Tag: Arnold Palmer Invitational

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PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy: ” I’m maybe a little more outspoken than other guys in our game.”

Speaking his mind: Rory McIlroy at the press conference before the Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Getty)

Among the players, Rory McIlroy is considered one of the loudspeakers on the PGA Tour. The Northern Irishman forms an opinion on many topics and tries to classify current events. At the press conference before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy explains why he thinks it’s important to express his opinion and what he thinks of the current discussion surrounding PIP and Phil Mickelson. Read the complete interview here:

Q: Rory, you’re going to be making your eighth start here. What is it like to be back, especially as a past champion?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it’s always good to be back at Bay Hill. I didn’t play this event for the first few years of my career and finally came here in 2015, and I don’t think I’ve missed a tournament since.

We all know what Arnold Palmer means to the PGA TOUR and to the game of golf in general. So it’s always nice to be here and try to sort of remember his legacy and remember what he meant to everyone. He was probably the catalyst with maybe a few other guys of why we’re here today and why the game of professional golf is at such a high level.

So nice to be here, nice to pay our respects. Looking forward to another good week.

Q: And as you stated, you haven’t missed a tournament since you started, have five consecutive top tens here. What about this course and this tournament really clicks with your game?

It’s one of these courses that I don’t feel like I have to do anything special to compete. I can play within myself. You take care of the par-5s here. You play conservatively the rest of the way, especially how the golf course here has been set up the past few years. You play for your pars, and then you try to pick off birdies on the par-5s and some of the easier holes. If you just keep doing that day after day, you’re going to find yourself around the top of the leaderboard.

Yeah, it’s been a course that’s fit my eye from the first time I played here, and just one of those courses that I enjoy coming back to and feel like I can contend at.

Q: Rory, congratulations on finishing third, I think, on the PIP.

Thanks (laughter).

Q: Do you understand exactly why you ended up third, and were there any surprises on the list for you when you saw the top ten?

Not really. I mean, you look at the ten guys that are on there, and they’re the ten guys that have been at the top of the game or have been around the top of the game for a long time. Obviously, everyone’s seen the five metrics that go into it and how everyone ranked in those metrics. I feel like it’s a pretty self-explanatory system. That’s how the numbers sort of rolled out.

Yeah, it’s certainly not something that I’m checking up on every week to see where I’m at, but I think it went the way most of us expected it to go.

Q: Also, as you ramp up for this big stretch of golf tournaments, what are you kind of waiting to see in your game. What is it you’re kind of looking for as you do the run-up?

Just consistency. I mean, I felt like the three tournaments that I’ve played this year, I’ve played pretty well. I had a pretty solid week at Riviera without doing anything really special. I had a good weekend.

I think just more of the same. I’ve driven the ball pretty well. I’ve seen a bit of improvement in iron play. My short game’s been really good. If anything, just getting the consistency to a point where I feel like I can play like that day in and day out.

But the game feels good, so just sort of trying to keep doing what I’m doing.

Q: Rory, given your stature and success in the game, it gives you a voice. Do you feel though that, even if you weren’t a world renowned golfer, you would still speak out about injustices you see? And why are you that way?

Look, I’ll only voice my opinion on things that I believe I’m educated in and believe that I have a right to talk about. So there’s certainly things that I won’t get into just because I’m not completely educated on that topic and feel like giving an opinion probably isn’t the right thing to do.

But when it comes to golf and PGA TOUR stuff, I feel like I’m pretty educated on that stuff. And I guess with that voice comes responsibility to try to do the right thing. That’s all I try to do. I try to make comments or speak about things to do the right thing, and that’s the reason I’m maybe a little more outspoken than other guys in our game.

Again, it doesn’t go much further than the game of golf because I feel comfortable talking about that, but when you sort of delve into other things, I don’t think it’s my place to get into that.

Q: Speaking of education, I thought I read something about you once that you wanted to drop out of school in like the fifth grade?

I did drop out of school in — well, not the fifth grade (laughter). I dropped out of school pretty early, yeah.

Q: What does that say about you, if anything, that you’ve got this appetite for knowledge, for learning, for reading, and hated school?

Learnt my lesson. I didn’t have — I just had no — I had no academic ambitions when I was a youngster. I don’t know, I think I got to a point in golf where I was pretty — all I wanted to do when I was young was play golf. Didn’t care about school. Didn’t want to go. Wanted to just go practice, play golf. And now all I do most every day is go practice and play golf.

So I have other things I want to do and hobbies. I think as you get older, you get interested in more things and maybe just become a little more curious. I’ve sort of become that way. But, again, I’m the first one to say I don’t know — I know a little about a lot, but I’m not as smart on a lot of things as I am maybe on golf and things in and around this world.

Q: One more golf question. Finchem probably back in ’10 had talked about this idea of somewhat of a world tour schedule and also how difficult it would be to put together. They’ve been trying for a long time. Do you get a sense that, given the dynamics of golf right now, that it could be getting closer to that and that it would still be just as difficult to implement?

So I certainly think there’s been steps taken that have got us closer to that point. Obviously, this strategic alliance between DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR buying a stake in European Tour Productions, Jay having a seat on the board in Europe, they’re certainly working much closer together, which is a great thing. I think it needs to be that way.

The game of professional golf, everyone needs to be trying to pull in the same direction instead of pulling against each other. I think we’re getting closer to that spot. I think it would be easy for — it’s not as simple as this, but the guys at the PGA TOUR could just literally walk down the street to the guys in the ATP and just have a chat about what they do.

It’s two very, very different structures and different schedules, but I think there is a path where one day there could be — it might still be two Tours running side by side parallel to each other, but basically for — it would be a global tour, a global schedule.

Q: Would it be important for Europe’s identity?

I think so. I think there’s quite a long history and tradition and heritage there. You go back to — yeah, the formation of the European Tour wasn’t that long after the PGA TOUR. I think European Tour was in the ’70s, and PGA TOUR was in the late ’60s. So there’s history there that you would like to keep.

Q: Are you surprised that so many golfers and sponsors have separated themselves, distanced themselves from Phil, who’s one of the legends of the game, or do you think his comments were so volatile that that was necessary? And how unfortunate is the whole situation?

