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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM


February 14, 2015


Kevin Chappell


PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Q.  What a great round of golf starting with your second hole.  Talk me through the eagle.
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  I hit it in the left first cut and really didn't have the best lie, but kind of squeezed a 4‑iron out of there.  Got a big bounce to the front of the green and made a 20‑footer.  Can't ask for a better start there.
Then I just kind of plodded my way around the front nine.  Made a mistake on 6.  Hit it in the hazard.  My second shot was a really bad second shot.  But saved par.
Making birdie on 8, stealing one.  Give it back on 9, but overall, really happy with today.

Q.  The rounds are taking five hours, it's always important to stay patient in golf, very important to stay patient this week.
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Yeah, especially for me.  My game's been a little rocky, to say the least, to start the year.  A lot of good, some really bad.  So I just tried to stay patient, trying to hit the high percentage shots for me.  Low risk.  Give myself as many birdie looks as I can.

Q.  You've had putting rounds starting at Monterey Peninsula of 28 putts, 26 putts at Spyglass and 26 putts here today at Pebble Beach.  I felt all your putts, even the ones that didn't go in, had a chance.
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Yeah, I'm putting it well.  Didn't grow up too far from here so I have a really good feel for what these greens do.  I think this is the seventh year I've played the event in a row, so I should know what's going on with these greens.

Q.  I know you hurt your back a little bit in the off season.  On a workout you tweaked your neck over in Scottsdale.  Are you a hundred percent?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  I wish I could say I was.  I'm not.  But we'll work on the body tonight and see if we can go tomorrow.

Q.  66 here at Pebble on a Saturday, another great round.  Three rounds now.  How pleased are you?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  I'm very happy with where we're at.  Didn't have any expectations going into this week and maybe that's the key for me.  Just tried to take it really easy, enjoy it.
My partners had a great group here and all of a sudden we played three rounds and we're 14‑under par and got a chance to win a golf tournament.

Q.  Why no expectations?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Game just hasn't been in a good spot.  Played really poorly last Friday at Torrey Pines and was a bit lost.
But I was able to grasp an understanding of what‑‑ when it goes wrong, why it's going wrong.  I figured it was going to take some time to get where I wanted it to be but I just eased myself into every round.  Low risk shots and I'm putting well, so that seems to be a good equalizer.

Q.  What clicked in those two or three days?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  I've just been really deliberate and really trying to embrace the feel that I created with my team and really just communicate well with my caddie and just do everything else right and hope that it kind of rolls into the golf‑‑ the ball striking.
So far so good.  I've hit some pretty squirrely shots for me, but all in all I'm happy.

Q.  Sunday there will be work to do as you try to get into the winners circle.  Weather's supposed to be the same.  What's the game plan?  Low scores are seemingly out there for everyone.
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Low scores are there.  I'm still not that comfortable with where the ball striking is.  So for me it's going to be low risk shots, trying to hit as many fairways and greens as I can, get the putter in my hand and see what happens.  My short game's really good right now and that saves a lot.

Q.  You hurt your neck in Phoenix?  And then again today?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  So, I hurt my back in off season, lower right side of my back.  Came back, no pain in the lower right side.  But there's definitely some compensations going on.
The top vertebrae, or top rib, in my thoracic spine tends to move a little bit.  It impedes my motion to the left.
I went out in Phoenix on Saturday and Craig Davies, my trainer/therapist, he was able to get it back in while I played the back nine and it felt great Sunday.  Just played poorly.
Felt great last week and then it went out yesterday on the ninth hole.  I laid the sod over a wedge from 130 yards and it went out.  So seems to be when I make a bad swing it goes out.
I took some anti‑inflammatories and didn't help my trainer is not here this week, so didn't have anyone to fix it.  I kind of fixed itself.  Luckily Spyglass you only have to hit one driver in the first six holes so you can kind of dink it around and it doesn't get too irritated.
By the time I finished it felt pretty good.  Today on 17 I hit a miserable shot and it went out again.  So playing 18 I was just trying to get it in the house and hopefully this will fix itself again and last 24 more hours and we can have a chance to win this golf tournament tomorrow.

Q.  Is the rib what's going out?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Yeah, it's the top rib.

Q.  Top left?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Yeah.

Q.  So it impedes your neck movement, your head movement as well?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  Yeah.  The total left side.  My range of motion I can look over my right shoulder that way and I can look at your left shoulder or your right shoulder.

Q.  So I think I heard you say that then what you get is either you get a some kind of cut or push out to the right?
KEVIN CHAPPELL:  In the bottom of the face and thin right.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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