What they said: Rory Sabbatini

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Q. Rory, birdied on the first hole of the day and then just, you know, parred your way around a little bit until you get to No. 9 and then blim blam, 4 in a row, what kicked in?

RORY SABBATINI: You know, just playing smart golf all day. I was trying to keep the ball on the fairway and the greens. The front 9 I was just missing a few fairways. I really wasn't able to capitalize on some of the holes out there. But on the back 9 I started to get the ball in the fairway and gave myself access to some of these flags. I even put a good number up.

Q. It's kind funny what happens when you hit fairways you can actually attack some greens every now and then?

RORY SABBATINI: Exactly. That and I kind of made a few key putts to kind of keep things rolling.

Q. Tell me about that bomb at 14, that was nice?

RORY SABBATINI: That one was fun. Kevin came over and said, dude, I got a feeling on this one. Sometimes you get that feeling like you know what it's going to do and sometimes it pays off.

Q. That's a great feeling for a caddy, too, when a player goes, I got it. You got to like that. Go get it, and you did.

Tell me about the difference between playing yesterday in the afternoon with the way the wind was blowing and this morning not as much wind?

RORY SABBATINI: Well, obviously it's a big difference. Yesterday the wind in the afternoon was, you know, on this golf course it typically funnels around and does some crazy things out there. So you are never quite sure what it's going to do. It was definitely causing a problem out there for the guys yesterday. The course is in great shape and the greens are good. They are receptive. Now if you hit the ball solid you can give yourself opportunities.

Q. It looked like you got going with that birdie on 9?

RORY SABBATINI: Yes, you know, 9 always is a good hole to birdie. I just really wasn't putting the ball in the fairway on the front 9 which makes it tough out here because you got to play defensive golf then.

But, you know, I managed to get through there unscathed and then 9 was a good birdie and from there it just started seeming like I started to get the ball on the fairways.

On this course, if you put it in the fairways and give yourself opportunities, and access these things, you are going to give yourself some good birdie opportunities.

Q. The wind swirling a little bit out there?

RORY SABBATINI: You know, the wind, they were pretty mild today compared to yesterday afternoon so we will definitely benefit playing this morning. I will go out there on the weekend and see what we can do.

Q. So you had to put up a score this morning?

RORY SABBATINI: Well, definitely, I was looking at the scores from the guys yesterday, and they posted up some really good numbers. I know the scores are out there. But, as you know, this golf course becomes harder to score on the weekend. It just gets firmer and faster. So you got to get yourself in a good position going into the weekend.

Q. You've already come from a long way back to win this, does it give you more confidence now?

RORY SABBATINI: Definitely. I feel like I'm hitting the ball well. I'm doing all the of the things right around the green. If I can continue to do what I've's done the first two days, you know, continue to hit fairways and give myself opportunities, I will definitely feel comfortable going into the weekend.

Q. Rory, how often have you played here? (Inaudible).

RORY SABBATINI: I played here once since last Colonial. But I played so many rounds of golf on this golf course. I know it about as well as the back of my head. It's a course that I feel very comfortable with and it's a course that I love. It's a good traditional, good classic golf course. It rewards you for good shots and it will penalize you for some bad shots.

Q. How are the greens rolling?

RORY SABBATINI: The greens are actually in great shape. They are still very receptive out there, so if you are putting the ball in the fairway, you know, you can definitely be aggressive to these flags.

Q. With the winds blowing, obviously they are going to get a little bit harder if the wind continues to blow like this, and you don't get any rain?

RORY SABBATINI: Definitely. They are going to dry out and obviously the fairways get firmer and faster and it becomes harder to hit those. So, you know, you definitely have to be a little more a thinking man around the course on the weekend. A little more patience. That's been the MO of the course over the past 10 years or so. I'm expecting it.

Q. When you have a round like this, and you have two birdie putts that come up short, do you think more about those or the entire round? What could have been at all?

RORY SABBATINI: You know, you can look at it that way, or you can look that, hey, I made a bomb on the hole before, so it's kind of a trade off. But all things considered, I felt like I hit good putts and I felt like I've been putting well for two days. If I continue to do that, if coming up six inches short, or 2 inches short on the stroke, at least you know you are getting the line right so you can adjust your pace a little bit.

Q. Did you like your 3 some? It's kind of a Hall of Fame 3 some.

RORY SABBATINI: Definitely. Obviously, Kenny is always a great guy to play with. A wonderful character. A great guy. Also Tom, you talk about absolute gentleman, just a phenomenal guy. They both were wonderful to play with. They had a little bit of a rough day today but they were very positive out there and kept me going nicely. So it was fantastic.

Q. What hole did your birdies come up short on?

RORY SABBATINI: I left it in the throat on 15 and I left it in the throat on 16 again. But all things considered, the course is one that you can't get to overly zealous on and try to get aggressive on because it will have a chance to affect you. So if you go out there and be cautious, it rewards you, and it will do that from time to time. You just got to be patient and let it happen.

Q. Talk about your second shot on No. 9 where you came out of the bunker and left it like five feet for the birdie?

RORY SABBATINI: That's just pretty funny because about two holes before Kenny Perry and myself were having a conversation about how; poor a bunker shot player he is. Then we're both hit it in the bunker on 9 and we hit it on the green. I'm so used to playing that hole, and I've beat him in those bunkers so many times that I kind of grown accustomed to being there. So I just hit a good wedge into there about five feet and Kenny goes, yes, I just didn't have the courage to do that. I kind of took a 9 iron and kind of babied it out there. So we had a good fun day out there. As I said it was a great 3 some.