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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AMFebruary 7, 2014Jordan SpiethPEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA DOUG MILNE: Like to welcome Jordan Spieth to the interview room. After a second consecutive 67 here in round two of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro‑Am. This time 4‑under 67 at Monterey today. Congratulations on a great round. With that said, just some comments on heading into the weekend. JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was very happy with the round today. We got fortunate to have great conditions yesterday at Spyglass. At probably the most difficult golf course, to have no wind and perfect greens out there, and today was different. Today was very difficult. We started out and the rain and wind and we finished in rainier and windier. So in the middle there, took advantage, kind of early in the round, of getting off to a nice start. I think I was 3‑under through four. And then kind of cruised, left a couple chances out there with wedges and then I had a 4‑iron into a par‑5 from the middle of the fairway and made par. So, I was able to bounce back on the back with ‑‑ on the front nine, my back nine, with a couple birdies. 8 iron close on No. 2. And then the birdie on 9 or birdie on 6 and birdie on 9. So, let a couple get away from me, made a couple bogeys, but, ultimately, very happy to be where I'm at ‑‑ and really in the clubhouse while the weather continues out there. So it was nice to be one of the first times today. Q. Details on your last two birdies, 6 and 9. What did you hit? JORDAN SPIETH: 6 was downwind par‑5. If you hit the fairway you can hit iron in. So hit a great drive and I was in between five and 6‑iron, hit a 6‑iron into the green, landed about a foot short of being perfect, so it hit just above the bunker and it stayed in the rough there. If it had hit about a foot further that's what I was told, is it would have bounced up, could have been close to the hole. But, sat down in the rough, kind of a basic downwind, downhill chip. Just plopped it up and it rolled down to about a foot. And then on 9, that was one of the best birdies I've ever had in my life. Q. This better be good. JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it was 195 yards, par‑3, and it was into ‑‑ must have been a 30, 40 mile an hour wind, with the rain, Kevin Chappell hit before me. It's typically like a 6‑iron distance, he hit 3‑iron and it landed and came backwards all the way down the slope. So, I said well I don't have a 3‑iron so I went to a hybrid. And I just kind of hit a little stinger cut about 20 feet away, 20 feet away. And then it was normally a straight putt and Michael and I, my caddie, are looking at each other saying well, we got to play this about a foot out to the right with the wind. And so I hit it a foot out, with about three feet to go. The wind just blew it right, just broke perfectly right into the hole. Q. Did you play a practice round there this week? JORDAN SPIETH: Yes. Q. What did you hit on that hole, do you remember? JORDAN SPIETH: 6‑iron, I think. I remember last year I think it was down wind, I must have hit 7 or 8. It was a hybrid this year. Q. That's the Crosby microcosm, right? JORDAN SPIETH: It was a brutal hole, man, I mean it was‑‑ if it continues like that, that's going to be one of the hardest holes of the day for anybody out there. It's definitely the hardest hole out there. Q. You talked yesterday, or the other day, about your affinity for this tournament, and Doug made a good point you don't need to qualify, you didn't even say, yeah, it's cold but I still like it. Why is this tournament fit you do you think so well? JORDAN SPIETH: I just really enjoy the experience of playing. I've had‑‑ I had a great partner last year in Tony and we had a good pairing with Kelly and Jake Owen. And then this year I have a great pairing. I'm with Jake and we're paired with Joe Don and Kevin. And we're just having a lot of fun. I mean it's just‑‑ yeah, you play a little slower on the rounds and we're not catching the best weather, so far this week anyway, but I mean everything's laughs, just a good time. And it's cool to have a team event. We don't have that very often and I love any opportunity you can to have a teammate playing golf. So, to be able to just kind of talk and pick these guys brains, they're entertainer, they're rock stars, and I'm a fan of both of them and their music. So it's kind of just like an eye opening experience just talking and hanging with them, let alone being in playing a serious PGA event at the same time. So we're just having a great time. It just feels a little more relaxed. And when things are going wrong you got another couple people there to pick you up. So it's nice. Q. You, I'm sure growing up, either watched it or heard about the stories about the weather here when it's really bad. And any trepidation in coming in or in other words, hey, you played in bad weather, but is this special at all? JORDAN SPIETH: I've played in weather similar or even worse than this before. In Texas we get strong winds. We don't typically get rain. When it rains, it's a thunderstorm and we can't play golf. So, but, we get winds like this, it's nothing new and it gets cold and windy. And it has been this winter when I've been practicing. So, it's not like I'm feeling ‑‑ it's not like I've been out in Arizona or California in a dome practicing. I've had these kind of conditions, but it's very hard. It was funny, we were on 9 green there and you can look over and kind of barely see Cyprus and just wondering‑‑ just happy we were on that hole rather than 16 at Cyprus in those conditions. Yeah, you can turn it one way and say‑‑ and get all upset about it and I definitely do that sometimes. And if I didn't play the hole very well, I may have not handled it the right way, but to be able to think positively about the scenarios, everyone is playing in it and fortunately we're on Monterey versus Spyglass, I think, or even Pebble. So, it was just good to get the round in early. Q. With the weather forecast for this weekend, how important is it to you to set yourself up well at this point? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, very important. It looks like even par. I said last two days even par on either one of those courses, well that was before the rain delay at Spyglass, but even par was going to be a good score wherever you were today. So, if you can get out there, and I guess I'm at 9‑under, which whether it's tied for the lead or one or two back at the end of the day, to have a‑‑ to be in contention and kind of have the same pairing, it will be fun tomorrow. That's new for Saturday. But, yeah, I mean just it's very important to get off to a good start if the weather is going to be bad, it's going to be hard to go make a lot of birdies in the rain. So, whatever the weather is, all three courses are really close to each other, so they're all going to be pretty much the same. Q. You talked the other day about wanting very much to get back in contention, in the hunt. When you look at your career and you obviously, won and got a lot of attention for that, but it's also striking to me how often you've been close. What's the adrenaline like, what is different about it when you go into the weekend in this position? JORDAN SPIETH: A lot's different. I mean, I would lie if I said that I'm not thinking differently than I do the first two days and that's part of what I'm working on that I talked a lot with my coach about is, and I'll give him a call later today, because now I got back in this position. So, we have been talking a lot through on how to maybe handle it better and not try and look at too many of the leaderboards and just focus on exactly what we did the first two days, and that's just have having a great time out there with those guys. And I'm playing well enough, my putter feels great on these poa annua greens. I got a lot of confidence right now, and so if I'm in the right mindset, and I'm not getting too upset with myself and not focusing on really the score, then it should be a successful weekend. Q. What do you have, how many runner‑ups do you have? Five? JORDAN SPIETH: Four or five. I'm not sure. Q. Do you see that at this very young stage in your career, do you see that as a positive or a negative? JORDAN SPIETH: A positive. I learned, I can tell you something I learned from each one. There was really two of the second runner‑up finishes where I really feel like I controlled my own destiny of winning. The other two were really low final rounds that, well, Puerto Rico TOUR Championship, I didn't have‑‑ I mean did I what I could, coming down the stretch. I felt like, so there was a couple where I let it slip. Even the one, the playoff at Patrick Read, I didn't really let slip, he hit a great shot, but no, I look at it positively. I mean even Torrey Pines, I look back and it wasn't a great weekend, but for not having control of my driver, I could learn a lot on how I handled that mentally. If something goes wrong on the weekend, which you're not going to hit‑‑ you're going to make a bogey in 36 holes, so it's trying to keep the expectations exactly where they were the first two rounds. Q. When you played Pebble did you see that tiny tee box to the right of the ninth green? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it looked really cool. Q. Did you go look at it at all? JORDAN SPIETH: I did, and what we were saying was, doesn't look like it's going to be used, because it's a lot shorter hole from there. But if it was up another 30 yards it makes it almost drivable. And that would be a really cool hole if 10 was drivable with the water sticking in there, and the way the green's shaped. That would be a pretty awesome hole. Q. Third round U.S. Open, 1919‑under standing on that little tee box are you going for the green 2019. JORDAN SPIETH: I was going to say, I don't think I could reach the green, but. (Laughter.) Third round? Q. I'm just making it up, but next time The Open's here, let's say they put it there for the third round. JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, if I'm under 30 years old I'll go for it. If I grow up and I'm smart, I'll probably lay up. Q. That's five years from now? JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah. DOUG MILNE: Well, thanks for your time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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