Q. Because of the way the strokes-based system works out, do you feel different going into today’s round than you did last year starting in a much different position?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I mean, obviously being seven shots behind is a little better than 10 shots behind. But I feel like the main thing is that I’m coming into this year feeling like my best golf is good enough to make those shots up.
Last year I was kind of struggling with my swing a little bit and it’s not fun knowing you have to kind of hack it around a little bit and grind out maybe at best a couple under par each round when you’re 10 shots behind D.J. at the time. So a little bit different mentality coming in this year.
Q. What was mentality coming in? What did you feel like you had to do to climb up the leaderboard?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah. I’ve been driving it great the last couple weeks. I actually didn’t drive it very good today, I thought. But my iron game has kind of been lacking a little bit. It’s been a little inconsistent. It’s been really good on the good days and not so good on bad days.
But I felt like I put a kind of old set in the bag that I played earlier in the year and those irons just go dead straight. You can’t curve it. So, yeah, every time I had a decent opportunity, I just hit it really close and if I can keep doing that I’ll have a good shot.
Q. Rory was in here earlier saying that there’s players lining up to play with you at the Ryder Cup, which means your dance card’s going to be full. How do you feel about that and have you thought about it at all who you want to play with? Have you talked to Padraig about it at all?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I think we’re just starting to get into those kind of conversation. It’s awesome to hear that. There’s a bunch of obviously good players on that team, but also great guys as well, so I would love to play with any of them. I think we’re going to have a blast.
But I’m a rookie and I don’t really know how these things work and I don’t want to go out there and say, Okay, I have to play with this guy or, you know. I’m pretty flexible in that way. Whatever Padraig and the other guys want me to do I’ll step up.
Q. What are your plans between this week and the Ryder Cup? Will you go home? Will you play in Europe at all?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I’m going to Wentworth next week, so it will be a lot of golf and a lot of traveling, but after that week I’ll come back home to Oklahoma and spend one week at home and get ready for Ryder Cup.
Q. What have your conversations been like with Padraig so far?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, just kind of, he gave me a quick kind of you summarization of how the week goes, the media, and the practice rounds and just kind of going through some of his experiences and just kind of getting to know each other a little bit so that we can try to work out the personalities that maybe fit with some other players, so just pretty basic stuff for now.
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