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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2017

Jim Herman

Palm Harbor, Florida

DOUG MILNE: Jim Herman, thanks for joining us after a great start to the Valspar Championship, 9-under 62 today. No bogeys. With that said, just a few comments on the great round.

JIM HERMAN: Sure. Yeah, obviously no bogey, I had one really tester on the second hole. I think I had about a 12-footer for par. That was really the only time I felt like a bogey was possible, and on the last I had about a 4-footer. But made a good save there.

In general, drove the ball really well. Iron game was spot on, and was able to roll the ball really well today.

Q. Not a whole lot of history here. Did you feel a round like this coming on?
JIM HERMAN: Actually I did feel really good coming in. I felt like I played really well at Honda. I just didn't putt very well at all. I felt like I stroked it really well but nothing went in. Played, made a little putter switch back to one I used all last year, and back to the claw grip. Played the Seminole Pro-Am and shot, I don't know what I had, 7-under on my own ball.

Had a really good day there, and got urged on from Jack Welch; he's a member there, to come here. I was looking at taking two weeks off, so I was kind of a late commit to this tournament. I guess I'm certainly glad I took his advice.

Q. I guess if Jack Welch urges you to play a tournament, you play a tournament?
JIM HERMAN: Yeah, obviously he's a good judge of character and golf. He's a lifelong golf fan, so I've been fortunate enough to be around him quite a bit and it was just a nice round with my partner, Jim Tulles (ph). But him and Jack are really good friends. We had nine holes with him watching last week. Every hole was: "Why aren't you playing Valspar? Why aren't you playing Valspar? Why haven't you committed?"

Q. Expecting a text from him any minute?
JIM HERMAN: I'm sure there's going to be some kind of e-mail, yeah.

Q. You said you switched putters back to what you were using last year. What were you using this year and what was the putter you used?
JIM HERMAN: I've been using a mallet for the last couple years, the Bettinardi Inovai 1.0 and switched off to just more of a standard plumber neck and conventional-looking putter.

Working hard with my coach, Bill Davis, and we were going in between cross-handed, trying to get out of the claw grip and just into a cross-handed. I felt really good with my speeds, but on my shorter putts, I think I'm just 100 percent better with the mallet and include. Worked really hard with my speeds on the mallet but I feel like my short putts are much better with the model I was using today.

Q. You've talked about this a bunch, but is it too dramatic to say that you would not be here without the help you got from President Trump all those years ago, or is that too much of a leap?
JIM HERMAN: I would say along with President Trump, there was a handful of other people that have been influential in me being at the PGA TOUR.

So along with him, there are several other members at other clubs and people back in Cincinnati just getting me to move to Florida to start this journey. But yeah, for sure, I think there's a handful of people that go into placing me -- or getting me the opportunity to play my way on to the TOUR.

Q. From his standpoint, was it more financial or inspirational?
JIM HERMAN: I would say getting me through Q-School, were just his words and his inspiration; the confidence that he exudes and gave me going through the Qualifying School. And then obviously it doesn't hurt to have a check coming from him for three years. That definitely helps.

Q. And the time frame of that, was?
JIM HERMAN: I worked for him in '06 and '07 and I played on the Web in '08, '09 and '10, and I've been out here I think ever since.

Q. And he would play rounds of golf?
JIM HERMAN: I've played many rounds of golf.

Q. And while you're playing, he's like, hey, why don't you --
JIM HERMAN: It was just a matter of confidence: "Why are you in the shot? You should be on TOUR." Play again; played really well with him, so it was always something I looked forward to because I rised up to the occasion and played well with him.

Q. Everybody can check these scores on their phones at any given time. Have you gotten any text messages from Jack Welch or anybody else since you just walked across the street?
JIM HERMAN: Sure. I get e-mails from Mr. Welch. I get a long list of people that send me texts and e-mails. But yeah, Mr. Welch, he does follow me. That's pretty amazing that I have people like Jack Welch and President Trump following my golf career.

But it's pretty amazing. I just go back to pretty amazing that these people are following me.

Q. You hear from anybody since you signed your card today?
JIM HERMAN: My phone has quite a few messages. I haven't been able to go through it yet.

Obviously last year, going through -- getting it done at Houston obviously changed my life and my perspective on things. I feel like I belong out here, and it helps keep rounds going. Before I think you'd be content with getting it to 3- or 4-under par. But just feel like I felt, why can't we keep going lower. So I wasn't really worried about making any mistakes. It was just, hit the next tee shot and go forward.

