PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 21, 2021

Charley Hoffman

The Ocean Course at Kiawah

Flash Quotes

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by Charley Hoffman, who posted a 2-under par-70 today. He is now 1-under for the championship, currently tied for 12th as we stand here now.

Terrific round. Looking at the scorecard, you did something I haven't seen too much, you played the last five holes in 2-under par. Let's just start there. That's basically where you made hay, isn't it?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I'm turning those five holes up, hopefully playing good to make the cut, and obviously I did something special on those last five and played them 2-under. I started with a great par putt from about 12 to 14 feet on the par-3 and then made a good par on the next, and then I was able to birdie 16, which is probably the only scoring hole of those three, and then I obviously stole one on 17, hit a quality shot in the middle of the green and made a long putt.

Q. How long was your putt?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: The putt was probably 30 feet. It was pin high left, but it was a great shot, and then a quality save on the last hole. Sort of got a bad lie out on the first cut, had some long rough behind me, hit a little quick hook in the bunker and was able to get that up-and-down, which was nice to end the evening that way, making a par.

Q. I will have to confirm, but I think you probably had the best back nine of the week, 3-under for the back nine. It looked like the wind didn't faze you. How did you do it?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: To be completely honest we got lucky. As soon as we made that turn, it did die a little. I'm not saying it wasn't there, but compared to what we played on the front nine going on, we got a little lucky. Late in the evening it probably dropped five miles an hour, which made a lot of difference coming down that stretch, and I was able to hit quality solid shots. Usually when you hit solid into the wind, it usually keeps its line and goes where it's supposed to.

Q. You were talking about your putting, and it's one of the most impressive tools for you, I think, and it happens to show up more at the majors. Do you have this feeling this week?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yes, it's been a while since I didn't play in a major last year, so it's nice to get those feelings back in a major here at the PGA at Kiawah. For some reason, I don't know, I grind it out in majors, and I've been able to play well and put myself in a spot to have a chance to win a few of these, and hopefully I can play a little better on the weekend and learn from my mistakes in the past.

Q. With the putting, is that something like you're doing --

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, I work on putting hard with Derek Uyeda. He works with Xander Schauffele, myself, Emiliano and recently started working with Phil. It's been working the last few years, and hopefully it keeps going for the rest of my career.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for swinging by. Rest up, and back at it tomorrow.