Davis Riley talks FedEx Cup pressure, sinking 53-foot putt
Davis Riley is leading the Rocket Classic and chasing critical FedEx Cup points after a 7-under 63 at Detroit Golf Club. He spoke with Golf Channel's Hailey Hunter about highlights from his third round.
Video Transcript
Free day today for you, Davis, and along with that, hit every green but one as well.
Just what was the key to such a consistent day for you?
Yeah, for sure.
A- and, you know, like I said, I think I was hitting just a lot of fairways, and that opens up the rest of my game, I feel like.
And hit some quality iron shots to give myself looks, and then, you know, when you make a bunch of putts, that also helps, too.
Yeah, 146 feet of putts.
We gotta take you back to that 17 hole, a 53-footer.
A lot of people at that point are thinking, "Okay, is he gonna hang on to the top of the leaderboard?
Can he two putt this?"
You drain it from 53 feet.
How Where were you of where you were at?
Yeah, I knew I was somewhere around the top.
I, I knew Michael was up there maybe at 15 or 16, and I was a couple back.
But yeah, after the tee shot, I didn't hit the best tee shot.
I was just in the left rough.
I ca- I went back and forth with my caddy whether even to go for the green, just 'cause they, with the new renovations, there's a cross bunker that makes you think quite a bit.
Um- Mm-hmm so I decided to hit a six iron.
I was like, "Look, I'm gonna aim right at the pin.
If it goes a little right, it's in the bunker, and hopefully it comes out how I like."
But yeah, I hit, I hit a great shot just to get on the green.
And just, I was standing on the back of the green.
I just told myself, "Try to b- c- put good speed on it," and, for it to go in, honestly, was a bonus.
So I hit a great putt, and I was excited to see it go in.
You can play it safe when you can putt like that.
But, but along with that, you look at your season.
I know it's been a while since you've been in the mix lately.
You mentioned your Achilles' heel has kind of been off the tee.
Mm-hmm.
What are some things you've been working through off the tee to get yourself here?
For sure, yeah.
I've worked closely with my coach, Scott Hamilton, the Titleist team.
Just, they're, they're honestly probably tired of me, of all the changes I've made.
And, but yeah, so I fig- I figured out I've got a different driver head, a different shaft, so I think I found a good combination there, of between driver head and shaft.
So I think just a new driver, getting more comfortable with the shot shape has, made for some better driving.
Of course, I'm sure where you're at in the rankings right now has been top of mind, trying to hold on to your exemption, your, from your win a couple years ago.
But with that, just what's your mindset coming into the week?
What kind of mindset were you trying to have?
Yeah, totally.
I mean, there's obviously, You know, any time you're in the point, you know, you're at where I'm at in the FedEx Cup, there's a little pressure there.
But at the end of the day, it's just golf, and I've gotta play golf, and, you know, good golf takes care of itself.
So, yeah, I came into this week, not really any panic.
I just kinda recalibrated, tried to do all the stuff I could Monday through Wednesday, and get out here and compete.
And when I get to a place where I feel like I can just compete and kinda let everything else go, that's when I feel like I play my best.
And some weeks are harder than others, but thankfully that's coming pretty easy to me this week.
Always a good recipe for success.
Thanks for the time, Davis.
Yes, thank you.