Q. Did Jack say why he thought it was so important that you play here?
JIM HERMAN: Just watching me play. I was just playing really well at Seminole in the Pro-Member there last week. So it was just taking time off. I had been on the West Coast, had family and friends at Honda; it was four straight weeks. Two weeks off would have been very nice, but just being three hours away was pretty easy to be a late commit last Thursday.

Drove over Tuesday afternoon with a lot of confidence. Just put in a quick 20-minute range session on Tuesday and then had the Pro-Am yesterday. So I felt really good with my golf game and just sometimes you've got to switch things up a little bit. The putter switch added a lot of confidence after the round at Seminole and leading into this.

Q. Where are you in the rankings and how much are you thinking about stuff like the Match Play and Masters?
JIM HERMAN: I'm in the upper 80s in the World Rankings, so I need a really good week here to jump to 64, I would imagine. Not really worried about that. Those things take care of themselves. As I learned last year, there's a lot of things that open up if you're able to pull off the W. Those things we'll worry about if they would happen. No need to worry about them now. It's just Thursday.

Q. I know you played with President Trump right before Christmas. Has there been any time to even talk with you since he's been inaugurated, or have you had any correspondence with him in that time?
JIM HERMAN: Just that day. We don't really have much correspondence outside of the golf course. If I need to get in touch with him for -- before he was president, I would go through Mickie Gallagher and he's been very generous to listen to me if I had a question or something like that.

But now that he's the President, I don't bother him with trying to get in touch with him.

Q. You can't get a Secret Service escort if you think you really need one --
JIM HERMAN: That was pretty impressive, when I did play with him, the amount of Secret Service around, I was able to ride in the golf cart and pick his brain for four hours. That was quite a morning and afternoon.

Q. He hasn't reached out to you say, hey, great round or anything like that at some point or give you any encouragement here?
JIM HERMAN: Before he was President, yes.

Q. Did you know what the course record was when you were on the back?
JIM HERMAN: I did not know. I still don't know what it is.

Q. 61.
JIM HERMAN: Just missed.

Q. Were you going into 8 and 9 thinking par is a good score there?
JIM HERMAN: 6, 7, 8, those are pretty challenging holes. Put it in good position off the tee. Didn't really hit it very close. It was more of lagging and just keeping my position. I really wasn't worried about the course record or 59s or anything like that. I was just trying to hit the next fairway and hit the next green and try and make the putt.

Q. When is the last time you shot 62?
DOUG MILNE: 2015 Vegas round three.

JIM HERMAN: That was a fun round. I don't think there's many feelings better than shooting in the lower 60s on the PGA TOUR.

DOUG MILNE: Tying his career low round.

If you would take a minute to run us through your birdies; you had nine of them, clubs and yards, starting on 10.

JIM HERMAN: 10, really good hole. Started with a really good drive, middle of the fairway. Pitching wedge, spun off the front. Was able to make a 25-footer or so. That was real nice to see going in your first hole. Can't beat a birdie on your first hole.

11, 3-wood, 3-wood, just short left. Good pitch to about five feet. Made the putt.

13 was a really quality iron shot. A 6-iron to three feet or so, birdie.

14, good drive. 3-wood into the left green-side bunker. Hit a bunker shot to five feet or so. Made the putt.

16, obviously going into the Snake Pit, you want to hit that tee shot on 16, that sets up the whole stretch there. So I was able to put a 3-wood in play. 7-iron in pretty close to ten feet or less. Hit a really good putt. Made that.

Hit good shots on 17 and 18. Just wasn't able to make the putts there.

Made the turn. Driver, hybrid just short, just in the rough. Pretty routine up-and-down for birdie. Had a two-foot putt there.

Like I said on 2 was a little bit of a struggle. Drove a hybrid into the right rough just short of the pond and 6-iron over the green, and was able to make a 12-foot error so for par. That was the only stressful hole I might have had.

Hit a quality iron shot on 3, a 6-iron to ten feet or so.

I thought I made a hole-in-one on No. 4. Hit a 7-iron to a foot.

Made a good putt on 5. 5 is one of the hardest par 5s we have out here for making birdies. It's just really difficult tee shot. You have to hit the fairway. If not, you're going to be struggling on that hole. Had just a hundred yards in for my third.

Hit a good shot to 12 feet, 15 feet, and was able to roll that in.

6, 7, 8, 9, were more lag putts. 6, 7, 8 were all lagging. Didn't hit irons very close there.

And 9 was an up-and-down from just front left. Nice to finish it off. At that point you just want to have a clean sheet and get it into the house.

DOUG MILNE: Jim, great start. Keep it up.

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