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AT&T BYRON NELSON


May 31, 2015


Steven Bowditch


IRVING, TEXAS

ROYCE THOMPSON:  Great win today, Steven.  Now in the Top 20 in the FedExCup Standings and if you could, give us what your feelings, your emotions, getting this second PGA TOUR victory.
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  This is a very special place for me.  As you guys probably are aware, you know, Amanda and I got married here at TPC so this is unbelievable to be sitting up here on a last Sunday afternoon talking to you guys.
It's really -- it's a pretty surreal feeling and one that I guess I thought about occasionally but didn't quite think that would happen yet, especially come this quick.
So, yeah, it's a great feeling to be up here.
ROYCE THOMPSON:  We'll open it up for questions.

Q.  Last year at Valero you played really well and then kind of struggled a little bit in the final round.  This week you win all the way through, played great and kept pressure on everybody else.
What was the difference for you this year as opposed to last year?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  Obviously golf course and conditions.  You know, that was pretty tough last year -- you're talking about San Antonio?

Q.  Yes.
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  It was completely different golf course, completely different set of scenarios.  It was a lot more power golf, TPC San Antonio.  This one here is a lot more birdie golf with the conditions and, you know, it's a little bit different mindset, I guess.
You got to go out there and attack and get your foot down and hopefully come the last couple holes you got a chance.

Q.  Steven, you know, you won last year in San Antonio then it had been kind of a rough stretch, did you change something going into this week or change --
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No.  Run out of money (laughter).  No.  It's basically the way my career has been my whole life.  You know, I guess when it's good, it's good and when it's not, I'm just trying to hang on and make some cuts and get better and better.  You know, it's the game of golf.  I'm obviously not at the superstar level.  I just go out there and do my best and hopefully every now and again I get a chance to win.

Q.  Did you see this coming this week?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No, not really.  I didn't see it coming in San Antonio, either.  You start to see a few putts drop in and all of a sudden your name is around the top of the leaderboard and you just keep moving forward, use that wonderful word in sport "momentum", and just hope it keeps coming with you.

Q.  You seemed at ease from the start today.  Was that because of the way you've been playing --
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  I wasn't really at ease.  I was more like a duck on a pond.  My insides were moving a mile a minute.  Just cruising on the surface.
I guess looking back from the experience I've had, you know, not just at San Antonio but in other golf events when I've been leading throughout my career, I've been able to, you know, just gain that experience and, you know, the feelings that are going to come up in different scenarios so it's -- as long as you understand how you're going to feel and how you adapt to those, it's more about, you know, learning about yourself and then how you're going to react to certain scenarios and I'm lucky enough to be able to do that a few times now so I understand when a truck is coming to get out of the way.

Q.  That said, was it important for you to keep the pedal on the metal there as you were going down the stretch?  On 17, you fired it right --
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No, I didn't fire that at hole at all (laughter).  That was -- we just had a cover number there that we had to cover and that was really our only goal.  I was trying to hit it 30 feet left of the stick and come out of it and blocked it right and ended up being in a pretty good spot, I guess.  Yeah, my stomach hit the floor when that took
off the club face
Q.  Steven, early on Dustin, you know, chipped in a couple, you guys were tied after 3 and, of course, No. 6 happens.  At that point, does your mind change at all when you see him kind of falter?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  He's obviously a superstar and you know to have Dustin come at you like that, I guess, I'm not sure how you want to put it but it's only golf, it's not like a fight.
Watching him start the way he started I knew it was going to be a tough day.  I just had to stick to my game plan.  Neal Wallace, my caddy, we had a game plan and we wanted to stay aggressive and wait for our moments and we knew the putter being hot this week -- it got a little cold there for the first -- for the Round 2 and 3 and we knew if we were patient, patient, patient, keep getting it on the greens, you know, we're going -- we'll probably have a chance.

Q.  Steven, going back to the shot at 17 when you did see that it was dry, obviously you gave a very long look at that shot.  What was going through your mind, what kind of -- did you feel like, "All right, it's obviously my day today"?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No, not necessarily.  No.  It was more, "That was a bad shot, wasn't it?"  (Laughter).  That's basically -- that was lucky.  I never thought it was my day.  There's so many things that can happen out there.  I wasn't sure really what Jimmy was doing and then also Charley, it was still -- I wasn't sure really what was going on out there.
By no means -- I guess the moment that you probably looking for was after I hit my tee shot down 18 and I knew about, then it was about done because I was only going to have a sand wedge in my hand.

Q.  Just a follow-up, obviously you've won twice here -- in Texas, Adam Scott won the Texas Slam.  Australians seem to do pretty well in Texas.  Any thoughts on why that is?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No State income tax (laughter).  Yeah, I'm not real sure.  This week I guess was a little different.  We're used to the windy, firmer conditions from Australia.  This week, I'm not sure how to really answer that.
It was just one of those weeks, I guess, but most of the time it's dry and it's windy so I think that is a little bit of an advantage for Australians, so to speak.  It's just the way we grow up.  But this week, I'm not sure, I guess everything clicked and it was my time to win.

Q.  Steven, is there anymore emotion or anymore special winning here when you consider where you were in your personal life almost a decade ago at a difficult time or is that a distance memory for you at this point?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  You know, my personal life is my personal life, you know.  It's closed doors and, you know, it's built me into the person I am today and -- every win is special.  This is just another one.

Q.  Steven, what, did you hit 7 at 17, was that a 7-iron there and did you think you maybe mis-clubbed as you were watching that?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  I knew I didn't mis-club.  It was a perfect club to that 184 number that we were trying to cover.  I knew I had enough club but the way I hit it and being 30 yards off line cutting up into the breeze, I mean it was down breeze but cutting up.  Yeah, it was eyes closed and stomach to the floor for a little bit (laughter).

Q.  Steven, when did you get married here and why did you get married here?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  9/10/11.  Because she's my best friend in the world and that's where she wanted to get married.  You know, taking photos on the green today was probably -- wasn't probably, it's definitely the second best time I've had on that green for -- since we got married.

Q.  Steven, lot of Australians live here in North Texas and there's a lot of golfers live here, you know, Spieth was the big factor this week.
Would you like to be known as one of the top Texas golfers?  Would that be something that you would like to be when they talk about top Texas golfers, they bring up your name as well?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  Yeah.  I guess you could put Flower Mound/Australia next to your name.  Yeah, sure.  I'm an Australian, born and bred and, you know, I'll never forget where I come from and where I belong and I'll always -- that's my home.  That's really where it all started and -- but Texas now this is my home right now.
This is where Amanda and I spend 11 1/2 months a year so this is where I live at the moment and it's a wonderful spot and I can't see us moving anywhere else.  No State tax (laughter).

Q.  Steven, did you ever meet Byron Nelson?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No, I did not.  I did not.  Seen Peggy on the first tee, it was unbelievable and to have her tell me these were the cookies she baked, were Byron's favorite cookies on the first tee, no one is eating them, "I'll definitely have a cookie" (laughter).
Yeah, unfortunately I never got to meet Byron but, you know, obviously a true gentleman of the game and one that everyone aspires to be.

Q.  Steven, was there a golfer growing up that you really admired or kind of strived to want to be when you became a pro?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  No, not so much.  You know, it was Greg Norman and Ernie Els were my two biggest idols, still are, you know.  Greg is obviously our biggest ambassador for golf and will continue to be that for quite some time and watching him grow up and be on the world stage, just a -- he had a major impact on my golfing career.

Q.  You missed the cut here each of the last three years.  You win this week.  You look back on those past three events here, what's been the difference?
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  I'm not real sure.  I guess form.  I always really loved how the golf course sets up for my eye.  It was one of those events that I know there's not many par-5s out here, that sort of more plays into my hands a little bit but I just like the way the tee shots set-up for me.  I thought maybe one day if I can come here with some form I might have a chance of having a crack on Sunday.
ROYCE THOMPSON:  Anymore questions?  Thanks for joining us, Steven.
STEVEN BOWDITCH:  Thanks guys, appreciate it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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