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RBC CANADIAN OPEN

July 27, 2017

Hudson Swafford

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Q. Opening round 65,1 1 fairways, 15 greens, you'll take that the first round?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, very nice start.

Q. How much did rain affect play?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: It did. It was coming down pretty good but that was actually probably my best streak. I made five birdies in a row when it started raining. I was happy with it.

Q. You said you got a little about the lucky on 18. How far did you guys have?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I had like 178 front. Actually had a pretty good lie. Really to be honest, I was trying to hit it middle, back part of the green, just over.

Q. Cleared it by plenty.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely. Three feet, it was perfect. All you want is an uphill eagle putt on the last hole.

Q. The early win in Palm Springs, did that free things up for you to go out and play and not have to worry about anything?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely but at the same time, I just want to get back in contention as fast as possible. It happened in the early part of the season and it's starting to show a little life. Had a little lull after the Masters. Wasn't playing very good. My driver broke and so I had problems there for a little bit.

But got one that I like and game is starting to come around at a good part of the year.

Q. Last year the golf course played very, very fast and very, very firm. It's been soft right now. If the conditions change, how much different will the strategy be? You're one of the longest hitters out here. A lot of guys said last year they are worried about hitting the ball off the tee too far and they couldn't take advantage of using the driver.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Last year it was crazy firm. I actually had a pretty good event last year. I like this golf course. Kind of sets up to my eye. But no, you're absolutely right. When it gets firm, you've got to be very cautious off the tee.

Q. Five birdies in a row, take us through the mind-set. What is it like?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: It was good. Hit a lot of quality shots and gave myself a lot of looks. That's all I was trying to do, keep giving myself looks and rolled the putter beautifully. Ended up making a couple 10-footers, 15-footers, that was nice. That's when the rain was coming down the hardest, so that was nice.

Q. When you are playing that well, how does that complement the course so well?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: It's huge. You have to drive it well here. I've had success here the last few years. I like this golf course. It sets up for my eye. But you have to drive it in the fairway. The rough is pretty penal here. The greens get a little tricky. Definitely a huge plus coming out of the fairway.

Q. In the past, the course from what we've heard so far, has played completely different and this summer especially with all the water they have got and the water this morning, how did the course play compared to the past?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: It's played way different than I've ever played it. It's usually firm and fast, run-outs, you have to be very cautious off the tee. Today could you hit driver more and you weren't so cautious of run-outs. It will change definitely over the week because it's still pretty firm.

Q. How is the course?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: It's gettable. It's about as gettable as I've seen this golf course but it's in great shape. The greens are perfect. So you can make some putts. I was just trying to give myself as many chances as possible; if the ball was 30 feet or two feet.

That was the main concern today, just get it on the greens. Felt great with the putter. Really rolled it beautifully.

Q. How does it compare to previous years?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Today was the most gettable I've seen it. Just you didn't have to worry about run-outs off the tee. Balls weren't running through the greens like they normally do. There's some tangly lies around the greens. You didn't have to be quite as cautious as you normally do around here. 2-, 3-under is a really good round around here the last few years, but the mind-set is a little different today.

Q. A lot of guys have been going low through 6, is there something about the setup of those holes that makes it easy or the conditions?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: If you drive it in the fairway, you have some short holes. 1 is not an overly long hole. 2 is a relatively short par 5. You have to hit the fairway there. But I think the pin was pretty accessible. Just soft greens, but you've got the best players in the world with some soft greens. Doesn't matter how hard the golf course is, I feel like guys are going to come out and make birdies. When it firms up like this place normally does, 2-under is a good score around here.

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