THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 19, 2013

Martin Laird

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: I putted nicely today. Three-putted the second hole. Kind of the speed of the greens got me in a second, it was a lot slower this morning than it was yesterday afternoon. Holing that putt in the last -- I hit it in the same bunker as yesterday, and I didn't want to make bogey on the last after bogeying 17. So obviously very pleased to make that putt.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: 17, I hit a great -- kind of unlucky off the tee, I ended up in a horrible spot. My ball plugged in the lip under the bunker. From there I was hoping to make 6, and get out of there. Holed about a six-footer for 6, that I was pleased to see go in. Overall I didn't really play that well today. So shooting even par shows my game is in a good spot, because I really didn't hit a good golf shot under the 7th or 8th hole today. I struggled coming out. I had a nice little hot stretch there in the middle and I held it together coming in.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: It can always be better, but it could have been better. But for how I hit my irons today, I'm very, very happy with even par. Because I didn't really even play that bad coming down the stretch, just those last four or five holes. Everyone thinks 14 and 15, downwind is going to be easy. I think it's harder right now because you can hardly hit the greens. 16 and 17 is a tough finish. The last four or five holes are really hard.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: They were getting a little quicker towards the end. I don't know what it's going to be like this afternoon. I don't know if they had them a little slower yesterday today than yesterday. It was noticeably different the first few holes than obviously us teeing off in the afternoon. By the time we finished yesterday, they were lightning. They're starting to get a little quick in and out.

Q. I was wondering about the greens overall, are they similar or is it just because you played at different times?
MARTIN LAIRD: I wouldn't know, because I wasn't out here at eight o'clock yesterday morning. I wouldn't know what they were like yesterday. At No. 2 I had about 20 feet and left it four or five feet short. They were noticeably different. It wasn't like a foot slower; it was two or three feet slower. But I think they had to do that, otherwise by this afternoon they'd be unplayable. The greens are fantastic. The whole course is fantastic. They're fast, but they're absolutely perfect.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: No, on No. 8 I finally hit a good shot. I think I was getting -- I didn't have a very good 2-iron off No. 3 in the right rough, and it maybe rattled me a little bit. It saying it was a very good 2-iron is being polite. It was awful. I kind of got my tempo back and had a couple a great shots in there. I made four birdies in a row in the middle of the round, and all of them I hit in close. I got my swing back. As I said, I didn't hit bad shots coming down the stretch, but those last holes are hard.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, you know, I'm still confident. You know, it's like last week on the Friday I didn't play very well, and hopefully that's my bad round. And hopefully this week is the same. Hopefully that's my bad ball-striking round, and I manage to even par. If that's the case, I'll be in good shape in the weekend. I don't think scores are going anywhere this afternoon with this east wind. I think the course plays harder with the east wind, and those greens are going to get faster.

Q. (Inaudible.)
MARTIN LAIRD: I think it will help me more than hurt me. I probably have higher expectations for myself than everyone in the crowd. It's not something I'm really worried about. You can only look at it as something that can help up you. They can pull you along. Even as I was struggling, you hear people shouting "come on!" and giving you support, and that's only a good thing.