J.J. Spaun
Q. J.J., what a beautiful opening round. A lot of pressure on you; you were second last year, a lot of people are picking you to win. Did you try and put that out of your mind when you went to play this morning?
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah. I mean, it’s hard to not let that get into your head a little bit, but it’s golf. Doesn’t matter who’s the favorite, doesn’t always pan out that way, but glad people have some confidence in me. Yeah, I just went out there and just tried to play my game.
Q. Well, you hit 17 out of 18 greens, 66 6 under. Do you feel like you got the better part of the draw? It was tough out there on Seaside by the look of it.
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, for sure. I prefer Plantation than Seaside, you can kind of get a head start and that’s obviously what I did. Obviously I’m playing the easier course, so got my work cut out for me going into tomorrow. At least I’m pretty confident and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Q. Yeah, looks like the weather is still going to be rather windy and cold again. You’re hitting the ball nicely, though. You have to feel very, very good about your chances.
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, I’m striking it well, giving myself a lot of looks. I just need the putter to kind of warm up just a little bit more and maybe make some more birdies.
Q. J.J., do you have good vibes coming back here? You almost won this thing last year, so what were you thinking about heading into this week about your chances?
J.J. SPAUN: It’s just a place that I feel comfortable at. I’m not sure why. Obviously maybe the past history here of playing well has a lot to do with it. But yeah, it’s just a course that I feel comfortable at.
Q. This morning the conditions were not easy. How did you combat that and how satisfying is it at the end to know that you did get a good leg up on the rest of the field with the round you got in?
J.J. SPAUN: Yeah, sure, I think with the rougher conditions starting on the Plantation course is, you know, the better of the draw. Not sure what it’s going to be like tomorrow, probably the same as what I’ve heard. So it’s easy to kind of it’s not easy, but it’s a good place to where you can get a head start. I mean, you have three of the four par 5s that’s straight downwind on that course, and most of the holes are relatively short and the greens are small. So if you’re hitting greens, you’re going to have pretty makeable looks, so that’s kind of what I did today.
Q. What’s just been the key to success this fall, what have you been doing well?
J.J. SPAUN: I don’t know. I played really well in the fall last year, too. I think it’s maybe the mental grind of having a new year and a new start. So it’s kind of I can’t get too complacent, it’s almost like you’ve got to put the pedal to the metal right away in the fall. And there’s so many events now and it’s just a crucial time to get a good start on the season. Maybe that’s why. I mean, you can get so fatigued and tired throughout the entire FedExCup season all year long. That’s kind of why I maybe burn out towards the end. I think I just have better attitude in the fall and it’s more of like a “go out and get it” sort of mentality.
Q. So nothing new in the game or anything?
J.J. SPAUN: No. I mean, I was struggling a little bit with ball striking towards the end of the FedEx Playoffs, but I kind of got it back. Been working hard on that and, yeah, that’s probably why. I mean, just the striking’s gotten back to where it is and I think the last three events that we played, they’re kind of high demand on tee shots and ball striking, so maybe that’s why.
