Davis Riley Press Conference | 2025 PGA Championship Round 3

Watch Davis Riley’s Round 3 press conference at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.

Subscribe to keep up with the latest from the PGA Championship: https://bit.ly/PGAChampionshipYT  

Contested each May, the PGA Championship is the second major championship in golf’s annual rotation and perennially features the strongest field in the men’s game based on the Official World Golf Rankings. Known for dramatic finishes and notable champions, the Wanamaker Trophy—which has been awarded to the winner since 1916—is inscribed with names such as Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player. 
 
The 2025 PGA Championship is set to take place between 15-18 May at Quail Hollow Club. The reigning champion is Xander Schauffele. 

Website: https://pgachampionship.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pgachampionship 
X: https://twitter.com/pgachampionship 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/pgachampionship/

Davis Riley’s with us now at the 107th PJ Championship. We got time for a few questions. We’ll jump right in. Starting at number 13, Davis, just wondering earlier this season, right, the first couple weeks were a particular struggle. I think I talked to you at AMX, felt like you were battling the swing. What has changed since then to kind of have go on this run? Yeah, like you said, it was uh it was a pretty big struggle to start the year and um yeah, there’s a couple tweaks I made in my swing and trying to get back to some of my old DNA and um seeing seeing draws really. Um so I’m starting to get more and more comfortable as the year has gone on, starting to see the ball right and turn left. Um I feel like I play my best golf, especially with my irons if I’m hitting a little draw and um just a small cut off the TE. So I’m starting to really see those shot shapes and trust it a lot more on the course. And that’s kind of at the beginning of the year I was able to do it at home, but I was just never really got comfortable um out on the course cuz I was trying to soften the draw a little bit and I was trying to tighten some start lines. But um I’ve kind of figured out I’ve just play my best golf when I embrace a little bit of the draw. And um yeah, I’m just honestly just more and more comfortable on the golf course and trusting those shot shapes. On a day like today with it so bunched, uh just kind of what was the mentality and just overall your thoughts on how you played? Yeah, I mean it was really gusty winds today, so I felt like you had to get really creative. You know, you had to hold a lot of the winds, hit some cut shots, hit some draw shots up against the winds and um yeah, you had to had really good control of your golf ball because the greens are starting to get pretty crusty um and a lot of bounce to them. So, you had to be really precise into the greens. Um but yeah, I was pleased with the day. I I drove it pretty well and had pretty good control with my irons. And um you know, and with when the winds are this gusty, you’re going to hit some good shots and you’re going to miss some greens. So, you kind of have to make a couple, you know, there’s going to be a couple times in the round where you’re going to have to just grind out um some up and ends and know that you might not get the best break or the best gust um you know, into the green sometimes. Juan, can you talk about that stretch? Eight, nine, 10, those three burries in a row. I mean, what what what was happening there? What worked for you? Yeah, like you said, that was kind of what kickstarted the round for me. Um you know, on two I made a bogey. I hit a perfect drive. just caught the tree and and was left in a pretty awkward spot. Made bogey there and then I missed out on a really good birdie opportunity on seven being right in front of the green. I kind of misjudged the chip. Um but you had a snag one on eight with it being drivable was huge. Um and then to make a birdie on nine was awesome. That’s just such a difficult hole, but I hit a really good really good drive and a really good iron shot and hold about a 15-footer. Um and yeah, those three birdies in a row kickstarted the round for me. Go up top to Luke. Hey Davis. Um, you mentioned you embracing a draw was a big part of this. Um, I guess like why why are pros sometimes so uh hesitant to do that and why do they tend towards like fades as a result? Yeah, for sure. I I you know when I it’s kind of one of those things I worked it’s easy us golfers to get obsessive about neutral. Um, so I I spent a lot of the offseason trying to really straighten out my ball flight and almost even see a little bit of cut with my irons. Um, and it and it was just tough because I came out early in the year and I was aiming really tight to these flags or even like back left flags where I feel like I’m aiming at it or just right and then I would kind of like make a swing where I bail out and I don’t know, I it was just a really awkward spot for me. And so I I feel like when I’m playing my best golf, I’m seeing about a five or 10 yard draw with my irons and seeing that path around, you know, one and a half to two and a half. Um, and I spent a lot of the offseason, I feel like trying to neutral it out because with with the longer stuff, I can, you know, the I would say seven to four iron, I can start seeing a curve too much. So I was just like, man, I need to zero this out. Especially in right to left wins, I kind of struggle and I felt like I don’t know, I got obsessive with being zeroed out. And uh, it didn’t really work out for me. But me and my coach, um, Jeff Smith spent a lot of time, you know, at the beginning of the year kind of re-evaluating things because it’s it’s so easy to get caught up in the offseason saying, I got to be perfect at when the year starts. I need to be perfect instead of kind of, you know, doing the same things and being um, you know, enjoying the mundane of things and just trying to and just getting back to that DNA. So, and you know, I’m starting to see a lot of that proper curvature and I think having control with my irons and um the driver has been a big reason why I’ve been playing better. Mike six, David, severe in um contention for a major on the final day. Um how how do you go about preparing for that and you know so you don’t get in your own head and you know just you know you don’t get too nervous and all that. What what is your plans uh tonight and going into tomorrow? Yeah, get some rest you know first and foremost. I might go after uh when I get done here, go hit a couple balls and just kind of um reccalibrate because that we played in so much wind, it’s easy for ball position to get back or little things like that. So, just try to get on the range and check a couple boxes and make sure I’m back where I kind of want to be. So, when I come out in the morning, I’m just I feel like I’m kind of right where I want to be. Um so, yeah, go hit a couple balls, get off my feet and rest. I mean, when when the wind’s blowing like this, you’re crunching so many numbers, so many lines and things like that. So, it’s definitely a uh you know, a mental toll on um on yourself on a day like today. So, yeah, hit a couple balls and get some rest and some good food. What is it like being in the situation though? Yeah, I mean coming down the stretch and you know on a Saturday and that that’s what we work for. We want a chance to win these major championships and um that’s what I kept telling myself today. This is what you work for and um embrace it and have fun with it. So, I just tried to go out there and um compete and um be really disciplined and um you know, and really just hit shots that I know are proper shots and not try to be safe or anything coming in. Um because it’s easy to say, “Oh, it’s playing hard. I just want to I just want to make pars coming in.” and which pars are really good on this finish and stretch. But still, I feel like that can kind of like, you know, you know, change your lines and next thing you know, I just should have been 15 feet further left and then I’m short-sighted barely in a bunker when I didn’t hit that bad of a shot. So, more of uh just being really disciplined and just treating it as if, you know, this is Thursday. What would I do if I were starting the round and I and I want to give myself a good look at birdie. So, I just really tried to do that coming in. Um, you know, and the gusty winds were tough and I made two nice up and ends on 17 and 18 to kind of salvage the day and I feel like keep me in a really good spot going into tomorrow. So, um, just continue to build on that tomorrow. We’ll wrap it up with Garrett on the Zoom. Go ahead, Garrett. Hey, Davis. I just wanted to say uh, you know, when we spoke on on Sunday of Southern Hills, remember 2022, that was your best finish in the major that T13. I’m curious what kinds of things will you draw on tomorrow just to you know have the task you got going on here. Yeah, like you said I had a good run in uh 22 at Southern Hills. Um you know had two doubles on the back n finishing I think T12 or something like that. So I definitely had juices flowing there and um you know I feel like really there and maybe the Masters this year were the only really times I’ve been in contention in some of these majors. But it it’s a spot I’m comfortable in and and also like being able to draw from experiences from my win last year at the Charles Schwab and things like that are going to be huge. But yeah, really just trying to get in through the process of the day and um you know have good um discipline with me and my caddy and um just enjoy and have fun with it tomorrow. How much do you want it? Really bad. I I would love to be standing on 18 green holding that trophy. Um but there’s a lot of golf left and um I’m just looking forward to the challenge. you know, regardless of what happens, I’m going try my best and try to put up a good fight and um and if I can do that and stay within myself, I’ll be really happy. Thanks for your time, Davis. We appreciate it. Awesome. Thank you, guys.