Media Center Interviews

April 23, 2016

Interview With Luke Donald

Q. I don't know if you hit a better putt today but 18 was a good one to save par.

LUKE DONALD: It was a little struggle to make par on the last. I played pretty solid golf, especially my last 9 holes and a little bit of a slow start but come in with five birdies and no dropped shots, it was -- felt pretty much in control and made a couple putts and it was a good, solid round.

Q. Obviously carrying some confidence from last week bringing it here. Two weeks in the row now you're striking the ball well.

LUKE DONALD: Sure feels good to be back in contention again and having chances to win. That's why we work hard to get in these positions.

Q. Is there something you can pinpoint that's put you there the last two weeks.

LUKE DONALD: Well, obviously making a lot more putts. I switched putters last week, very similar model, same head, different shaft going in it, little different look when I'm looking down at the ball.

But I think I was just looking for that one good tournament to kind of get under my belt and gain some confidence. I felt like my game has been pretty good this season, just haven't been getting much out of it. Nice to see things turning around a little bit.

Q. Lot of golf fans are glad to see you up top there on the leaderboard. Good luck tomorrow.

LUKE DONALD: Thank you.

Q. Luke Donald right in the mix, like last week at the RBC Heritage. You put yourself in a position again this week at a golf course where you've never played before, tournament you haven't played in 13 years. What does it say about your game that you're now able to string weeks in contention together?

LUKE DONALD: Hopefully it says I'm on the right track. You know, I think last week was important for me to be in the mix and kind of deal with those pressures again and felt like I dealt with them pretty well and, you know, it was a huge boost of confidence, felt like I've been playing well this season, just not getting much out of it and just getting that little spark last week and carried on to this week. It feels good to be in the mix again.

Q. You talked last week about wanting your short game to be at the level where it was when were you No. 1 in the world. You've only had three bogies so far on the this track. Does it say it's getting there?

LUKE DONALD: Certainly it's tricky around the greens here. Hit a decent number of shots. I've been out of position, my short game has been sharp. Holing a few putts, getting up and down. Those are big momentum, bring a lot of momentum with them and certainly it's exciting to be in this position two weeks in a row.

Q. What is your feeling going to be like, it's different than Hilton Head because that was a place you had been in contention and led numerous times, this is a place you haven't been and probably going to come in a little bit behind; does it feel any different?

LUKE DONALD: It's always harder to lead from the front. We've seen that many times over the years. That's why Tiger was so revered, he was very good at closing it out when he was in front. You know, I think being a shot or two back, whatever I am, is a little bit easier to attack from. Certainly excited to be in that position again and have a chance.