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SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP


October 28, 2016


Graham DeLaet


Jackson, Mississippi

Q. Another really solid round for you, I thought.
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. I played nicely. It's always disappointing kind of bogeying the last hole but I was happy all day how I played. You can always shave a few off when you look back at it but all in all it was a 69 and shooting anything in the 60s is pretty good out here.

Q. You had one bogey on the last hole. You just drew a really bad lie over in the rough.
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. It was funny, I told my caddy after I hit it I was like, man, I didn't even top that. I actually felt like I hit it pretty solid, but it was a poor tee shot. It's kind of a hard tee shot for me because I can't quite carry that bunker and it kind of forces you almost to hit it in the left rough. So today I just decided I would hit 3-wood and that didn't really pan too well because I was further back and in the rough.

Q. Tell me about the birdie at 7, about an 8-footer, gets you 10-under par.
GRAHAM DeLAET: Oh, the par-316. Yeah, I hit a nice little 5-iron, pulled it just slightly. I wasn't quite trying to go right at the pin and it was just kind of one of those, that's why you aim sometimes a little bit to the fat side and had a nice little left-edge putt right up the hill. It was a perfect leave.

Q. You've struggled from time to time last year with your chipping. It's been solid this week I guess?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. I'm making improvements, man. And that's all I can really do. It's a slower process than I thought it was going to be, but just kind of baby steps, and I had a couple nice ones today I was happy about, and I'm just going to kind of try to keep moving forward with it.

Q. Always good to have a positive frame of mind. Enjoy your afternoon.
GRAHAM DeLAET: Thanks.

Q. All told, this is a golf course that is certainly shaped up for you well this week. What has been the big key today to backing up a really good round after yesterday?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah, I made some nice putts. I felt like I gave myself chances just kind of all day. I kept the ball in the fairway for the most part and that's really the most important part. I made bogey on 9 and I just drew such a bad lie in the rough I couldn't get anything on it. But that's really the key out here and I was able to for the most part keep it in the fairway and when I was in the rough just tried to get something somewhere on the green because it's hard to hit greens from the rough.

Q. Nick won here a couple of years ago. He's contending again. Are there secret Canadians in Mississippi? What's going on?
GRAHAM DeLAET: I'm not sure. I actually saw his name on the leaderboard. That's good to see. He's a good buddy of mine and obviously a cheer for week in and week out. And there's a chance I might get paired with him tomorrow and hopefully Sunday if we can both continue to play well.

Q. Comments overall on your round for us.
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. I was happy with how I played, and like I was telling these guys, I gave myself a lot of chances I felt like, and I took advantage of the majority of them. You always kind of leave some shots out there, but for the most part I played well and made some good putts and I'm happy with it.

Q. People are always intrigued by the crazy shots. Can you go back -- I hate to harp on the bogey on the last hole, but describe just how bad that lie is and what you were trying to do and what club did you hit?
GRAHAM DeLAET: I tried to hit an 8-iron. I was just trying to hit it in the front bunker, but --

Q. Was it like not embedded, but --
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. It was just sitting down. It was a terrible lie. We talked about even just chipping something out and trying to wedge something in there close and trying to make par that way. But I felt like I could -- for the most part you can get the club on the ball, you just can't really control how far it's going or the spin with it. And after I hit the shot, I told Julian, my caddy, I was like, man, I didn't even top that. I felt like I made good contact with it, but it just came out with top spin and down into the ground. And if that ball could have at least gotten to the fairway, I would have had a decent chance to get up and down, but at even from that first cut it's hard to get wedge in there close.

Q. It's annoying, it's almost like winding up in a divot on a drive. Of course, you were in the rough. It's just frustrating --
GRAHAM DeLAET: That's part of the game. I mean you hit the ball in the fairway. That's always the key. If you hit it in the rough, you're rolling the dice whether you're going to get a lie or not, and I hit a poor tee shot, and that's kind of what I got that time.

Q. I know it's early, but how much fun is it to be in the middle of things so far?
GRAHAM DeLAET: Yeah. We got a long ways to go, we're only halfway through, and I don't know how it's going to shape up. I think this is kind of one of the odd courses that actually seems to play a little bit easier in the afternoon, there's not any wind. And the ball goes so much further with the heat, so I expect to be within striking distance for sure. I'm sure someone is probably going to go out this afternoon and shoot a low number, but I'm in good shape.

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