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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

February 3, 2018

Beau Hossler

Scottsdale, Arizona

Q. 64 today. Have a look back through your scorecard. Day one you shot a 70, with just a couple of birdies on the card. Day two, four birdies and a 68. Today a magnificent 64. The numbers imply the game's getting better by the day, is that the way it feels?
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, it feels better today. I rolled the putter well. Obviously that's kind of the key to making a lot of birdies on any golf course. A lot of 15 to 30 footers went in today. 64 is kind of a hard fought number, I had to make a few clutch saves down the stretch there, but glad to be done.

Q. You teed off at 4-under par, six behind the lead, 30 something place. What's the attitude going out? Obviously by the look of the start it was aggressive?
BEAU HOSSLER: Like I said I was making more putts. I was just kind of hitting the middle of the greens on some holes. I had some wedges that I could be relatively aggressive on, but for the most part I was just sticking to the same game plan. The greens are relatively firm out here so you can't be too aggressive with mid irons. But that being said the greens are so good when you hit it to 20 feet you still have a good chance of making birdie.

Q. This is your first time playing in this tournament, your first time on the 16th in front of that caldron. Describe the atmosphere.
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, that was pretty crazy. To be honest I thought I hit an even better wedge shot in there.

Q. What's the reaction like from the crowd?
BEAU HOSSLER: It was loud. I thought I hit it close off the tee but left myself a kind of a delicate downhill sliding putt and fortunately was able to creep it in there. That was awesome. It's pretty electric out there.

Q. You told us in the past that you enjoy the challenge of competing on Sunday at whatever level you're playing. How much are you looking forward to tomorrow?
BEAU HOSSLER: It's going to be great. I don't know where I'm going to sit. There's some birdie opportunities out there for the guys that are still out there. The course is pretty scorable today, not too much wind and the greens roll really true. So any opportunity I get to have a chance to win out here is special and I'm fortunate to have had some experiences this year that I can draw back in my mind.

Q. I followed you in from 15, I have to say, very impressive par save 17 and 18 to cap off that 64. Tell us how much that meant to you, those two saves?
BEAU HOSSLER: It was huge. Especially having a drop over in the sand there on 17. I hit kind of a miraculous shot, you never know how it's going to come out of that stuff. So hit it in there to about 10 feet and had a little curler there and was able to make it. Then 18 I didn't hit that bad of a tee shot, one of the worst breaks ever, I don't know how it stops under the lip there without plugging. Obviously I was a little upset about that, but then kind of regrouped and got myself 85 yards coming in and hit a pretty good pitch shot to about nine or ten feet again and was able to roll that in. So momentum-wise going into tomorrow it was huge but more than anything just capping off a really strong round was nice. Kind of sucks to make bogies at the end so it was nice to keep those off the card.

Q. We have to ask you, first time here at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, what's the atmosphere like for a young man like you who has never experienced that?
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, it's certainly different than anything I've experienced, like you said. For the most part it's excellent, it's really loud and rowdy. There's some times where it's a little distracting, but you have to know that coming into the week that it's going to be like that. Certainly appreciate all the fans coming out. It's pretty special, definitely far more fans than I've ever seen at a tournament, even up there with Majors. So it's pretty special to be here, I really like the golf course and Waste Management, everybody involved is running a phenomenal tournament.

Q. A third round 64 to shoot up the leaderboard. You made 200 feet of putts in this round alone. How the heck did you do that?
BEAU HOSSLER: Just seeing it really well and had good speed. The greens are so pure if you can get a good read and you start it on line it usually has a pretty good chance to go in. I hit some good putts the last couple days that just didn't go, so today to catch a few lips and to get them in was pretty nice.

Q. One of those putts was at 16 where you want to be able to pull off that performance, a birdie putt 32 feet. How cool is that hole?
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, it's awesome. It was short today, it was only 125 yards or so. I thought I hit a really good wedge in there but I had about 30 feet and it was a pretty fast putt and it's nice to have the crowd cheering for you and not booing you on that so it was very special.