It is unfortunate. I think Phil has been a wonderful ambassador for the game of golf, still is a wonderful ambassador for the game of golf. It’s unfortunate that a few comments that he thought he was making in confidence or off the record got out there and were — not used against him, but this whole situation is unfortunate.

Look, Phil will be back. I think the players want to see him back. He’s done such a wonderful job for the game of golf, and he’s represented the game of golf very, very well for the entirety of his career.

Look, we all make mistakes. We all say things we want to take back. No one is different in that regard. But we should be allowed to make mistakes, and we should be allowed to ask for forgiveness and for people to forgive us and move on. Hopefully, he comes back at some stage, and he will, and people will welcome him back and be glad that he is back.

Q: I know you to be a student of the world and what’s going on and you’ve traveled all over the world. The world is such a tender place right now. What do you do to sort of put that aside so you can focus on your day job?

I try to look at the news once a day and sort of leave it at that. You sort of try to keep up to date with current events and everything that’s happening. I guess I have to understand that sitting in my position right here in Orlando, Florida, there’s not much that I can say or do that’s going to help the situation. So I can just focus on what’s most important to me, which is my family and my golf, and live my life.

THE MODERATOR: That’s all the time we have for questions. Rory, we thank you for taking the time to talk with us, and we wish you the best of luck this week.

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Team USA

PGA Tour: Joel Dahmen Speaks on Current Status of His Game Following Arnold Palmer Invitational

JEJU, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 18: Joel Dahmen of the United States plays a shot on the 3rd hole during the second round of the CJ Cup @Nine Bridges at the Club a Nine Bridges on October 18, 2019 in Jeju, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

PGA Professional Joel Dahmen Speaks to the media following his final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and what he is doing in preparation for The Players Championship

Q. How would you describe the four days this week here at Bay Hill?
JOEL DAHMEN: Crazy time. I don’t know if I’ve played a tougher four days. The rough is crazy long this week. The greens got really firm and fast. The way the wind’s blowing right now it’s crazy. So I’m so happy I’m done. I got to watch those leaders struggle a little bit coming in.

Q. What does it do to you mentally and physically?
JOEL DAHMEN: I’m exhausted. Yeah, like we were going over it I’m probably going to celebrate a little bit with a top 5 or whatever this could be, maybe an Open Championship spot, maybe I’m not going to celebrate, but I think maybe just lay on the couch after this one. It’s exhausting and I’m happy I’m done.

Q. What do you learn about your game from a week like this heading into the PLAYERS?
JOEL DAHMEN: I can scramble better than I thought I could. My putting stats maybe aren’t so great, but today I made a ton of par putts that mattered and that was huge for me. I can play with the big boys and hope to do it a bit more often.

Q. How much do you enjoy a test like this where it’s really hard and here you lapped the field?
JOEL DAHMEN: I think it’s awesome. I wish there was a few more weeks like this. I don’t want every week like this, because it’s tough. But, yeah, I certainly enjoy it. I like playing the bounce a little bit more, playing the ground, which is more fun, you can’t just fly it and spin it anywhere. So it makes you think a lot more, so I think I’m pretty good at that part of the game, so I certainly enjoy it. I’m going to enjoy watching those guys on TV now.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard
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Professionals

PGA Tour: Danny Lee Speaks to the Media About Open Championship Qualification Following Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Danny Lee of New Zealand plays a shot on the second hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Danny Lee speaks to the media following the closing round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he finished in fifth place, good enough to earn a spot in this year’s Open Championship

PGA Tour: Danny Lee speaks on earning spot in the 2020 Open Championship

Q. Are you going to play the golf course before The Open Championship?
DANNY LEE: Yeah, I’ll try to go there the week before in advance, I guess, yeah, and put in some rounds.

Q. You’ve played The Open Championship twice and what was it about that that’s different from different Majors?
DANNY LEE: First of all, the tee time. I’ll never get used to 3 o’clock or 4 o’clock in the afternoon tee times and finish at like 9 or 8. I’m never used to that. And just the conditions and firmness of the area. I’m a very aggressive player and it seems like whenever I play the links golf course very aggressive it just bites me back. So this year I’ll play a little bit more smart, I guess.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Talk about the challenging week here.
DANNY LEE: Oh, it was. Saturday, Sunday was brutal. The wind and the firmness of the greens seems like when you think it can’t get any faster it just got faster and faster. Whenever I had a downhill putt I just couldn’t hit it soft enough. And but I still tried really hard to put myself in the position to catch up to the leader. And I really thought if I beat Sungjae today I probably had an idea that I had a pretty good chance to winning this event or come really close to finishing top 3 or something. But it was still a good round.

My goal before I teed off today was try to not finish over par for the round. So I accomplished that goal and it was very challenging this week.

Q. Thoughts on qualifying for The Open Championship?
DANNY LEE: I’m really pretty pumped up and I get another swing at a major and I’m going to just go over there and enjoy it.

Orlando, Florida

March 9, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team UK

PGA Tour: Matthew Fitzpatrick Recaps Top 10 Finish at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Matthew Fitzpatrick of England lines up a putt on the sixth green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick addresses the media following his top 10 finish at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational about his thoughts on his performance as well as 2020 Players Championship preparations

PGA Tour: Matthew Fitzpatrick finishes top 10 at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. (No microphone.)
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Glad to be in. But for today like the first seven holes I had it on a string and then all of a sudden I just seemed to lose every feeling I had in my irons. So it was then it was just a grind, as Billy tells me just to batten down the hatches. And just try and, literally, it felt like, just get it around, just advance the ball and then get it closer and then try and hole a putt.

Q. (No Microphone.)
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I don’t know. It was tougher, like it was also tougher, to be honest. Once we got to 8, well, once we got to 6 as well, it started picking up. And then 8 was sort of howling across and then down a little and into a little, it was in between. And, yeah, it was just tough around sort of the middle, really.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Did you think after 16, though, the birdie at 16 did you think about a number?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, well, I mean, I thought if I could just, I knew I needed to par 17 and then obviously if I could sneak a putt on 18. But I mean, I felt if I’m 2-under might have a chance, obviously a distant chance, but, yeah, anyway.

