|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIPJune 20, 2013Hunter MahanCROMWELL, CONNECTICUT MARK STEVENS: Like to welcome Hunter Mahan. Hunter, fine round of 62, which you also shot in 2007 in the opening round when you won here. If you want to make some initial comments and then we'll have a few questions. HUNTER MAHAN: Yeah, I felt when I stepped on the first tee today, I felt mentally ready to play the Travelers Championship, and I was into it from the first shot. I thought that was the key for me today. Just good attitude, mentally focused on what was in front of me, and I really wasn't thinking about anything but the next shot and trying to hit good, quality shots and give myself some opportunities. I was able to do that. The putter was strong today. Made a lot of really good putts and made some putts that were really easy and they were kind of tricky. So I feel really very pleased with how I played, but how I got into the day I think was my biggest key. Q. Is it a testament that you were able to focus today after last week? Some guys would have taken last week as a negative. You seem to have carried the momentum straight over. Would that be fair? HUNTER MAHAN: Yeah, I don't see any negatives with playing in the last group and being in there all day.  A tough finish or whatever, but I mean, we're all going to make bogies. You just don't know where. So it's not‑‑ I don't know. I took all positives from last week. I made sure I got a lot of rest between Sunday and today and made sure I got mentally prepared for this week. You know, that's what gave me the opportunity to show up today and be focused and be into it, you know? Because it's pretty easy to be flat after last week. I didn't‑‑ I felt good right from the git‑go, and that was important. Q. Were the scoring conditions as good as they can be today out there? HUNTER MAHAN: Yeah, I think so. I think the course is in fantastic shape. The weather, I don't know if I've seen better weather. It's cool in the morning, kind of warms up gradually, the greens are rolling great. The speeds are a little different from last week, and that's probably the biggest adjustment. But, yeah, it's a great opportunity out there to shoot a good number, and so happy that I did right now. Q. Hunter, you've talked yesterday about the fact that the difficulties between the Open and here is that at the Open you're happy with pars, and here you have to be aggressive. Can I assume you were aggressive today? HUNTER MAHAN: Yeah, for sure, for sure. Like I said, the course is in perfect shape right now. The fairways are a little damp, so they're not running out. But the greens have a good amount of kind of roll out to them. But like I said, the biggest adjustment I have to make this week is just getting used to that. I can be aggressive off the tee, which I did with today, a lot of drivers, and I gave myself some short irons. When you have short irons on some of these pins, you can be aggressive. You know, it's usually about making the putts, so I was able to do that. Q. Hunter, last we saw you here, you shot a 61 in the final round last year and you came back with a 62 and you won here, and you got a couple of seconds. Is it just a matter of confidence when you step out on this golf course that you can go low every time, or is it something about the course that suits your game? What is it? HUNTER MAHAN: I feel like I'm a ball striker. I can hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. You know, it usually comes down to just making some putts. I feel like I have a good sense of these greens. I feel like I can read them really well. When you have confidence in what you see, it makes your stroke a lot easier. If you don't know quite what you think the putt is doing, it's hard to make an aggressive stroke. So, you know, this is a golf course where you can be aggressive off the tee, if you want to be, but you can also play it safe. But I choose to be mostly aggressive, and it gives me some short irons. I'm happy to take on pins with my short irons. So it's a combo of things, but all I know is when I step on that tee, I feel like I can hit any shot out here. Q. I would assume that a 5:30 or 6:00 o'clock wake‑up call you just want to come here and grind it out. But you came in really positive today. What was the mindset waking up and getting ready, coming to the course and getting ready to start today? HUNTER MAHAN: Like I said, I think it had to do with just the prep going into today. It wasn't quite just today, it was taking Monday, Tuesday off, doing a little bit of work yesterday, but not too much. Just making sure I had a good sense of the greens, good feel. Don't overanalyze the Pro‑Am or anything. If I made a few bad shots or whatever, don't really worry about it. Just know I knew that I'm swinging well and I'm doing all the right things, be confident in what I'm doing. Got a lot of rest yesterday. I woke up refreshed and ready to go and that was the key. I could have tried really hard today, but if I didn't have the energy, it just wasn't going to do me any good. Q. What you do you against a sense of the course, and how do you expect the conditions to change for the afternoon groups? HUNTER MAHAN: I don't know. The course has been pretty consistent from yesterday to today. I would assume it's getting a little firmer and the greens may get a little faster. It's not super hot out there and it's not blowing that hard. So it's hard for the course to really dry out. I think each day progressively it's going to get faster and firmer. But I doubt it's going to do that that fast for this afternoon. Q. Hunter, when you were 7‑ or 8‑under, were you thinking about 60? Second question is you said you have a feeling every time you get on the first tee here, do you have that feeling on any other course that you play during the year? HUNTER MAHAN: What was the first question? Q. (Indiscernible)? HUNTER MAHAN: When I birdied the par‑5, I thought 8 was going to be a hard birdie, but I thought, you know, the chance to birdie the last three to maybe get to 60 or 59, I didn't know. I thought it was possible. Just had a misread on 8 and 7. Hit a good shot on 8 but that's a hard pin to get really close to. So, but I was definitely thinking about it for sure. Probably there is not another golf course. There are a lot of course I like, but I haven't had the success I've had here. I think this is the most comfortable course on tour for me. Q. What did you do Monday and Tuesday? HUNTER MAHAN: We went to Philly, and hung out in Philly for a couple of days and then we drove up here Tuesday. So never really been to the Philadelphia downtown area. So kind of twiddled around there a little bit. Candy is 7 months pregnant, so she can't get around too much and too fast.  So, no, we didn't do the rocket thing. It would have taken us a while. It would have taken us to Tuesday to do that. So, yeah, we saw a little bit of Philly and just took it easy. Q. Did anybody recognize you in Philadelphia? HUNTER MAHAN: Yeah, we went out to dinner, and a few people said congratulations, great play and stuff like that. That still surprises me, because I don't feel like I look the same out and about as I do on the golf course. But it's great. I've heard nothing but positive things to my face at least, so it's been good. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|