home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

RBC CANADIAN OPEN


July 29, 2017


Robert Garrigus


Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Q. Talking to your playing partner, James Hahn, he said he shot 5-under and he got waxed. 62, two eagles, six birdies, no bogeys. Moving day?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Yeah, it really was. Kind of started off with that eagle on 2. Missed the green short, like a 30-footer up the hill, through the rough -- through the first cut and rolled on to the green and went in.

Next hole, I stuffed it in there. I chipped in on the par 3 and stuffed it on the other par 3 and made it and I chipped in on 8, and I'm just thinking: Oh, my gosh, what is going on right now. I'm not going to think about anything. I'm just going to keep going.

Q. When you're in full flow, does it feel different?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Yes, 100 percent it does. All year I've been battling to play some really good golf. I missed seven cuts in a row in the middle of the year and I just kept fighting. It's been a long time coming.

Q. You made the turn at 29. Let's take a look.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: This is special. Oh, that's the par 5. That's the eagle putt on the par 5.

Q. This is a pretty good look, too. You had the walk going.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: My speed was perfect all day.

Q. This is my favorite, the walk on this afterwards.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: I knew I flushed it.

Q. That's a good twirl, by the way. That's a lot of sauce on it.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: I knew it was perfect. It flew right where I wanted to. Had the perfect amount of spin on it. Just stuffed it in there.

Q. You had a good look at the last hole, 61.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: I rolled it right where I was looking. I just hit it a little hard. My speed was perfect all day. I didn't want to leave it short.

It's a great day. Had a lot of fun playing with James Hahn. He's a good dude.

Q. 70, 72, 62, now you're right in a chance to win this thing going into tomorrow?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Yeah, it's a dream situation. Obviously would like to have shot 62 tomorrow, but I'm playing good and hitting it good, and if things go well tomorrow, you never know. I'm just excited.

Q. 62, ties the course record, fifth one out here. Only 87 feet worth of putts. Your caddie said you chipped in three times in the first eight.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: We had I think six or seven putts on the front, which was funny, because I haven't putted great all year. But I was really rolling it good today.

Obviously everything was going in. I was chipping in. I made a long one on 11 and I hit a good two shots on the par 5 to 2-putt. I made a good 2-putt on 14 there. 15, I thought I chipped that ball in and it went left. 16, stuffed it in there. 17, just gave it a little too much gas, and 18, I rolled that right where I was looking and it didn't go in. But 10-under, very happy.

Q. Shot of the day for me, being out there with you, was on 16. As soon as you hit it, you took a step and twirled. That was a Tiger twirl, baby.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: I've been hitting it really good lately and I know when my shots are perfect and I knew that was perfect. Put the perfect amount of height on it, perfect draw, started right where I was looking. Putt a little sauce on that one and she was pretty tight and rolled that one in.

Q. Trying to remember the last time the leader in the house before the leaders even tee off on Saturday, and it's a three-shot lead. We're both going to be shocked if 15 is going to be leading at the end of the day.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Absolutely. I'll probably be in fifth or sixth place going into tomorrow. If I'm if fifth or sixth place, that's great.

This is really weird, but last night, I'm sitting in my room, I thinking, if I can get a lead before they even tee off, that would be awesome. I was thinking that the whole night. Now I don't know what that means, but I had a confident mind-set last night. My wife and I prayed all night pretty much that I would play well because I'm in a position that I need to, and God answered my prayers.

Q. I've got to ask you, yesterday you were faced with a really tough shot at 18, and your caddie was going, we could miss the cut. You hit a bad shot and unbelievable to be at 5-under par to start today?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: That was better than the 4-iron I hit on 16 today. I had about a six-inch circle to land the ball in to keep it on the green and landed exactly where I was looking, kind of on the upslope in the rough. I'm off the downslope, kept it on the green and made a good 2-putt.

That's what has to happen. Sometimes two-shot swings happen the wrong way all the and that was the two-shot swing in the right direction and that was par. I could have made double really easily. That was a lot of fun to get that ball up-and-down. Even though I didn't, I felt like that was a birdie. That was nice to get that one in and go out and light it up today.

Q. What exactly was working for you?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Everything was working. Even when I missed a shot, I chipped it in. I made a long putt on 2 for eagle and then made a good birdie on 3. I was rolling it well all day. My speed was perfect. Made a long one at 11. Chipped in on 8. Stuffed it on 16.

It was a great day, one to remember. But I also have one more round to go. So going to stick this one in the memory bank and wipe it clean and go out tomorrow and see what happens.

Q. You mentioned one more round to go, of course, heading into Sunday. How do you build on this very impressive third round?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: You know, it's a huge confidence builder, regardless of what I shoot tomorrow. The position I'm in, I've put myself there many times in my career. I'd like to think that I've got enough experience to close it out. If I shoot it again, I'm definitely going home with the trophy. But I don't expect that tomorrow. I just want to go out and play one shot at a time and focus on the task at hand.

Q. Currently ranked 131 in the FedExCup rankings and a good week you could secure privileges for 2018. Is that in the back of your mind?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Absolutely. It's been in the back of my mind ever since I got my TOUR card last year. You want to keep your job. This game is so hard and we work really hard and we fight, we practice and we work out. It's one of those things where you're constantly searching for something good, and I found it today. I'm going to try and build on that tomorrow, so I'm really excited.

Q. You tied a course record with a 62 today, scoring conditions seemed to be favorable. But you absolutely tore up the par 5s. Take us through both of your eagles.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: The first eagle, I missed the fairway left, 8-iron from 172 yards. Hit it perfect and it came up short. It was a little soft in front of the green. I had about a 30-footer through 15 feet of fringe and then 15 feet of green, and it rolled up. Started it right on my line and it hit right on the line where I wanted to. Went right in the middle, perfect speed.

The second, 16th hole, was just one of the purest 4-irons you can hit. It was fun to watch because it started right where I wanted to. It flew in there perfect and stayed right in the hole and never crossed the flag, landed short and dribbled up there and I had a couple feet. It was nice to have that putt after that shot.

Q. These Canadian fans were eating it up as you were progressing through the round and the crowds got bigger and bigger. What's that like?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: It's the best feeling you can have as a professional golfer. Being out here and feeling the energy. That's the coolest thing is having that energy from the crowd. You're not nervous. You're focusing on every shot and you're pulling it off. It's a lot of fun.

Looking forward to tomorrow. After today, it's a great confidence builder. I know it's hard to follow up a good round with a really good one but I've done before, so hopefully I can do it again.

Q. You DQ'd at John Deere just two weeks ago, last week a Top-10 and a total charge on Saturday, moving day. How much did that DQ fuel you?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: It did. My wife and I prayed about it a lot. We figured that it was a good thing, not a bad thing. We just asked God to bless us and He has, so amen.

Q. You knew it was your day, didn't you.
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Absolutely. It was a lot of fun. The two chip-ins, I haven't chipped in all year it feels like and the first one went right in the middle and the second time I missed the green, that went right in the middle. I'm like, wow, if I can just keep my head about me today, I might shoot something really low. I didn't lose focus once. I hit a couple -- I missed a couple greens.

Just mis-read the wind a little bit here and there but the drive on 18, I just pulled it five paces. If I don't pull that five paces, I'm probably going to get on the green in two and have an eagle putt, but oh, well. It was a great day. I had two eagles and six birdies. It was just a crazy day. It was a lot of fun.

Q. Did you know the course record?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: No, I really didn't. I didn't even know I shot in the 20s on the front. I thought it was 36 and it was 35 and I had a chance to shoot 28 with that missed putt on 9. All in all it was a phenomenal day, just a lot of fun. Had a lot of fun with James Hahn. He's a good dude. I practice with him a lot back in Scottsdale. To shoot 10-under today was nice to see but I've got to do it again tomorrow.

Q. How long do you savor this before you turn your attention to try to win this thing?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: When I leave the parking lot, I'll be done with. I'm sure I'll have a lot of text messages and calls. Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow and go out and just focus one shot at a time. It's the old cliché in golf but it's the most important one because you can't get ahead of yourself. Like I've got a three-shot lead but I'm going to be in seventh place by the time I tee off tomorrow. Not really too worried about that. Just glad I went out and did it today.

Q. For those of us that lose our minds after making three straight pars, what is your mind-set? How do you manage to not get over-excited?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: That's the hardest thing about being on TOUR. There's a lot of go golfers that can play golf but not nor pressure. My mind shuts off. I might be kind of an idiot when it comes to that but that's fine. I'm almost so dumb I can play golf good. That's a good quality to have out here, because you're not thinking about anything. You're not thinking about missing a shot or hitting it close or whatever.

I've been out here for a long time and I've about rounds like these where I just got out of my own way, and that's a really important thing.

Q. In between shots, are you trying to not think about the scores?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: We were talking about all kinds of stuff today. I wasn't even thinking about golf. We were talking about TV shows and music and whatever. And that's when it helps to be playing with somebody that you're comfortable with because they are in the same boat as you. They know the feeling because they have done it before. We were talking about crazy TV shows and our kids and stuff like that. It's just something that is very relaxing when you get to play with somebody that you like.

Q. So for guys like us, is it like a Saturday morning round that you had with James out there?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: It really was. I shot 10-under. Could have shot 12 or 13. Could have been crazy. I missed a few shots here but I didn't hit it perfect all day but I scored perfect. I haven't got to do that in a long time. James, like I said, he's a great dude. We had a lot of fun out there.

Q. The record match is 36 years old. Do you think your record is going to be standing 36 years from now?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: Absolutely not. The kids are too good nowadays. I'm almost 40 years old and I'm playing against kids that I could be their dad. It's crazy to hit it further than I do right now. I remember when I was coming out and they were hitting it as far as I used to hit it, and you know, it's cool to see. The game is getting really cool with all the kids coming out and they are so young and they are so ready. When I was 23 years old, I had no clue what I was doing. It's nice to see that and it's good for golf.

Q. What about conditions out there? Gary Woodland shot 63. Do you think it's going to stay accessible?
ROBERT GARRIGUS: There's some numbers out there. I mean, 63, 64, 65 is not a tall stretch by any means of the imagination. It's kind of, I don't know, the wind is really not picking up. It was nice out there today. I'm just glad it's not a hundred like it was last week. This weather is so nice. I haven't sweat all week. This is perfect. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully it's the same and I can go out and do the same thing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP sports

tech 129
About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297