PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN™
Each week, PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN brings you player interviews and tournament insight from the Clubhouse, Media Center, Practice Range, Players Locker Room, and Inside The Ropes...
PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN™
Behind the Ropes: DeChambeau, McIlroy, and Rose Share Their Augusta Strategies
This is PGA Tour Countdown. Live from the Masters and welcome in everyone. Frank Bassett, joining you live in Augusta, from the National Everyone, frank Bassett, joining you live in Augusta, from the National. We are live from the Masters and we're going to hear some of the interviews that happened after yesterday's round. We wanted to save them for you because there's some interesting comments and you can compare them against the same interviewees that we will put on the show tomorrow. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to let you hear from McElroy DeChambeau maybe Scheffler Rose, you think and let's see what they have to say. So what we're going to do is run the interviews in one after the other in succession, succession, succession. We're going to run the interviews one after the other, okay, and then we're going to put a bow on this thing and wrap it up for you when we finish up and let you get back to watching TV. So, that being said, let's roll.
Speaker 2:Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Very pleased to welcome Bryson DeChambeau to the interview room. Bryson, you put together a very impressive second round today, firing a 68, which currently puts you in second place. Could you please take us through some of the highlights of your day?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was hitting it a lot better today and there's just a few moments where, like on 10, I kind of got out of whack and I was able to save this round with my wedges and some huge key putts. Getting up and down on 10 was one of the better up and downs of my life. Hit a great shot on a 9, just didn't control the spin like I'd wanted to Spun that off the green, control the spin like I'd wanted to spun that off the green. But overall today was a fantastic day of golf and some testing conditions.
Speaker 6:Kira Bryson. Last night you went to the range after your round.
Speaker 4:Surprise.
Speaker 7:Very surprised, what did?
Speaker 4:you work on and how long did you spend there? Yeah, it was just my iron play trying to get my stock draw back in there. I felt like I was leaving the face open a little bit, so worked on some sequencing stuff, some face angle stuff, and I actually found the golf swing more on the golf course today. So I don't think I'll be practicing as much tonight, but I'll put a little bit of effort in like like normal.
Speaker 8:Chris Bryson, when you made your run here last year, that was before Pinehurst, sort of when you restored your image, so to speak. Do you recall how the patrons treated you here last year and if you've noticed a stark difference over these first two days?
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, I think the patrons have always been great here. First off, Even when I was in my trying times, I feel like there was still a lot of support. Now it just feels like a bolster of energy everywhere. So it's quite different and it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 10:Bryson, how do you balance out here being conservative and being aggressive? Do you feel like you need to be more conservative here than other places, or vice versa?
Speaker 4:Well, it's a daily battle. It's not easy to try and be more conservative when you know the leaders are starting to run away from it and you know you've got these little shelves in certain areas and these little fingers that you got to hit the ball into and you got to hit a cut or a draw. You'd have every shot in the bag, and so it's just difficult to try and accomplish, I would say, the goal of just being patient and understanding, and I feel like I've done that better over the course of time. But how do I balance? I balance it. That's a great question, I'd say. Only God knows.
Speaker 7:Bryson, I saw you on the range doing this uppercut move. What is that? What's going on there?
Speaker 4:It's just trying to side bend up and turn the handle over. It's like a little bit of an uppercut or like a top spin shot and ping pong. That's just what I want to feel my golf swing. That's what it's the same thing I've been doing for years now. Um, I just, I'd say, need to be a little more consistent with it steve congratulations on this great round.
Speaker 12:I want to ask you a similar question, but not identical. Obviously, this is a major. This is maybe to many golfers, the major they want to win more than anything else. How do you try not to want it too badly because that can affect maybe your game? You have to do it in a very careful way not to want something so badly that it impacts you judging things incorrectly. Can you talk about being balanced in that sense?
Speaker 4:It definitely can be tough at times when you're thinking about it. I think grounding yourself is super important Realizing where you're at, knowing how many holes you have left, knowing there's a lot of golf left. Not getting too far ahead of yourself is important, and that's something you have to learn over the course of time. With a lot of experience, you have put yourself in position. You have to fail, you have to lose, you have to win, you have to come from behind, you have to hold a lead. All those expectations and feelings have to get conquered in your mind.
Speaker 12:That's what this game is played between between your ears do you feel that as a more of a veteran player? Obviously each year goes by, you understand that more.
Speaker 4:I'm learning A little more wisdom than the last year and hopefully the year before, so continuing to grow.
Speaker 13:Alex.
Speaker 14:Bryson, when you were answering Kira's question you said you kind of found your golf swing on the golf course today. Could you tell us where that was? And then also statistically you probably weren't as good today as you were yesterday except for the score. Could you tell us where that was? And then also statistically you probably weren't as good today as you were yesterday except for the score. Could you kind of explain that maybe?
