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THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 21, 2018

Harris English

Old Westbury, New York

JACK RYAN: We welcome Harris English here at THE NORTHERN TRUST, first round of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Harris earned a spot in the field finishing T-11 in the Wyndham Championship. Talk about how thrilling that was to finish strong and get into the field here.

HARRIS ENGLISH: It was definitely a bit of a pressure-packed situation coming down the stretch. Different than, really, winning a golf tournament. Felt like Q-School again back in 2011 where you're in the sixth round and trying to get it done. It was a weird situation coming out, trying to chase down those leaders and trying to make a 3-putt on 10 and 11 and kind of come back and like, all right, got to stick it out these last six, seven holes and try to hit some more birdies and get in the Top-10, top five, as close as I can to the lead.

JACK RYAN: Qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs, does that mean a lot to you?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, it means everything. You don't want to be put on the bench in the Playoffs. From the first tournament, the Safeway Open in Napa, you see FedExCup, you see every week they are talking about it, and getting into THE TOUR Championship in Atlanta is a big goal every single year, and sets up your year, getting in the majors, World Golf Championships, it's definitely on my mind and I'm glad to be here and looking forward to the challenge this week.

JACK RYAN: You're one of seven Georgia grads in the field, more than any other school has. How does it feel to see a lot of the guys here and having a lot of success on TOUR?

HARRIS ENGLISH: It's awesome. It definitely feels like family out here, especially the guys in the Sea Island where I live, it's awesome. That's what we were practicing for and playing for in college and that's what we prepare for to get out here. It's not a shock to me, and I'm kind of shocked there's not more guys out here. Probably be even more next year.

Q. Going down the stretch, like you were talking about next week, do you know where you're at? Do you know what you need in terms of points? What's the dynamic there?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I just knew if I had a chance to win the golf tournament, that I would be in a good spot and that's what I put myself in.

Really just wanted to win a golf tournament. I didn't keep track of how many points I needed, what place I had to finish. I knew that can change on a whim, on a Sunday, I mean, based on how other guys do. If the ball is in my court and I did what I needed to do, I knew I would get in.

Q. As the round is going on late, did you know where you would finish?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I knew I was around seventh or ninth place. After I 3-putted 16, I was really just trying to birdie 17, because I knew 18 is a tough hole. That's probably the hardest hole on the course.

I knew I needed to have a par coming down 18. Hit the ball a little left off the tee, drew a pretty good lie and with that pin, I knew if I was just a couple short of the hole, I would have a pretty good look at it. Obviously a little longer putt than I wanted but straight uphill and had an awesome lie under that kind of pressure.

Q. With where you are in the standings, is it a little bit of a free-wheeling week for you and if so, does it help with the confidence that you bring in playing well last week?
HARRIS ENGLISH: For sure. Being 124 right now, I need another really good week this week to make it to Boston. Yeah, it's probably a more aggressive mentality going out trying to win it; be 90th in the rankings and trying to play safe.

I like where I am. I have a lot of confidence from last week. Struck the ball well and kind of did everything to put the ball in great position. If I can do that again this week, that would be a heck of a week.

Q. Are you an aggressive player -- did that play to your strengths?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I think so. Drove the ball really well last week, hit a lot of fairways. I know Sedgefield, it's imperative to hit fairways.

I've heard the rough is up this week. I haven't played the course yet but I know if I can get my driver going, I can have a lot more wedges and it can lead to more birdie opportunities.

Q. Obviously last week it was very important for you to make the FedExCup playoffs. Can you talk about THE NORTHERN TRUST and what it means for you to be here?
HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, I think this is my seventh year on TOUR, so this will be my seventh straight FedExCup Playoffs, so it's huge. I saw the streak, maybe on Twitter, that there's only a handful of guys that have played all the FedExCup events since the inaugural in 2007 here. It's awesome.

Northern Trust is a great sponsor. I played it out in L.A. when they were the sponsor of that tournament, so they are some good friends of mine and I love being out here. This is an exciting week and a lot can happen. I know Heath Slocum won a few years ago, and he was 12th in the rankings and won this tournament and Morgan Hoffmann was a few years ago was 12th and made it all the way to THE TOUR Championship, so I know it can be done and I'm looking forward to it.

Q. The par 4, 12th hole, short par 4, have you decided how you're going to attack that during the tournament and have you done anything in practice rounds to prepare for that?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I haven't been back here since 2014, so I know they have rerouted the course a little bit. I was looking at some of the holes on my phone yesterday coming up here, but I haven't had a chance to really pick the strategy out. If I'm driving the ball, if I'm hitting my 3-wood, driver, I'm probably going to go for it.

JACK RYAN: No player has gone to THE TOUR Championship having entered Wyndham outside the top 125. What does it mean to you to be the first player to have the opportunity to do that?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, it's awesome. I love challenges like that, and this game, it doesn't change a lot to gain confidence. I feel like I got a lot of confidence last week under the gun performing and really hitting some shots that I wanted to, and haven't done that in a long time. It's good to have that confidence.

Q. What kind of change was last week --
HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, a little bit of a progression. It really started in Reno. That was the first cut I made in six or seven weeks, hit the ball well.

Didn't putt that great in Reno, but I feel like I definitely had some positive stuff happening. Just a little -- taking it from the range to the course. It's a lot easier said than done, but playing a lot more holes, trying to get myself uncomfortable and hit different shots that you just aren't on the range beating balls at one flag hitting straight shots.

I'm playing a lot more holes and trying to be more creative and it's bred some confidence.

Q. With regards to Tiger, obviously you weren't around during his prime or playing in his prime. Curious what have your impressions been of this run that he's made, now that he's healthy again, just the interest it's generated in St. Louis -- did you play Tampa?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I did play Tampa, yeah.

Q. What did you expect out of him?
HARRIS ENGLISH: I didn't really know what to expect with him coming back. Obviously he was the player I grew up watching in my generation. He's the greatest ever. That's why we play golf is because we wanted to be Tiger Woods. We wanted to play against Tiger Woods. It's amazing what he's done. He's brought so much more interest in the game. Any time he's teeing it up, everyone is so much more aware and they are talking about it on ESPN. Non-golfers are actually watching the tournament to see what he's doing.

What he did at the PGA is impressive. It's exciting to see. I love watching him and I'm glad that he's back, and hope he can continue forever.

JACK RYAN: Thanks for the time, Harris. Best of luck this week.

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