James Anstiss (63, 18-under)

On playing his final seven holes in 21 strokes after a double bogey at 11

“It was probably the only mistake I made all day. I came up short of the green and took two chips to knock it on. I was still pretty relaxed actually. I’d been playing great all week and just haven’t had a whole lot of putts drop and then I just started rolling them in from everywhere.”

On the birdie putts over the final seven holes

“I holed a 15-footer across the slope at 12 and that gave me a kick back into gear and a bit of energy after the double. I made par at 13, almost drove 14 and then chipped up to a couple of feet, 15 I hit 4-iron to three feet, 16 I holed a 30-footer for birdie, 17 I hit a great 4-iron to eight or nine feet and I hit 6-iron into the last and two-putted from about 30 feet for birdie.”

On the extent of his competitive golf in 2020

“I started hitting my straps at the end of 2019 and got status in Latin America at the start of 2020. It was going to be my year to do a bunch of travel and probably play 30-35 Tour events and then obviously COVID hit. I was actually in the US at the time playing a few mini tours getting ready for the next Latin events and then came back to New Zealand in late March. I actually went back to the States at the end of May and was there for four months playing the mini tour series that the PGA TOUR put on for us guys from Latin America, Canada and China status. I probably played 10 events all up and then came back to New Zealand at the end of September. I lost a bit of form, my game was not that sharp and then I put my head down and worked really hard for a few months at the start of summer and that win at the end of 2020 in NZ was confirmation that I was playing great and I have been playing great ever since.”

On his routine during summer in Queenstown

“It was just every day doing eight, nine, 10, 11 hours in the gym, at the golf course, playing. I was back in Queenstown, the weather was beautiful, we’ve got some of the best golf courses in the world down there so I was just really enjoying practising and playing golf. It paid off at the end of December and it’s continuing to pay off.”

On two weeks of quarantine on returning from the US

“I did and it was pretty horrible. I don’t think anyone would enjoy it in their right mind. I’d just played four months straight so I was kind of happy to have a two-week break from golf but I just tried to do the same thing every day. The first week I was in there the US Open was on so I was getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning and watching that for five or six hours. It was a long two weeks and I don’t particularly feel like doing it again. I’m probably going to stay in Australia most of the year and play some pro-ams and other events.”

On completing his second round Saturday morning

“I played three holes this morning and then FaceTimed my mate back in the US, had a coffee, watched a bit of the PGA TOUR that was on, had a bit of a stretch and all of a sudden a couple of hours had passed.”

On switching across to the Open Course

“I’ve probably played that golf course 15 or 20 times. I’ve been down this way a few times so I’m pretty used to it. It’s definitely quite a different golf course to the other one, it’s a bit more challenging and it’s very easy to get penalised out there for not really hitting that bad of a shot. Just had to be a bit more dialled in and I managed to do that pretty well today apart from one hole.”

On how he gauged his play the first two rounds

“I’d been playing so good the first two rounds. I shot 5-under the first day not really holing anything at all and then I had a couple of bad breaks the second day and really only hit one bad shot all day. Three-putted twice for par back-to-back, lipped out a couple, left one or two short in the jaws. I had 4-under and it could have been eight, nine or 10 pretty easily. Today it all just clicked.”

On generating momentum early in his third round

“I was 3-under through four and the whole front nine I was pretty dialled in. I just knew from the previous rounds and the weeks leading up to it that I’d been hitting it really nicely and then all of a sudden you get on a run, you get some confidence and you’ve got a heap of momentum and you’re away.”

On confidence of closing out Charles Tour win in December

“I was leading by one going into the last round and finished two ahead. It’s always an uncomfortable feeling when you’re leading, you’ve got adrenaline and nerves, but that’s the feeling you want. You don’t want to be not feeling uncomfortable. You’ve got to go out there and deal with it and try and play your best and hit every shot to the best of your ability. I did that well about a month ago so hopefully I can do it again tomorrow.”

On the Kiwis prominent at the top of the leaderboard

“I saw that, the boys are chipping away at me. It’s good to see the Kiwis over here doing well.”

Blake Windred (66, 17-under)

On switching across to the Open Course

“I just knew that it was going to be a harder course so you had to stay even more in the present and hit each shot as they come. You just don’t know what’s around the corner. I feel like if you get too far ahead of yourself you can really come undone becauise around a brutal course like that you don’t have a back-up. The course can really put you down in the dumps. That’s what I did really well today, I was really happy with it to be honest.”

On the conditions in the third round

“It was pretty windy. When the wind’s behind you you don’t feel like it’s that windy but the hole before I had 180 to the flag and couldn’t hit a 4-iron there because you’ll come up 50 metres short. I had to hit 2-iron and hit it over the back because I felt like that was my only real option.”