Q. Can you compare this weekend to anything that you’ve been through outside of perhaps the Majors?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Oh, not outside the Majors, I was going to say Shinnecock. But it was — yeah, I can’t think of anywhere else that was sort of played like as hard as this, really. But I mean, like I was speaking to Derek all the time, I’m all for it like this. Like I would so much rather play it like this every week where it’s a battle and you got to go work hard and grind instead of wide open fairways, no wind and just, 65, you move down as well, you know.

Q. Do you need to do any work before the start of the PLAYERS?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: A lot, yeah (laughing.) No, no, my driving feels great, putting was miles better today, short game was solid. Just if I can start just giving myself a few more chances and, yeah, I think — but, I mean, from where I was after two rounds and three rounds, I’m delighted with where I am. So, yeah, overall looking at the result it’s a fantastic week, obviously the process of getting there wasn’t ideal, but, yeah, great week overall.

Orlando, Florida

March 9, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team UK

PGA Tour: 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Winner Tyrell Hatton Speaks to the Media

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Tyrrell Hatton of England celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Englishman Tyrell Hatton addresses the media following his first PGA Tour victory at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational after finishing with a one stroke lead over Marc Leishman

PGA Tour: Tyrell Hatton speaks on first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome our 2020 winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Tyrell Hatton.

Tyrell, challenging week overall. Congratulations on your first PGA TOUR victory. If we can get some comments, please.

TYRELL HATTON: Thank you. Well, firstly, it’s an incredible feeling to win on the PGA TOUR and to do it at such an iconic venue that, I’ve grown up watching this event as a kid on TV and to be sitting here next to the trophy now is an amazing feeling and very thankful I managed to hold on at the end.

JOHN BUSH: Before we open up to questions, you move up to number 14 in the FedExCup standings. Talk a little bit about how this sets you up for the rest of the season now.

TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, that’s a big jump for me. Coming into this week I didn’t have any exemptions, so when the season starts you are kind of just playing to keep your status for the following year. Obviously, I’m trying to juggle both tours, which is never easy and I’m normally playing around 16, 17 events, so that makes things certainly a little bit tougher to try and keep your status over here where most of the guys will probably be doing mid-20s. So to wrap that up and — how long is it?

JOHN BUSH: A three-year exemption.

TYRELL HATTON: A three year exemption? Wow. That’s amazing. So obviously I kind of know where I’m at now for awhile, which is great and hopefully I can push on and keep climbing the FedExCup.

John Bush: All right. Let’s go right into questions.

Q. For a guy who looks like he’s on edge a lot of the times, on a golf course that keeps you on edge for all the four hours you’re out there, how did you do it?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, the setup was extremely tough. And I said yesterday the hardest thing for me will be to manage myself. And over the course of this week I feel like I did a decent job of that.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

It was so tough and obviously everyone’s dropping shots quite easily. And after the double on 11, which was pretty tough to take, I’m happy with, I kind of — I feel like I could easily have blown up after that, and managed to kind of keep my head a little bit, although I did get a bit frustrated. That’s always going to happen with me. And as long as it’s not kind of keeping on over to the next shot, then I’ll be okay. And I’m just happy that I’ve managed myself well enough this week to be sitting here.

Q. A lot of us know Mick as a kind of colorful guy and a good time guy. But obviously he’s a very positive influence on you. Can you speak about how he’s done that and especially on a day like today when it’s really tough out there.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, me and Mick have been working together since the British Masters in May of last year, and I’ve loved working with him. He’s a national treasure, I think (Laughing). He’s so funny. He’s, he keeps — he’s good at talking to me on the course and we have had some really good results and he’s played a huge part in my success recently — or our success, I should say.

Q. Some players say that the tougher the challenge, the better they like it. Are you one of those players or have you come to become one of those today?
TYRELL HATTON: I think players kind of would look back at this week and it’s nice to play something different. Most weeks it’s not target golf, but the scores are super low. And this ended up sort of feeling like a Major with the setup and how firm the greens were and it was just, it was hard to hit it close. I don’t think there was, there was only a handful, not even a handful of guys that were under par for the weekend.

Q. Can I get you to comment just on a few shots in particular today, please? The putt on 11 for double was pretty big. The one out of the rough on 13, that was, looked very difficult. And then the 17th hole.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, so the, obviously, the putt for double on 11 isn’t, is never ideal to have a 6-footer with more than a cup right-to-left break. It was, I hit a terrible first putt. I kind of, I didn’t trust my line and I was worried about it coming out a bit soft and I end up rip pulling it and then you’re left with a really smelly putt. Thankfully that managed to go in.

The 8-iron on 13? Yeah, obviously, terrible tee shot to end up there. I kind of struggled with flighting the ball as low as I normally would like to and obviously I had just come out of it and with a spinny fade. But we didn’t, we actually had a decent lie in the rough over there. Although, I imagine I was the only person in the field to be over there this week. It came out perfectly. And the wind didn’t gust too much, although I think we only had 140 yards, we knew it was all carry.

And then the 5-iron into 17. It’s amazing the thoughts that you can have upon impact, because at impact I genuinely thought I had hit a spinny cut into the water. So to look up and see it having a little baby draw into the pin is, obviously, I was quite relieved at that.

Q. Well done, again. This time last week we were sitting here and there was a bit of controversy in relation to comments made of Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood. Now, you winning here on the PGA TOUR for the first time, can this be a reflection and a statement that European Tour players are good players and they can win on the PGA TOUR, without getting to controversial?
TYRELL HATTON: No, I don’t think it’s a statement. I think whatever TOUR you play on it’s extremely hard to win golf tournaments and we’re all trying to do that each week. And more often than not, I guess things maybe don’t go your way and you end up not winning. So like I say, it’s tough to win and I’m sure, obviously, everyone’s time comes and thankfully my time was this week.

Q. When you came off 11 you made a pretty animated gesture back at the hole as you were heading to 12. I just wonder what was going on in your mind at that moment and how long did it take to you kind of flush that as you got back to 12.
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, well, I was just annoyed because my third shot in was actually one of the best swings I made all day. We had, the run out on the TV tower, which was my line, we had 193 and I’ve hit a 5-iron at my target and the wind just completely dropped. So that kind of went against us on that hole and I was just having a little moan, like it’s the grass’s fault and the wind’s fault. It’s never my fault. But this is, like going back to a question about Mick, he was really good. Obviously, he just told me to kind of get focused again, it’s done, move on, and have a few practice swings and just kind of get some good feelings again. And I stood on the 12th tee and that was probably one of the best tee shots, certainly, that I hit today.