Speaker 4:No, alex, you always ask great questions, I'd say for me. I found it on five, on the tee shot, I hit a pull on four into the left bunker and hold out, which was an unbelievable bonus for me. And on the fifth hole I said to myself I just got to, I got to feel something that's a little different and, lo and behold, I think I just started to integrate like a more up and down motion and that just felt more comfortable to me and I started doing it and it got more and more comfortable. To the ninth hole, I hit the best drive I had all week on nine. It was a perfect shot, shape, exactly the way I saw it in my head, exactly what I practiced on the range. I was like there it is. And so from there I felt more comfortable, even though I played better on the front nine.
Speaker 4:That's the way golf is. It sometimes doesn't play out the way you statistically think it should. That's why this game is so great. But I actually found it and felt more comfortable in the back nine than I did on the front nine. Dylan.
Speaker 15:I think your quote after the third round last year was something to the effect. I'm going to look back on this and try to figure out how to putt well. So far, so good. And what have you learned?
Speaker 4:yeah, besides 16 and I I knew how hard to hit that putt on 16 I just gave it a little bit more. I don't know why I did it 18. I felt like I hit a good putt, just slowed up with that slope. I thought it was going to be a little flatter. But I really took it to heart to practice my speed control, because out here it's it's all about speed control. You know two putting from a 40 50 foot place over a big mound and whatnot. So I took it to heart, go practice a lot of 50 60 footers in the past couple months and work on my long putting and make sure I'm starting it on my line. That was a big problem that I had last year on the third round was just not starting it online, and this week I found something to help it start online a little more consistently for me.
Speaker 16:Bryson, how do you play a reachable par five differently than a long par four? It's sort of one of the interesting things about this course. The par fours are really hard. Scoring average on the par fives is a little bit lower, but mentally how do you approach those differently?
Speaker 4:uh, I really don't. I try to take every hole based on the wind uh, how it's playing and hit my most comfortable shot out there. Uh, like on 11 bombed the drive out there, had a little pitching wedge in and, um, you know, it hit a hit, a good little pitching wedge. It just the wind flipped on me and so my mentality there was still attack mode on 13. And I had a great drive. Just the wind took it to the right a little bit, got into the pine straw and it was situational.
Speaker 4:I couldn't go for the green because there was so much pine straw around there and so I laid up and I was a little more cautious there because I said you know what, I could still get up and down for birdie if I, if I hit a good third shot, 15. I went for it and I've tried to play out to the right, not that far right. The wind just kind of flipped and went off the left when I hit and I was just trying to get to that right hand side, back right hand side. So it's very situational. I would say I can't give you an exact like oh, on the long par fours. What's my mentality? It's it's attack mode until I have to, you know, settle back in and go okay, let's be a little more conservative. But you know, for the most part I go.
Speaker 4:I go for everything ours just a number basically though, yeah, I mean you could say that.
Speaker 16:Adam Bryson, how would you describe the way you've been putting most of the season and then the change that you found? Can you give us a little more detail? And was it you or somebody else who kind of clicked on that um?
Speaker 4:for me. I hadn't been putting great this season. A little streaky for me, just not starting it on my line, feeling feeling that same pull like I did last year and this week on the putting green. I was just really focusing on how do I start it more consistently online. I found something for a week at Pinehurst last year and I did really well with it and then it kind of started to go away again and so I'd been struggling with the pulls from then and come to this week. Even all the way up till this week I was like man, why am I pulling? I can't figure out why I'm pulling.
Speaker 4:I tried everything in the book and then Connor, my manager, and I were just talking about it and he goes why don't you just feel like you open the face but take it down the line more and don't let it go inside? Because I'd tried to open the face before and it just felt weird. But once I went down the line and opened the face more straight back, straight through, it just worked. But like the I could, I wasn't pulling it anymore. So sometimes there's one little thing.
Speaker 7:Daniel listen, patience is a word that you've used a lot this week. Is it as simple as trying to be patient or using techniques? I don't know if it's like meditation or breathing exercise. How are you getting into that mindset before and during the rounds, I think?
Speaker 4:it's staying grounded, like I think of myself as just being here in the present. I know it's so cliche to say, but patience is built on understanding where you're at. And I feel like I'm doing a really good job of just staying in the moment, not thinking about the next hole, not thinking about the pot, not thinking about anything else. I'm just saying, hey, I'm right here right now. What do I need to do to get it? Give myself the best chance to make birdie par, whatever it is. When I start to get a little nervous out there, I go it's okay, it's just a golf shot, come on, focus up, do it like you've always done it. And that's kind of what I say to myself.
Speaker 9:Bryson. A lot of players talk about this being a grueling physical test, and yet you've hit exponentially more golf balls than anybody else on the tournament practice area. How do you manage that?
