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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANSApril 28, 2012Graham DeLaetAVONDALE, LOUISIANA COLIN MURRAY: All right. Graham DeLaet, thanks for joining us here in the Interview Room at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. 6-under, 66 today, 15-under through 54 holes, right in the mix going into tomorrow. Just talk a little about your round today, maybe your mindset going into tomorrow and we'll open it up to questions. GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, played well, obviously. Really felt I was in great control of my irons today, flighting it well, kind of working it both ways and hitting to the fat part of the greens. And, you know, shoot 6-under you got to always make a couple putts. I made a great one on 16, little down-breaker. Just played really solid and well the last three days. COLIN MURRAY: Talk about your mindset now. Looks like maybe one, two shots going back into tomorrow. Talk about your frame of mind this evening like I said, going into tomorrow's final round. GRAHAM DELAET: First of all, it's exciting. It's the first time I've been in this position this deep into a tournament. I'm looking forward to that, the challenge. But, I mean, I guess more than anything, just kind of keep doing what I'm doing. I really feel that my caddy and I are working well together, picking good targets and just kind of working shots the right way. I'm excited about the opportunity and kind of keep doing what I'm doing. Q. A two-parter. First off, have you ever been in this position before? What's your best finish on Tour and what are your plans for tonight, how are you going to handle the night before arguably the biggest round of your career? GRAHAM DELAET: In Houston, 2010, I finished 3rd and I guess I was in a similar position, probably 3rd to last group or something like that and played well the last day, shot 3 or 4-under. So, I mean I guess I've sort of been here before but, at the same time, I understand what's on the table for tomorrow and, you know, just keep kind of keeping it in front of me, one shot at a time. I know it's a cliche but that's what I'm going to try to focus on and not try to get too far ahead of myself. I've done that in the past with going into the final round with a chance or even, you know, a chance for a nice finish, get a little ahead of yourself and think about what a good finish can do for you and that kind thing. I'm going to kind of try to keep staying in the present and going from there. As far as tonight, I'll probably just hang out with my wife and her dad and go for a nice bite to eat somewhere, enjoy the New Orleans food, and maybe have a beer and hit the sack. Q. Talk about the fact you have Ernie and Luke behind you. That's a couple of intimidating players. How does that enter in your mindset as you go into tomorrow as well? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah. I mean this is a PGA TOUR so everyone can play. Obviously those guys are -- they've had quite the career and they're on top of their games but, at the same time, it's just golf and I really feel that I'm playing well enough right now to, you know, challenge anybody and I'm just excited for the opportunity tomorrow. Q. Are the greens getting a little firmer and speeding up and do you think that will -- if yes, do you think that will continue even more tomorrow? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah, slightly. I mean they're still pretty receptive, one bounce, whereas Thursday morning they were putting much hitting and stopping. The fairways have gotten a lot faster as well and yeah, I think it will be a small factor but, you know, I think the main thing is just kind of hitting shots at the right part of the green out here. You can short-side yourself and a lot of the difficulty around these greens is you get into the grain and it's really tough to chip and really make solid contact. You're better off having a 30-footer than short-siding yourself with one of those into the green chips. Q. On 18, that chip shot, did you think it would release a little bit more and how difficult is that? Do you feel like you let one get away without birdieing 18? GRAHAM DELAET: Actually I had a really really tight kind of dry sandy lie there and I mean I could have easily have kind of chunked it into the bunker. That was in the back of my head. Also kind of bouncing one into and hitting it thin. I was satisfied with the result and actually hit a really good putt there. I thought it was a left edge putt. Looking great a couple feet from the hole. Went left. It would have been nice to finish with a birdie but super happy to be here. Q. Graham, how did you pick Boise State for college and can you just give us a little background on your college career? GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah. The main reason I ended up there, it was the best offer financially and, you know, we've fallen in love with the city. My wife and I still live there. It's kind of an underrated town and kind of one of those places that everyone when they ask me where I live I say Boise, Idaho. It's a great place, there's a Nationwide event there, lot of guys have been there. I've had -- I was lucky to have a great coach there in "Kevin Burn", who played out here in '97. He's kind of been my mentor the last 6, 7 years. He's one of the big reasons I'm here. I'm still a huge Boise State fan. We had two guys go No. 1 in the NFL Draft. I'm a Bronco through and through. Q. Talk about your play this year a little bit. Did you see this coming as far as getting into this position after the 3rd round? GRAHAM DELAET: Actually been playing well. The results haven't been there but I felt confident in my game and it's been a little bit frustrating because I feel like I'm playing a lot better than my results. So it's nice to finally kind of put it all together, at least for three rounds and see what happens tomorrow. Q. I know it's a little bit old news but could you talk a little bit about your injury and I read somewhere how hard it was for you to even watch golf for awhile. GRAHAM DELAET: Yeah. I had a micro diskectomy surgery in Boise on January 3rd of 2011. Last year was tough for me. I worked so hard to get out here, kept my card, and kind of felt like it was all taken away. Last year was just a lot of hard work in the gym, doing rehab and that kind thing and I feel like it was maybe a bit of a blessing in disguise. I feel I'm better mentally because of it because I know a bogey is not really the end of the world and I used to kind of have a little bit of a bad temper, have a bad swing or make a bad bogey, and now I realize that my health is really the most important thing and I think it's actually helped my golf game. It was obviously something I wouldn't want to go through again but kind of a blessing in disguise. COLIN MURRAY: Okay. Anything else? Graham, thanks so much for your time. Best of luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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