THE MODERATOR: Matthew Wolff, 2-over 73. How would you characterize today's round?
MATTHEW WOLFF: It obviously wasn't great. I wasn't on my game as much as the first two days. I honestly wasn't hitting my driver bad. I was just a hair off. When it's out here at the U.S. Open, the fairways are already so hard to hit in the first place. Like I said, I was just a little off. I thought I missed in the right spots.
Even though I probably wanted to play a little better today, I think there's always going to be a round like that at the U.S. Open. That's why it's the hardest test in golf. I felt like I grinded pretty good and kept the scores as low as possible to give myself a good chance going into tomorrow.
Q. Looks like you're going to be three back going into tomorrow. What's the mindset?
MATTHEW WOLFF: Be happy, enjoy it, stay positive. There was a lot of times that I could have got a little ahead of myself and got frustrated and stuff. There were times that I was frustrated today, but my caddie and I talked through it, and just really at the U.S. Open, more than any tournament, they don't crown a champion until the last putt drops on the 72nd hole.
You've seen some crazy things happen over the years, and I'm in a good spot. My caddie told me, he goes, two weeks ago, if I told you you were going to be three shots back at the U.S. Open on the final day, I don't know what I would have given for that, but it would be a lot. So I'm in a good spot here.
Q. What else can you draw on last year to help you tomorrow?
MATTHEW WOLFF: I think being in that situation, even though I didn't get it done, it was important that I learned from it, and I had a good time last year. I'm in a little different spot which, in my opinion, might be even a little easier. I think holding the lead yesterday, I definitely didn't sleep well the Saturday night before last year's final round. I was definitely really anxious and stuff, but I think coming from behind, I think if I get off to a good start, I'll still be in the afternoon, but maybe a little better greens than the final group or stuff like that might give me a little bit of an advantage, like you saw Rory today going out and posting a good number, and now he's only two back.
I think just going out there, and more what I learned from last year and in general is just staying positive because, like I said, it's a 72-hole tournament, and literally anything can happen on any single hole, even the last one. So just got to grind until the end, and whatever I finish at, I really don't care. I already have a successful week by enjoying myself and staying positive.
Q. What's the one thing you feel like you have to do well tomorrow to be there coming down the stretch on the back nine?
MATTHEW WOLFF: I mean, obviously, when I drive the ball really good and hit a lot of fairways, it's a lot easier for me to score well because not only, since the fairways are burnt out, I'm hitting it much farther than most people, but also being in the fairway is a huge advantage.
I think for me it's not so much the ball striking or the putting or any part of my game, I think it's just grinding until the end and keeping a good attitude. That's really all I can do is prepare. I've prepared as well as I could coming into this week. For every single shot, I'm trying my best, and at the end, if I get it done, I get it done. If I don't, I don't.
Q. What constitutes a successful day tomorrow?
MATTHEW WOLFF: Just enjoying myself, having fun, being happy. I think I've already had my expectations were exceeded by a mile already throughout this week. I mean, just having fun and enjoying myself. Like I said, I'm still grinding my ass off and played really well today, but I got quite a few bad lies and got a few bad breaks, but I just think at the end of the day, coming into this week, I wasn't really expecting much, and I'm in an amazing spot.
I'm already putting a huge checkmark on this week and trying to build on it.
Q. What were the crowds like today?
MATTHEW WOLFF: The crowds were a lot. They were really enthusiastic and really loud. I love having them out here. There's a lot of people that, welcome back, Wolfy, or good to see you out here. It makes me really happy. There's the little things, moving cameras or stuff like that, but at the same time, I would rather have that than no fans at all.
So it was a great week, and the fans were, as you can hear, pretty loud.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports