HONDA CLASSIC

February 25, 2023

Eric Cole

PGA National Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. It was a fun round of golf, kind of had a little bit of everything out there, had to deal with some bad breaks. How would you assess your Saturday?

ERIC COLE: It was a good day, yeah. 66 on this course on a Saturday in the tournament is a good day. I hit the ball nice and made a few putts here and there, so it was overall a very good day.

Q. It's a weird week because there's more scoring here than there ever is in this golf tournament. You make a couple of pars early, get the bad break on 4. To get that one up-and-down almost felt like it kind of jump started a little something, didn't it?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, those kind of breaks happen. I didn't hit a great shot, but I thought it was going to be short. I was telling it to go, and I guess it hit the collar there and kind of scooted it over the green, but made a really good putt, and like you said, I think it probably helped -- not that I had any momentum, but I didn't lose any by making a bogey there, and I think that was kind of important.

Q. Best swing of the day may be the wedge there on 13 which is one of those rare times when you've got sort of a green light wedge in your hand to attack those holes and darn near hooped it in there for an eagle.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, it was a good shot. It was kind of a good yardage because it was into the wind so I was able to hit one soft and take some spin off it, so it's always great to have a tap-in birdie.

Q. Best stuff from the 54 holes that you take into tomorrow from this important final round?

ERIC COLE: I'm hitting the ball well, which is always good. It's important around here. There's so many tough shots. But I felt good today, which was really nice. I felt relatively comfortable out there and hit some good shots when I needed to.

Q. Won over 50 times as a professional. What do you tell yourself when you go into a Sunday? You've won enough times; what are you going to tell yourself tonight?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I mean, it's the same but it is different. It's a bigger stage and stuff, but the golf ball doesn't know the difference, and I'm just going to try and keep kind of executing the way I have the first three days, and I think it should take care of itself.

Q. You've had plenty of golf advice in your life from your family. If you had to give yourself advice going into tomorrow that you have learned in 34 years, what would be your advice to yourself?

ERIC COLE: Don't change anything from the first three days. I might eat the same food and do everything the same, so that's what I'm going to do.

Q. Big stage, big round, and you performed very well. What did you show yourself today?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, it was good. I've been playing some good golf. It's a really difficult course and one that demands a lot. It's good to perform in that situation for sure.

Q. When you were going to school over here at Nova, would you and your buddies ever come over during Honda week?

ERIC COLE: Wow, that's a good question. I don't really ever remember coming up here when I was in college, but I've caddied this tournament at least once, maybe twice.

Q. For Sam?

ERIC COLE: For Sam, yeah. I've seen the course and the tournament, so it's an advantage for me.

Q. A lot of people might see your name tomorrow and say this kid hasn't won on TOUR yet, but you've won a lot. What role does that play in giving you some confidence for tomorrow?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, anytime you win a tournament it's a good thing. You can only beat the people you're playing against, so it feels good to win. You get a nice sense of satisfaction from it. It's something that translates, at least a little bit, on any stage.

Q. Yesterday you said this is one of the few courses where you have actual experience as far as PGA TOUR courses. Are you finding like today you're becoming more and more comfortable here?

ERIC COLE: Well, I'm not sure anyone is ever really comfortable on this course. It's pretty demanding and intimidating when you're on some of those tee boxes.

I am hitting the ball well, so that makes it feel a little bit more comfortable, I'd say.

Q. Was there any shot or hole today where you would say was a turning point, like okay, I've got this and I'm on track?

ERIC COLE: I don't know if there was one. Like I said, I'm swinging the club well. I felt relatively comfortable most of the day, and I'm just going to try and keep that going for tomorrow.

Q. No eagle chip-ins today like the first day.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, no chip-ins today but if you hit more greens you have less opportunities.

Q. 18 was great, an eagle putt --

ERIC COLE: No, I hit a really good second shot in there, and I left the putt short, which I didn't love, but to finish with a birdie is always a good thing.

Q. Tomorrow is such a great opportunity; how do you not get ahead of yourself and treat it like a normal round?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, that's probably going to be a little bit of a challenge, but I kind of focus on the process of getting ready the same every day and try not to change too much. My warmup will be the same hopefully, and when I get here will be the same. Kind of try and be as similar to the other days as possible.

Q. Just one last one on thinking about winning. You've worked so hard to get here. Now you put yourself in a great position. What are the emotions of that going to be like?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I mean, it's something that I've always dreamed of doing, one, playing on the PGA TOUR, and two, winning. But for me, like I said, I kind of focus on if you play good golf, that kind of takes care of itself, and I might play great tomorrow and I might win tomorrow, but if I just keep doing what I'm doing, if this doesn't happen to be my week, then maybe one in the near future will be.