Q.  Must be pretty excited about that?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, it was great.  Played solid, which you just have to around this place, otherwise it will just eat you up.  Yeah, played very good tee to green and putted well and 4 under.

Q.  How did you feel after the second, bogeying that?  Did that get into your head?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, second hole of the day, teed off at 7:00, so still a bit tired.  But it’s a tough par 3, just missed like a five‑footer, whatever.  Just got on with it, yeah.

Q.  You must be pretty happy with your recent form?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, yeah.  This is my seventh week in a row and I never played this much golf in my life and I just keep another solid round.  Yeah, just keep hanging in there and one last push before the new year.

Q.  How’s your body handling that increased workload?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  I’m fine.  I’m young, I don’t have any injuries, so I’m pretty sweet, yeah.

Q.  Do you find, Trav, that a couple years out here now mentally you’re a bit more patient and you can play seven weeks in a row and not get caught up in I guess the highs and lows that can come in a tournament?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, I feel like since turning pro and even in my amateur days, too, I’ve gone through streaks where I’ve played really well and I’ve gone through streaks where I’ve played poorly.  My first year as a pro I kind of got down a little bit because I’m a pro now, I wanted to earn money and I got down on myself a little bit, but in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have because most of my career’s been that way anyway.  So I’ve kind of accepted that this year got off to a slow start, but as of late started playing better and this is my hot patch.

Q.  Do you attribute that to I guess the practice you’ve been doing and the way you’ve changed your practice?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, for sure, 100 percent.  Middle of the year sat down and done a day of work with Dave Alred, who’s had a lot of success with a lot of high quality players.  Not that I’ve had much practice time because I’m playing so much, but, you know, practice rounds leading up to golf tournaments, stuff like that.  I definitely think, yeah, slight little change in my practice habits and it’s slowly paying off.

Q.  What specifically did he identify?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Just mainly practicing with a bit more purpose, a bit more pressure as well.  Setting drills like anyone else would do, but having PBs and writing down every single drill that I do and my score and then try and better it and better it each time.

Q.  When you walk away from the New South Wales Open, what’s the mix of emotions?  A great week, but ‑‑

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, it was kind of weird, I flew to Mauritius actually because I was so tired and that was such a big week.  The turnaround was so quick and my mind was already on Mauritius before I could even really digest it, but I played well.  In the end I was probably lucky to even be in a playoff because of Younger doubling the last hole.  Yeah, get so close to winning.  And especially the New South Wales Open, it means so much to me being from New South Wales and going through their program.  Yeah, it sucked, but played well.  My (inaudible) I got back was the more angry I get after a nonwin, so I’m fine.  Still playing good golf and a win’s not far away.

Q.  Is the early part of 2020, do you get Singapore and Hong Kong?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah.

Q.  You don’t get much of a break after this?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Not really, no.  I’ll have two weeks, straight to the Hong Kong Open, which is now just Asian Tour at (indiscernible) and then Singapore Open, week off, Victorian Open and then like three weeks off.  Yeah, pretty constant all the way through which kind of suction.

Q.  Is this an opportunity to play your way into some European status in the next six, eight weeks?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, I paid for my affiliate membership so hopefully I can do some damage in the events that I get and maybe sneak a few invites as well.  And just yeah, hopefully at the end of the year I can play on the European Tour.  End of next year or even end of this week, end of this week.

Q.  How do you find Royal Pines?  I know you played it the last couple years.

TRAVIS SMYTH:  It’s a tough course.  I think it definitely favors the longer hitters.  The type of grass on the greens up here, it’s down grain spots on the greens so if you can come in with wedges and 9‑irons as opposed to 8s and 7s, it’s much more of an advantage to the longer hitters.  But you’ve got to golf your ball around here.  There’s so much water hazards everywhere.  As soon as you go in the rough, you’ve got to play defensive golf a little bit because it’s hard to control.  It’s not easy holing putts, too, and chipping is tough as well.  It’s a good test of golf, for sure.

Q.  You’ve got a great record at Sanctuary Cove.  

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Love it, yeah.  It’s great.  It’s by the beach where I kind of feel at home.  I’m from Wollongong and living in Sydney now by the beach, so I love it, it’s great