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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIPJune 22, 2013Ken DukeCROMWELL, CONNECTICUT Q. Five birdies, no bogeys. Clean sheet for you. That putt on 18, I think everybody surrounding the hole thought that should have gone in. KEN DUKE: Yeah. These greens are firming up. We've had some great weather here and they're a little crusty. So it's gotta be perfect out there. That poa annua has gotta be perfect. And I hit a great putt, and you always want to miss on the high side, but I'll take today and go into tomorrow. Q. Tell me about the front nine. You get off to a rocking start on 1 and 2. KEN DUKE: Yeah. Just hit some good iron shots. I drove it good today. I didn't miss a fairway. Yesterday I missed the 18th hole. That's the only one I missed. First day I drove it horrible. Obviously I didn't play well. That's what I do is drive it well, so hopefully if I can do it well, so hopefully if I can keep doing that, you can attack this place, especially when the greens are getting firm. Q. 8‑under par, one round to go. Give us your prospects for the final 18. KEN DUKE: I wish I could predict the future, man. I tell you what, Bubba and some of those guys at the top are playing good. If the wind picks up, maybe it'll hold them back a little bit and some of us guys can make a run at it tomorrow. But you just never out here. Q. A lot of Ken Duke fans out there. Maybe some new ones today as well. Thank you, Kenny. KEN DUKE: I appreciate it. Q. Coming off of 18 yesterday, can you kind of explain that frustration? KEN DUKE: Yeah. Just because I knew I played pretty good and it's kind of like today, I wanted to make the birdie on the last. But I just hit a couple of bad shots on the last yesterday and hit a bad putt and that's what happens. If you don't concentrate on these poa annua greens you'll miss one like that. And it is what it is. We've all done it. The best have done it. And you just have to look on and go onto tomorrow. Q. Is there any part of your game that you may like to work on getting ready for tomorrow? KEN DUKE: Not really. My ball striking is doing good. My driving, I drove it great the last two days and that's what I needed to do after the first day and that's what I've done. I had a lot of good numbers today, so hit a lot of good iron shots and put them in the right spots, and some of these pins are out here on the ridges and you have to be so perfect. I had three or four chances. I thought I could get like three or four more, but I'll take what I have, and it's always good to move up on Saturday. Q. What would be the process now moving forward to tomorrow's round, and will you watch Bubba? Will you pay attention? KEN DUKE: No. I've seen Bubba before. I know what he does. He hits the ball, and putts it good. No, I'm just going to go back and get some rest. I gotta leave tomorrow night, so I'll probably do some laundry and do whatever I gotta do. I doubt I'll watch any today. Q. What do you anticipate the course to be like tomorrow? KEN DUKE: It's firming up. We've had perfect weather here. Usually we have some thundershowers and get some rain that softens it up. But that last hole I hit a pitching wedge from 138, and when it hit the green it went about 12 steps. It's usually stopping about five or six. So that's the difference from the first day to today, it's firming up out there. And when this golf course gets firm, it plays harder. Q. A lot of guys taking advantage of the end of the front nine too, as well. Can you talk about how it played for you? KEN DUKE: Again, a long putt on 6, which I haven't birdied 6 yet. And that was the key. Then I hit a really good shot into 7. 8 is a tricky, tricky pin today. It's around the front, but it's downwind. So you either gotta fly it onto the green and it's going to go by 20 feet and you got a downhill putt and you gotta pick the right club there. 9 they got a tricky pin on the back right as well. You're hitting a wedge, but still, it's just right on a lot of ridges out there today. The scoring holes, I think, 10th at the back. 11 is perfect, 12 is perfect, 13, 14, 15. All those holes are scoring holes and you just gotta hold on coming in. Q. How good of a feeling is it just in general to get the Saturday night knowing you're going to play some really meaningful holes tomorrow depending on how low these guys go. I mean you could be on that back nine with something really special to play tomorrow. KEN DUKE: Yeah. It's good just to get to Saturday. But it's good to have a good round and look forward to Sunday. That's what it's all about. You prepare to practice for Sunday's round and hopefully you have a good round and see what happens. Q. Do you say that with a bit of surprise? KEN DUKE: No, no. I like this golf course. I've played well here. You have to drive it well. That's what I do. Just have to get the putter hot, and the last couple of days I've played pretty solid. Q. How do you feel your season is going? KEN DUKE: I've been up and down. Not as good as I wanted to obviously. Why, I wish I could tell you. Maybe if I could pinpoint, I had some elbow problems about a month and a half ago, got a Cortisone shot. First of the year I tried new clubs. That didn't work. Lost my putter. Didn't putt very well for about a month and a half in the middle of the season. Besides that, here we are. I wish that it was all smooth like every one else, but sometimes it's not. Q. Where do you think you lost your club or how, your putter? KEN DUKE: No. I didn't lose it. I just didn't putt well. Q. Oh, gotcha. I thought you lost a favorite. KEN DUKE: No. I wish I did. No. I'll find it. Q. I know you've had four professional victories. Have you come into a Sunday on a TOUR event in a similar position? KEN DUKE:  Yeah, I have. Played well a few times in New Orleans. Dallas, played well. Tampa last year. Bogeyed the 17th hole and missed a playoff by one. Had a lot of good Top 10s. In the final group at Pebble last year with Charlie Wi. So it's there. Just gotta put it all together and that's what it's all about. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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