What they said: Troy Matteson

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Jul. 15, 2011

MORE INTERVIEWS: Viking Classic transcript archive

Q. Good birdie at the end there, gets you to 12. Want to go through the round and the last hole.

TROY MATTESON: It was a weird round because obviously with the delay we started late and got off to a little bit of a slow start. I was only 1 under there for a long time, and got to the back nine and finally started making some putts. Made a putt at 1, made a putt at 3, got a good read from Jason, and that helped me.

The break probably came at a good time. I think everyone was wearing down out there it was so hot. And then got back out there and birdied the last three. It's kind of weird. I don't usually play that well coming off a rain delay like that. It was interesting to make three birdies and only have three holes left.

Q. I know you only got a couple holes, like you said, after the delay. Are scoring conditions pretty good out there? You think there's going to be some low rounds?

TROY MATTESON: They're perfect. Somehow the golf course, the greens are standing up to the rain. They're soft, but they're very smooth. These are some of the best Bermuda greens we play all year. They've stayed pretty consistent with their speed. They're a very good speed for guys to take a run at it and not have to worry about the ball getting too far by. That's perfect conditions for us. That's what the guys are going to putt best on, and this is kind of a putting contest with it being so soft right now.

Obviously, if it could firm up, that might change. I don't know that that's going to change between now and the end of the weekend.

Q. You got two 66s in a row. I guess you feel pretty good about where you're at, how you're playing right now going into these last two rounds.

TROY MATTESON: I started to play a little bit better in this last little stretch of tournaments, and hopefully that will be a taste of things to come. I worked really hard on it this year, and I worked hard on my ball striking, and it slipped a little bit since last year. I feel like I'm just starting to get it back again. Could be a pretty nice weekend.

Q. Tell me what you did during the delay, you know, and came out and had two birdies.

TROY MATTESON: We did what everyone else did. We went downstairs to the locker room. Guys talk and joke and share stories. We watched a little bit of the British Open. Obviously, it's a little easier to score here than it is the British. And I know we'd all like to be there, but we love being here. This is a great tournament. That's why guys have hung around so long and played.

You know, just normal stuff. Stuff you do with your friends when you've got a few hours to kill.

Q. Where were you at when the first siren blew? Where were you? Were you on 7?

TROY MATTESON: Yeah, I was on 7 fairway. We'd all hit our drives. It's always kind of weird to go back out to a par 5 and have a shot where you've got to go for it after a delay. But it wasn't that bad. We all kind of hit good drives there, and fortunately we were all able to get it down by the green.

The guys obviously behind us are not going to get the same roll that we got off the tee. So that's going to have a little bit to do with number 7 for the rest of the field coming in.

Q. So you went up in two and missed your putt?

TROY MATTESON: I actually ended up pulling it left of the green, which was kind of a no no, but it was pin high. And I kind of took my medicine and pitched it eight or ten feet by and made it coming back. This golf course, there's a lot of it out here. If you get too cute with your chip shots on the short side, you can end up in a really bad spot.

Sometimes you've just got to take your medicine, and when you do, sometimes you might make an 8 or 10 footer or par or birdie and not cost you that shot.

Q. You mentioned your ball striking is coming back. You almost won one a week ago. How much are you itching to win? As you're playing good and came so close this year.

TROY MATTESON: I think most guys, you know, wins are so important out here. It doesn't matter where you win. It's hard to win every single week. This week's no different. It would mean a lot to me if we could pull one out. Just kind of one of those feelings like you finally accomplished and did what you were supposed to do that week. You know, overcome a lot of obstacles to do it.

It just means the world to you when you win. Doesn't matter where you win or when you win, just that you get a win.

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