Speaker 4:Being a little different. I guess Something's not right up here, I guess I don't know. For me, all that matters is me being able to execute the shot the way I want to hit it If I don't see it come out of a window with the right curvature, I'm going to continue to work until I figure that out and feel that my perception meets reality. If the perception and the reality don't meet up, then I keep working to match those, and that's just kind of what I focus on. So it doesn't really matter how much of a test it is. I'm still going to work as hard as I can to get it going through that window every time. So it can be the toughest test which I believe. It is physically out here, but I'll keep going, I don't stop. That's why I did long drive as well, you know. So I just put myself through. It's a tough test and it's kind of paid off in that regard from a mentality perspective. Steve.
Speaker 17:I'm just curious. You know, I've seen some of the stuff on the YouTube channels and it looks like you're having a blast out there. Oh yeah, it's great how much? How much has that kind of maybe restored your I don't say love for the game, but but enjoyment, and just you know that the game can be fun as well and has that carried over to to tournaments it has.
Speaker 4:It's a great question. Youtube golf has made me feel like a kid again. When I started out I was like man, this is going to be a lot of work. And once we started putting in challenges that were fun and interesting and different, it kind of made me feel like I was that 11, 12-year-old, going out with your friends and just trying to play as good as you can and do something crazy and different. It really makes you think as well.
Speaker 4:When you get a different set of golf clubs in your hand, you know as a kid. You're getting another club in your hand. It's like okay, well, maybe it's not perfect, but you got to figure out a way to get it done Right, and so that kind of brought out that aspect of me and I do feel like it's aided in that. And then when I'm doing the course record series, it's focusing my brain up to the maximum extent. So it's not like it's costing me a lot of energy and I'm not gaining much out of it. I'm actually focusing myself and saying, hey, you're on camera, you got to execute. There's nothing else you can do besides play your absolute best. So it gets me in a really cool mentality as well. It's been a great benefit well it's been a great benefit.
Speaker 18:You're a science guy. Talk about the science of the committee here and their ability to script a different challenge on every hole on every day. And is it different than any other major in their ability to do that?
Speaker 4:I'm not going to speak for them, but every day we come out here it's a new test. I'm not going to speak for them, but every day we come out here it's a new test. And a great example is even the first hole today, just dead into the wind, they moved the tee box up a little bit so it was fair. And you know I hit three when I still had a huge number in Second hole. A little more favorable Third hole diabolical, made you think, and I laid up off that tee box. Fourth hole you've got to play a cut in there off into the wind. I think they know the wind and they see the wind and they react to that quite well, probably. I'm just assuming. At this point I'm not stating any facts or anything, but that's what I assume they probably do and they do a great job every single year of it, so they know what they're doing.
Speaker 17:Bryson with the ping-pong paddle, thought that you, how many different swing thoughts like that will you cycle through in a week?
Speaker 4:If I'm really trying to find my golf swing, I can go through over a hundred Pretty easily and it's like I'm telling you, it's like 15 to 20 on a range session easily, maybe more sometimes if I'm really trying to find something.
Speaker 13:Yeah, I've got a lot of going up in there and, uh, you wouldn't want to be in there mark bryson, when you look at the top of the leaderboard, there's a lot of class and quality, some star power there. I know there's 36 holes to play, but as you look at that, what's your impression of yourself being in the mix of that and how energizing is that as you go into tomorrow?
Speaker 4:I'm going to keep it simple. I'm excited, very excited for the weekend. This is what golf's about Got a lot of great names up there and looking forward to an unbelievable test of golf. Just a couple more questions, andrew.
Speaker 9:Uh, Bryson, the layup on three whole traditionally most long hitters hit it up down in the valley there. Uh, what was the decision to lay up there? And then, in terms of your strategy, how has it evolved through the years and your different eras as a golfer?
Speaker 4:yeah, uh. Well, to answer the first question, I felt like hitting driver up there, having a 70 yard shot into the wind, which is fine. I wouldn't have been able to get the right spin on it to get it close. It would have bounced by the flag and gone 15 20 feet by. So I felt laying up would have given me a better chance to land it softer and spin it next to the hole, which I did. I just pulled it a little bit so I felt like that was.
Speaker 4:It's something I've learned over the course of my career and I'll continue to learn. Depending on wind conditions and firmness and all that and the type of grass, the, the way it's laying and how it's, how the ball's sitting down. All that stuff has certainly developed my experience over the course of time, just going through it, getting experience in different conditions, different situations for me. So that's the reason why I did it and I learned from past experience hitting it up there and having this tight 75-yard shot that I can't really control. I'd rather have a little 10-39 iron in for me.
Speaker 6:Right, Bryce Bryson, you were in this position last year. How much more confident are you that you can complete the job this year at this course than you were last year?
Speaker 4:I mean, I'd always say to win it takes a little bit of luck and a great amount of skill set. I feel like my skill set's the same, if not a little bit better in certain aspects, sets the same, if not a little bit better in certain aspects. So I'm just going to give it my absolute best and whatever happens happens, and I'm okay with whatever does happen because ultimately, it's not um, it's not everything, but it'd be, it would be amazing to win. It's just more continue to keep putting myself in positions like this. So that's really all I can say.
