Q. All right, Rocco, solid play today. What was the key to your round?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Kept it just in front of me. Didn't really make any -- well, missed two and a half feet on 10, but you look at that and you go, well, that's the way it is. Just keep moving.
And then I birdie the next couple and came back nicely. But it was in front of me all day. A lot of fairways. Most of the greens, around them sometimes. Made a few mistakes, but golf is stupid. It's just stupid how hard to can be.
Just got to keep it in front of you. This course will destroy you if you're not in the right place. Period. So so far we're in the right place.
Q. Does the 61 year old Rocco Mediate still have as much fun playing and competing as the 27, 28 year old kid at Doral?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Yes, he does. Did I just call myself in the third person? Yes, Roc does. Yeah, I do. It's just, I don't know. I want to try to -- I want to win in my 60s so I have 20s through the -- that would be cool. It's hard to do. It's a hard thing to do, as we all know.
It's just fun to be there the last couple weeks playing good and continuing what I'm doing. It's like I'm doing the same thing every day. Over the years you get doing different things every day because you can't find it.
I am onto something and I am staying with it and I'm trusting it out there, and the cool thing is I'm getting to trust it under the gun. There is the gun out there. You know, you're leading the tournament or right by the lead. It always matters, but now it matters even more.
So it seems to -- shots are coming off, not all of them perfect, but they're coming off. That's good.
Q. What did you find?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Oh, we did some setup changes and things that we have done for 100 years. Instead of trying to be like I was when I was 27, I'm doing some of the similar setup routines. Simple. I'm quick anyway. But handles down, club is moving up better. I am trusting the left to right shot, which I never really did, and I always had the other one.
I have two different ones I can use, and that's huge right now, especially around this place.
Q. Okay.
ROCCO MEDIATE: You got to move it all over the place around here or you're toast. So far so good.
Q. How about the front? Any long putts on the front?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Where did I make birdies? I made about a 10-footer on the par-5; 10-footer on the par-3; 10-footer on 6; and then holed that bunker shot on 9. That was insane. Yeah, that was really cool.
Q. What happened on 10?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Nothing. I hit a perfect tee shot and I over -- I had a 5- uphill and I just didn't quite get it out to the right enough and kind of crossed over the flag. Hit past on the fringe but rolled down into the whatever you call that, the zoysia. It was fine.
I played a beautiful putt up about that far. So I missed -- I don't know, three-footer. Kind of a quick hit.
Q. Last two putts weren't easy. Didn't look easy, three, four feet.
ROCCO MEDIATE: Where?
Q. The last few putts you had today.
ROCCO MEDIATE: 17, no. 17 I just tapped in. I almost made that 25, 30-footer. 18 was not...
Q. I'm thinking 16 and 18.
ROCCO MEDIATE: 16, yeah, those were good three-, four-footers. 16 was dead straight; 18 I played it -- it looked like, I mean, left center. Hit it left center and went left, but I cut the edge.
These greens are hard. They're hard. This is old. They did this on purpose back 100 years ago. They drive you crazy. I love it. Most architecture, all the new guys should come and see the old courses.
Q. I have to ask you a fashion question.
ROCCO MEDIATE: Yes.
Q. Looks like your pants, trousers, are very comfortable.
ROCCO MEDIATE: Exceedingly comfortable.
Q. Especially for this kind of...
ROCCO MEDIATE: And that's exactly what I'm looking at, comfort. I did all the pretty dressing and all the other stuff back then. Done. I am just kind of hanging.
Q. You've always been a little bit fashion forward.
ROCCO MEDIATE: Yeah, a little weird.
Q. I didn't say weird.
ROCCO MEDIATE: I always tell people if they don't like it, there is 77 more guys you can go watch. (Laughter.) I say that in a nice way.
Q. Your last one was in 2019.
ROCCO MEDIATE: Yeah, 100 years ago.
Q. What would a win tomorrow mean?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Huge, would be huge. It would be great. I want it bring the trophy home for Francesca. That's the plan. I've been trying since she was born; she's nine.
The one in, what was it, five years ago in '19, she was four, so didn't count. This one would be cool. She would know.
You never know. Long way to go for that. But it would be great to have a shot at that, having to do something to win a golf tournament again would be fun.
Q. How long you been back with Pete?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Pete, for the last couple three four years, three years at least. I tell people, I won about I would say 70% of my career earnings with Pete. I mean, he's just -- I always tell him if I could play as good as you work, I would win two three times here still. He's so good at what he does.
What did I shoot today, 66?
Q. Yeah.
ROCCO MEDIATE: He caddied 64. However that...
Yeah, he's one of those guys that would never ever -- he says know, no. He won a zillion golf tournaments. He's just good and he knows me.
He's one of my closest friends. I'm glad to have him back. 75 years old and can't keep up with him. Can't keep up with him. He's a genius.
Q. How do you explain that to people who don't do this for a living, the importance of a caddie?
ROCCO MEDIATE: Yeah, it depends on what player you are. Some guys just don't want any help.
Q. Okay.
ROCCO MEDIATE: And there is nothing wrong with that either. Pete is so good at what he does. He knows me so well, just knows the situations, and very rarely is he wrong.
Okay, but it is -- if you also know, I get the last -- I get the choice, so there is no blame. You see what I'm saying?
Q. Yes.
ROCCO MEDIATE: No matter what I do, unless he hit the shot, it's my bad.
But they help -- a great caddie helps way more than they will hurt you; 99% more. They really can't hurt you unless you just don't get it.
But he's always been good for me. I played my best golf with -- I played good with my other guys, but Pete is just Pete, you know.
Q. Shifting gears a little bit, what's your relationship with Jim Furyk like?
ROCCO MEDIATE: I've known Jimmy since he came out here, whenever that was. You know where you stand with Jim. He's a wonderful guy, and obviously what he's doing here, just a good guy who worked his butt off.
It's like we were talking about his golf swing the other day on the radio, on my radio show. One guy, goes what do you think about his golf swing? I said it's exceptional. But it didn't work that well, only 17 wins and a U.S. Open.
What do you say about that, okay? So and this was one of the best strikers of the ball you every saw in his heyday. Now he's hurt. Can't do it. I get it.
Back then, he didn't miss. You don't win that many times in a major because -- and the fact that he stuck with his father the whole time is the reason he became who he became. If he listened to all these morons, oh, we got to do this. Too smart and tough as nails. The proof is in the pudding as he this say. Did I just say that?
But it is. You look back at the career and what do you say? Lowest score ever? We can keep going or do we have more time?
So, no. Good man, good family. Tabitha is fantastic. They're wonderful people.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports