THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 18, 2013

Jordan Spieth

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: I didn't get a whole lot. Last night I got 10 hours, 10 or 11 hours. That was as much as I've gotten in a long time. But before that I was getting five and six hours. And then two the night before that. So that's not normal for me. Some people it is, I guess.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: It was great. It was very difficult, but if you're coming out on the right angles in the fairways, the shorter holes, if you're hitting -- you can hit 3- or 4-iron, and if you're putting it in the right side of the fairway, you can actually attack the pins. There were a couple of pin placements that were extremely difficult for which hole it was. But overall I thought it was tough and fair.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: I think it was -- what is it, 14, right after the par-3. It's a really, really long hole. Same at 18, they were difficult pins. I happened to hit it in the spot, the ball bounded into the right spots for me. But I saw the guys in my group, if they were -- Russell hit a putt that I thought was a great putt, and it ended up rolling 30 feet down the hill and he barely hit it. 18, if you're above the hole it's hard, but you can't really be below the hole. If you hit driver on both those holes and hit driver in the fairway, you're okay. But I don't think everyone did that.

Q. Have you ever played a links course before?
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, Junior Ryder Cup was at Gleneagles, which isn't exactly a full on links course. But I played the Junior British Open in England, and it was at Hesketh, next to Royal Birkdale. And then I played the Walker Cup, so we came over and played -- that was at Royal Aberdeen. We played St. Andrews, Kingsbarn, and a lot of rounds at Aberdeen. And that was obviously the most pressure packed, competitive rounds I've played on links, and it was almost two years ago. It doesn't seem there is as many low scores this afternoon, I think because of the greens.

Q. Is that as fast as you've seen them?
JORDAN SPIETH: No, I've played on faster. To be honest, this is more what I like. Last /KWRAOEBG I said the greens aren't fast enough. It's not an issue this week. I putted well today. I feel more comfortable on these greens. I don't think of the speed, I feel the speed. Last week I reminded myself to hit it. This week I can go over and see the putt and feel it, which is obviously going to lead to better putting, hopefully.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: Oh, yeah, definitely. I played really well today. I didn't have very good shots at the first, and then after that, I had a couple of poorish shots in the middle of my round there, but apart from that I played really well. As you can see, there's not much green left on that being good, it's very, very fast and firm. So anything under par this afternoon I think is a good round.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: You know, I hit a really nice shot into par-3, on 4. I hit it into about 8, 10 feet. And birdied the next hole. And that was kind of nice. But actually probably after bogeying the first, I had a great shot into 2 about eight feet. It's nice to get one right back. And I just played well today.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: Definitely. I mean -- yeah, playing the shots, I mean like for example there on 17 I hit 240 yards and hit a 6-iron ten yard past the pin. It was easier to pull the club knowing -- having a week's practice of landing it. Some of the clubs you have to choose out here when it's this firm and windy, it's comical because it starts bouncing and doesn't stop for a while.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: It's not. It's fun. And I think some links courses when they get this fast and firm, I don't think they're fun, because you can hit a good shot and you think it's perfect and then you end up in a bunker beside the green or miss a fairway, so that's why this is such a great golf course. For example on 17 today I had a good tee shot and it was going to be in the tear way and my second shot, I started walking, because you know it's going to bounce guard, you're not going to see it kick straight right and end up in a bunker. It's really hard to hit it close, but if you hit good shots you can hit it close, you can use the bumps and the slopes to do it. No, I had a lot of fun today, yeah.

Q. (Inaudible).
JORDAN SPIETH: A lot of my iron shots I was pleased with where I left the ball. I played the smart shot in there and had control working it both ways.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: No, not really. There's no reason to right now. I mean we're at a Major championship. So this is why we do what we do. This is one of the four weeks of the year where you really need to have your mind right on the tournament. I'm sure when I get back home and watch a little of the coverage that happened last week and have more Internet access, it will be a little easier. But right now I'm just getting out there. I'll probably hit a few putts and get ready for tomorrow.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, now, shoot, there's even less pressure than there was before. I kind of accomplished more than I'd thought possible this year. I just wanted to get my card for next year. Now it's just really exciting. It's nice to be playing in three Majors in the year. And the playoffs, to get a chance to play in World Golf Championships, it's what you strive for. I didn't think it would happen this soon. But obviously on the course I was plenty confident to go out there and do it.