|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 12, 2013John RieggerOMAHA, NEBRASKA MODERATOR: We have John Riegger, 1 under today. Total, 1 over. Q. It was 1 under, but it was 5 under at one point. Tell us what got you to that point early in the round. JOHN RIEGGER: It was a Jekyll and Hyde day. I got off to a quick start. I hit a little 50‑yard wedge shot into 1 at about three feet. Made that. Didn't birdie 2, hit 3 iron just short of the green and didn't get it up and down. I hit a good shot out of the rough on 4, about five feet. Made that. 6, the par 3, was playing, you know, where the pin is today was pretty tough hole location, and I cut a 7 iron in there about six feet above the hole and made that. Number 6, I hit a driver and just a little pitching wedge about 20 feet and two‑putted. 7, made par. 8, hit a good drive. That hole's playing really tough today. Hit a 3 iron in there about 15 feet and made a really night putt there. Putt probably broke about 3 1/2, 4 feet. Drove it in the bunker on 9, hit it on there about 20 feet and two‑putted. And then the adventure started. I drove it perfect on 10, had 135 yards to the hole, trying to hit a little wedge and thought I hit a pretty good shot, and it spun back to the front of the green. That hole location there today is just brutal. Three‑putted there. I was between clubs on 11. Took the longer one, hit it a little bit behind the hole and three‑putted that hole. And then I drove it in the rough on 12 left. I guess that's basically the fairway because you can't keep it in the fairway on 12. Caught a bad lie, made bogey there. 13, I drove it in the green side bunker and didn't get it up and down. And 14, I hit a driver 3 iron about 20 feet, two‑putted. And then 15, just hit probably the only really bad shot I've hit in two days. I hit it right in the trees and just a really bad lie. I had to try to hit it under the trees. It went about 10 feet, did it again. Ended up making about a 15‑footer for bogey. So that was nice. And then 16, I hit it in the bunker, got it up and down. 17, two days in a row, I've driven it 20 yards from the green, and it's just, I guess I'm not going to do it the next two days because I've driven it perfect and there's grass there, but it's basically like playing out of a bunker. I chunked it two days in a row. Yesterday, I hit it on the green, today in the bunker, made bogey. 18, I hit driver, 9 iron about 15 feet and two‑putted. I had it going for a while, and then the back nine, if you'd have told me after I hit my tee shot on 10 I'd struggle the way I did coming home, I'd have said you're crazy. But, you know, that's U.S. Open golf. Q. It was a good round. You're playing for the Championship and play on the weekend most likely. And that's usually the first goal, right? JOHN RIEGGER: Absolutely. I mean, this golf tournament, you know, generally, doesn't start until Sunday. I mean, if you're within three to five shots of the lead going into Sunday, anything can happen, especially with these greens. These greens are tough, and if the wind stays up, I mean, it's tricky out there. I mean, one thing, I'm using my length to my advantage. I mean, I'm not having any long shots. I mean, to birdie the 8th hole today was like making a skin on your Sunday afternoon game. Q. Were you surprised there were no low scores out there today? JOHN RIEGGER: You know, I mean, the pins are tough. I mean, the wind's blowing pretty good. I just had a lot of short clubs in my hand on the front nine and was fortunate enough to hit quite a few of them close. And, you know, making birdie on 8 today is‑‑ I mean, that hole's playing a shot harder than the 6th hole. They had the tee up on 6, and I hit just a little soft cut out there. I was worried about hitting it too far because I had a 9 iron in yesterday from the back tee. And I thought the golf course was set up very well, you know, for the most part. All the pins were‑‑ you were able to get close to them if you hit good golf shots and had the ball in the fairway. The only pin I thought that was really suspect was the 10th hole. Other than that, I think the setup was great, and if you're hitting good, quality shots, you can get it under par. I mean, I don't think‑‑ you know, I might have got ahead of myself. The 10th hole, I think, is one of the harder holes here. Turning 5 under, and I piped it down there where I did on 10, and I maybe just got a little bit ahead of myself. You know, I don't know. I've been around long enough that I'm not going to let it bother me too much. I mean, I know that shooting 5 under, at least it's doable around here. Q. How about your first month on Tour overall? JOHN RIEGGER: This is only my second event. Chicago was my first week out. My birthday wasn't until June the 13th. So the excitement kind of wore off from the qualifying tournament. I qualified, got one of the last‑‑ got the last fully exempt spot, and the excitement kind of wore off after about three months, and then it was like, well, are we ever going to get to play? And then, you know, I get to play in the first event, and then the Players Championship is the first week, and it's a money list from last year, and obviously I didn't make enough money. I had to qualify for this event. After this week, I'm probably taking two Weeks off and then my season basically gets started. Q. Thank you so much. JOHN RIEGGER: Thank you. 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
|