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

SHELL HOUSTON OPEN


March 28, 2013


Jason Kokrak


HUMBLE, TEXAS

JASON KOKRAK:  I was able to relax and have a good time and, you know, take advantage of par-5s and make a couple putts here and there.

Q.  What was the secret, long drive?
JASON KOKRAK:  I think, you know, a combination of I wasn't trying to hit it too hard off the tee, put in it position and give myself a really good opportunity, but couple of them were downwind, so I was able to hit the green in two with a long-iron, but probably a 4-iron and I think I had a 5-inch for the other one.  Just trying to hit wedges close and take advantage of these opportunities that I give myself.

Q.  Got to feel good with a 6-under.
JASON KOKRAK:  Absolutely.  It's always nice to start off with a 66, 6-under par.  There's a lot of guys chasing me.  54 holes left.  There's a lot of golf left.

Q.  Harder the second 9 with the wind picking up?
JASON KOKRAK:  Little bit.  Just hard to gauge how much the wind and where -- which direction -- it swirls a little bit here.  As long as you can gauge the wind and get the direction correct, you're going to be able to hit a good golf shot.

Q.  How do you think 6 will hold up?  I've seen a couple guys on the course, Matt Jones got to 6, he fell back to 4.  How do you think that will work?
JASON KOKRAK:  There's holes out there that you can take advantage of, but if you put yourself -- the greens are firm, get it into a bunker, short side you're going to have a tough time getting it up and down.  Leave it on right side of the hole and give yourself a lot of opportunities for birdies, you'll be able to shoot 5, 6-under par.  Short side yourself, it won't be easy.  It's going to be a lot tougher out there.  It's always nice to get off to a solid start.

Q.  Jason, kind of been a not great year for you, been kind of inconsistent.  You had a great finish at Palm Springs, but what's kind of been going on, little swing stuff or what's up?
JASON KOKRAK:  You know, I was getting the club shut a little bit on the way back.  I noticed that I think a few weeks ago in Tampa.  But, you know, I think I was just putting a lot of pressure on myself, going out there and thinking about the cut line, thinking about different things, and today I had a nice pairing.  I know these guys pretty well.  I've played a lot of golf with Brian and David.  I was comfortable out on the golf course.  The golf course sets up well for me.  It's a long enough golf course, but, you know, the greens are firm enough where I can take advantage because I'm hitting a lot shorter irons into the holes.  These guys were having a hard time holding the greens a lot of time and I'm hitting shorter clubs.  It's easy for me to spin it and hold it in position where I wanted it to.

Q.  So there wasn't anything that you technically really had to overhaul or anything like that?
JASON KOKRAK:  No, no overhauling or anything like that.  Just, you know, the same thing I've been working on, just being comfortable with it and just going out there and being able to execute, I think, is the biggest key for me is to execute the shots the way I'm looking at them.  If I don't execute, I get a little frustrated with myself so that adds to it.  You're not playing well, it adds to the hard times.
You know, I think just coming out this week, just trying to swing smooth, concentrate on tempo and, you know, put myself in the right position, not short side myself.  I did one time today, you know, with the bunker didn't have a lot of sand in it.  About a 35-footer.  14, I believe the par-3, I made a good solid putt there, downhill slider, 8 feet of break from 30 feet.  It was a nice putt to make especially, David chipped it in right before me.  The hole looked big.

Q.  This is a comfort factor for you since you played here last year.
JASON KOKRAK:  It's a comfort factor for me all this year.  I played all these golf courses before I come out.  I don't have to go out there and grind for five, six hours out there on a practice round.  I can concentrate on what I need to do for the week instead of, you know, learning the golf course.  I can concentrate on my own game.

Q.  Kind a little freaking out last year a little bit?
JASON KOKRAK:  Not really.  I like actually -- sometimes I play better without even playing a practice round.  Look at the golf course, step up, hit the shot you're trying to hit, you know.  You know something is there, you're kind of worrying about it.  I went out there, had a lot of fun, joked around a little bit.  Aaron and I had a lot of fun out there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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