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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDEJune 6, 2015Jim FurykDUBLIN, OHIO Q. Those greens look like they've been pretty challenging out there? JIM FURYK: They were slick. I had a couple of putts that I knew were fast, but still surprised me. And 16 was‑‑ I was pretty proud to hit the green and I three‑putted on top of it, but I still made bogey. The greens are getting slick. Some of them are drying out. 16 is drying out a little quicker than the rest. There's still some that are receptive today in spots.  You could attack. But I thought the pin placements were a little more difficult and I didn't take advantage of some of the scoring opportunities on the back nine, like the two par 5s. 14, I hit in there tight and missed it. I had some opportunities maybe to do more damage, but 2‑under is a good score. Q. The low round this morning, the course maybe a little softer. As you head into tomorrow's round, experience is a huge benefit here, is that something you're going to use tomorrow? JIM FURYK: I hope to. But a lot of guys up on the leaderboard, Justin's got a lot of experience, a lot of guys have played here quite a bit. There's places to attack on this golf course and there's places to play conservative, and I'm going to try to pick and choose those places tomorrow and hopefully do well. Q. What do you think it's going to take tomorrow to catch up with Justin? JIM FURYK: It's going to depend on the weather. I think it's supposed to be more breezy tomorrow, supposed to come from the other direction. I think it's coming from the south tomorrow. It's going to be a lot warmer. You never know, if we get a little breeze and sun on it early, this place firms up, then all of a sudden 3‑ or 4‑under is a really good score. Justin is definitely in control with 15‑under par. He's got a lot of experience, obviously one of the best players in the world. He'll kind of control what it's going to take and a lot of‑‑ the rest of us will have to chase him. Q. What is about this week and this place that have helped you find your form after a couple of off weeks? JIM FURYK: I was tired for the PLAYERS. I played well the first couple of days and then I just petered out and didn't have my best stuff on the weekend. And I was struggling, going through some different driver shafts and changes going to Charlotte. So I was definitely bummed about my performance at Wells Fargo. I still feel like my game is in good shape. I feel like my iron game has been sharp all year. I've been putting a lot better. I'm working on some things that I've really enjoyed. Really I think‑‑ outside the back nine today where I didn't drive the ball very well, I've driven the ball extremely well this week. I thought I was in the rough way too much in the back nine. But for the other, we'll say, 45 holes, I've been in the fairway almost every hole. Q. That breeze you're talking about, if it changes tomorrow, how much does that change the golf course itself, not about drying it out, but just playing the golf course? JIM FURYK: The golf course has flip‑flopped. We're going to have two days with a southerly wind and two days with a northerly wind if that forecast holds up. It changes some of the holes and how it plays. But it really wasn't blowing hard enough the first three days to really be that much of an effect tomorrow. It looks like it could get closer to 15 miles an hour, and that makes this place extremely difficult, because it's a golf course that has to be played in the air. It's hard to flight the ball out of the air. If the greens get firm and stop it, you can't bounce the ball on a lot of greens because of water and bunkers. So having to put the ball in the air here, you have to be very crisp in the wind. Q. You played 16, 17 and 18 even par, I know you missed a birdie putt on 18. That was a very good score for those holes today. You mentioned 16 in particular. JIM FURYK: Well, I kind of‑‑ I didn't quite catch the 6‑iron as well as I wanted to. I had it on the fringe and it didn't really kick up. I left it towards the front of the green. And that green is firmer and drier than the rest of the golf course and I recognized that fact by marking my ball and walking it. And I just wasn't able to adjust and I hit the putt too hard and knocked it by. I was bummed to make bogey there, but was able to turnaround and hit it stiff on 17. Hit a bad putt at 18, but at least I had a good opportunity for birdie. I was disappointed with‑‑ I hit a good putt at 14 from about six feet and then missed it and then wasn't able to make birdie at 15. I felt like I let a couple slide there, a couple of opportunities. So to finish those last three even par, you feel like you get a shot back almost. It's almost like making a birdie. Q. The difference between the best score today and the worst score today was 20 shots. Is that indicative to some extent of this golf course, A? And B, does that surprise you? JIM FURYK: Oh, I guess it surprises me a little. But it's a golf course where when you're on, you can shoot a pretty good number. Balls will funnel towards the hole in certain pin locations and the greens are really good. You can get hot with a putter here. But it is a severe golf course in that you get penalized a lot for near misses. You can hit some very good golf shots, say at 18, that come ripping back‑‑ you're a yard away from being perfect and all of a sudden you've got a 45‑yard pitch shot that you feel like you can't get close one out of 15 times. Those are differences between having a 10‑footer for birdie and making 5 or 6. So it is a golf course where a lot can happen. And I can see a guy maybe get a little frustrated out there, say on moving day, and get it going south and not being patient and start pressing little bit. And all of a sudden it just continues to go south. What was the best score today under par? Q. 65. JIM FURYK: That's a good score. Always is. But they were lower the first two days? Q. Two 64s. JIM FURYK: And I'm sure the scoring average is a little higher today. Q. Would you say a golf course on Tour‑‑ taking the majors out of the equation, would you consider this to be a course where you really can't take anything off, any shot off? JIM FURYK: Oh, absolutely. Even the short holes here. You look at 3 and you look at 14 and they're two holes, because of the severity of the green, because you have to hit the ball in the proper place in the fairway, they can jump up and bite you. You can make 6 on those pretty quick. You can make a lot of birdies, as well. But the difference on a hole like 14, you see a bunch of birdies and a bunch of 5s and 6s and that's pretty much indicative of most of the holes out here. Q. To be in contention on a Sunday at this point in your career, is it different than when you were younger? JIM FURYK: Not really. I don't feel like I've been put out to pasture yet. Somebody called me dad on the 12th tee. I thought that was pretty funny. It made me chuckle. I was walking up and they said, "Come on, dad, let's go." It was pretty funny. I had to chuckle at that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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