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SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPENOctober 17, 2013J.J. HenryLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Q. Conditions were perfect, but I'm sorry, a 60 is a 60. Well played today. J.J. HENRY: Yeah, thanks, Dennis. It was just kind of one of those days. You know, I hadn't played a whole lot the last four or five weeks, and I had a lot of comments come in last week. I think I only made four bogeys in 72 holes and finished somewhere around 15th or 16th. You know, I haven't played here actually in about four years, so it was nice to kind of come out, and obviously a little cold this morning but the golf course is perfect, kind of out there for the taking, not much wind and the greens were soft. You know, I finally made some putts. I've always felt like I've been a pretty good ball striker, and when I make some putts, I seem to climb the board, and I obviously hit a lot of good ones today and hit some close ones, but it was nice to make a couple of those ones, especially that last one for eagle on 9, my 18th hole. Q. Talk about that tap‑in from, what, 55 feet there? J.J. HENRY: Yeah. You know how it is, I'm just trying to get it down there somewhere and obviously kind of tap it in, but it's always a bonus when those things go in. You know, obviously this is the kind of week you know you gotta shoot some low scores, and obviously a long way to go, but it's nice to kind of get one early in the tournament and see if you can kind of build on it. You know you gotta shoot somewhere in the low to mid 20s to probably have a chance to win and I think the golf course is going to be there. I think the weather is supposed to be nice and not a whole lot of win, so I'll have to continue to shoot well and hopefully I can keep backing it up the next three days. Q. You mentioned about coming out here and playing here. It's been a while. What was your thought process with the new season? Tell me about that, because you're a veteran guy and haven't come and now you're coming to support the event. J.J. HENRY: Yeah. Well, it's just, you know, obviously with the changes, I thought it was important to try to get myself off to a good start and, you know, maybe have an opportunity to take a tournament or two off maybe earlier in the year. And you know, I'm a sports nut. I like football this time of year and I tend to play a lot of events typically and don't really play a whole lot, at least that's the case the last couple of years. So I'm kind of rejuvenated and anxious, again, coming out not playing a whole lot, not a whole lot of expectations last week and hit the ball great and to kind of continue that over this week and make some putts is always nice. Q. Vegas and football, kind of work together a little bit? J.J. HENRY: Yeah, it does. There's plenty to do. That's for sure. Absolutely. This is always a fun place to come. And I love coming. It's just for whatever reason, just different things I haven't done it in the last couple years. But it's nice to be back and obviously enjoying the beautiful weather and playing some pretty good golf. Q. 11 under par, halfway to probably a good tournament. Way to go. Great playing today? J.J. HENRY: I was asking Johnny on the score, I've never written down a 28 on the front nine. I want to make sure I'm doing it right. But you know, again, it was nice, and fun guys to play with. We had a good time and that's what it's all about. Q. Thanks a lot. With JJ Henry, fresh off his course‑record 60. That's gotta sound pretty good. J.J. HENRY: Yeah... front edge of the hole. Great feeling. That's my lowest round out here. So again, you know you're going to have to shoot low in this tournament and to get off to a good start like that and hopefully continue the momentum the next three days? Q. But to put it in context, the last time you played here you were 10‑under for the whole tournament. So that's a start? J.J. HENRY: There you go. Hopefully I can improve on that, absolutely. It's been a couple of years since I've been to Vegas, but obviously everybody loves to come and enjoy not only the golf, but everything else going on around. So should setup for fun and I guess the weather is supposed to be nice. I know I have to continue to still go low, but obviously any time you start with a round like I had, it gives you a lot of confidence for the rest of the week. Q. Last thing, the new system, the wrap‑around schedule, you played last week, top 20. And then this. You like the system, I guess? J.J. HENRY: So far, so good. You know, I've been out here now, this is my 14th season, so I feel like I kind of know what I need to do. It's just a question of doing it. I feel like I've always been a pretty good ball striker and when my putter gets hot I tend to kind of climb the leaderboard. You know, I hit the ball pretty good today but it was nice to make a couple of those putts and really kind of keep the momentum going in the round. And you know, really you know what you gotta do this week, you gotta make a lot of putts to contend and so far, so good. Q. And climbed all the way to the top, 11‑under, 60, course record. Congratulations. J.J. HENRY: Thanks, guys. Q. Was there a shot or a point where you thought, this might be my day? J.J. HENRY: You know, I mean I played solid on the front. You know, you're just trying to get off, it was still pretty cold in the morning. I was just trying to shoot a couple under and kind of get my feet wet. And I made the turn and actually made a nice birdie on my 11th hole, the second hole. And that was probably the point ‑‑ you know, I got to 5‑under, knowing I have a reachable par‑5 and a couple of short par‑4s if I can keep the ball in the fairway. I wouldn't say there was anything that all of a sudden I felt like I was going to shoot 58 or 59, but I just felt like I played pretty consistent throughout the whole day. Q. Bogey‑free round, casual anything? J.J. HENRY: Yeah. That's my low round. I mean I've shot 61 out here. I shot 61 I think in Phoenix back probably six, seven years ago, but that's my low round out here. Obviously you gotta shoot low out here and it's nice to get off to a start like that. Absolutely. Q. Do you have any other course records anywhere? J.J. HENRY: You know, I've got some back home stuff. But nothing kind of like where we play TOUR events, I don't think. You know, it's a course record for now and we'll see what happens. Q. Anything new with your putting that you've been working on? J.J. HENRY: No. Honestly I was saying I have really kind of really not huge expectations. I took four or five weeks off after the PLAYOFFS, and for me that's probably a good thing. I grew up in the northeast, I grew up in Connecticut. I enjoy kind of taking some time off. I tend to play a lot of tournaments. So it was just one of those deals where I felt like I'd kind of come out refreshed and ready to go. And I only made four bogeys last week and finished, I think, 16th and then to back it up today with, what, nine birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. So I'm doing something right. Hopefully I can continue the next three days. Q. You're one of eight players that has finished inside of the top 125 on the Money List I think since '01. Only three of those are Americans. What's that say about your game, your career? J.J. HENRY: Well, it tells me it's kind of‑‑ obviously the consistency is there. You know, a couple things, you gotta obviously play pretty darn good golf and you gotta kind of stay healthy and do the right things and I've been able to do both over the last 14 years. Obviously pretty tall company. You'd like to finish maybe a little higher and do a little bit more. But you're in kind of a pretty small group. I think it's me, Mickelson and Furyk are the only three Americans. Nobody probably would get me on that. That's a pretty good trivia question. But you know, obviously it says a lot, I think, about my consistency and kind of my competitive spirit to want to be out here week in and week out, year after year. And again, you gotta stay healthy, too, so it's just‑‑ it's definitely probably arguably‑‑ I've won a couple of times but probably one of the neatest stats I think for me. It shows a lot that you have staying power out here, that's for sure, and kind of honored to be a part of that group, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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