Speaker 6:You feel more prepared for the challenge because you were in this position last year and you also won the US Open.
Speaker 4:Experience always helps. Winning the US Open gives you a lot of confidence. You just have to have the right shots under the right conditions at the right moment in time, and that's what allows you to win. You know a couple things that you just opened last year that doesn't go my way. I don't win right. And it went my way. You got to have a couple things go your way this week, but I'm going to give myself as much of a possibility as I can to play my best golf.
Speaker 2:So we'll see bryson, thank you for your time today. Have a great weekend Thanks.
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Speaker 11:Pxg, you've never played like this before.
Speaker 20:Good afternoon. I'd like to welcome Rory McIlroy back to the media center. Rory shot a bogey-free 66 today. Four birdies, one eagle Great round, rory. I'd like to open it up to questions.
Speaker 10:Rory, just saw you glancing at the leaderboard. When you look at the top of it and see those names, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 21:I was just looking for my name.
Speaker 16:I'm not really worried about the others uh, rory, can you take us through the 13th hole and kind of your decision from the pine straw and what you were thinking when that ball was sailing through the air um, yeah, I only had, uh, I think it was like 189 front, um, so it was.
Speaker 21:I don't think it was really a decision to go for it or not, but it was. I was between a four and a five iron, um, and usually the ball comes out a bit spinnier out of the pine straw. So I had a four iron and um, you know the follow-through. I definitely like I saved it and I was glad that I hit four iron. I covered that little corner there and, um, yeah, but when the ball was in the air I was like you, idiot, what did you do? But, um, yeah, it wasn't. It was one of those ones as well. It's a, it's a pin that, even if you do hit it into the hazard, it's a pretty, not a routine up and down, but it's a little easier than say where the pin was yesterday and that front front section. So, um, yeah, I rode my luck a little bit with that second shot, but was was not, you know, was nice to take advantage of it steve yeah, rory, congratulations on this round.
Speaker 12:Your career has had so many great moments. You've had some tough moments. I'm just wondering about the emotions. Yesterday, that great round, the two double bogeys at the end obviously not very good and then today, just this remarkable round. You're in this wonderful position right now. How do you feel, after having a big bump already, being in this great position midway through?
Speaker 21:Yeah, I think overall just proud of myself with how I responded today. After the finish last night I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday and I wasn't going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week. But yeah, just ultimately, just proud of how I got back into it today.
Speaker 6:Rory, can you walk? Us through 15 yesterday and then compare that to making birdie there today.
Speaker 21:Yeah, I hit two good shots into 15 yesterday and I felt like I hit a pretty good chip shot. I was really surprised at not not so much the speed. I knew it was a fast chip. I've hit that chip a hundred times around this golf course um, it was just more.
Speaker 21:The first bounce was so firm I mean that that green is so much firmer than the, than any other green, even the three newer greens, and at that point I didn't know that a couple of people had done that before. I did it as well. So, yeah, and then I actually completely I was obviously surprised that I had done that and I forgot that I could try to play it again. I went straight to the drop zone, um, and then afterwards I was thinking I was like, oh, I could have tried to just chip that again, um, but I was, you know. You know, it was just one of those things where, you know I was.
Speaker 21:I think that's the thing I was so frustrated last night, because I played so well and you can make these big numbers from absolutely nowhere, um, on this golf course, just like the most benign position. So, um, it was a good reminder. It was a good reminder last night that you just really have to have your wits about you on every single golf shot. And then today, you know, when the second shot was in the air, it was a little touch and go, even where the ball finished like sort of on the slope. I was thinking of running just a marker to make sure it wasn't going to run back down the hill. But yeah, it was nice to make a four there and I guess, just keep the momentum going that I built up through the you know those, those previous holes 10, 11, 13.
Speaker 7:bryson was saying that he's working on a lot of stuff. Um, you've hit a lot less balls this week. Are you working on anything or is it all just kind of all systems are going right now I'm working on trying to get the ball into the hole as fast as possible.
Speaker 21:That's basically it.
Speaker 20:Hey, jeff, I'm good, Okay, good. Rory, how about your thought process from the pine straw on 14 going high?
Speaker 21:Yeah, it was a poor tee shot but I was fortunate to have a gap and it was a perfect window. I had nine iron out at the start but I, you know the wind started. You know when the wind gusts here it really just funnels down a lot of the holes. So it was funneling down so I switched to a wedge and it was a perfect lie in there I could get spin and yeah, it was. You know I got lucky with that. You know I rode my luck a little bit on 13 and 14 there and 15. Thankfully, got away with it a little bit. And yeah, I think those are the sorts of things that you need to happen in major championships. And you know, I feel like I got a little unfortunate yesterday in some parts and I got a little fortunate today. Trent, okay, michael.
Speaker 12:Tell you me. Michael.