Q. You spoke of Mick’s influence, but why do you think you’re better equipped now to handle those potentially blow-up situations than you were maybe three or four years ago?
TYRELL HATTON: I guess it just comes with experience. This is my — well, third year on the PGA TOUR, my seventh season on the European Tour. You get yourself in, if you play well enough, often you get, you give yourself opportunities, and I guess you learn things, and I guess I was a little bit more comfortable out there today. And also, this is only my second event back from wrist surgery. So it might sound daft, but my expectations maybe aren’t as high as they would be in a middle of the season if I was, been playing quite a bit. But this is still kind of part of the comeback for me and maybe that helped.

Q. I remember a couple years ago at Honda you talked about living in this town probably at about age 20 or so, you had a few roommates, trying to play the Hooter’s Tour, scratch out a living. At the time did you have a lot of belief in yourself or did this seem a far, far ways away?
TYRELL HATTON: I think you have to believe in yourself, otherwise you’ve got no chance. So obviously the goal was to, at that time, to be playing the European Tour and hopefully eventually PGA TOUR as well. And I think this was 2012, I think that we were out here playing Hooter’s Winter Series. I’ve got good memories from that time and we’ve, me and Emily, my fiance’, we have rented a place here in Orlando now, so it kind of feels like home away from home, which is nice to have. And that’s one of the reasons we come back.

Q. When your wrist injury was taking longer than you hoped, your recovery, did the thoughts of events like this one help sustain you? And also, living in this area, has your appreciation of who Arnold Palmer and what he meant, has it grown?
TYRELL HATTON: Well, at the time, obviously, the surgery took longer to recover from, but as it became more apparent that the, that I was kind of getting back into golf, I knew that I was going to be starting my season in Mexico and I was going to have two weeks in Orlando before then. And we were actually really excited to come out, come back out here, and obviously, we feel very comfortable here and that’s why we have kind of made it our second home. And to, I guess to have your own, to sleep in your own bed on a tournament week is something that we don’t get to experience too often. And home comforts, I think maybe helped keep me a little bit more relaxed as well.

Q. No Englishman has won next week. Just with your form and Tommy, do you think it’s as good a chance as any to break that drought?
TYRELL HATTON: Time will tell. It’s hard to kind of think about next week at the moment with the sort of potential celebrations we have got later today. I don’t think I’ll be in any fit state but, at least until Wednesday. But yeah, I think we’ll savor this one quit a bit. But next week’s going to be, it will be interesting and hopefully an Englishman can finally win that trophy.

Q. Curious, how frustrating was it today to sort of be grinding the way you did? And given, if there was a level of frustration, how rewarding is it to battle through that?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, it was really tough out there and obviously I was getting frustrated at times, but nowhere near the blowups that I am capable of. And it’s just one of those days where you just got to stick in there, and patience is one of the hardest things with me. To think that I’ve shot, what was it? 3-over for the weekend and ended up winning the tournament. If you told me that on Friday night I wouldn’t have believed you. But it just shows how tough it was. And obviously, like I said earlier, I’m very thankful to sit next to this trophy.

Q. But does that in some way make it more rewarding, I guess, when you have to battle through that, not only the challenge of the golf shots, but battling yourself?
TYRELL HATTON: Yeah, I think this is, it was, it’s such a tough week and to come out on top is a great feeling and you certainly feel like you’ve played a lot more than 72 holes by the end of it.

Q. I got two for you. The first being, do you have, what do you think you’ll do with the red cardigan?
TYRELL HATTON: Well, I don’t want to ruin it and with the celebrations that will occur tonight I think it’s best to put on a coat hanger. But it’s very special to have this and it will take quite a place in the wardrobe.

Q. The other thing is, in the broadcast David Feherty made this comment, he said that you’re nice to everyone but yourself. Do you agree with that?
TYRELL HATTON: That’s probably a good thing to say, actually. Yeah, like I’m a shy person, but I feel like I’ll be, I’m nice but obviously to myself I give myself a hard time and that’s one thing that I should probably get better at.

Q. I don’t think you came over here until, U.S. membership until about 2017 or so. But even from your days in the Hooters Winter Series, have you ever had any occasion to either come over here or meet Arnold?
TYRELL HATTON: No, I never sort of had the opportunity to. Yeah, sorry. Yeah.

Q. A quick one. You were saying at the start of the week that this event is the first of seven over eight weeks. Do you think that may change now, the sort of schedule over this sort of part of the season that includes the Masters as well?
TYRELL HATTON: Potentially. That’s something that I’ll sit down and talk to my management company about and we’ll kind of go from there. Obviously, like I said, the immediate thought is to kind of get celebrating, so I’m sure the relevant conversations will be had, but obviously I want to be playing golf, give myself a good run into the Masters and so we’ll see what happens.

JOHN BUSH: All right, congratulations once again to our 2020 champion, Tyrell Hatton.

TYRELL HATTON: Thank you.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team USA

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka Revisits Disappointing T47 Finish at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts on the 11th green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Brooks Koepka speaks with the media following a disappointing performance at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he managed to shoot under par in only one round, leading to a T47 finish

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka talks to the media following conclusion of The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. How would you quantify the difference between today and yesterday just condition-wise?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Condition-wise it’s a lot easier today. Today’s definitely way more gettable. It was starting to pick up there on 16, 17, 18, but it wasn’t, I mean, it’s not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. Yesterday was probably one of the harder rounds I think, definitely in the top 10 you played, I played out here.

Q. How did you play today compared to yesterday?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Still shi*t. Still sh*t. Putting better.

Q. You probably can’t say that on the podium.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, fine me.

I found something with my putting, so my putting, the touch is back. I feel very confident with that. But still close on the swing, sometimes it’s there and then sometimes it’s not.

Q. What did you find?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Just putting? Just a little bit maybe rhythm, I think. My speed’s been terrible, that’s why, I don’t know, I’ve 3-putted every — you saw it on 1, it just wasn’t — I felt good yesterday. I felt good leaving the golf course putting and then 1 just a little hiccup there. But I mean, other than that I felt my pace and line were pretty good, which I haven’t seen some putts go in, like 16 like that putt hasn’t been going in so it’s nice to see a few of them drop. And I’m pleased the way I’m putting it, short game’s good. I just need to figure out the long game.

