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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 16, 2013Jordan SpiethGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA DOUG MILNE: All right. Jordan Spieth, thanks for joining us for a few minutes after a successful Round 2. You follow your 65 in Round 1 with a 66 in Round 2. Get you at 9-under heading into the weekend. With that said, just some comments on how you're feeling through 36 holes. JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, feel good. I struggled last week at the PGA off the tee and went home instead of coming straight here for a few days to just kind of work with my instructor every day and kind of nail it down what the problem was. And so close, you know, just five yards here or there at the PGA means you miss a fairway and you make bogey. So, it's just about getting my confidence back off the tee. I think that's been the key to success this week so far is in my 3-wood. I've never hit it better than I have this week. Same with my driver. Kind of hitting it on the line right now and it feels good to be that confident on a course that's this narrow. When you do hit the fairway, I'm able to take more club and I'm able to hit wedges into the greens and how firm the greens are if you're coming in from the fairway makes a big difference. Giving myself a lot of opportunities, short irons into the greens and maybe a little too aggressive on the greens, had a few 3-putts today but also made, you know, made a few coming in, I think four out of the last six which gets me pumped up for tomorrow. DOUG MILNE: With that, we'll open it up and take some questions. Q.  Do you think you have an advantage to getting the early morning? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, we definitely got a great draw, no doubt about it. Last week I played Friday morning in the rain, this week we had perfect conditions yesterday afternoon and this morning. There was no more than five mile an hour wind in those two rounds combined. That was very nice. I don't know what the conditions -- I guess yesterday morning were still nice and they're supposed to be good this afternoon, too. Overall, it's been perfect but out of the two draws, I think we definitely got the better end but it's nice to take advantage of it. Q. Did they roll any differently from yesterday afternoon to this morning? JORDAN SPIETH: You know, they stayed really true. They stayed pure yesterday afternoon. They weren't spiking up much at all, even into the grain. These are great greens, very slick. Probably the fastest I've putted on since Muirfield -- well, not the Open Murfield but Jack's course. So yeah, may be just a little more pure in the early morning like any other course but maybe a little faster. But that may have just been where the pins were located. Q. Had you played here before? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I played in AJGA Invitational, one of the top junior events in the country is held here. The Foot Joy I played two years in a row when I was 14 and 15, I think, and it's a four round event. I've seen the course 12 times before this week. Q. Jordan, the number of 3-putts and some bogies yesterday and all the birdies you're getting, especially the streaks, are you that aggressive a player? Is that going to be your nature or just the golf course? JORDAN SPIETH: I've moved away from being as aggressive as I was maybe to start the year. It really wasn't me being aggressive that caused those bogies, necessarily. I mis-clubbed a couple times, left me in the really tough spot where the closest -- what was it, 16 the par 3, pin is in the bowl and I hit it long and I had to putt it off the green. I had no other option. So to keep that from rolling 40 yards away was actually a good putt. So, that 3-putt, there's not much I could do. I 3-putted from four feet where I really should have made birdie on 13 and then back on 2, again, I was in a really tough position because I mis-clubbed into the green. One of those was me. The other two were really tough spots. So, I don't feel extremely comfortable putting right now so I'm going to go work on it this afternoon but, like I said, I mean I've hit enough greens and been in the right positions enough to where I'm able to make that many birdies even with kind of not feeling like my stroke is there yet. Q. The AJGA guys that are coming on the Tour now, even the international kids like Hideki, they seem to be more aggressive. It's a different brand of golf. Would you agree with that? