SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 1, 2020

Charley Hoffman

Country Club of Jackson

Quick Quotes

Q. Only one bogey; a little bit of momentum off last week?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, I played well last week. Didn't get much out of last week, but obviously I played a very solid round of golf. Any time a few under par around this track, I'm pretty happy to get 8-under the first round. Really happy. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and the greens I hit I made putts, so it was a good formula.

Q. Players have talked about the condition of the golf course being a little bit soft. Has it firmed up just a little bit?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: No, it's definitely soft. I probably had four or five mud balls that flew pretty straight today, which is a key. It's definitely a little soft out there. I expect it to get a little firmer throughout the week. But keep hitting fairways and greens and I like my chances.

Q. You mentioned fairways and greens; obviously that's very important. How important, though, is it to put yourself in the right position on these greens?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, I mean, like I said, you've got to be in the fairway to put yourself in the right position on the green because you're playing big-time defense if you don't hit it in the fairway. You've definitely got to know where to putt from on these greens. They're rolling a good 13, 14. I expect them to speed up and firm up and get even more challenging.

Q. Do you have a theory on why you have so many Thursday leads or co-leads?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Because I play better than everybody on Thursday. No, I mean, I think I come in with a good game plan. I think on Sunday I may in the past have not tried to execute the same game plan on the Sunday depending on where I am in the lead. That may be why I haven't played well I wanted to on Sundays. But on Thursday the game plan I set up early in the week and I follow through with it, and it usually pans out pretty well.

Q. How hard is it to go wire-to-wire?-

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: It's really hard. I don't think I've ever done it. When you see guys do it, it's obviously a great accomplishment. It's hard to win anywhere, and especially lead every round. But that's what we're all trying to do.

Q. Have you gotten longer?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I have.

Q. How have you done that?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, you know what, Greg Rose from TPI in San Diego, we've talked about it in the past. I've never struggled with yardage until the last like couple years I'd say. I was like, I know -- I don't know if I'll get any shorter because I think everybody is getting slightly longer, and I was like, that was never something I really explored before, so I started exploring how to do it. He trained a bunch of long drive guys, and it's something that I've trained to do, be a little more efficient, swing longer. The reality is in this day and age it's more important to be long than straight, so that's something I'm trying to do.

Q. Have you become more of a fitness guy?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: No, not really. I wouldn't say my workouts -- I've gotten in better shape throughout the years, but I wouldn't say I've trained to hit it longer. I'm learning to be more efficient and hit it longer.

Q. What really clicked for you today?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I did everything well. I hit fairways, got myself in position on the greens and made putts. It was a pretty solid round. I think I only missed a couple of greens and got, I guess, about 50 percent up-and-down. It was a good day.

Q. Were you surprised that you were able to gain distance relatively quickly doing this?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: No. I mean, it's just the game is changing. You go from back when Tiger came out and he hit it further than everybody else, and Bryson is playing really good, and he's hitting it further than anybody else. DJ -- all these young guys hit it further. As an older guy I've got to -- as a younger guy I didn't have to worry about hitting it further because I just hit it far, and as an older guy I've got to pay attention when I'm swinging it hard. As I've said to people, my speed, I can get it up there pretty high. I don't hit it on every shot. If there's a par-5 where I need to get home in two I'm going to swing hard and hopefully hit the fairway. The other holes, like 18, I'm going to try to put it in the fairway and probably not swing quite as hard.

Q. You do have experience on this golf course, 64 in round 2 last year. What's the key to going low out here?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: You know what, making putts, obviously. It's a golf course I'd say it's hard to hit it close. You've got to be in position off the tee to be able to attack and then be in position on the greens and make sure you have uphill putts. These greens are running quick and fast, and you've got to be in the right spot to be able to be aggressive. I've been able to plot my way around the golf course successfully to be able to make some birdies.