Q. Do you like this idea of what you’ve got going schedule-wise, playing week after week?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Not really. No, to tell you the truth. I mean, I would never play more than three weeks in a row. But obviously sometimes things happen and the only way I see getting through this is playing. That’s my way of trying to grind and work it out and figure it out. I mean, every year we have come — I don’t know how far back, to 2016 all the way through the Match Play has been terrible. So I don’t know what it is about these first three months of the year but I struggle quite a bit.

Q. Is there any concern of playing golf out there when you don’t want to be out there? Is your head not there?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I want to be out there. I definitely want to be out there. I mean, listen, after I’ve played here I’ve gone to Nona and gone and beat balls until it was dark. We were hitting, Rickie had the camera phone out and was shining it about 2 feet above the ground just to, the depth perception gets off when it’s so dark. And every day we’re grinding, practicing, trying to figure it out and eventually all the hard work’s going to pay off, it’s just a matter of how quick it’s going to turn.

Q. Do you remember much about Innisbrook, Valspar?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I played it, I think once out here on TOUR but I played it, I mean, growing up in Florida we played a bunch of tournaments on it. Junior amateur stuff. So I’ve played it quite a bit. I know it. It’s a tough golf course. That’s also why I wanted to play this week. I thought it was going to be tougher. Scoring is not going to be very high or very low, I guess, and that’s kind of one of the reasons why I wanted to play. I felt like — I play my best golf on tough courses, so I thought maybe I would find it there.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Do you take something away from the week that you build on? Other than the putting part, are there things you can just see?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Listen, it’s coming together piece by piece. So the way I see it, the putting hasn’t quite been there, the touch hasn’t been there, but now that I found that, I found a little bit of rhythm there, just build on that. I think I’m very pleased with short game, very pleased. And that was kind of the part that’s been, that felt really far away, where this week it was kind of a flip-flop. Long game, I don’t know, it feels so unorthodox and, but it will come. It’s only a matter of time.

Q. Can you make a lot out of little sparks when have you a run of golf like this?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it’s amazing. I’ve been through a spell like this and I remember, I can’t remember if it was 2017, I think it was, at Match Play, and I, one swing and it was like, boom, off and running. You find that one feeling and sometimes that’s why I think it’s important to play or to get out there. You can stand on the range all day and do it, but when you get out there and start playing is when — I don’t want to say it was messing around today, but it was more of just trying to feel shots and feel different things and, okay, is this working, is this not. Not so much an experiment but kind of, if that makes sense, just to see if different shot shapes, what, am I hitting a little controlled fade, my little fairway finder, it’s a lower fade. High draw. Trying to figure out what shot shape feels good and go with that.

Q. Can you remember what shot it was?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It was during a practice round. I think it was the year — I don’t know what year I made it, maybe ’15 during the quarters or something like that. I just remember in the practice round, was it 16, the par-5? I remember that on the tee, just it clicking, whatever it was, and just found it and built a pretty good year off it. I think it was ’17, I don’t know. But, yeah, it’s amazing. Just one swing sometimes.

Q. How important is it getting back to No. 1 in the world for you?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, yeah, it’s important, you would like to, but if you play like this, you got a long way to go.

Q. All the talk about distance, roll backs, all that stuff. What do the last two weeks say, given the scores and the difficulty about that whole belief?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Listen, they can roll the ball back all they want the long hitters are still going to be the long hitters. The way I see it, I remember Nicklaus hit a, I don’t remember what year it was, but he drove the green at St. Andrews at 18. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. So how much further has the ball gone?

Q. But the difficulty down here I mean was it —
BROOKS KOEPKA: What I’m saying is, if he was able to drive the green, yeah, he probably got a good bounce and it rolled on, but still at the end of the day, I mean, we’re on that back tee with no wind and pounding drivers and still come up a little short. So I don’t think the issue of rolling the ball back — I think long hitters are going to be still long and the short hitters, you know, no disrespect to guys like Fred Funk or stuff like that, but you don’t, guys don’t have a hundred mile an hour club speed anymore, everybody’s got a 120. So obviously it’s going to go further. They roll the ball back, I think if you want to grow the game you’re not going to be able to grow the game. I mean that’s, as a little kid, trying to be interested in the game, that’s all you want to do. The reason I started playing was because you see it go 60 yards, 70 yards and, wow, this is cool I’m actually hitting it far. Because you watch your parents or you watch your friends or whatever it might be, they’re bombing it out there and as a little kid you want to feel like you’re hitting it far. But if you’re only hitting it 30 yards it’s not very fun.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Australia

PGA Tour: Marc Leishman Recaps Slow Start and Near Comeback at The Arnold palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Marc Leishman of Australia plays his shot from the eighth tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Marc Leishman addresses the media following a slow start but big weekend charge to come up just 1 stroke short behind champion Tyrell Hatton.

PGA Tour: Marc Leishman speaks with the media following final round of 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational and runner-up finish

Q. It was a little tough start but you battled. You gave yourself a chance coming down the end. Just not quite enough. But it had to be tough out there today.
MARC LEISHMAN: It was tough again. It wasn’t the start I was after today and I fought really hard. Made some — well, I birdied the par-5s on the back nine and that’s what you got to do around here. So, yeah, a little bit disappointed, but it was a strong week. Signs are good for next week. Tyrell played good, did what he needed to do and on a really, really tough golf course. So it was a fun week.

Q. You move both into the top 10 in FedExCup points and the Wyndham rewards, continuing good solid play this season, you’re playing awfully well. You’ve got to feel good about that.
MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I think I got a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd, now, so try to add to that win column. It’s been a good start to the year. Obviously, the win at Torrey Pines was good and to be in the top 10 this early in year is nice. It’s nice not having to play catchup. So hoping I can have a big week next week and get back into the winner’s circle.

