John Deere Classic

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Silvis, Illinois, USA

TPC Deere Run

Eric Cole

Quick Quotes


Q. Eric, another great round today. 7-under. Thoughts on the round?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, no, good score to post for sure. I didn't get off to the best of starts and was kind of scraping around some pars on the front nine. Had a nice few swings there coming in to finish a little stronger. Like I said, very happy to shoot that number with the way I started off the day.

Q. There is a lot of guys on the board as there always are here chasing that first win. You got yours. Does that free you up a little bit or...

ERIC COLE: Well, I am looking for my first win, so, yeah. I'm one of those people.

Q. I don't know why I thought that.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think trying to win a PGA TOUR event is a great spot to be in.

I can't wait for my tee time tomorrow.

Q. You had some experiences last year contending.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, yeah.

Q. What do you take from that into tomorrow?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, being in that position definitely at least I know I'm not going to necessarily be all that comfortable but that's a good thing. That's kind of where I want to be.

To go out there and feel some nerves will be fun. I kind of know what I'm getting into so hopefully I'll kind of play a little better this time.

Q. Does that mini tour experience come into play at all?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, winning mini tour events you're saying?

Q. Yeah.

ERIC COLE: You still feel the same nerves. Probably a little bit heightened out here with so much at stake. Yeah, still want to win.

Going through those feelings and those swings is something you can definitely lean on.

Q. Eagle on 17?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, it was great. I hit a drive that went straight but didn't really hit it all that well and was pretty far back and hit a great 3-wood. So to kind of stay close to Davis to where I'm not starting too far behind tomorrow is definitely important. That was very welcome.

Q. You'll hear guys say they feel close to a win or this guy a due for a win. You've had close calls in your two years on the TOUR. Is that something you feel as well? Is that a quantifiable thing, to feel close to a win or due for one from your perspective?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, close to one. I don't think anyone is ever due for a win. Yeah, being close has got its merits too. That means you're doing a lot of things really well, putting yourself in that scenario.

So I kind of think about it as the more times you're in that scenario the more likely you're to win. The more the better.

Q. Coming down the stretch with Davis today as well, how to you strike a balance between letting that battle motivate you without allowing to you take you out of yourself?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, no, I didn't really feel that much of that going on today. Davis is playing so well it's fun to watch him play out there.

I was just trying to keep him as close as I could and get in that final group with him tomorrow.

Q. Did you see Jordan's 8-under on the board when you got here to the property today?

ERIC COLE: No, not really, no. I saw some of the ESPN live coverage this morning and saw that he got off to a good start; didn't see where he finished.

Q. Did that at all factor into your pretty much today then or alter?

ERIC COLE: His score specifically?

Q. Yeah, his 8-under, seeing the scores are out there to be had.

ERIC COLE: Yeah, I think it was something that everyone kind of expected with the course being softer and not a ton of wind. There is going to be low scores and guys are very good at golf, so there will be a lot of low scores no matter who it is.

Q. Did you get as much out of your round today as you could have even with the front nine struggle?

ERIC COLE: Yeah, definitely very well. Probably didn't play as well as I scored, so happy to finish at 7-under today. I thought I saved a lot of really good pars on the front nine and obviously a good finish to cap off the day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
146027-1-1041 2024-07-06 22:01:00 GMT

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