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CAREERBUILDER CHALLENGE

January 19, 2017

Dominic Bozzelli

La Quinta, California

Q. Got out of the gates early today. You missed your last three cuts on the PGA TOUR. Did you see this round coming?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Yeah, definitely. It was nice to have a little bit of a break, get refreshed a little bit, recharge the batteries, and been working hard, been doing all the right things, on and off the course. Training hard. So it was nice to see it pay off a little bit.

Q. You started on the 10th hole, got 1-under, and then 14 you holed one out. What did that do for your round?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Jump started it, for sure. I made two big par saves today, too. On 15 I got up-and-down from like 85 yards.

And the other one was on 2, short sided over there. Made about a 12-footer to save par. And those are huge. It's a momentum boost and keeps the round going. And I was able to make some putts coming in and get off to a good start.

Q. As a rookie, it's really hard to get established on the PGA TOUR. What does a round like this do for your confidence?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: It does a lot, but I expect to play well. I work hard back home and it's nice to do it out here.

Q. You just bettered your best score on the PGA TOUR, this your rookie season, by five shots, by shooting 64. Just how good does that feel?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: It feels great. Been working hard back home, doing all right things on and off the course, and it's nice to come out and have that hard work pay off for me.

Q. You got off to a terrific start, started from the 10th, obviously a birdie there. And then this wonderful hole out on 14. Take us through the second shot here.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Had about 115 yards here to a back right pin. And took a little pitching wedge, I was trying to control the spin and it took a couple bounces and it went in. It was nice to see it disappear. It definitely got the round going. And, like I said, a couple big par saves on the next hole, 15, got up-and-down from about 85 yards. And those par saves are almost like birdies out there, they keep the round going.

The other one was on 2. Short sided over there on the right, and chipped it to like 12 feet past the hole and was able to make that.

So, finishing the round, I made some nice shots, but these greens are perfect out here, so I got the putter rolling coming in and it started to pay off.

Q. Have a look at the final putt to get to the lead. Were you aware this was to go into the lead?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: No, I was just trying to make it, to be honest.

Q. Tell us about the strengths of your game.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Yeah, I feel like everything's pretty solid, for the most part. But the last few months I've been really focusing on my wedge game and putting. That's how you make money out here. So, just a big focus on 125 and in. And if you do that well, you shoot scores like today.

Q. Is that the main goal when you start the season, to get some experience under my belt or do you have bigger goals?
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: I'm just trying to control the things I can control and trying to work hard. And usually a good score and good finishes are kind of a by-product of that. So I'm just trying to put the time in and see how it goes.

Q. Brilliant play out there. So many good shots. But tell me about the eagle.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: That was awesome. It definitely got the round going, kind of jump started me there on 14. Had about 115 and there was a little back right pin. And I was trying to control the spin a little bit, could have been a 50 degree, but I went with kind of knocking down a pitching wedge. And it took a couple bounces in there and came in the back door.

Q. What I was impressed with is you didn't try to protect that at 4-under, you tried to go deeper. Really impressed that you were able to still be aggressive out there.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Yeah, you look at the years past and scores are always low out here, so you just try to push that gas pedal down and makes a many as you can.

Q. Tell me the truth about that drive on 9. Any question about it? It looked like it was hugging that right-hand side of the water for a little bit to me.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Yeah, I wasn't really concerned about the water, but I actually thought it was in the bunker, I couldn't tell, just the way the sun was coming down, and you guys up there had us on the fairway, so it was good.

Q. Listened to some of your numbers today and of course numbers can be deceptive, but this is impressive. Strokes gained tee to green, No. 1 in the tournament. Strokes gained around the green, No. 1 in the tournament. 14 of 18 greens. Four of four scrambling. Sixth in strokes gained putting. Made 93 feet in putts.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: That's pretty good. That's definitely been a big focus these last couple months. I feel like my bad weeks and when I was a little bit more inconsistent than I would like, kind of my wedge game and putting was just not all there. So I've been putting a lot of work in 125 yards and in. And it's just one round, but it's nice to see it pay off a little bit.

Q. You know how this tournament works, it's a staggered course with three different golf courses, but I would tell you that 8-under par on the Stadium Course is going to be impressive as the week continues.
DOMINIC BOZZELLI: Yeah, you got to play it at some point. Definitely I think it's the toughest of the three courses, but, I don't know, golf's weird sometimes.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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