On the round of 9-under by James Anstiss

“I just finished and the boys told me that James shot 9-under… it’s nearly unbelievable. That’s such a good round out there. Obviously he’s playing well but Michael Sim is up there at the top, there are a lot of really good players there. I can’t wait to get out there tomorrow and do what I did today and just soak it up.”

On making three straight birdies from the second hole

“The second was such a good birdie because I hit it into the lip of that trap in the middle, I literally had to chip out and then I had 170 to the flag and hit 6-iron to six feet and holed it. That was an awesome birdie because I was struggling to make par there for a second. The very next one I played it awesome and holed a 25-footer and I two-putted for birdie on the next. Whenever you get opportunities you need to convert because there are so many holes out there that are so difficult that you might be forced into chipping out of a pot bunker and taking your medicine. It was definitely my best round of the year.”

On being this close to the lead in a pro event going into the final round

“Not in a pro event but I feel like some of the amateur events I’ve been close in have been just as big. At the Asian Amateur, trying to win a spot at The Masters the following year, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait to get out there. A lot can happen in 18 holes but if I can play solid golf and make some birdies tomorrow I’ll be right where I want to be. And if anyone else shoots the lights out then good on them.”

On putting on the Open Course compared to Legends Course

“Speed’s pretty similar but on the first hole today I had a 16-foot downhill putt and left it three feet short. I feel like they’re such a good speed for me that a couple of putts I banged in from 20 feet, it was like they were going in real firm but only stopping a couple of feet past. There are definitely putts out there that are a lot more slippery downhill with an exposed green downwind but for the most part they are a perfect rolling pace and a good amount of firmness.”

On whether there is a low Sunday score to be had

“It’s inevitable that someone in the field will go low, usually people who go out early and shoot something pretty awesome. If the wind gets up, I can’t see anything better than 10-under. I could see someone shooting 59 on the Legends Course but this is just different. Nine-under is awesome. Eight-under tomorrow would be another great score. It all depends on the conditions.”

Christopher Wood (66, 15-under)

On switching across to the Open Course

“The Open Course is definitely more demanding off the tee and around the greens I feel. The Legends Course you can get away things a bit more but the Open Course you definitely have to drive it well off the tee, land it left or right side of the fairways because you can get some pretty ordinary bounces. You’ve definitely got to avoid the fairway bunkers around here. They’re deep and there’s so many of them. That’s what I did today apart from a few holes on the back nine. I hit it in the fairway traps and had to wedge it out and then just relied on short game and pitching to get up and down. I did that on the 15th hole and on 16 as well, took my medicine and just tried to make par. Hopefully that’s the same game-plan tomorrow, keep it in play and try and chip and putt my brains out.”

On the conditions for the third round

“It was windy. The first two days on the Legends it hardly blew but this Open Course is a bit more exposed to the elements so it was windy. A couple of strong ghusts here and there and a couple of different wind directions were thrown at us all day so we really had to stay aware of what the wind was doing and commit to that and our shots. IN saying that the scores were really good so it obviously wasn’t that hard.”

On the finish of James Anstiss

“I did look at his scorecard because obviously when someone shoots 9-under you want to know what they’ve done and how they’ve finished. He had a double on 11 and went crazy after that. To do that, that’s great for him. That’s awesome golf. To do that on these final holes here… He eagled 15 and birdied 16 and they were playing straight into the wind today. They were tough holes.”

On starting with two birdies and how impacts mindset

“To hole that putt on the first from seven feet was nice and then to hole a 20-footer on the second after hitting a pretty ordinary chip shot the confidence was there. It’s always nice to hole a few putts early on because you know you can do it and I rode that momentum all day. If you miss a couple of shortish ones early you start doubting everything and soon as you have that doubt in your mind you start searching for answers. It’s definitely important to have a good pre-shot routine, put good strokes on putts because that’s all you can do. If it goes in it goes in, you can’t do anything more than that. Definitely try and get off to a good start tomorrow, do what I’ve been doing all week because I felt like I’ve been playing really well all week it’s just the putter that has let me down the first couple of days. I did some practice with it yesterday afternoon, found something and putted a lot better today. I felt my stroke and my routine was a lot tighter today. Hopefully that carries over to tomorrow.”

On the importance of patience on Sunday

“Absolutely. It doesn’t matter what round it is, you’ve got to stay patient, especially on a course like this where it can so easily come up and bite you on the arse. Just patience tomorrow, try and keep it in play, dump it on the greens and try and hole as much as I can.”

On the difference of the greens on the Open Course

“I find them a fraction firmer. The first initial hit on the green, it doesn’t have that bite, it skips a bit. In saying that, I find that the speed between both courses is pretty similar. There’s not too much difference.”

On the factor that wind plays in putting on the Open Course

“Definitely. It’s a lot more exposed and I had a couple of putts today where they didn’t break as much or they went up the hill with the wind. Wind is definitely a factor on these greens because a lot of them sit up and are exposed so you need to be aware of that.”