Sentry Tournament of Champions

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Harris English

Quick Quotes


Q. Harris, you started the day with the lead. You're going to head into the final round tied for the lead. First, let's talk about your performance on the golf course today. Were you satisfied with your play, especially compared to the first two rounds?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, extremely satisfied. Normally Saturday is my toughest day out here on the PGA TOUR, kind of a weird day of in between making the cut and finishing on Sunday and I felt like I played really well today, stuck to my strategy, executed really well and stayed patient.

My caddie and I were talking before the round, like, you can easily reel off four, five birdies in a row out here and just got to stay patient. I know the scores are going to be low and I knew I had to stick to my game plan and execute really well and that's what I did.

Q. Walk us through what happened on the 18th hole.

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, downhill lie. You probably can't see it on TV of how downhill and right-to-left that lie is. Trying to aim at the right side of the green and just pulled it a little bit. I was trying to hit a hard 4-iron to get it there and just got it going with the wind a little too much. But luckily the marshall found it, actually, a decent lie that I could put a club on and then just trying to make par from there and 2-putted to get out of there. Obviously you want to make birdie on the final hole, but happy to get out of there with a par and in the final group and looking forward tomorrow.

Q. It looked like that shot on 18 was lost. I'm sure that was a hardy thank you to the marshall.

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah. I would have had to drop it back in the fairway if I didn't find it. I don't like the lottery much, but pretty lucky there. But I kind of learned from my mistake from yesterday. If I get in that situation again, I'm definitely going to aim a little further right.

Q. You mentioned that Saturdays have been a bit of a bugaboo for you over the last few years. How much did today and the success you had prepare you for tomorrow?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, I don't know when the last lead I had going into a Saturday was. It's probably been awhile. But it's a good feeling. I felt confident about my game. But I guess you never know how you're going to get, coming off the first hole to the second hole, and I felt like I struck it really well, gave myself some chances, and it was nice making birdie on No. 3 to kind of get off to a good start. And kind of kept it rolling today. It was fun playing with Daniel Berger. We're good friends and it was pretty relaxed out there and we just had a good time.

Q. You know what it's like to hold a championship trophy on the PGA TOUR, although it's been awhile, seven-plus years, and you put yourself in an opportunity or have an opportunity to win over the last year or so. As for tomorrow, give me one primary thing that you're committed to in order to win.

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, I would say patience is the key. I know the scores are going to be low tomorrow. I don't think the wind is going to be up very much. I know it's going to take a good number tomorrow. I know it's going to be tough to win. It's always tough to win out here and just got to stay within yourself, stick with your strategy and execute, and I'm going to do all those things and come out tomorrow and give it all I have.

Q. Tied for the lead going into the final round after 7-under par today, kind of just talk us through the day and assess your play?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, I mean this is one of my first leads I've had going into a Saturday in a while, I think, and I know I had to keep the foot on the pedal. The wind was not up today, I knew the scores were going to be low and I knew I had to come out and execute and play well.

So I like where my game's at, made some really good putts today, made some good 15- or 20-footers that I didn't see yesterday.

But I'm excited about it. This is the first time around the lead, chance to win tomorrow, I can't wait for it.

Q. Did you do you know the name of the marshal that found your ball down there on 18?

HARRIS ENGLISH: I don't, I don't, but she was on top of it. I had a pretty good lie and I knew it was just a little bit below the hazard, I thought I could carry the hazard, and she ran over there and put up the flag and was on it.

Luckily, it had a decent lie where I could get a club on it and made a good 2-putt for par. I know that's not what I wanted, but it's better than making bogey on that hole.

Q. What can you kind of draw on from the past, going in, having a co-lead like this one? Is there anything you can specifically kind of think about that you've done in the past that might help you tomorrow?

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, even though it's a team event, I feel like I had a pretty good mentality going into the last round at QBE Shoot-Out. I was, we were a couple up with Matt, I felt like we went out there guns blazing and played really well coming out of the gate. So I feel like I can use that, draw on some of that. That's still some good golf, trying to win a tournament is never easy and I feel like I can draw on that to get ready for tomorrow. I love being in that situation and this is so much fun putting yourself in this position to see what you can do.

Q. Bunched up leaderboard, you got to go low tomorrow again. What's the mentality? What's one thing you may focus on tomorrow that will hopefully help you grab the trophy?

HARRIS ENGLISH: It's still patience. As I was talking to my caddie this morning, you can reel off four or five birdie in a row, really quickly here. To not get ahead of yourself, to not get down on yourself, you just got to stay patient because at any point you can get on a run and birdie in.

I mean, starting on 14 you can really birdie the last four or five holes. And just the patience, I feel like I need a lot of that tomorrow, you're always kind of antsy on the final round, but I feel like I've had some really good final rounds the past few tournaments and can kind of draw on that.

Q. You will need patience coming out of the gates knowing that the first maybe four holes are maybe kind of some of the toughest on this golf course.

HARRIS ENGLISH: Yeah, for sure. You don't want to get too ahead of yourself. Playing so aggressive, trying to, you don't want to get into a habit of trying to make birdie on every hole. Because that's when it can slip up and bite you out here. But get through the first four even, 1-under you're in pretty good shape and then start getting it with coming in on the front nine with a lot of wedges in your hands and obviously a par-5 on No. 9.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
103884-1-1044 2021-01-10 03:52:00 GMT

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