Q. 7-under 64, you had your first bogey of the week on No. 9 today. I guess that made you mad because you came in with a 29 on the back. Can we get some comments on another great day?
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, it was interesting; obviously I made the comment to my caddie walking up 10, I guess we just made our first bogey for the tournament, but I didn't feel like I necessarily played bad enough to make a bogey. That's just how golf goes sometimes. That bogey really ended up feeling like a birdie. If anything got positive momentum off that, it fed into the back nine.
Q. Take us through the last three birdies, 16, 17, 18.
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, tricky pin on 16. I feel like it was a tough pin just with the false back and the false front on the right. Tried to play a conservative shot and gave myself a pretty decent look. Stephan hit a putt kind of on a similar line, so I had a good feel for it coming in and was fortunate to match the line and the speed there.
17, kind of got away with a wedge shot. Didn't hit the best one but got a very fortunate bounce off the front left, gave myself a very good look for birdie. I think it was eight or nine feet, and was fortunate enough to make that.
18, hit a good drive. Second shot wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. But ended up in a good spot. Had all the green in the world to work with there and got it up to about three or four feet, and it was a pretty simple birdie putt from there.
Q. Staying off the rocks is a key here this week. You're 41 of 42 in fairways. Talk a little bit about your ball-striking off the tee especially.
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, it's funny, actually coming into the week, Tuesday, Wednesday, wasn't really feeling all that great off the tee, so it's funny how that happens. And it's funny that the one shot in the rocks was off the fairway and not off the tee.
Yeah, obviously when we come to a place like this, putting the ball in position is kind of the forefront of everyone's mind because that sets up the rest of the day.
If you're in the fairway, sometimes it's worth laying further back because it's not a hazard. You have to re-tee, and that really is a penalizing factor.
Being in the fairway has been definitely something that we have been highlighting to begin the week more than other weeks for sure, and yeah, it's been a very positive week so far.
Q. Three straight top 20s coming into the week. Talk a little bit about your comfort level on the golf course right now.
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, I feel like I've been playing really well all year, honestly. I've played really well Thursday through Friday all season. The weeks haven't gone my way. But seeing a couple of weekends like John Deere, I think having a good weekend in Asheville when I wasn't really in position, in contention going into the weekend was huge for me.
So yeah, just being in the thick of it, being near the lead, it's been a learning curve of a year just being in that position a lot. So yeah, I think that helped today and hopefully tomorrow.
Q. 192nd start on Tour. What would a win tomorrow mean to you?
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, obviously it's what we come here to do. 191 times before I wanted to win, and I get another opportunity to do it tomorrow. It would be a dream come true. But at the same time, there's a lot of really good players with a lot to play for. Just going to go out there and try to execute the best that I can and hopefully see where that puts me.
Q. That being said, last group; how will you sleep tonight? What experiences will you draw on as you try to pull off that win?
DOUG GHIM: Yeah, I mean, I think in years past and even earlier this year, it's easy to try to worry about the result a ton. But I think going into it, just understanding that if I can execute the best I can and the way I know I can, then I'll give myself a shot and kind of focus on that.
But I'll be a little bit more nervous about the New York Jets game with the Bears with either our second- or third-string quarterback. We'll see.
Q. 16-under on the back; is there something that just fits your eye on the back?
DOUG GHIM: I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it. I've just been trying to put the ball in position, trying to commit and execute on each shot. Whenever I get opportunities, I'm going to make them, whether it's the front or the back. I feel like we made a bunch of birdies at the end yesterday on the front as well.
Yeah, I think it's just maybe getting more comfortable as the round goes on, whichever nine I'm playing second, and yeah, I think it's always nice to finish well.
Q. Being in the final pairing on Sunday, does that change your mental approach?
DOUG GHIM: No, I don't think so. I guess at the end of the day it's more difficult for sure, but I guess the person that can make it feel like a normal day the best will have the best day tomorrow. I think that will be the focus.
Q. How does your day take shape from the start? Are you at the course right away? Do you come at the last minute? How do you handle things as you set up for the round?
DOUG GHIM: It'll be the same as any other day. I have a routine that I go through every day, and I'll stick to that. Whether I'm in 75th or first, it'll all be the same.
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