May 21, 2009
QUICK QUOTES FROM:
MIKE MALASKA
GARY ROBISON
JEFF ROTH
WILL FRANTZ
ROBERT GIBBONS
DENIS O’SULLIVAN
BRENT MURRAY
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
MIKE MALASKA
Q. Other than two tough holes, pretty satisfied with the round today?
MIKE MALASKA: I played okay. The greens were, you know, I got, I 4putted the first hole from about 15 feet. I hit two bad drives, both drives I couldn't even move the ball. So but, yeah, I was okay. You always want to play better, but no.
Q. Any surprises on the course today?
MIKE MALASKA: Not really. No, it's very fair. You just have to hit it in the fairway. If you hit it in the rough, it's just a gamble as to what kind of lie you're going to get or if you can move it too far.
So, no, I think the golf course, there are going to be some good scores. If you can keep the ball below the hole, the greens are not, they're not bad at all. So it's some great it's in great shape, it's just sitting there.
Q. Is there a best club in the bag?
MIKE MALASKA: Yeah, my rescue, because I had to hit it out of the rough so many times. So that's a good club, that utility, rescue, out of the rough, that's about the only thing that you can advance down the fairway more than about 140 yards, so you miss the fairway, that's a good option. So I used that quite a bit today.
Q. Any adjustments for tomorrow?
MIKE MALASKA: Yeah, I just didn't drive it very well. I didn't keep it in the fairway. That's usually my strong suit and I just didn't drive the ball well and every time I missed a fairway it was tough. And it was a double. But the golf course is very fair. There's nothing out there that's ridiculous.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH:
GARY ROBISON
Q. You parred 16. Now that's a tough hole.
GARY ROBISON: Yeah. Yeah. Good par5.
Q. How did you handle that?
GARY ROBISON: I hit a good drive and good 3wood and had about 65 to the hole and hit it about 15 foot and made that.
Q. You're a northeast Ohio guy, have you played the course a number of times before?
GARY ROBISON: A few, not a lot. But probably a half a dozen times before this.
Q. How did the greens play today?
GARY ROBISON: They were fine. The golf course is absolutely perfect, so if you hit it where you're looking, you got a chance.
Q. The fourth was a challenge today.
GARY ROBISON: Yeah, it was. I just, you know, I didn't hit a good drive and I hit a bad chip and hit it in the bunker and didn't get it upanddown from the bunker and just a bad hole.
Q. What was the best club in your bag today?
GARY ROBISON: I'm not sure any of them were real good. I don't know, I hit a lot of good shots, I just never made any birdies. And it's hard to when you're not making any birdies, you can't score. So just a lot of 2putts, so.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH:
JEFF ROTH
Q. Talk about that monster, 16, what did that do for you? You parred that one.
JEFF ROTH: I parred that one. I hit a couple nice shots down there about 50 yards from the hole, actually, and had a short putt for a birdie, maybe six, eight feet and didn't make it. I got by it all right.
Q. Did the course play the way you expected?
JEFF ROTH: Yeah, it played just perfect. The fairways are nice and fast and firm and the greens are firm and difficult. You just have to make sure you stay below the hole and stay on the right side of the hole.
Q. You got a birdie on 3?
JEFF ROTH: Birdie on 3? Yeah. Yeah, I made a nice putt there. I was kind of back deep behind the pin to the left a little bit and I was along the ridge and I got the speed down real good and it kind of turned to the right and then it stayed straight and went right in the middle of the hole.
Q. What did you think of the back to back par5s?
JEFF ROTH: That's unique. We don't get a chance to do that very often. And I botched the first one up, hit a bad drive and just kind of chopped my way up the hole and made bogey.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
WILL FRANTZ
Q. How did the course play today?
WILL FRANTZ: Pretty difficult, I thought. Greens were pretty firm and pins were tucked away and greens were very fast here. I played in seven Majors now and seven Senior Majors, probably the hardest greens of any place I ever played.
Q. What did you think of the back to back par5s? You birdied one or you parred one of them.
WILL FRANTZ: Yeah. Yeah. That's a real nice streak, especially if you start on the back and then you come around and play the back again tomorrow, so we started on 10 today, so we'll have the back nine again tomorrow.
Q. You birdied the third hole.
WILL FRANTZ: That was my lone birdie, yeah. I birdied that hole almost every practice round. So it just fits my eye, one of those greens where the wind is just right and it's just one of my favorite holes out here.
Q. Did the course play like you expected?
WILL FRANTZ: Yeah, a little bit thicker rough than I was expecting before I came here, a little bit more difficult in the rough. A little bit more penal. It's almost like a USGA event, the way the setup is.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
ROBERT GIBBONS
Q. Robert Gibbons, who had a great game today. Talk about the backtoback birdies on 15 and 16.
ROBERT GIBBONS: 15, hit a great drive up the right, hit a 4wood middle of the green, 2putt, birdie.
Then 16, driver, 4wood, wedge, about 10 feet and made the putt.
Q. How are the greens playing today for you?
ROBERT GIBBONS: Fast. Very difficult and fast. You want to hit the ball pin high and maybe below it. Don't be above the pin.
Q. You had another birdie as well out there.
ROBERT GIBBONS: Yeah, on the fifth hole I hit it about two feet. So I made that one.
Q. This is your debut in this event.
ROBERT GIBBONS: Yes, it is. I'm the kid of the bunch. One of the kids.
Q. Did the course play the way you expected?
ROBERT GIBBONS: Yeah, I played three practice rounds and it helped me on some of the par3s picking the right club, etcetera. But it played just like practice.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
DENIS O'SULLIVAN
Q. How are the greens playing today?
DENIS O'SULLIVAN: Too fast. Much too fast for me. They're wonderful. The place is absolutely fantastic. But I'm not used to speed like this. Never. In Europe we don't get that kind of speed. So it's a bit tricky. But it's awesome.
Q. You did birdie on 15.
DENIS O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. That's awesome.
Q. Back to back fives there.
DENIS O'SULLIVAN: I had a rough day out there. No, I just didn't hit it good. I come off a couple weeks of back trouble. Really I'm not a hundred percent really. My back's not great. But that's no excuse, I just didn't hit it good enough out there. And if you don't hit it in the fairway, it's dead. I hit it on four into the rough and I had four hacks out of the rough before I could get it out. So, not the thing to do.
Q. Change of game plan for tomorrow?
DENIS O'SULLIVAN: Just play better. That's all. Hit it on the fairway. Hit it on the green out there. It's such a tough golf course. And the scoring is, 66s? Not even in my dreams.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports.
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
BRENT MURRAY
Q. You started off today, you birdied on the first hole. How did you feel out of those?
BRENT MURRAY: Well, I had one good thing happen, that was it.
Q. Did the course play the way you expected?
BRENT MURRAY: I think the course was very good. The greens are fast and tricky and it's important to hit the ball in the fairway.
Q. What did you think of the back to back par5s? That's pretty unusual.
BRENT MURRAY: That is kind of unusual, but, yeah, it's kind of odd, you don't play any of them until you get to 15 and then you get them both. But it's a great golf course. It was fun to be on it.
Q. Did today's play change some plans for you tomorrow?
BRENT MURRAY: Yeah, I might go and have a few drinks tonight, I don't know. I didn't do very well. Hopefully I can do better.
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