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I agree. Look at Rickie Fowler is one of the more aggressive players that you'll see and it works for him. So, yeah, I think so. I think that people -- I means this is still my first six months on Tour but I've worked away from being as aggressive because it's bitten me a few times. So I think that players just work their way but I don't know the younger generation from ten years ago if they were aggressive or not. So, I couldn't tell you if it's changed but I know that young players, in general, are more aggressive. Q. Do you know Hideki? JORDAN SPIETH: I played with him. I was paired with him at the U.S. Open this year. Very, very nice guy. You know, speak a little bit. We can converse a little bit but obviously he's got incredible talent. It was amazing how high he was in the World Rankings before he was even a pro. That's pretty incredible. He knows how to win and I think he'll win over here pretty soon. Q. Jordan, what is it like for you to have fans chant "Spiethy" you walk off the 18th green? JORDAN SPIETH: I wish they just say "Spieth" instead of "Spiethy". Yeah, it's great. It's kind of weird, kind of new to have people kind of cheering for me. Obviously I was playing with Zach and Bill so we had a good following. Everyone loves those guys, too. So, all it does is help carry momentum, positive momentum and hopefully I'll have a lot of people be yelling at my back tomorrow. Q. Is it kind of a blessing, I guess, given the situation where you are right now that things worked out the way they did last week because you missed the cut, that's why you're here, right? JORDAN SPIETH: No, not necessarily. I was committed here. This tournament was on my schedule a long time ago. It was just, I guess, committed late for whatever reason, just kind of didn't think about it. Kind of sat back and wanted to see how things played out. But it was a tournament that I was looking forward to for awhile. Obviously it's a great golf course, great Donald Ross design that's -- I think it's a great tournament in general and then with The Playoffs coming up, it only helps to be able to play a golf course like this. Q. Is that something you didn't think about when you turned pro, it's part of the job, tough start thinking about your schedule in advance? JORDAN SPIETH: I just never really had -- even when I earned my card in the middle of the year, it was still -- I was still unsure about what tournaments I would get into. So, it's still been -- it's still been weird. It's not like -- I have Jay back there who is kind of helping in doing all that and we just, we go over all the scenarios for different tournaments and pick what's the best for me and what I feel like to keep me healthy and a hundred percent at each event. It will be nice I think in the future and definitely next year to now be able to have a schedule. Even up until the end of the John Deere, I still didn't know where I was going to go. I wasn't sure if I was going to make the PGA. Obviously not the Open. Only now is it really starting -- am I able to start really make a schedule. Q. Has there been a time this year where you pinched yourself as you think about what you've accomplished or do you wait? JORDAN SPIETH: Maybe just about -- just about the John Deere week. Other than that, I've been kind of just trying to ride the momentum. I didn't pinch myself until after the British Open. When I was over there, you know, it's a Major Championship. You got to forget what happened before and got off to a great start, which was nice. But I came back and rested for a couple weeks and was able to kind of let it sink in and I watched kind of the last -- I guess just the playoff or the shot on 18 and the playoff just to see the coverage and kind of re-live it but watched it once and that's it. Obviously The Playoffs are up next and then an exciting fall and next year get to pick out the schedule. So, you know I'm happy to be in the position I am this week but can't take anything for granted. I need to dig in. Q. Are there any tournaments you didn't play in this year that might be on the top of your list that you want to hit, try it out or just to check it out in general? JORDAN SPIETH: I won't skip another World Golf Championship. That's definitely -- that's definitely one. You know, I'm not sure yet. I think -- you know, I get to play in the Tournament of Champions which I think will be a really cool tournament in Hawaii. Getting to play those couple in Hawaii. If I have that opportunity would be actually cool but, yeah, you know, there's not one that's really sticking out other than the Masters. That will be full, too. Yeah. I think my schedule, I'll play similar tournaments to what I played this year. I think seeing golf courses before has been a big advantage to me and where I've played well. So, you know, probably be a pretty similar schedule. I'll just have a little more events in the beginning of the year. Q. Does having a good start after missing the cut in a Major last week, give you a lot of confidence moving forward in your career? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, definitely. I don't know about in my career as long-term benefit but I think that missing the cut last week. I missed the cut in two Majors, only made in it one this year which is kind of a let down to me in my mind. I was very confident going into it but to be able to come back here and make these birdies, I think being able to convert on good shots, making the 10-footers, making the 8-footers, that's what's big for me is seeing those putts go in. You know, getting myself to 9-under par, it's definitely a very, very big confidence booster. Nice bounce back from being 8-over two rounds last week. It's nice to see those go in. Definitely looking forward to The Playoffs. I can draw on this week and don't think that my last rounds were whatever, 74. DOUG MILNE: Okay. Congratulations. Thanks for your time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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