Media Center Interviews

April 21, 2018

Third Round Interview with Sean O’Hair

Q. Sean, you were having just a nice solid day of golf until the last hole. Tell me about those last three holes.

SEAN O'HAIR: I got kind of lucky, to be quite honest with you. On 16 I was playing out to the right and I just kind of hung out a little bit and got a really good bounce and made the putt from about five feet.

And 17 was probably the worst swing I made all day off the tee and it looked like it was going to be in the trash on the left and it took a pretty favorable bounce and stayed in play. Didn't hit a great wedge shot and chipped in, so I was pretty fortunate there.

Then hit a really good drive on 18 and then necked a 5-wood and kind of got lucky, made a nice hop and kind of took advantage of it with a good putt on the last.

So I've been playing pretty solid this week and I just, I needed a little bit more lucky bounces and it was nice to get that today, to be quite honest with you, to kind of turn maybe a 2- or 3-under-par round into a 7-under par.

Q. I think you're being a little too modest because it's one thing to get breaks out here, it's another to take advantage of them. When presented the opportunity, you take advantage of them.

SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah, you know, I think that's really the difference. When you watch these guys out here, obviously everybody's good but I think it's really a matter of playing well when you need to and getting the bounces when you need to and then taking advantage of the opportunities. So it was nice to make those few putts coming in, for sure.

Q. What are some hole locations that we should be on the lookout for this afternoon as everyone comes through the golf course?

SEAN O'HAIR: You know, today and yesterday the golf course was definitely more gettable than it was the first day. The first day seemed pretty difficult. Every hole seems like it's kind of right around a slope or whatever. The pin on 11's pretty tricky. It's a short hole, but anything to the right of that pin, it's going to feed off the green there, and if you're a little bit long left, it can feed off the green as well. So a lot of tricky pin placements and I think just hitting greens is difficult out there.

Q. I know you didn't spend much time there, but you were born in Lubbock. We're going to claim you as Texan true and true, okay?

SEAN O'HAIR: Sounds good, thanks a lot.

Q. How would you describe your track record here before this week?

SEAN O'HAIR: You know what, I haven't played this course very often. The last time I did I didn't play well at all, and the tournament director's a friend of mine and he's always trying to talk me into playing. I haven't played much, and when it was at the other course I didn't have much success there, either. San Antonio hasn't been too good to me yet, but I'm hoping to change that this week.

Q. Why do you think this week is clicking?

SEAN O'HAIR: I think it's just like any other week, to be quite honest with you. If you hit the ball solid and make putts, you're going to play well on any course. That's really all there is to it.

I feel like off the tee I've hit the ball well this week. Kind of hit or miss going into some of the greens, but the last two days -- the first day was a little sketchy but I hit 13 greens yesterday. I don't know how many greens I hit today, but I felt like I had a lot of opportunities for birdie and I made a few putts, which I think makes all the difference in the world.

Q. You were born in Lubbock. Do you feel all that comfortable on Texas courses?

SEAN O'HAIR: Yeah, I love Texas courses. Last year I finished fifth and second at Dallas and Colonial. I always feel at home in Texas. My whole family still lives in Texas, so trying to talk my wife into moving to Texas, to be honest with you.

Q. She's not going for it?

SEAN O'HAIR: No, no, but I feel comfortable here. I feel like a decent wind player so that's kind of always an issue at this course it seems like. Hopefully we get some wind tomorrow and see what happens.

Q. Did you see this round coming?

SEAN O'HAIR: No, no. I just, for whatever reason I love playing with Ernie. He was always a role model of mine, so seems like my focus just gets a little bit better when I've played with him. I don't get to play with him very often, but I've always enjoyed that, playing with guys like him or Vijay or Phil.

And then playing with Nick, I haven't played with Nick in a long time, so it just was a really good group for me, I felt very comfortable, but I was focused and I played well, so it was good.

Q. How much do you guys talk, like how much did you talk to Ernie today?

SEAN O'HAIR: We didn't talk a ton, but you shoot the bull a little bit in between shots or on the tee. We had a few waiting times where we had to wait on the tees and you just talk about different stuff. So yeah, it's fun. Nick and I have known each other for a long time, too, so you just kind of go through stuff and it makes for a comfortable day, for sure.