Chris, first of all many congratulations. How did you feel going into the final round/nine holes? Were you especially nervous or were your able to keep a check on that?
I really felt great going into the final round, and was playing with a lot of confidence. I was tied for the lead on thirteen-under with Vince Cavello from Florida. Things went well on the front - I shot a level par 36 - and I was very comfortable heading into the back nine. I left a putt on the 11th half an inch short in the middle of the cup after watching Vince roll in a birdie. That hurt but it made me realize no one was going to give me the victory. I needed to play well and earn it. With an eagle three at the next, I was three up with six holes remaining and felt like I could start putting the tournament away. I had some nerves certainly, but I don't consider that a bad thing necessarily. You just have to know how to handle them. Honestly, you don't get nerves when you're in the middle of the pack. You only get them when you have a chance to win and accomplish your goal. I was handling the situation pretty well. Narrowing my focus helped an allowed me to remain comfortable.
You missed the cut in your previous two events (Syncrude Boreal Open and Dakota Dunes Casino Open), so where did this come from?
This really came from years and years of hard work. Golf is a funny game, I had felt very good at the beginning of the week at Ft. McMurray (Syncrude Boreal Open) but shot 81, 74. I felt I did most things like I wanted to, but nothing really clicked. I didn't get anything out of my rounds. In Saskatoon (Dakota Dunes casino Open) everything felt a lot better, but my putter was ice ice cold. I couldn't make any putts, but I really did chip well and hit the ball solidly. I shot 75, 73 and missed the cut by six. After that, I spent hours and hours every night practicing my putting and just trying to figure something out for the Players Cup.
Your putting obviously improved, but what else worked well in Winnipeg?
