Q. How did you make out today? Some of your emotions.
KHALID ATTIEH: It was a good round. Hit the ball pretty good today. Putted good as well. So it was nice to get a few on the back nine as well as on the front.
The course is playing great. They've done a great job setting it up such in a short time with all the events that are coming up. Greens are rolling really nicely. If you hit your lines here, you're definitely going to make some putts. Looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully keep it going.
Q. You mentioned you had a good back nine. You had a good birdie on 7. Talk us through that.
KHALID ATTIEH: Hit my 3-wood a little bit left, but it was into the wind, so nothing to be scared of reaching the rough. Had a good pitching wedge into about 10 feet and rolled in.
This is my home course, so I know how the greens are a little bit. I know that they kind of break a little less than what they look like. I hit a good putt and just went in center cup.
Q. You mentioned it's your home course, and you've got the home fans and your mom watching as well. Is that added emotions?
KHALID ATTIEH: Yeah, it's great to have them out here. You don't get a lot of weeks where you've got home support. It's been a long journey traveling around Asia. It definitely can get lonely sometimes, as all the players know. With the home support, I think it's very helpful and acts as a motivation for me.
Q. How cool is it for you to be competing here amongst all the Saudi players? How has that been this week?
KHALID ATTIEH: It's a great opportunity for us. Some great players here, so I'm learning a lot. Just watching yesterday a few guys chip, you learn so much. And even playing with all the players today, they have a lot more experience, so it's nice to see how they compose themselves on and off the golf course.
I think just, yeah, thank Golf Saudi and the Federation for supporting us through this journey.
Q. You just mentioned how much -- would you say that the local knowledge was kind of the secret sauce today?
KHALID ATTIEH: I wouldn't say secret sauce because under the pressure that kind of gets thrown out very quickly when you start competing, but I think definitely knowing a few lines, knowing how the greens react on a few holes, I think that definitely helps.
They've done a lot of changes to the golf course, so it's us getting used to it as well. It's nice to see the golf course playing a little bit tougher, especially as the wind picks up.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports