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DEAN & DELUCA INVITATIONAL

May 28, 2016

Martin Piller

Fort Worth, Texas

Q. All told, this is a pretty good 36 holes for the first time that you've played Colonial in competition. What's gone so well for you this week?
MARTIN PILLER: Pretty much I drove it -- I've been driving it really well the last couple weeks, and that helps on this course because it's not a long golf course, but you can either lay back or hit driver, and I just have to just hit driver, and it left me a lot of wedges and gets you a lot of scoring opportunities.

Q. You had the T5 at the Texas Open; what confidence do you have now that you're out here and really performing well against the best?
MARTIN PILLER: I have a lot of confidence. I got a lot of confidence from Valero for sure, and then I played well at Quail Hollow the first three days. But you know, you've got to play well to be in contention out here. I mean, these guys are really good, and you can't be any geek off the streets.

Q. What's the comfort level of being able to sleep in your own bed here as a Fort Worth resident and be able to play a golf tournament so well?
MARTIN PILLER: Extremely comfortable. Yeah, it's easy to not have to pack or not have to worry about a rental car at the end of the week and just go home and sleep in your own bed, and I can just cook and do whatever I need just like I'd normally be home.

Q. Final group for round 3, which is your anticipation of the way you should be able to play this golf course?
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah, I mean, it looks like it's going to be soft, so when a course is like this and we've had delays, hopefully we don't have any rain, but you just got to eat two, try sup (ph), and mill about the course smartly.

Q. Let's talk about the finish. What a spectacular shot there at 18, which really got you in the final group. Nevertheless, that's kind of how you've been playing.
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah, I actually saw that I probably needed a birdie to get into that final group, and I really wanted to because I've never done that before. Not that I can just kind of will things to happen or anything, but I've never done that about on the PGA TOUR, so I thought, you know, that would be really cool, and so I was really -- I was trying to get one more coming in just to get in that final group because I think that would be really cool.

Q. You're an Aggie, you live in Fort Worth, so this is extra special for you, isn't it?
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah, it is. I'm sure there will be a lot of Aggies out here today and a lot of friends, but yeah, it's nice being home, and it's nice playing well in Texas. It'll be fun this afternoon. I'm sure there will be a lot of people out here.

Q. Final group with Webb and Jordan.
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah.

Q. That is going to be pretty exciting because a lot of people pull for Jordan, obviously he's a Dallas guy?
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah, they'll probably pull for Jordan more than me. DFW is kind of a Texas city more than an Aggie town. That's more of a Houston thing. But I'm fine with that. I know everybody loves Jordan, and that's cool. Nobody really knows about that, and so that's okay.

But yeah, it'll be fun the whole day.

Q. Do you play much at Colonial or more at Shady Oaks?
MARTIN PILLER: I'm exclusively at Shady. I come over here maybe once or twice a year, if that, just for fun, but I'm always over at Shady.

Q. The fact that you played this morning and played well, and now it'll be a quick turnaround, a positive?
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah. I've seen the course, and I'll probably try to eat a lot this afternoon so I don't get tired, but I've seen the course now. Had to play 12 holes this morning. But yeah, I think that's a positive, and you get a feel for how the course is playing, and I'll take a break, have a short warm-up, and then just go back at it again.

Q. Tell me about playing your way into the final group here, first time going around at Colonial as a Fort Worth guy.
MARTIN PILLER: Yeah. Well, just being in the final group is cool. I've never done that before, and so -- at least on the PGA TOUR, so that's cool. That's where you want to be. That's better than missing cuts and being at the back of the pack. It's way better to be in that final group.

Q. The closing hole there, great approach. Looked like about two feet. How big was that birdie just to cap it off?
MARTIN PILLER: That was good. I've been hitting my wedges good all day, and I had a perfect number, I had 126, which is just perfect for a full, hard gap wedge, and I could just hit it as hard as I wanted. I went after it, and it came off perfect. Yeah, it was nice to see it up there tight.

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