Q. Michael, obviously you're going to make the cut here. What's your expectations for the weekend?
MICHAEL BLOCK: Go deep; win. That's all I'm here for. I'm lucky to be here. This golf course is fantastic. I get to really play very well the first two days, to be very honest with you. I haven't made very many putts, maybe any. The game's been about a C; C is being generous.
So if I can pull an A out for the Saturday and Sunday rounds, I can contend.
Q. Is there something about your stroke, or is it the greens?
MICHAEL BLOCK: It's the greens. I'm just trying to get comfortable, to be honest. If I knew the greens were this undulated and the speeds were so off between uphill and downhill -- that's where I've been struggling because when it's uphill, it's rolling at an 8, and when it's downhill, it's rolling at a 13 or 14. So I'm not used to that, and my feels are off for sure.
Once that's off, you start losing some confidence. When you lose confidence in your putting stroke or your speed control, it becomes very difficult to make any birdies. I've just been relying on my full swing, which is normally the opposite.
Q. There's not much of a gap between where you're at and the leaders. How does that mentally --
MICHAEL BLOCK: Huge.
Q. -- with you going into the third round?
MICHAEL BLOCK: Huge. I'm not here to finish 40th. I'm being serious. I'm going to go out tomorrow. I've made the cut, which was obviously very important, but at the same time, I'm going to go out there tomorrow, and I'm going to fire. I'm going to absolutely fire at every pin I can and be so much smarter.
Obviously I'm not going to go right of a tucked pin, which I've seen a lot -- you know, pins have been three off the edges. But I'm going to get after it. I'm going to shoot a deep number tomorrow, put myself in contention for Sunday, and go from there.
Q. Southern California gets hot, but not like this. What are you trying to do to beat the heat?
MICHAEL BLOCK: So I grew up in St. Louis from ages 12 to 22. I've been in humidity. My body -- the good news is, and I'm trying to go with the positive of it, is my body feels great. I feel no aches, no pains. I feel loose. Yeah, that's what it is.
To be honest, I never felt bad today. I never felt dehydrated. I never felt anything. I felt great. It really felt good out there. I don't know what I've been doing, but I feel very energetic and having a great time.
Q. What did you notice that -- obviously you're playing in your first PGA Champions Tour event. What have you noticed? Has there been any difference this week since you're playing for a national title?
MICHAEL BLOCK: Not really. Everyone is still awesome. We've got more amateurs here, more club pros. A bunch of guys who weren't at The Dick's but a bunch of guys who were at The Dick's as well. I think I created like 30 new friends last week in New York at The Dick's. It's really cool to be now in the locker room and sitting there in player dining, and having Darren Clarke be your buddy now. A week and a half ago, I couldn't say that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports