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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2017

June 15, 2017

Adam Hadwin

Erin, Wisconsin

Q. Quite the run there you went on. Were you thinking about it once you got four or five in a row that you were having a little run?
ADAM HADWIN: No, that never really kind of entered my mind. I knew how many I made. I thought it was pretty cool. You don't often see that in a U.S. Open. But there's way too many holes out here where one bad shot could be a double bogey quickly. So I did a really good job of staying present, staying focused on the next shot.

I was a couple over early, but I hit some good shots, made a couple putts and next thing you know I got it back on par.

Q. Was it surprising to have so many birdie opportunities given it was a U.S. Open?
ADAM HADWIN: Certainly not used to it. Not certainly like this. But the greens were very receptive. Your spinning wedge shots you could hold mid-iron. So if you kept it in the fairway, you had some scoring opportunities. I did that for kind of the middle part of the round. Little scramble early, but I made some putts, good start.

Q. What was it like to be out there on this stage and having your game just clicking like that?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, it was nice. I felt like I had been playing pretty well the last three or four weeks. I just hadn't been able to show the results on the scorecard. Kind of the same thing the first few holes. I hit some okay shots and next thing you know I'm 2-over pretty quickly.

The game's funny. It can turn like that. Thankfully it turned for the good today.

Q. You told me you had to come up with some new goals after you won at Valspar. Was contending in a major in the front of your mind in that moment?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I think so. I've done a good job of getting myself in position to win some golf tournaments. I finally was able to close the deal this year at Valspar. And I think the next thing is contend at big events with the best players in the world, and that would be majors, WGCs, and thankfully I'm off to a good start this week.

Q. Was your mindset playing where you know par is a good score, and not get out of your game plan and get frazzled?
ADAM HADWIN: Certainly. You know that you kind of just have to stay patient, whether you get to 3- or 4-over even, you just have to stay patient, claw your way back. I did a really good job of that.

And I think the tides kind of turned maybe on 15 for me. Hit it in the hay. Contemplated going for it a little bit. Chose to lay up and hit it to six feet and was able to salvage a par. That turned things around for me a little bit. Got on a hot streak there and turned the corner. Certainly it helps. It's not as easy when you know you have to shoot 7- or 8-under to compete, but it's kind of the same mindset you have to take when you have to do that. Just stay patient and wait for it to come.

Q. Did you know you tied the U.S. Open record for consecutive birdies?
ADAM HADWIN: I didn't. But it's funny you say that because I was thinking about that coming down the last few holes wondering if I was close. I knew I had to be close given how difficult this championship is. So that's kind of cool.

Q. So all seven birdies were from approach shots inside 15 feet, five of them from inside ten feet. So a lot of fans know you for your putting. Clearly your ball striking has been a great strength. Talk about your ball striking today and how it's been this year.
ADAM HADWIN: It's certainly the reason I've been playing so well this year. Good putting can only hold you in for so long. You kind of have to start hitting greens, which I've done a lot more of this year.

I got on a roll with the wedges out there, to be honest. I hit a wedge into 18 inside eight feet. Wedge into 1, wedge into 2 as well. So just kind of felt comfortable. I just hit a bunch of good shots and luckily I was making those six- to eight-footers today.

Q. What is most fun, if that's the right word? What is most challenging? Just package it all together for us being on a U.S. Open mindset.
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, what I think is great about this tournament is the challenge, the mental challenge. You know it's going to be difficult, and you know you're going to hit some bad shots, probably get some bad breaks and all that kind of stuff. But to just kind of hang in there and battle through it, have some fun, and sort of really appreciate how difficult things can be sometimes, I think you know it's kind of sickening, but there is a lot of fun in that. Or I find fun in that, anyways. I'm just happy I get to reel some off and pick up a few on Rickie there.

Q. It seems like you just learned that you tied the consecutive birdie record, and now you're in the record books for a U.S. Open. Talk about what that means.
ADAM HADWIN: That's pretty cool. That's probably a record that's, like I said, with as difficult as this tournament usually is, it's something that doesn't get seen very often. I've done that a bunch this year, and I've been able to reel off a bunch of birdies in a row at different times.

More than anything, it just shows me as long as I stay in that mindset anything can happen. Like I said, I was 2-over through eight holes today, and my mindset didn't change, and I made six birdies. So anything can happen out here. Hit a few good shots, get on a roll, and I kept it going.

Q. Was it surprising to get out here this morning and see a red 7 on that board before you even hit a shot?
ADAM HADWIN: Yes and no. I mean, I watched a little of the coverage when I got up this morning and I saw how receptive the greens were.

Obviously there are some extremely difficult holes out there. Was it No. 3? I hit 2-iron into No. 3 today. So you had to be patient. But there were some spots where you could be aggressive and make some birdies.

The grounds crew has done an extremely good job of getting these greens pure. You hit good putts and they'll go in. I hit a few good shots and made a few putts today.

Q. Can you remember a six-birdie streak at any point even at home with your friends?
ADAM HADWIN: I can remember two of them or three of them this year. I did it at Valspar, maybe second round, I think, at least five. Then I did it at CareerBuilder when I shot 59. I reeled off six in a row on the front and five in a row on the back. I don't want to say that it comes easy, but I've done it a few times this year, so I'm not uncomfortable when I get into that three or four birdies in a row.

It's just a matter of keeping that same mindset of picking your target, picking your number, hitting your shots and doing the same thing with a putt.

Q. Did you think the approach on 5 maybe had a chance to go in?
ADAM HADWIN: It was one of those numbers, I'm still a little shocked that it flew all the way there. I hit 9-iron from like 184, but it was a number where I could just go ahead and hit as hard as I want and I took long out. Fortunately, it flew all the way there. It looked like it had a decent chance to go in anyways.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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