Q. Four birdies in the last five holes. What did you find on that back nine and all day?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I started making a bunch of putts. The putter got hot. There were a bunch of challenging pins to hit it close to with the firmness of the greens, and I did a good job, Scott did a good job of keeping me from getting too aggressive, and it was easy to try to hit it to 20, 30 feet when it feels like you've got a chance to make them all.
Q. You had a top-10 finish out here last year. What is it about this course that suits your game?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I don't know, I think it's a golf course where you have to take on some risk, so there's not really a bail-out option, you just have to step up and hit a good committed golf shot.
It also feels a lot like home, Las Vegas. It's a four, four and a half hour drive away, a little bit of altitude, kind of the warm dry desert air is something I'm very familiar with, too.
Q. What do you do tonight to recover and recuperate and get ready for another hot day out there tomorrow?
MAVERICK McNEALY: The weather is perfect so thankfully it's not taxing us too much. But it's been a lot of golf lately. This is my fifth event in six weeks. Be very light practice, warm down, do some rolling, stretching, mobility stuff, get a good meal, probably get Chipotle and go to bed early.
Q. Day 3, talk about the environment. Obviously the most attended day on Saturday and finishing with your best score today.
MAVERICK McNEALY: This is turning into one of my favorite tournaments to play in. It's a lot of fun. Previous years it started to get a little out of hand, but I think right now it's in a sweet spot. This is something that would be a lot of fun every week on the PGA TOUR. It's a very unique environment that's not easy to replicate.
But it's still a bucket list item of mine to birdie 16. I haven't done that yet. So hopefully get one more crack at that tomorrow. It's a lot of fun. I think it's every bit as entertaining inside the ropes as it is outside the ropes.
Q. What would winning this tournament mean to you?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I mean, a win is what you tee it up for every week. It would be definitely the most people that have seen me win a golf tournament. That would be a lot of fun. I can't imagine the energy and adrenaline coming down the last few with a chance to win it.
Q. You said the putter got hot. You had four birdies in a row. Why do you think you were so successful?
MAVERICK McNEALY: When you're making 30-footers, a little of it comes down to luck, but you have to read it right and you have to have good speed. I've started to really dial in my speed control this week. That's been a huge plus for me. When your speed is good and you're reading them close enough, they're all going to have a chance. Luckily the good ones went the right way today.
But I cleaned up well around the hole, too. Had one three-putt from a really tough spot on 3, but otherwise I hit really good putts all day.
Q. I know you won the last event last year. What does that do for your confidence going forward and knowing you have your card for the next couple years, just some security?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Yeah, of all years to win, this is a good year to be on a winner's exemption because right now it's a big membership playing for a smaller number of cards. It takes a lot of stress off to not have to be through this gauntlet year and to know I'm full status next year, and to be honest, it makes me want to rack up another two-year exemption and see if I can win another golf tournament because that was a lot of fun.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports