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CAREERBUILDER CHALLENGE

January 20, 2017

Hudson Swafford

La Quinta, California

Q. Tell me about today's round. I thought everything was set up by your good driving off the tee.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: No, you got to hit fairways out here, that's key. The grass is a little fluffy, the green grass, just off the fairways. Managed to keep the ball in the fairway, that gives you a lot of nice approach shots into greens.

Q. You only missed two fairways in the second round. You only missed five fairways for the week.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I didn't know that. No, I'm driving the ball beautifully. I feel like the rhythm of my swing is in a really good place and I feel like the speed on the greens are even better.

Q. What's been the turn around for you? You've been really impressive, you made every cut this season, you posted three top-10s in five tournaments.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Just patience. Getting myself up on the top of the leaderboard a lot more and just getting more and more comfortable with that. You got to put yourself in that position to feel what's going on up there. I've done it a lot lately and starting to just get more confident in that position.

Q. Nothing left for you but two rounds on the Stadium Course. Do you like playing that back to back? What have been your experiences over on that side of the property?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I actually shot 65 back first year of Q-School to get on the number. Ended up missing my card by one over here on the Nicklaus Tournament Course. But I had good experiences over there. So I'm looking forward to the next two days.

Q. Matching 65s on Thursday and Friday. How would you describe your second round?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Very solid. Just very patient. Hit a lot of good quality iron shots. Hit a lot of good putts. A lot that went in, some that lipped out, just kind of the nature of the of the game. Just gave myself a lot of chances.

Q. You opened with 130 at the Sony, a week ago, same score so far through two rounds here at the CareerBuilder challenge. What's been the carry over to start your 2017?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Just really a lesson that I had with Scott Hamilton the Monday before that I came to the Hideaway. Kind of got my golf swing just more up-and-down the plane instead of a little laid off and just really focusing on rhythm with everything I do. It's really kind of coming together. I have seen a lot of good iron shots. Tee ball's been really good, haven't really been in bad positions off the tee, which is really key out here. The putter feels really good in the hands.

Q. You beat the rain.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yes, that was the biggest thing today.

Q. Did you think about that? We have been hearing about it for a couple days.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely. I had a full rain suit, five towels in the bag. My caddie was griping all day about how heavy it was. But I made a few birdies early and he said the bag was getting a little lighter.

Q. Bogey-free today, Nicklaus Tournament Course, not the toughest of the three courses here, but still you want to go out and shoot a score and you did that. You accomplished that.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely, yeah. Just what we have been harping on the last two tournaments is just giving ourselves as many chances as possible. Playing with Justin Thomas last week, I mean the guy's making an incredible amount of birdies and that's just kind of the game now, you just get your self in position and just give your self the best chance that you can on every hole. Easier said than done, but just really trying to give myself -- not trying to get caught up with the perfect number, but just trying to give myself the best opportunity for birdie on that hole.

Q. So doesn't sound like you necessarily concentrate on the fact that you got the lead right now.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: No, just trying to makes a many birdies as possible, really.

Q. You've been here three times before. This is by far the best performance you've put in here. Is it just that you're on a roll right now or is there something that's changed in your attitude about coming here?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Not really. I made a few more putts this go around. I had some problems in the past reading the greens, other than my first go around at Q-School here. But I feel like I'm reading them beautifully this week. My speed and my lines are matching up nicely. I feel last year I actually was playing nicely going around, I kind of hurt my foot and I had a bad final round. So that was unfortunate. Then I think my first year on TOUR I think I finished like 25th. Nothing terrible. But I just feel like I'm seeing my lines a little better on the greens and making a few more putts.

Q. You didn't listen to somebody say the putts go to Indio, did you?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: No, no.

Q. When you make as many cuts in a row as you have going back to last summer does it start to feel like it's only a matter of time where you have a couple of days like this?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, I don't really think about it, I kind of go to the next tournament and just D.J. and I just kind of try to execute our game plan. I'm not really thinking about the cuts. That's not kind of the goal. You're trying to get your self in position on Sunday to win on the back nine. I feel like we have been doing that a fair amount lately. Ups and downs on some Sundays, but you keep putting yourself there, you never know what happens.

Q. Playing with Thomas last week, do you start to feel more and more like, hey, if he can go out and shoot those numbers then I got just as much as he does and it becomes something that you think can you do every time out?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, absolutely. I felt really comfortable last week. We're actually good buddies. And we had Gary Woodland in the group and we had fun last Saturday for sure playing, we all played nicely. Sunday, just a couple bad bounces, because I really like that golf course. A couple bad bounces, that's part of golf. But I was right in the thick of things, felt a good pressure that you want to feel, and just trying to get myself right back in contention this week.

Q. Are we starting to get to a point where 59 won't be the number that it used to be and it becomes 58 watch?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I never shot a 59, so I can't answer that question. It's still, 59 is 59. I mean it's still pretty amazing.

Q. Two terrific round of 65. Today bogey-free. If we look at your stats so far for the tournament, 306 yards off the tee, 64 percent driving accuracy. The one that is jumps out to me is greens in regulation, 86 percent. That relates to 31 out of 36. Do you feel like you're swinging particularly well?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I do. I feel like the rhythm of my swing right now is really nice. That's really kind of got my golf swing in good position and that's the only thing I'm really focusing on is nice rhythm.

Q. You had a great lesson with Scott Hamilton. Tell us about that. Getting the club on a better plane.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, kind of took some time off over the holidays, like normal, and got back and it was a little rusty. And went to see Scotty Hamilton on Monday before I left to come out here actually to the Hideaway for a week before Sony. And I was laid off, that's my tendency when I start swinging bad, get a little laid off. And I just got an easy fix, just something he said, it just kind of clicked and registered. And I was getting the club more up-and-down the plane and not as laid off and all I'm thinking about is kind of rhythm of the golf swing and it's been going well so far.

Q. A highlight, one of the putts you holed here. Do you have to make any adjustment moving to course to course for these greens or are they similar?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I practiced on the putting green up top and it was pretty slow. I actually went down to the bottom grown on the range and it was just like La Quinta, everybody said they were a little slower, but Nicklaus Course, they rolled beautifully today. They were nice. They had great speed.

Q. Which one of these numbers impresses you the most, to me it's the greens in regulation, 86 percent, and that's 31 out of 36.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I would agree with you. Tee ball has been good, allowing myself to have great positioning. And hitting out of the fairway is key here. The overseeded rough can get a little sticky and create some problems. Hitting from the fairway is key here.

Q. Understand you had a great lesson from Scott Hamilton.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I was a little rusty, going to see Scotty Hamilton, I took some time off at the beginning of December, like everybody, I'm sure, but I was a little laid off and kind of hitting it everywhere. It was a little squirrely. Really had a great lesson, I don't know what he said, we're just trying to get the club more down the plane instead of laid off. And something he said, it just kind of registered and clicked. And coming out, before I came out to the Palm Springs area, the Hideaway, just really saw some nice iron shots, was hitting it beautifully, and just kind of rolled into Sony with it.

Q. The putt you holed at 7 here. Do you have to make an adjustment moving from course to course for these greens?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I really didn't. I thought these greens were going to be a little bit slower than La Quinta's. Year-in, year-out La Quinta's known for how good and how fast their greens are. But Nicklaus, they have done a great job. They're beautiful. They're great speed, very similar, and just continued the good putting.

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