Speaker 5:Thank you, we're very pardoned. It's a little off topic, but 72 to 66 is a great improvement. Nick Dunlop, as you know, shot 90 yesterday. He's three under. I did not know that, oh, he did, but he's three under. Did not know that, oh, he did, and, but he's three under today. How do you guys do that? How do you turn things around?
Speaker 21:um, I think you'll have. You'll have to ask him um. It reminds me of a story, um, at memorial. The other way, I shot 63 the first round memorial in 2014 and backed it up with a 79, and I came in to have lunch and I saw Jack there and he said how the hell did you shoot 16 shots more today than yesterday? So it's just. You know, like championship golf, it can be volatile, the conditions can be tough. You can just start to. You know the momentum can start to go the wrong way on you, but you know, um, you know we're all. We're all great players. We're playing in the masters and you know we're all capable of shooting good scores john jack nicole.
Speaker 22:in here yesterday morning, jack gary and tom uh were asked who they thought would win and who they would like to win and you've probably heard that they said you. How does that make you feel?
Speaker 21:They're getting old, john.
Speaker 10:Rory talk about resetting last night and how it might be different now than it would have been a year ago, two years ago.
Speaker 21:Yeah, you know, I sort of just tried to leave. You know, once I left the property last night I just sort of tried to leave what had happened here. You know, I rushed out of here to get home to see Poppy before she went to bed. So that was sort of nice to be able to, to get to see her before she went to sleep and, um, yeah, I guess that's something that I didn't have a few years ago to be able to, you know, get home and and have that sort of, you know, take my mind off off the golf a little bit. So, um, but yeah, I just yeah, I feel like I just did a good job of resetting.
Speaker 21:I had a good conversation with Bob Rutella this morning, mostly around not pushing too hard too early and trying to get those shots back straight away. And you can sort of see how I started today, with eight pars and a birdie on the front nine. I just tried to stay really, really patient and I feel like that patience was rewarded with, you know, a nice little stretch there in the middle of the round.
Speaker 2:Marty, to yourself and to the world, what did you prove today?
Speaker 21:I don't think I proved anything. I, if anything, I just backed up the, the belief that I have in myself and I and the belief that I'm as resilient as anyone else out here. And you know that, again, like I've been really proud of how resilient I've been the whole way throughout my career and you know, I think today was just another example of that- Andy.
Speaker 10:Roy, where, would you say, your mindset is right now, compared to where it was yesterday at this time after your round?
Speaker 21:Like not as frustrated obviously, but I mean only. It's only halfway. You know we've got 36 holes to go. On a very, very tough golf course, anything can happen. You know, and all I'm focused on is trying to hit a good tee shot on the in the fairway on the first hole tomorrow. Last two questions Mark.
Speaker 13:Rory, I just wonder how energized you are right now after what you did today following yesterday, as you look forward to the weekend and you see how close you are at the top of the board.
Speaker 21:Pretty tired. It was a quick turnaround. This course takes it out of you physically and mentally more so than most other golf courses, so I wouldn't say I'm too energized course takes it out of you physically and mentally more so than most other golf courses.
Speaker 13:So, um, I wouldn't say I'm too energized, I'm, I'm ready to get some food and um and chill this afternoon and get a good night's sleep I just mean kind of the prospects of the weekend for having gotten right back into this thing when you when last night you probably, you know, were kicking yourself or um, yeah, I guess.
Speaker 21:I mean, I think, more just excited for the opportunity yeah, last question, mike um, you spoke to us a couple of days ago, rory.
Speaker 16:You said that you were ready when you suggested you were ready to kind of embrace heartbreak. I know we're only halfway there, but do you feel like you've already done that this year?
Speaker 21:like at this tournament this tournament yeah, no, not at all. No. Um again, like golf, tournaments are so long and there's so much that could happen, even in the next 36 holes. I you know my mindset was I shot even par yesterday. I probably need to get to somewhere between 12 and 15 under to win this tournament, and you know there's there was plenty of time to do that. So, um, yeah, again, just about staying patient thank you very much. Thank you, rory.
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Speaker 11:Good afternoon. Please welcome our clubhouse leader, Justin Rose, back to the interview room. Justin, after a great 65 yesterday, you carted a one under 71 today, currently maintaining your lead. This is actually the third time you've held a share of the 36-hole lead. Can you describe today's round today?
Speaker 19:Yeah, I think overall it felt like a pretty quick turnaround from yesterday evening getting into this morning, which is, you know, good, obviously, off of the back of a of a good round. You want to try to go out there and keep the momentum going. Um, there's a bit of a sense that the course is playing a little bit differently today. Uh, a bit windier for sure, um, out of a slightly different direction. So, uh, just trying to make some of those adjustments. I think it was a fairly favorable wind for the golf course though in general, which is why I think you're seeing some good scores.
Speaker 19:From my point of view, decent day for sure. My wedge kept me some really good up and downs, actually on holes like number four, number eight, number 10. So that kind of really kept, you know, the round was in a good spot at that point. A nice birdie at 12 and then, yeah, the finish. Obviously, just a few too many fives coming in didn't really take advantage of the par fives, although they were both playing tough today. They were into the wind. I didn't feel like there was much value in trying to force birdies out of those holes. Um, and then made, yeah, two good swings really on 14 and 17. But just misjudgments on on the, on the conditions and the wind. But yeah, those two fives could have been two birdie putts quite easily and it would have changed the complexion around a little bit. But you know overall, you know under par, you know in a great position going into the weekend.
Speaker 11:Great questions, gentleman, here.
Speaker 24:Don, I'll go ahead, Justin. The PGA last year, the Open last year, they both kind of put you back on the map for a lot of people. But this weekend are there any takeaways from those tournaments that you're planning to kind of think about as you try to make it a victor, victorious weekend?
Speaker 19:um, you know, sometimes you just got to knock on the door. You know, I don't think I can do anything differently in on both those occasions, you know, especially valhalla, I kind of I actually made a run into contention there, which was, which was great. Um got more and more comfortable as I got further and further up the leaderboard too, which was, which was really good for me to know because, like you say, there hadn't been a ton of opportunity for the previous couple of years. Um, and then, yeah, the open championship very much the same thing, given as this is as well, given, like, how, how much you dream about winning them um felt remarkably comfortable in those situations. So, um, that's what I've learned from those two things.
Speaker 19:And to sort of make it happen this weekend is, yeah, what is it? You know, like if it was a secret recipe, you'd know it by now. But you know it's about just playing great golf, and I think the leaderboard's stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there. So you're going to have to play great golf, you're going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it. So it's as simple as that, really Done.
Speaker 22:Justin, if you were to write the story of your career as opposed to play it?
Speaker 19:do you think it would be more rewarding to win this tournament earlier in your career, as you might have done later, and depending on when it would be, do you think it would feel different? Um, yeah, no, I think I'd take it anytime. Beggars can't be choosers, you know. But, um, I, I would take it right now for sure. I think sometimes, if it happens too early in your career, you've got a lot to live up to and, um, I think if it happens now, I would enjoy it. I think probably a lot more. You know, come, come a bit more as a gift towards the end of your career. So I think there'll be a lot of satisfaction in it for sure ron you showed a tremendous amount of patience out there today.
Speaker 12:As you said, you made a lot of really good up and downs and you hit a lot of three woods off the tee. What was your thinking there?
Speaker 19:um, my thinking there was um, what holes? I'm just like, yeah, obviously we're 14. Um, it was dead straight downwind, felt like if you hit drive you had to kind of go quite tight up the left side, otherwise you felt like you may run, run through towards the right. You know, right, rough, right trees, um, so it was good, you know, good angle play. Really. It gave me a free swing just straight down the hole rather than trying to maneuver the ball, which can be tricky downwind. Uh, the same on 17. I felt, um, obviously ultimately didn't pan out for me, if anything, I have a right miss for the driver. So both those holes kind of didn't favor that, you know. You know, suit the eye as much from that point of view with that wind direction. So, uh, yeah, those, those are the reasons, john justin, would you rate your wedge play for us?
Speaker 22:um you, you've specifically mentioned the three holes. Uh, didn't you play a wedge on the 14th yesterday, and if so, would you mind rating that as well?
Speaker 19:yeah, no, I've had some really good clean up and downs. You know, even the first hole today is a pretty simple up and down. You know, I'm just off the right hand edge of the green but first hole of the day, slightly nervous, um, but to chip that up to, you know, excuse me, chip, chip that one up to a foot. It was just getting more evidence that it's getting better. Um, you know, holes like number 10, for example, down short of that green, it's a very playable wedge shot, but you have to still play it very well, you know. So, to be able to get the right strike on the ball, to be able to flight it up onto the green and then get the check on it, to keep it close to the hole, is what you need to do.
Speaker 19:So, yeah, there are a few really nice ones, and the one on 14 yesterday actually was. I was expecting to fly up onto the tier, but when I got down to the ball it was in an old divot, old sanded divot. So I had to take my 52 degree, bump it into the bank and then really kind of play it far enough left. So the contours brought it around because it's so easy to leave that one low and then it's 25 feet down the green. So I felt like a lot of good commitment and strike on the shot, but also a lot of knowing the golf course on that one on 14 yesterday. So rate the match at 10?.
Speaker 19:Yeah, I mean I think last week I was a 2 out of 10. I really struggled with my wedge play. So you know, something I've been working on this week and I'd give it an 8 so far.
Speaker 9:So on this, week and I'd give it an eight so far. So yeah, definitely happy with that part of the game. Damon Dustin, I didn't love the fives on the second nine, but those two twos on 12 and 16 are pretty special. How would you characterize those two birdies?
Speaker 19:yeah for sure. I mean, obviously, number 12 was not to be messed with today, you know. You know the wind was beginning to pick up. It was from a fairly favorable direction. I feel like, you know, when it's from the right there's more open, open space on the right hand side. So maybe the wind's a bit more predictable on 12, when it's coming that way.
Speaker 19:Um, but again, I was, uh, I wouldn't say I was trying to hit it as close as I did. I was trying to land it maybe three or four deeper into the green. But you know, that's the vagaries of that hole. That's why you make a safe decision and a committed swing, because you never quite know exactly where the ball might come down, especially if it's windy. Um, but, yeah, a great two there.
Speaker 19:And then on 16, um, again, wind was tough, direction was in off the left, but that's a pin location that you, you are trying to go at. You know, even though it's a very tight pin, it's one that you are being very, very aggressive at and you don't really want to be too deep into that green to that pin. So, um, but it was, it was a tight, it was right between clubs for me is between seven and eight. So just to hit the little hold seven in there on 16 was probably one of the best shots I hit all day was the club on 12 uh, nine iron, yeah great justin, does it feel like it's been a dozen years since you won a major?
Speaker 19:Not really, because I feel like there's been other great sort of accomplishments in that time. I think, you know, winning the Olympic gold medal gave me a lot of satisfaction in that interim period, getting to world number one, winning the FedEx Cup, Like I think really big milestone moments in my career have happened in those 12 years which distracts you from the fact you haven't won a major in that period. But yeah, 12 years slips by pretty quick but, like I said, it doesn't necessarily feel like I haven't been dwelling on that fact at all.
Speaker 23:Really, Bill, justin, it looks like you're going to be up there with Scheffler, with McElroy DeChambeau. Does it make it even better to be in the mix, knowing that you're battling the current, you know, top players in the world?
Speaker 19:Yeah, it does. Yeah, you know, that's the company that I expect to keep and that's where I have tried to be my whole career and that's where I've been for a lot of my career. So I've been top 10 player in the world for a decade or or more. Um, so, yeah, it's just nice to obviously, yeah, be back in that in that mix, 100 percent.
Speaker 11:Sean.
Speaker 24:Justin. A lot of us bucket pro golf in terms of generations. Tiger and Phil were or a generation. Maybe jordan and justin are a generation. Do you look at pro golf in terms of your competitors and everybody in generations?
Speaker 19:yeah, a little bit. I'd say me, adam scott, sergio garcia, I sort of regard as a, you know, a generation that have had longevity, still doing doing it, still competitive, still willing and able. Not many of us born in the 80s are, well, you know, 79, 80, I guess, sergio, adam and myself. So, yeah, you know, you look at that for sure. And then, yeah, of course, you know, all the young guys are coming up super, super quick and there's a new generation now, yeah, I'd say that you know, jordan and Justin are in the peak of their career. I'd say Now they're not the young guys anymore, whereas when I you know, in the not too distant past, they were the young bucks. But you know, they're now. They're now the well-experienced veterans out on tour. There's new guys coming up all the time.
Speaker 8:In the back, Drew. Justin, could you describe the difficulty of the third shot into 15?
Speaker 19:I'm curious if that green is playing any different this year than in years past. Yeah, the green looks a little bit different. For sure, even from the third shot coming in there it's got like a little bit of different coloration on it. You can tell it's a new green. Um, I think because of that you you treat it with some respect. I kind of try to definitely play it five, ten yards right of the pin, just because there's a slightly deeper section of green there. Um, just to give yourself some wiggle room, I suppose In the past that putt's been relatively straight down sort of the foreline into the corner of the green there, and I think today it definitely felt like it broke more towards the front of the green.
Speaker 19:So, yeah, there's always some subtle changes that potentially happen if you rebuild the green. So, yeah, that was definitely one I picked up today, more than I picked up in my in my practice rounds, if I'm honest. So you know, I continue to make notes out there on the golf course, even on a day like today when I'm competing, because you never know when that note's going to be valuable down the down the line. But, um, yeah, I feel like that green's been firmer all week, although today it didn't, it didn't seem. There was a bit of rain overnight.
Speaker 3:I think definitely the course is softer today, but yeah, that green was a little more receptive than it has been alex uh, justin, you mentioned yesterday your your 21 missed cuts when you turned pro and I don't know if you saw yesterday but nick dunlap shot a 90. Um, I was wondering if is, is there anything that maybe helps if you have kind of a low moment early in your career and you can almost kind of get past it?
Speaker 19:um, yeah, I think so. You know, you have no choice. I think when you you're young and you haven't really achieved your goals and your dreams yet and you haven't, uh, you haven't been spoiled too much yet with all the trappings that come with good golf, you know, I think it definitely gets harder if, um, you go through that, that, that really down phase later in your career, when you've already had so much success. I think, um, that, that, yeah, like I said, I think, when I missed the first 21 cuts, I was like, well, there's no plan b here. Let's, you know, let's keep. I've got to make this happen, make this work. So, um, yeah, I mean, listen, I think that's an for Nick. I don't know what the heck happened. Tough day for him, but hopefully he shrugged that one off. Do you know what I mean? You don't want to be dwelling on days like that, for sure. And if there's any place that you know can make you look silly at times, it's here. And yeah, but hopefully, yeah, that's one for the. Put it behind him.
