|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
HUMANA CHALLENGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CLINTON FOUNDATIONJanuary 17, 2014Brendon ToddLA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA MARK STEVENS: We would like to welcome Brendon to the media center. Brendon shot a 63 today. Two off the lead going into the third round. Minus 16. You've got the only bogey‑free round through the first two days. You're bogey‑free through the first two days, I can say that better. And today with a career best of 63. Talk about your round and then we'll have some questions. BRENDON TODD: Obviously, both days were really solid. Bogey‑free was huge. I saw Scott Stallings was bogey‑free through like three rounds and there's some good motivation to keep making pars and birdies. Got off to a pretty good start there birdieing the par‑5 second and the par‑3 third and then just kept birdieing the par‑5s and kicked a couple in here and there. And before I knew it I was at seven or 8‑under with a few to play. Feeling like I should birdie every hole. MARK STEVENS: Questions? Q. 16‑under through two rounds. And yet you don't have the lead. BRENDON TODD: Right. Q. Is that what you expected this tournament to be or do you even bother looking at the leaderboard yet? BRENDON TODD: No, I watched a little bit. It's not necessarily what I expected going into the two days, because you usually 16‑under even here is right at the lead or around it. But the weather's been so good for two days I'm not surprised to see what Patrick did. I am happy I get to play La Quinta tomorrow after watching him shoot another 8 or 9‑over there, right? Q. 63. BRENDON TODD: So, yeah. Q. You mentioned the par‑5s. There's five of them obviously on the Palmer Course. It seems like everybody on the TOUR attacks par‑5s today. Do you look at those holes on this course, all five of them, as holes that you're supposed to make birdie on? BRENDON TODD: Absolutely. Yeah. I think the par‑5s this week are probably the easiest on TOUR. Throughout. So this is the week you just got to dominate them and that's the only way can you shoot the scores, you have to shoot to win this event I think, is to play them really well. But I'm not always getting to them in two. I laid up on 14 today and made a birdie. Q. You stayed on the other side of the water? BRENDON TODD: Yeah, not many guys are reaching that one in two. So there are a couple you have to wedge it close and make the birdie that way. Q. You won Q‑School in 2011 at the other courses, there's different courses but they're pretty similar, is there something about these courses that you like? BRENDON TODD: I think definitely ‑‑ just around the greens, I feel really comfortable and consistent out here. I have a pretty good short game usually. And the rough isn't too severe out here and the greens will roll so good with that over seed, that I feel like I should always be a threat around the greens to chip in or make a long putt. Q. This time around on the TOUR how different player are you than the other times? BRENDON TODD: I think I'm miles different. Definitely than my rookie year and definitely than 2012. Last year I was playing well too. I was kind of already getting in this groove last year, but I only got to play 10 times out here. So I feel like in the last year I've made big strides. I'm hitting it more solid, and able to use my short game to my advantage instead of to save me. Q. Many many bulldogs out here, and your coach says that the reason you guys are successful is because there was a struggle to even make the team every week. BRENDON TODD: Right. Q. How true is that in your case and what were those qualifiers like every week to make sure you could get to play? BRENDON TODD: Yeah, the qualifiers were definitely a grind. They were really competitive. There were a lot of guys with hurt feelings at the end of them. So, I think that definitely ‑‑ I think it made us all tough players. I think we're all guys who are willing to fight it out, no matter how we're playing. I think the other thing he did well is he encouraged short game practice, which carries really well out here. Q. He also said you were an example of a guy, and you tell the players this now, when you go back there, that don't make big changes, how, what's your story on that? What happened to you when you tried to do that? BRENDON TODD: I definitely would encourage a college player to find a teacher and stick with them for the long haul. But if it's not the right guy, you do have to find a new person. But you've got to get the right guy and stick with him, because the more you're switching around, the more inconsistent you're going to be. And that definitely hurt me. My, but my teacher in college was a guy who wasn't really a golf pro and he was from my hometown in Cary, and when I turned pro he wasn't able to travel. He had twin daughters, so ‑‑ and he had a day job, so it wasn't really working out. So then my search began, my second year as a pro, who is going to teach me. And I went through a few of them before I found one that worked for me, or two now that worked. Q. Who is your guy now and for how long? BRENDON TODD: So I work with Scott Hamilton for just over a year and I've had Bill McInerney for a year and a half. And he's more of like an overall coach. We do everything from mental to short game, to how I play the course, to even just life coach strategies. And then Scott's my swing teacher. MARK STEVENS: Well, thanks for your time. Good luck tomorrow. BRENDON TODD: All right. Thank you, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact 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
|