Q. You weren’t giving up. You came back pretty hard.
MARC LEISHMAN: No, I never give up. I said to Matty — we were walking down 16, I said, Of all the courses on the PGA TOUR, this is the last one you’d pick if you had a two-shot lead your three to go. So Tyrell never gave up. He did what he needed to do there at the end. Great par on 18 particularly. That’s a brutal hole, tough pin placement, you have to really hold your shot. So yeah, made it interesting. Would have been nice if that putt would have dropped on 17. I felt pretty good when I hit it. Not to be. But happy with the week. With really tough conditions, I played probably as good as I played for quite awhile. So and it was good to play well under pressure there too at the end. So, yeah, happy with the week and all credit to Tyrell.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. What do you lean towards more at the moment, the disappointment or sort of excited that you played so well with such a big window coming up?
MARC LEISHMAN: I think both. Obviously anytime you have a chance to win you want to pull it off and win. You don’t get too many chances. So, yes, I’m disappointed, but I’m just happy that I — I’m happy I played well. It felt like a U.S. Open out there. Fast greens, long rough, narrow fairways, and big crowd, big vocal crowds. So it was a lot of fun. Obviously, I would have liked to have won but that was a fun day, a fun week.

Q. How much do you relish this sort of challenge as opposed to weeks when it’s 18- or 20-under par trying to win?
MARC LEISHMAN: I enjoy both, but this, I just love the — I love when you, if you shoot par it’s a good score. But it’s also fun shooting real low numbers. So I enjoy all sorts of golf, but this is a really big mental test. And going into the PLAYERS next week in a good place mentally and with the major season coming up as well. Yeah, so good signs. Going to take some positives out of this. Happy to put four pretty good rounds together and try and do the same thing at PLAYERS next week.

Q. (Question about playing Sawgrass.)
MARC LEISHMAN: Not really, to be honest. I think I missed the last few cuts there. I think I’m due for a good week there. That’s why I’m going there. But my game’s in a good spot. I feel great with the putter. Hoping next week can be my week there. I only had one top 10 there in 10 or 11 events. So it hasn’t a happy hunting ground for me, but we’ll try and change that.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Talks Coming Up Just Short Of a Victory Yet Again at Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Rory McIlroy addresses the media following his final round 76 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he failed yet again to capture a victory but earns his 5th consecutive top 5 finish in 2020.

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy earns fifth consecutive top five finish with final round 76 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Just some comments on the day and the conditions of the course over the weekend.
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, obviously, tough weekend. I guess for me today two bad, two loose shots sort of cost me. The third shot on 6 and then the tee shot on 9. I made two doubles there. Obviously, played the rest of the holes in even par and if I hadn’t have done that I would have had a good chance. But, yeah, it was tough. Look, I stood up here yesterday saying that the key tomorrow was to keep the big numbers off your card and I made two of those today and that’s what cost me.

Q. Last year sort of similar situation. Afterwards you said, Hey, the great thing about golf is you get back on the horse and play again the next week and obviously that’s what happened, the next week you won?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, it’s very, there’s a lot of similarities between the start of this year and the start of last year. A lot of chances not converting, but knowing that the game’s pretty much there. So just keep knocking on the door and go up to Ponte Vedra tomorrow and work on a few things. And, yeah, get back at it again.

Q. Knowing what happened last year, being in a similar situation, does it almost make it easier or is it still very aggravating to you?
RORY MCILROY: I mean, it’s aggravating but at the same time like I just have to keep telling myself the game’s there. It’s not as if I’m walking off the course and — I didn’t have my best stuff again over the weekend, but neither did anyone in these really tough conditions. The two, I guess the two doubles that I made today sort of, I don’t know, it’s, I think if I am going to keep getting myself into contention like I am, I just need to sort of stop making those big numbers. And if I can do that, hopefully the course next week’s a little more benign, a few more chances, and sort of play the style of golf that I want to play. I was very defensive out there and that’s sort of what you had to do this week and hopefully next week we get a chance to be a little more aggressive.

Q. Seems like people expect you to win every week because you’re No. 1 in the world. Can you talk about the expectations of that and how hard it is to win out here?
RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I mean, I expect myself — I mean, I’m doing what I expect myself to do every week, which is giving myself a chance. I give myself a chance most weeks and the more weeks than not it’s not going to happen. That’s just the way golf is. I mean, I think my win percentage on TOUR is like 10 percent and I think that’s pretty high for anyone not being Tiger Woods. So, yeah, it’s one of those things. Like, I’ve had chances and I wish I had converted one of them over the last few weeks, but I’m still in good form. I’m playing some good golf. And hopefully if I just keep putting myself in those positions, it’s only a matter of time.

Q. How do the conditions compare today versus yesterday? Better? Worse?
RORY MCILROY: Similar. A different wind direction. I didn’t expect the wind to be up as much as it was. It was just as windy today as it was yesterday. The greens are firm, fairways are firm. So, yeah, I mean just a really tough weekend.

Q. What do you most need to improve upon before Augusta?
RORY MCILROY: Before Augusta? Driving it well. I mean, maybe just my mid-range putting, that’s sort of between 12 and 20 feet. I’m holing out — I missed a couple this week — but I’m holing out pretty well for the most part, but just giving myself a lot of chances between that sort of 12- and 20-foot range and not converting that many of them. So that’s pretty much it.

Q. You’re allowed to say nothing.
RORY MCILROY: No, no, there’s not nothing, there’s always something.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Did you think the bunker shot at 6 was okay when you hit it?
RORY MCILROY: I did, yeah. Actually, it was okay, I played it the way I wanted to. It came out a little hot, but I thought, I thought it was still going to hang on to the back edge. Obviously just trickled over into the hazard, so…

