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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 10, 2018

Brandon Stone

St. Louis, Missouri

Q. The Scottish Open, British Open, now this week. Is it getting anymore comfortable for you kind of being up there toward the top?
BRANDON STONE: I must say, even at the Scottish Open I didn't feel uncomfortable, even at the Open Championship it wasn't an uncomfortable situation. I think guys who are in this position have been dreaming of being here from six years old on holing putts to win the Masters or PGA Championship. I feel very comfortable in the game, I'm playing very nicely, the rhythm has been spectacular all week. And to be 6-under going into the weekend is where I want to be.

Q. What's your connection -- you said you thought your cell phone might blow up a little bit with South African people, but also with the greats of the game. Obviously Gary Player and that.
BRANDON STONE: Yeah, I think that obviously South Africa is a very sports, sporting nation. My phone did have a few text messages from not only golfers, cricketers and a few rugby guys are sending me a few motivational messages, showing me support. It's really nice to know that even know though we're seven time zones away people are cheering us on. I see Charl is going well today, so there will be a lot of happy golf fans back home.

Q. You said yesterday you were expressing your incredulity at just being in this position. After two rounds how are you doing it?
BRANDON STONE: I don't know. No, I think I've just being really composed out there. I think I was making a lot of decisions out there which felt really smart. At the beginning of the week see said we were going to stick to the driver as much as I can. I feel like I'm driving the ball incredibly well. The putting again was really nice today. Holed a lot of clutch putts for par early in the round to keep the momentum from yesterday. Managed to grab a couple birdies in the latter part of the first nine there. So it's just a momentum thing. It's just a case of you got to hole those putts during the round, they're going to keep the momentum going, and I managed to do that for the most part today.

Q. You were quite chatty on the Golf Channel today. What's people starting who are starting to really take note of your game and speak of you as a real contender, external expectations, do you feel that?
BRANDON STONE: Not at all. You could ask any top professional golfer, the person that holds them self to the highest standard is them self. Obviously I hold myself to a very high standard as a professional golfer. To grow the game, not only in South Africa but abroad, you got to engage the spectators. There was 20, 30,000 people out this morning and they're coming for an experience. And to be a part of that and to try to put on the best show I could, hitting shots, holing some great putts and really engaging with them it makes you appreciate the situation a little bit more than a guy who I feel would be very timid, very neutral, try to not get involved. So I really felt like I fed off the crowd the last couple days and hopefully this weekend I can do the same.

Q. You talked about Quail Hollow beating you last year and so much has happened since, especially the Scottish Open. So how different is it to be standing here? You don't get to stand here unless you did something right. How different is it being able to stand here compared to last year?
BRANDON STONE: You get asked more questions. To put it simply. Yeah, I think any time if you get to stand up on the podium you know you're doing something right. I feel like I'm doing a lot of things right in my game at the moment and hopefully come Sunday afternoon I'm the last person that you guys interview.

Q. The course is getting a lot of sunshine now. Drying it out, I would imagine. What's the difference between today and what you experienced yesterday?
BRANDON STONE: Not particularly much. I think the first nine holes, particularly the first three holes the ball wasn't flying. Obviously it wasn't as hot as it is right now. I thought the ball flew a little short and a few irons came up a little short, especially the first hole of the day came up 15 feet short. But the course is playing fair. If you hit good shots, especially if you're driving it well, the course is really there to be taken. If you look at the guys who are doing well this week it's all good drivers of the golf ball. If you're hitting every fairway you're going to give yourself at least nine opportunities of good looks at it. I feel like I missed a few fairways here and there, but still played nicely, still maintained my composure and gave myself a lot of chances.

Q. You got a text from one of the most famous names in cricket. How did that feel?
BRANDON STONE: I speak to him on a regular occasion, he's an avid golf fan back home and obviously we live in the same area. But, yeah, it was just a text of saying he was glued to his TV screen for the whole weekend now, get it done, pretty much. It was in Afrikaans and my Afrikaans isn't very good and it took me a little while to figure it out. Pretty much go out there and enjoy the moment and see what you can do come Sunday.

Q. The PGA doesn't come through St. Louis. What's your experience been with the crowd here, being here, just your thoughts on being here?
BRANDON STONE: It's been incredible. I think, I mean obviously this morning we were off at 6:55 I wasn't expecting a soul here. The third hole they were three, four deep lining every fairway. So I don't know St. Louis all that well, but the spectators are incredible. The actual energy that you get off the crowd is spectacular this week. Everyone's so thoughtful and so motivating. There's not one negative comment coming out of the crowd as you might get from other places. Everyone is rearing you on, cheering you on and hopefully I can just really harness that energy and hopefully they scream at me after every good shot for the rest of the week.

Q. Who were some of the other athletes maybe back home that you heard from through texts or whatever that Americans might not know but that are back home?
BRANDON STONE: I think one of my best friends, he's a cricketer from South African National Cricket Team. The South African golfers and cricketers tend to get along really well. Seems like they become more golf fans and cricket fans the moment they hang up their boots. So basically the entire cricket, South African Cricket Team has been sending me good messages. And a few rugby guys that I don't think many guys will know. But the support from the entire country and especially the sportsmen because they have been there in different situations obviously and they know the pressures that come with it. So nice words of motivation and hopefully just hoping the best for me.

Q. Did you have a golfer that you looked up to growing up?
BRANDON STONE: Yeah, obviously, I think it's very tough to not look at guys like Ernie and Retief. He was kind of when I started playing he was the head honcho in World Golf Ranking. But then you look at gist like Gary Player and Nick Price, now you look at Louis, Charl and Gracey who are going so good on a global scale and competing in Majors. And there's a bunch of fantastic, not only golfers in South Africa, but sportsmen who hold them self to a very high regard. So all of those names like I mentioned and others are really the benchmark for what you try to achieve as South African sportsmen.

Q. You played your first nine, first guys off, you got done in two hours, how do you hang in there when you go from two hours to three?
BRANDON STONE: Don't really pay attention to it. The guys that I played with are great guys. Great chatting. We were chatting the whole day, every day for the last couple days. Not only golf talk, Johan was telling me he was opening a golf course in Nashville, we were talking about it and Discovery Golf bought it. And things like that interest me. So we had a lot of talking points and it just kind of drained out the time between shots which is quite nice.

Q. (No Microphone.)
BRANDON STONE: Firstly, the greens are spectacular, I think. Obviously they might not be as firm as typical Majors have been in the past, but the surface was pure. Obviously we are the first group out this morning, but even the back nine and even yesterday afternoon the surface was still really good, really held up nicely. The pace of the greens is coming up a little bit but obviously with the heat you can't get it too hot because they will burn and die. But, yeah, I really do enjoy the greens, I enjoy the pace, the surface, like I said before I really enjoy greens that have a little bit of grain, it just, it's a little bit of a difference between certain players. But obviously now the biggest thing is not get too caught up in the social media aspect of everything and the messages from people back home and watching the leaderboard too often. So I might go watch a movie. I think Jurassic World is out or something. We won't get back in South Africa for a couple weeks and I might as well see it here and pass the time without getting too much energy spent.

Q. How much time will you spend on the range?
BRANDON STONE: In this heat not much. 10, 15 minutes. Do some maintenance work, have some lunch and then head out.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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