THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

David Howard

Mixed Zone

Q. You make 4 or 5 on the last?

DAVID HOWARD: 5.

Q. It could have been worse?

DAVID HOWARD: Could have been a lot worse, sorry.

Q. Round of 74. All in all, you got a smile on your face. Clearly it's been an extraordinary day for you.

DAVID HOWARD: It was a great day. Yeah, just a few sloppy things out there, but all in all, I think I handled things pretty well. Disappointed with the score, but it's an experience, and the support out there is unbelievable. So, yeah, it was a good day all in all.

Q. I know you'd have loved to have shot a 68 or 70, but 74 actually keeps you in the picture of making the cut in The Open, The Open that you qualified by coming through regional and then final qualifying. It's a wonderful story. Just a wonderful chapter in today.

DAVID HOWARD: Yeah, I suppose it's nice to get one off the 1st tee with the crowd there. It was an unbelievable experience.

Not too bad in the end. I feel like there was a lot of bad stuff out there, but I managed to get up-and-down a few times and make a nice save. All in all, not the end of the world, but a great day.

Q. As much nerves as you had in the Barton Cup five days ago?

DAVID HOWARD: Probably similar, yeah. No, definitely more nervous than that. I felt like I handled things pretty well. It was a great day out there.

Q. It was the Barton Cup, wasn't it?

DAVID HOWARD: Barton Shield, yeah.

Q. Tell me something in general. When you got out there and you got into the round, did you get the feeling that you had a really good score going because you did settle down a for a while?

DAVID HOWARD: Yeah, I got off to a nice enough start. Made a few nice pars. I feel like approach play wasn't great, and I missed greens when I felt like I shouldn't have been. Managed to make a few nice saves, up-and-downs. Made a few putts that were nice. But it was a bit sloppy here and there. I feel like if I wouldn't have hit iron off the tee, could have gotten myself in trouble. So think more driver tomorrow and full send.

Q. So you've just had five hours or more of real fun without a lot of stress involved. Same tomorrow. Your ambitions, the possibility of making the weekend? From what you saw today, do you think that's on?

DAVID HOWARD: I think so. My game is decent enough. I just need to tidy up a few things, maybe do a small bit of work on the range.

Hopefully I'll have a better round tomorrow, and we'll see where that leaves me.

Q. This is by no means the pinnacle of your career. This could be the start of something great. It is a fantastic place to have that moment. Are you feeling that particular vibe at all?

DAVID HOWARD: No, I definitely feel the support out there. Definitely a lot of Cork people and a lot of Irish out there. It made my day even more special. I can't thank them enough. It's been a great day and a great start to this.

Q. David, talk about the 1st tee, how were the nerves there? Secondly, the roar you got was one that Rory and Tommy Fleetwood would do well to get today. What was that experience like?

DAVID HOWARD: It was mad. I was nervous enough as it was, but I think it made me more nervous, if anything. Had to give them a motion to quiet down. It was unbelievable.

No, I can't thank them enough. So many friends, family, club, girlfriend. It's just a special moment out there. I never got such applause for a bogey before, when I tapped in for bogey on 15. It was like making a big birdie putt to win something.

No, they're unbelievable. It was a great moment.

Q. A lot of Irish mammies out there wooing.

DAVID HOWARD: Loads of them. My mom was out there as well. It was class to have them all there and great support. Seeing all the faces, it's unbelievable.

Q. I think a lot of us in America and probably around the world are starting to learn your story as well. Do you feel like more people are understanding who you are and the stuff you've come through and how amazing it is for you to be here?

DAVID HOWARD: Definitely. When I qualified there, it's a nation wide of people getting onto me and kind of supporting me and telling me that they have relatives with CF. From all around the world, definitely, loads of people onto the end. I definitely feel that support as well, and it's great to see that.

I suppose people with CF have something to look forward to or look up to, and maybe that can drive them on as well.

Q. Does it feel like, being in a place like this and being so visible, do you think back to what you came through to get here? Do you feel like you're being rewarded for being resilient and fighting through all this?

DAVID HOWARD: Definitely. It's been a rough patch for years, and it's definitely been up and down. But thankfully a lot more ups at the moment. Thankfully, since kind of after COVID there, it's been pretty good.

I can't thank my family, friends, the CF team at my local hospital and Vertex for bringing this life-changing drug as well. It's been unbelievable, life changing.

Q. You mentioned the team support you've had. What do you think it is inside you that kind of gets you through the hard moments?

DAVID HOWARD: I think it's a CF thing, to be honest. I think people with CF are just very determined people. We're not quitters. We really want to get past this and keep fighting. Fighting for the struggle for so long, and I think we're going to just keep fighting till the end. Yeah, I think that's what it is.

Q. Is that purple rose related?

DAVID HOWARD: 65 Roses is kind of a charity day for CF in Ireland. That represents that. Yeah, good to have that with me.

Q. How did you sleep last night? How are you feeling?

DAVID HOWARD: Good. A decent sleep. It was an early start. So didn't have enough sleep maybe, but once I got to sleep, it was fine. I probably would want another hour or two. Yeah, I had a decent sleep, but not long enough maybe.

Q. And the nerves, how are the nerves?

DAVID HOWARD: Not too bad. I felt like it was going to be worse. It's definitely nerves out there. Seeing the crowd on the 1st tee probably made it worse, but I knew they were all rooting me on and cheering me on. So that was good to have that feeling as well.

Q. One last thing as well. You took driver off the 1st tee. Not everybody did today. It's a narrow enough target. It's a snaking target. That was brave. When you nailed it, the feeling walking down with the crowd applauding, what was that like?

DAVID HOWARD: That was unbelievable. My shot with the driver right-to-left wind is lovely. It reminded me of the East of Ireland last year with right-to-left wind. Kind of suits the shape at the moment. It was unbelievable to hear the cheer after that. It was like I won something big. It's class. Nothing like that before.