DEAN & DELUCA Invitational
Friday, May 27, 2016
Tony Finau
Quick Quotes
TONY FINAU: It was a long morning we had with the rain delay. Just had to stay patient. I was at this golf course for a really long time today, but when we finally got started, felt good with my warm-up and was able to produce a solid round today.
Q. You're a long hitter on a course that's pretty tight, a shot-maker's course. How do you find the course?
TONY FINAU: I think it's a great golf course because guys with my length can play it and guys that don't hit it as far as me can play it. What I mean by that is a lot of the bunkers I can fly, so I actually use my driver probably more than people think, and it sets up, I think, good for a guy that hits it far, as well. I like the golf course and like the way I've played it so far this tournament.
Q. You had the afternoon wave yesterday, kind of had the afternoon wave today. How do you feel about conditions this afternoon?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, it was fine. The conditions were great, actually, in the afternoon. The course holds water really well. It wasn't as wet as I thought it was going to be, so it played a little firm, but I think the course is shaping up to be in fantastic shape this weekend. I like where I'm at heading into the weekend.
Q. How did you feel like you did today?
TONY FINAU: I feel good. I had a solid round. I had some nice par-saving putts I felt like were key for my round, just keeping the momentum. I like the way I've played the first two days.
Q. Do you feel like conditions with so much rain at the start of the day, things dried out relatively quickly and you were able to approach it the right way?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, the golf course is in great shape for how much rain it received. It drains really well. I was actually surprised on some of the greens, how firm they're already starting to get and how fast the greens were. It was nice to see that the course wasn't extremely wet.
Q. How close do you think you're going to be in terms of strokes back by the time this is all said and done with the second round?
TONY FINAU: I'm not sure. I think it's the kind of golf course if you're hitting it well and hitting in the fairway, you can get at it, but one where you start missing fairways and you're just trying to make par somehow. You never know, but I've played some solid golf my first two days, and whether I'm two shots back or six shots back going into tomorrow, I still feel like that's in contention on this golf course, so I like where I'm at.
Q. Have you been able to take an aggressive approach off the tee?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, for sure. I can still use my length. That's the great thing about the golf course. It's good for long hitters and good for short hitters, and what I mean by that is a lot of the flies on the bunkers are about 300, 310 yards, so it gives me the option to maybe hit over them if I wanted to and advance my ball up the fairway and play aggressive. I think it's a world-class golf course for that reason. Guys that don't hit it as far as I do or the guys that hit it with my length can both play it.
Q. Is your mindset this weekend any different after Puerto Rico, and do you get any more confidence from that going into the weekend in contention like this?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think I just have more confidence coming down the stretch before and finishing the deal in a PGA TOUR event. It just gives me that extra confidence. But a lot of things -- 36 holes to go, and I like where I'm at.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #166 at 2016-05-27 23:12:00 GMT