Q. It’s a thin margin.
RORY MCILROY: It is, yeah. That’s the thing out here, it’s just very, very fine lines.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Graeme McDowell Talks Opening Round 65 at Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Major champion and Orlando native Graeme McDowell speaks with the media following an opening round 65 good for a tie for 5th place at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Tour: Graeme McDowell speaks to the media following opening round of The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Some birdies on the card, a couple bogies, the putt you made at 18, I know your mouth was wide open when it went in, I was calling it as it went in, I’m thinking, oh, man, it did a 360. 140 feet worth of puts today. Tell us about the round.
GRAEME MCDOWELL: I putted well. I putted very well. Seeing the greens well, feeling really good on the greens. The surfaces are fantastic this week. There’s not a lot of grain on them at all. They’re not up to speed yet, obviously, with the wind forecast today, I assume the maintenance crew decided that they were going to try to take the sting out of them a little bit. I’m fully expecting these greens to be pretty firm and pretty fast come the weekend here. But, listen, pleasing to putt like that. The save on 15 was probably the most important save of the day. I hit a 4-iron in there over the back, kind of knifed my bunker shot, put it in the front bunker and hit a phenomenal drop shot. I made a 20-footer for 5. It’s putts like that that really turn good rounds into great rounds and the putter certain served me well today.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. The guys who finished in the morning who looked at the afternoon forecast thought, Oh, this is not going to be good for those guys. But we have seen some good numbers, including yours.
GRAEME MCDOWELL: Yeah, we were lucky to get two and a half, three hours where it really wasn’t blowing particularly strong. But eventually it did arrive and it made those last five or six holes quite tricky. And the golf course remains playable, because I think there’s a lot of cross winds. There’s not a lot of into-the-teeth type shots. 9 is probably, 9 and 15 are probably the two standout really difficult holes on the course, and the rest are just kind of playable.

So we’re going to see a completely different wind direction tomorrow, so it’s going to be interesting. I always like that because I feel like guys put a game plan together and then when the wind switches game plans are out the window, so you have to be smart and have a great caddie and be able to think on your feet.

Q. You call Orlando home now you’re a restauranteur, a dad more than once, a husband, major champion. First time you played here was 2005 and you finished second. What does this tournament and the legend of Mr. Palmer mean to you and this Orlando community?
GRAEME MCDOWELL: Yeah, I think this tournament continues to grow as far as what it means to me. I think having both my kids in the Winnie Palmer Hospital, to be an ambassador to this tournament the year after Mr. Palmer passed away, having two seconds here, having my family here. Like all of the above really makes this a special event for me. It’s a golf course I feel comfortable on, which is very nice. And, listen, love to, dearly love to have this one on the resume. But the most important thing this week is Mr. Palmer’s legacy, just taking that extra second to be a great role model, to be a great professional and living up to the standards that he really, that he laid out for us all.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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Team USA

PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational Leader Matt Every Speaks With the Media Following Round 1

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Matt Every of the United States reacts after his birdie during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Two-time Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Matt Every addresses the media following an opening round 65, taking a one stroke overnight lead over Rory McIlroy.

PGA Tour: Matt Every addresses the media after capturing overnight lead at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Matt Every to the interview room. Matt, great playing out there. What was clicking for you so well?

MATT EVERY: Everything, really. I just played pretty good. At the start of the day, I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the weather the way it was, but I got off to a good start. The putter actually was a little shaky. It’s always a little shaky, but it was a little shaky to start. I didn’t really make anything and then I made a nice par save on 14 and then I started making some putts after that, and it just worked out. It was a good day for me.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

THE MODERATOR: You’ve obviously had a lot of success here in the past. What about this course kind of suits your eye?

MATT EVERY: I don’t really — I actually think it’s probably a drawer’s course, but I’m more of a — I like to work it left-to-right. I think, if anything, it kind of forces me off the tee to — there’s a lot of holes here where it’s iron off the tee and so I’m going to be hitting out of the fairway and my strength is probably my irons. So, and maybe it gives me more opportunities. I don’t know, but something.

THE MODERATOR: Open it up for some questions here.

Q. So when did you kind of know it was your day? I mean, on the front nine you made, like, three putts that were, like, bombs.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Well, I’m not apologizing for that. Probably on the second hole, I made a really long one and I wasn’t — those are just luck, especially when it’s windy out and these greens are pretty crusty already. You’re just, they’re, I mean, you know, I think it was probably like a 40- or 50-footer that broke 6 feet and the wind’s blowing and I’m just trying to get down in two. Things like that happen when you have good days and — probably on No. 2.

Q. What’s the key to, like, your mentality, just to kind of build on this? And I know you’ve had your share of struggles. How do you just keep it moving forward?
MATT EVERY: Well, my short-term memory isn’t very good, so that is a strength sometimes. And I just, I don’t know, I’ll be all right. I mean, either way it’s crazy how much this game can affect like your life — or not your life but just the way you, maybe your mindset or whatever. But it’s going to be all right either way no matter what I shoot tomorrow. But I think I’m going to be all right this week. I’m hitting it really good. We’ll see. It’s only Thursday — it’s Thursday though, I know, and there’s a lot of golf left.

Q. What kind of frame of mind did you leave Honda in? And knowing you’re coming here, did it help?
MATT EVERY: Probably a little bit. I left Honda — I actually flew up to see my coach on Saturday after Honda. Something was off and I bent my irons, like, two degrees upright, a little change in my swing, and I was back, and, you know, it was night and day. And then all week here it’s been really good on the course and on the range and those days don’t really, those days don’t count, but it did translate over and that’s nice to see.

Q. When you first came to Bay Hill however many years ago, was it a course that you always kind of felt fit your game or did it take some time?
MATT EVERY: No, like, well, when I first came here, my dad used to bring me here. I never really thought about playing it. But yeah, even before I won I probably played here a few times before it and I don’t think I like lit the world on fire here. It wasn’t — I might have had like a 30th or something, but it’s — I don’t know what it is. It just works out here sometimes.

Q. The record will show that you were 20 shots better than the last round of golf you played on the PGA TOUR. What do you think of that?
MATT EVERY: I think it’s, I think it’s awesome. I wouldn’t read too much into that last round.

Q. A little skewed —
MATT EVERY: Yeah, I mean there was a hole last week, where, the way I was hitting it, I could have just — yeah, I wouldn’t read too much into it.

Q. I mean, there’s one hole you made an 11. Just curious, what happened on that? Were you just —
MATT EVERY: No, so, okay, I’ll tell you what happened. It was a back left pin. I was already going to miss the cut. It was — the wind was off the right. I had been having problems all week holding the wind and I’m, and I normally can hold the wind. And I’m not going to learn anything by skanking one out to the right and bailing out. I know I can do that. So I wasn’t leaving that tee until I hit the shot I wanted and I flushed every one of them, like, exactly in the same spot in the water. And then finally I hit one that held it. But, yeah, that’s just —

Q. You hit, what, a 4-iron?
MATT EVERY: I hit four 5-irons and then one 4-iron.

Q. What took you four shots to go to the 4?
MATT EVERY: I think I had like two balls left and it was, I just didn’t want to have to deal with that talking about, you know, it’s just — I was ready to get out of there.

Q. But you finished.
MATT EVERY: I did, yeah.

Q. This is going to sound like a really vague question, but what’s your attitude like?
MATT EVERY: Right now?

Q. Yeah. Is it good?
MATT EVERY: It’s all right. My year hasn’t been great. I’ve had some back issues all year, really. The warm weather helps big time. It sucks having those. You know it’s there in the back of your head and some days are better than others, but.

Q. Is it low back?
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But my attitude’s pretty good, though. Like, as a whole this year, it’s been really good. I think it’s good all the time now. I mean, I get angry but who doesn’t get angry?

Q. I don’t want to take anything away from your round but when you teed up this morning, probably Rory is in the clubhouse at 6-under. What is it like when you see a guy like the world No. 1 on top of the leaderboard and like years ago we always used to see Tiger on the top of the leaderboard. Is there an extra incentive in teeing up when you see a guy like Rory up there to try and match that score?
MATT EVERY: Well, when I teed it up today, I was, I swear, I was just trying not to shoot myself out of the tournament. It was — and that’s just the truth. It was pumping and it’s not easy. But clipped Rory by one today.

Q. You had bogey-free today. You were bogey-free, I saw, at Spyglass during Pebble Beach. Do you feel like your game has started to turn the corner in a way?
MATT EVERY: Well, I always feel like my good stuff has been really, is really, really good. There’s just no, like, middle ground with me, though. That’s the problem. It’s, like, either ragged or really good. I don’t know if I’ll ever be like Mr. Consistent out here. I don’t know if I have that in me. Like, I don’t know if I have the mental makeup to do that. It’s just not really who I am. I don’t know. But, yeah, I feel good about my game right now.

Q. Do you still think of this as your home game or is PLAYERS or —
MATT EVERY: Well, probably here. I mean, I moved. I live in Jacksonville now, but I’ve had way more success here than TPC, that’s for sure. And here it feels like — like, TPC is the TOUR’s thing. This feels like, I don’t know, just feels different. There’s a ton of guys. You know what I’m saying? I guess there’s a ton of guys that live in Orlando it too, but there’s not a lot of guys that are from Florida. Like, a lot of guys move here, but I don’t know. Stop thinking so hard.

Q. I need to be more like you.
What was the best shot of the day?

MATT EVERY: 16. I caught a really big gust. It started to like really gust on the tee. I probably should have backed off and I hit a really good drive, but it just got clobbered and I had like 220-something into the hole, and I hit a 3-wood. It was straight into the wind and I hit a really good 3-wood to probably, like, 12 feet. That was the best one, I thought.

Q. Were you pissed when you missed the putt?
MATT EVERY: I expected to miss it, to be honest.

Q. Why?
MATT EVERY: Just because that’s what I do. I miss those.

Q. But it’s still interesting and I’m kind of rehashing here, but you haven’t really, since Dallas probably, I would have to look it up, which was a really nice run, done anything and then you show up and boom, 65. Should we expect it because it’s Matt Every at Bay Hill?
MATT EVERY: No, see, I don’t think that either, though. That’s too much thinking for me to do right now.

Q. I over did it too, apparently. And lastly, just kind of in house cleaning, are you at — where are you with any type of a TUE coming off the thing from last year? Are you at peace with that? Have you sorted that out? What have you got going?
MATT EVERY: Well, I think actually after Dallas, you know, that was, it’s not like — when that stuff comes out it’s not like it just happens right then. That had been going on for awhile. And it was probably in the back of my mind a little bit and affected my game a little. I have applied for one and I’ve been denied. I might a play again. I don’t know yet.

Q. Do you know why you were denied?
MATT EVERY: It’s not FDA approved. There’s a lot of reasons, I’m sure. Oh, I know. Xanax is way safer to take than THC, so that’s, that’s probably one of the reasons. But — that was a joke. But it’s not — look, I am at peace with it. I don’t, it doesn’t bother me at all. Well, I change my mind. Actually, no, that’s wrong. It bothers me that it’s even an issue out here at all. I think it doesn’t do anybody any favors that it’s even on the list for a prohibited substances. You could fail for heroin and marijuana and the penalty is the same. If anyone wants to make the argument that that is performance enhancing, they have never done it before. I promise it’s not. It’s just — I don’t know. It’s just — I think, I think it would be really cool if — I know the NHL has taken some steps and a couple other, the MLB has, the — what, the NFL just had their, what do you call it?

Q. CBA.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. And they have talked about it. I think it would be cool if we were proactive about it and made some changes. I, you know, anxiety is a real thing and the way I treat it — like, I know I treat it the healthiest way possible for my body. And but WADA doesn’t think so and the TOUR goes by what WADA says. So it’s really silly, to be honest. It’s really silly. Now I’m kind of fired up about it, so I’m going to stop talking now.

Q. A little bit along those lines, one by one states — it’s becoming legalized in states now —
MATT EVERY: Right.

Q. — so is that part of what you’re, it’s kind of part of the point you’re making, is it not?
MATT EVERY: A little bit. I think it’s — look, I don’t want — I’m not in this for attention. I don’t want to have social media, like, this is, it’s about me, to be honest. I don’t — yeah, it’s decriminalized in, like, 41 states, I think. I don’t want to be a spokesperson for it. I’m not into that. I also, you know, I’ve tried other, other options, CBD oil, whatever. Snake oil. I mean, CBD oil. Whatever. So I know what works for me. You know, I’ve had to dial back a little bit, but it is what it is.

Q. Is there anything you can — you know, what do you do, I guess, not being able to do what you want to do? You know what I mean?
MATT EVERY: Sure. So there’s levels — well geez, this got, this took, took a turn (Laughing.)

So, there’s levels — here’s the other thing that’s weird. The cutoff for THC is 150 nanograms. So you could have, you know, let’s just — we’ll use me. If I get tested and I have, and I’m at 145, good to go. If I’m at 155, I’m a drug abuser. That’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Matt, thanks for the time, we’ll wrap it up. Great playing today.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports