J.J. SPAUN
Q. J.J., let’s talk about the round of the day, eight birdies, no bogeys, everything was working. In your mind, how good was it?
J.J. SPAUN: It was pretty good. I mean, I just kind of played stress‑free golf out there and kept the golf ball in front of me and had a lot of looks and scrambled pretty well, even though it was only a handful of times, but pretty overall pleased with how I played today.
Q. Yeah, you had the up‑and‑down at 16 and then at 18, you made it look real easy and they weren’t that easy.
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, it was definitely not easy. Just fortunately kind of missed in the right areas even though I wasn’t thinking those were the right areas to miss. But 18 was ‑‑ kind of all I had was to kind of play out right and just get something over the lip to get in that bunker and I knew I would have a lot of green to work with, and fortunately got those two up and down and saved a good round.
Q. Now an opportunity tomorrow with that round, you have a chance to win this thing.
J.J. SPAUN: Sure, yeah. I mean, my goal all year is just to be in contention with 18 or nine holes to play, and to be near that leader group is kind of where you want to be, so I’m not complaining, for sure.
Q. Lastly, what has been the key for you? I followed you a lot last year, four top‑10s, you’re playing good in this new season. What have you discovered?
J.J. SPAUN: I just feel more comfortable around here. I think definitely Vegas kind of, you know, gave me some confidence that I was capable of playing with the lead over two or three days. You know, my putting’s finally been coming around so I think that’s what’s been huge. Ball striking’s always been there, so it’s just a matter of seeing those putts fall and that’s kind of what’s been happening.
Q. J.J., you tied the third‑round scoring record here with 62. Talk about how good of a round that is for you today.
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, I’m very pleased. I mean, Saturday’s moving day and this is the day where you want to put yourself in position for tomorrow. To tie the low score round for round 3, overall very pleased.
Q. I think you’ve had now it’s like six rounds in a row of par or better. Have you clicked on something in your game?
J.J. SPAUN: I think it’s just putting. I’ve seen more putts fall. It’s helping me not press on my ball‑striking even though that’s probably the most solid part of my game. When you see putts go in, you don’t feel like you need to be overly aggressive and get more looks that are closer. So it’s nice to see more 15‑, 20‑footers fall in a couple times a round and that’s kind of what’s been happening.
Q. Maybe with today being the easier scoring day of the weekend, with tomorrow a little bit colder, maybe a little bit more windy, maybe pins tucked even more, are you satisfied with getting a 62 today, and then what will you have to do tomorrow to get yourself in contention?
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, today I think everyone’s going to be tearing it up. It’s definitely been playing the easiest, conditions are very friendly out there. But tomorrow it’s going to be tougher considering the situation, considering it’s the final round, and if it’s playing tough, you know, I don’t know what a good round could be. You know, I think yesterday Seaside was getting torn up and that was tougher conditions than the first round. So I think tomorrow, if anyone’s within a handful of shots, you never know what can happen if someone goes low.
Q. You’ve won on every level that you played, so how much does that help you tomorrow? Is this just a different ball of wax with it being the PGA TOUR?
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, you try to put things in perspective and just think it’s another round of golf, another hole, another shot, but that’s the next level is trying to win out here. All I can do is put myself in contention and learn from the experiences of being in contention and not succeeding. So hopefully tomorrow will go my way. If not, then it’s more positives to grow from.