Speaker 11:Matthew.
Speaker 4:Justin. That's one for the. Put it behind him. Matthew justin um in a rider cup year how?
Speaker 16:how much do you place each round?
Speaker 19:you play in the context of trying to make team europe. Um, I don't put the extra pressure on myself. If I'm honest with you, it's a huge goal for me and I'm only going to make the team by playing good golf. I'm pretty philosophical about it and that's exactly how I was in Rome. I was picked in the end to play and my whole mentality is the goal isn't making the team. The goal is playing well enough to win points for the team. That is how I still view things, and if I'm playing good enough golf to make the team, that's fantastic, and if I'm playing good enough golf to be warranted warrant a pick, that's great. But you got to get to Beth Bage playing well enough to contribute for the team. So I'm just focusing on me, my game, playing well enough to to be at that level.
Speaker 10:Justin, obviously you've been in this position several times before. How do you go ahead now for the rest of your afternoon? Are you someone who's going to sit there and watch every hole of every other rival, or do you go and look at anything that isn't golf?
Speaker 19:um, I think I'm going to sum it up now. I'm going to go go talk to the team, see what we think we should do. Obviously, energy management is key as well. Going into a big weekend, there's maybe a couple of things I'd like to work on. Get on the short game area a little bit more, cement just a couple of the fields I've been working on. Strike on the irons was a tiny bit off today. Either have a discussion about that or work on that for a short amount of time. Yeah, so I haven't made a full plan yet, but I won't watch every round, I won't. You know, I feel I've done that before and I think that's as emotionally draining as being out there practicing all afternoon, to be honest with you. So, uh, I will be. Yeah, I mean, I've got the family here, which is nice my mom, my wife. So, yeah, I don't know what we'll do, but I won't be sweating it.
Speaker 11:Just a couple more questions, adam.
Speaker 16:Justin, are you still traveling with your personal gym? I am, yeah. Is it here this week?
Speaker 19:Yeah, it's more of a recovery vehicle than a gym. Yeah, so I've got to stay young.
Speaker 16:How has that? Do you find that's been effective in trying to keep up with these young guys?
Speaker 19:yeah, definitely. Um, you know, the whole reason for having it is also I live in england and play the pga tour, so there's a lot of travel. So how do I mitigate that extra load on my body um to stay willing and able and capable enough to to compete out here? So that's, uh, yeah, anything I do I can do to mitigate the wear and tear on my body, especially as I get older. Obviously I'm willing to invest in that. So, yeah, I think it's been very helpful.
Speaker 16:Or, if you don't mind, did you hear any of the chatter last night or this morning of some of the pundits who noted that your second round scoring average, after good first rounds, was 74 plus and that they were concerned that you might just fall back? Did you hear any of that, no, which is good.
Speaker 19:Glad you told me now, not this morning. That's probably why I'm not going to watch TV all afternoon. So, thank you, what do they know? That's why they're pundits, listen, I mean, sometimes it's hard to follow a low round with with another one. Um, just the nature of it sometimes. But, uh, I feel like if you're playing good golf, you're playing good golf, you know, and I feel like I wasn't pinned to yesterday's round, I wasn't pinned to the leaderboard, I wasn't pinned to leading this golf tournament, you know. So, um, yeah, I was pretty focused on, on the job at hand.
Speaker 11:Maybe last question Dan.
Speaker 18:Yes, the rounds in 21 are very similar to the rounds in this week in terms of where you are and how you played. How are those rounds similar and how are they different In?
Speaker 19:2021?. Yeah, yeah, in 2021, I don't even know how I did that. I was playing so badly, so that was kind of out of the blue really. Uh, yeah, I hung in there really well, I think, considering how I was playing in in 21. Um, so I think these there's been a bit more confidence coming in this week. I feel like my good, my, like I said earlier in the week, I think my good is good. You know when I'm when I feel like, uh, I'm showing much more quality this year in my game than I have done the last couple of years. So I'm not worried about my good stuff. It's just about making the average a little bit better and getting that closer to my good stuff so you can compete week in, week out. But you know, yeah, I think that the horsepower and the good golf is still good enough.
Speaker 11:Great. Well, thank you, justin, quality play and best of luck this weekend. Thanks, guys.
Speaker 1:So there you go. You've heard from the top of the leaderboard and play is underway, so we'll see what they have to say after today's round. It's moving day in Augusta. I'm Frank Bassett joining you for the special edition of PGA Tour Countdown live from the Masters. Hope you enjoyed the interviews and please patronize our advertisers. Keep this on the air. We appreciate it. Hey, have a great Masters everybody.