Q. And you've certainly gotten better playing this course as the week has gone on. What have you kind of figured out that you're going to apply to Sunday?
BEAU HOSSLER: I think you got to stay patient out here. The golf course has a lot of holes that you can be aggressive on with wedges, but at the same time there's some really meaty par-4s that you got to try and make pars on. So I think it's kind of trying to pick your spots and then realizing that the greens are pretty good and you can make a lot of 20 footers out here if you're rolling it well, so try and do the same thing tomorrow.

Q. A lot of people look at the birdies on the scorecard but those last two up-and-downs to save par are probably even more huge. Talk about the way you were able to grind it out.
BEAU HOSSLER: It was nice. I made a long one on 16 too. So to have the momentum with the putter going into the final round is awesome. I'm seeing the lines really well out here and to keep those bogeys off the card and cap the round on a strong note was really good.

Q. Your thoughts on the eagle on 13. What a momentum boost for you to finish up strong and be in contention.
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, that was nice. I only had 5-iron in today, I hit a pretty good drive off the tee and hit a really nice shot in there, just the greens are firm and it's tough to hold those front pins. So I probably had 30 or 40 feet there. And it was a pretty ticklish one, you had to barely creep it over the ridge there and let the slope take it down and fortunately it went in.

Q. What have you learned about yourself the last couple events? You've been in contention at some point in the tournament and then -- just what have you learned?
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, I felt good. We have had some pretty windy Sundays, Vegas and then Torrey Pines both of them we had 20 plus mile an hour winds. So it was a struggle on Sunday for me. Then again, any time you have an opportunity like that, even if you aren't successful you have an opportunity to learn and grow and I think I've done that.

Q. What do you learn and grow from? And especially just not on the golf course, also off the golf course.
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah, there's certainly a lot of distractions when you're playing in the front of those kind of crowds. At the same time you got to stay patient out there and realize that everybody's dealing with the same thing, you're going to be nervous out there but it's a matter of being comfortable with those nerves and just sticking to a game plan and comitting to each swing.

Q. So those crowds aren't too bad, they're manageable?
BEAU HOSSLER: Well they're going -- tomorrow they're going to be crazy. They're crazy today. Certainly more fans here than maybe I've seen anywhere. Definitely rowdier. And I'm looking forward to it, but, yeah, it's going to be a little bit different atmosphere I'm sure tomorrow than anything that I've played in thus far.

Q. Is one of those things when like you eagle 13 all of a sudden you got the gallery in your favor, they're rooting you on, you kind of build some adrenaline after a shot like that?
BEAU HOSSLER: Sure, I try and focus on what I can control, but the better you play the more they're going to cheer for you. So I was fortunate to get a lot of putts to go in today and get some pretty good roars out there, even though I was first off on that side. So I'm sure tomorrow it will be even more hectic.

Q. You had a tough start to your pro career a couple years ago, what does it mean to have made six of seven cuts on TOUR, have your card, be playing in one of the final groups on Sunday?
BEAU HOSSLER: It's awesome. Truthfully it's kind of where I expect myself to be. It's taken a little bit longer than I would have hoped just because the injury. Like you said, it was a tough start, but I've seen myself out here for years and to be here kind of playing well and having a chance three weeks thus far this year it's pretty special. So at the same time I got to stay patient and know that eventually it will happen.

Q. Any lingering things with the shoulder at all?
BEAU HOSSLER: No, all good.

Q. How difficult was it to get through that and to make sure that you didn't start doing other things that would hurt you or your swing?
BEAU HOSSLER: I just made sure I didn't come back until I felt like I was healthy. It's a six month minimum recovery until you're really a hundred percent. And even just looking back at last year I was, my club speed was way down from where I was before the injury. Fortunately now I've got it back and hitting it a pretty long way again. So, yeah, I just didn't want to get into bad habits and try and make up for anything with my shoulder, so I was just patient and realized that I'm a lot better off being healthy than I am trying to rush back.

Q. Do you still have the same swing coach?
BEAU HOSSLER: I do not. Actually made a change. Right now I don't have a coach right now.

Q. Are you playing out of Trinity?
BEAU HOSSLER: Yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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