Q. It's been a few years since we've seen you at the TOUR Championship. Describe the types of feelings you've been having ever since you walked off the 18th green knowing you are going to be making that trip?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, it's very exciting. Obviously after last week I put myself in a difficult spot, but showed a lot of guts this week. Played some great golf. To come back after what happened on 5 and not give up and keep at it and play as hard as I did those last three holes, the two up-and-downs I made on 16 and 18, they were very nice.
Q. Let's go back to the bunker on 5. Can you walk us through what happened there?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. I mean, obviously I didn't have the greatest of lies. It was kind of like tiny bit downhill. I just wanted to keep going. I had such a good start. I didn't want to hit it 10 to 12 feet by. I wanted to give myself another birdie and kind of keep at it, and it came out just a little bit too soft. Just hit the lip and came back.
Then the next one I hit it and there was a pebble, and the ball just didn't come out.
It happens. The good thing is that after that I started hitting some good shots, some nice putts. Unfortunately a couple of them didn't want to go in, but like I said, good finish, and we're in East Lake, so it's great.
Q. Something like that can certainly rattle you, knowing that every single shot out there matters. To be able to then go back and do what you did on 18, what sort of conversations were you having with yourself after 5?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, I was just trying -- I was just being positive. I was just really enjoying it. Obviously I was having fun playing with Rahm, with Jon. I was enjoying my game because I played great all week. I knew that I just had to keep believing in myself. Because of that I couldn't just kind of put my shoulders down and give up.
It was nice to do that, and just happy to have a nice week.
Q. It's huge to make it to East Lake because it gives you one more opportunity to showcase your talents and what you can bring to the Ryder Cup team. Hypothetically if Paddy calls, what's your pitch to him right now?
SERGIO GARCIA: My pitch to him? No, nothing. I know he's been watching. He knows where I stand. I know where he stands. We're excited, and just go out there next week, have another good week, and hopefully we'll be there.
Q. After the 4th hole you were one stroke back of the leaders. Is it kind of tricky when you have a chance to win this tournament that you also want to make sure you don't fall out of the top 30 in terms of how aggressive you want to be in certain situations?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, I mean, I think -- yes, I was one shot back but not really because they were just starting and they had -- all the holes that I was birdieing and eagling, they had them, too, and they could do it, too.
I knew that 21-under wasn't going to win, so I needed to keep attacking and keep trying to make birdies. Unfortunately just came out the wrong way, came out tails instead of heads. At the end of the day it was still a great week, and I thought I showed a lot of heart there on those last few holes.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports