Q. Great playing today. Back-to-back 67s. Get an opening comment on the round.
KEITH MITCHELL: Definitely didn't start out like I wanted, but the holes were a lot tougher at the start. 1 through 8 is definitely a difficult stretch. A lot of mid to long irons into par-3s and par-4s.
Then after that you got three par-5s, all reachable, and a couple wedges. So was able to take advantage of those holes coming in and make a really good par on 18, because that hole's really, really tough.
Q. You're sixth on TOUR for strokes gained off the tee how much does that help you on a golf course like this?
KEITH MITCHELL: The rough is definitely long and a lot of greens are elevated, so if you hit it in the rough it's hard to get it, not only on the green, but hard to get it close. So just being able to hit these fairways and really keep the ball in the right spot around the holes, it's easier said than done, especially with this wind, but today I did a pretty good job of it.
Q. The pin placements will only get tougher the next couple of days, so what part of your game are you hoping to really bring to the next level come Saturday and Sunday?
KEITH MITCHELL: My iron play. If I can hit my irons to the spots that I'm looking then really I'm feeling confident with my putter, feeling pretty good with my driver. So just hitting a couple good iron shots, really on the first 8 holes, those mid irons, if you hit those mid irons well you're going to play well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports