SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2022

Matt Kuchar

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Great round today. Clean card. Just assess your round.

MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, another good day. Probably felt in more control yesterday than today, but found a good number of fairways. When I did miss I tended to have shots, was fortunate.

But started out I think eight straight pars and put on a good run. I think the front nine here is more gettable than the back nine is, and that's kind of the way it played out for me today.

Q. Conditions pretty much identical to yesterday. Did that play into your favor?

MATT KUCHAR: Conditions are great. Course again presents enough challenges, particularly off the tee. If you're wayward off the tee you're going to struggle.

Fortunately I was finding a bunch of fairways today. If you're in the fairway you can make birdies; if you're not in the fairway, you're hoping to make pars.

Q. What's the easier of the nines?

MATT KUCHAR: I think the front nine presents a few more opportunities. There are a few harder holes on the back nine. I would say potential to make some more birdies on the front nine.

Q. Did you have high hopes making the turn then?

MATT KUCHAR: Well, it was kind of a slow and steady trot playing the back nine first and then knowing some holes are gettable. I actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I've had more success this week I think on front nine than I have the back. Boy, it would be a coin toss.

Each nine presents some really difficult holes, but if you put putting it in the fairway they become much easier.

Q. Would you have come out to this tournament if you didn't have part of your residency in this state? In other words, if you were not over on the Big Island, is this one you would still come out to in the middle of the ocean?

MATT KUCHAR: 100%.

Q. Because?

MATT KUCHAR: 100%. Love the golf course. Love the environment. I can't recall last time I've skipped Sony Open.

Q. We can look that up.

MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, so it's one I look forward to every year. Mainly the golf course, but you throw in the state of Hawaii as well. Just kind of me it's a paradise and always excited to come here.

Q. We got wrecked by rain. Did you get caught on much of that rain over on the Big Island over the holidays?

MATT KUCHAR: No. We were on the Kona side. I think we had one afternoon of rain and got really lucky.

Q. Just wondering, how is the course different in years past? Much different than what you remember?

MATT KUCHAR: Rough is far deeper than I've ever seen it before. This place always presents a challenge without much rough. You just -- hard to hit fairways and playing at a light rough with the trees that kind of line both sides. This place is I think is always challenging without much rough.

Now there is deep rough, and so that's the biggest difference I've seen this year.

Q. How long do you spend in Hawaii, Kona per year?

MATT KUCHAR: We got there this year on the 21st, so spent two weeks there and then made our way this way. Maybe a little more than to two weeks, close to three weeks over there, and made our way this way.

We love it. The boys love it. They stay busy, stay in the water and on the land doing every activity you can hope for. It's a place we think so fondly of, and try to spend as many days as we can here.

Q. Are you playing much over there or are you taking it easy?

MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, playing a lot. My boys love to play, so we find ourselves on the golf course most afternoons. I can't turn down a round of golf with my two boys, so we tend to play a lot.