still all in all a great day.

Q. What was your yardage on 16?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: 16 was 146 I believe to the hole and I hit a 9-iron and just flushed it as good as I can hit it. I think someone hit one a couple groups after me it sounded like, or someone holed out or something. I don't even think I got a skin there today maybe. But it was just kind of one of those fluke things where I hit a great shot at the right time, the wind kind of brought it in there nicely.
JOHN BUSH: Feeling as good as you thought it would be?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, it was. It's been a while, so I didn't know how to react. It had been so long since I did. Definitely got the juices flowing, and it's going to be an expensive bar bill tonight probably.

Q. You said it's been ten years. How many have you had?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: That's number six. I had a run where I had one every year for about five years and then they all dried up. I guess I got worse. I guess that's the way it was.

Q. How old were you the first one?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I was 15.

Q. Sometimes the stats don't tell the story. Do you consider yourself a long hitter, and if not, who do you consider to be long out here?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I am not a long hitter by any means. I'd say there's like a top five out here of Robert Garrigus, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Gary Woodland and J.B. Holmes. I think those are the longest guys out here on a week-in, week-out basis. There's probably some guys I'm forgetting that can still really, really move in, but those guys on a day-in, day-out basis it really smoke it.

Q. And how much of an advantage do you think that is week to week out here because it seems like guys who can hit it long are consistently at or near the top of the --
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I think it's an advantage, but I don't think it's anything -- some weeks it's more than others. Some weeks it doesn't help you at all. This would be a proper week where the course is firm, ball is running out, being super long is not going to give you a huge advantage because the ball is running out so far. I'm hitting them 300, 310, 320 this week and the ball -- it's so firm. Other weeks it's a huge advantage.
But that being said, there's weeks when the greens are really, really fast, and that's a great advantage to people who roll the ball great. When the greens are slow, it's a better advantage for guys who don't roll the ball so great. It's just the ebb and flow of the game.

Q. Was there anything about 16, pin placement or anything like that that made you more aggressive about the hole?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, actually the wind direction really helped me there. The wind was right to left, pin was on the right side of the green, and all the trouble there is left, the water is left, so I had to throw it outside the green and try to let the wind bring it back in. It made me be aggressive because you couldn't miss it left there. It's one of those shots that came off exactly how I was picturing it would come off, and it came in there nicely.

Q. Did you not get word that Chalmers had hit the hole-in-one, too?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: No, I was on 18 and I heard a huge roar, and Luke looked over at me jokingly and said, "You don't get even a skin for that one today." I figured someone had knocked one in there.

Q. Last week in the final round of the Barclays obviously you flirted with 59. Was it too early to think about it after you made the turn today?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, this golf course is a different golf course. Last week there was a lot of opportunities for birdie. You had a lot of wedges in your hands. This week the front nine here is not exactly a pushover. A couple par-5s, but all the par-4s there are pretty tough. There's not -- you have one drivable par-4, two par-5s, but aside from that, the rest of the holes are pretty bare. Kind of knew it would take something special, and I'm just happy with the round today. The golf course is getting firm, the wind is blowing, it's playing pretty tough out there, so I was very happy with my round.

Q. Coming off that 61 obviously you're feeling pretty good right now.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, my confidence is very high. I had a bad couple weeks before last week and really put a lot of time in on the range and practiced with my coach a lot, and last two weeks have been fantastic, really striking the ball nicely, rolling it pretty good. I rolled it great on Sunday last week. I didn't roll it good yesterday but I rolled it better today. Looking forward to the weekend.

Q. What's the best part of your game right now?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: The last couple days it's been the driver. I've really driven the ball fantastic. Have not put myself in any trouble really hardly at all. Typically my putting is my strength, and I'm not too worried about it. It hasn't been great the first two days, but it's been pretty good, and hopefully it's going to get better over the weekend.

Q. Is that a carryover just from what you were doing last week?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, yeah, this week is a complete carryover. My coach was up here, and we were kind of working on the same stuff, and just feel really, really good about the way I'm swinging the golf club right now, and I put some new irons in the bag two weeks ago and they've been phenomenal, some new Bridgestone irons, and I've been hitting them great, hitting them longer, straighter, and my greens in regulation have gone through the roof the last two weeks just by switching to those irons. I'm very happy with what's been going on.

Q. When you're on a run like this, how anxious are you to get to the golf course, or is it tough to kind of not get too excited because you know you're playing well?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: It's a combination of both. You're always excited to get to the golf course when you're playing well. That being said, you've really got to stay patient because even though you are playing well, sometimes that's when you make the most mistakes because you think you can go at every pin and be aggressive on every par-5 when that might not necessarily be the case. Just got to kind of take it with a grain of salt really and go out there and try to play the best you can that day.
JOHN BUSH: Brandt, we appreciate your time. Play well the last two rounds.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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