WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 10, 2022

Charley Hoffman

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. 4-under 67 today, just a couple comments on the course and your game today.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, the course was amazing. My game was I would say very average. Didn't drive it very well, was able to sort of scrounge around the golf course. And I think the greens I hit I made birdie for the most part. But I was able to get some balls up-and-down and the only bogey I made on 8 was actually a pretty simple up-and-down that I didn't get up-and-down.

It wasn't a very clean round, but I haven't played a ton of rounds on the PGA TOUR in a while, it's been a long recovery with the back and it's nice to get in 18 solid holes.

Q. Could you just kind of assess, bring us up to speed on your health.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, back has been bad. I was out for two months on my back for, on my back, ironically enough, not doing -- tried to come back, obviously ideally would have come back in San Diego, my hometown event at the Farmers, wasn't ready prepared.

And then thought I was good enough to go last week at AT&T and played one round and I woke up literally in like an S shape, could barely walk.

But I bounced back this week and everything's felt good, I think this warm weather's really helped me a lot and I feel great now and hopefully put three more good rounds together and have a chance to win the WM Open.

Q. What's the specific on the injury?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I mean degenerative disk, just bulging, fragmented, trying to dissipate, all the good stuff. I'm no spring chicken, I'm 45 now and this is really, I mean I don't think I have ever really withdrawn from an event in my career and this has been sort of humbling, to be completely honest with you, it's been a lot longer road than I ever anticipated, when I withdrew from the Houston Open back in November I never would have thought that I didn't have a start until -- I mean, I started last week, but hopefully finish an event this week, I never would have thought that.

Q. Given the struggles you've dealt with the last few weeks with the back how surprising is it that you put up a decent score today?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Mentally I'm fresh. I feel really good mentally. Obviously my swing isn't something I need to groove, I mean it's sort of what I have, what I have is what I have now. But I've worked hard with my team, Greg Rose, Mark Blackburn down in San Diego, making sure they have all the digital data and my strength and numbers and we didn't want to push it back.

So I waited until I felt I was strong and ready and healthy to go play, obviously I might have been a week early last week, but I'm glad I played that one round just sort of get the jitters away of last week. Obviously came up a little bit lame, but, I mean, mentally I'm as good as I've ever been, patient on the golf course.

And I guess it's one of those things, not a lot of huge expectations. When I hit a bad sorry shot I'm like, All right, that's a bad one, I'll get it up-and-down.

So mentally probably been in a better spot than I've ever been in. Physically obviously been in better spots.

Q. One round last week, you're feeling good today, how do you maintain that now you're going into -- well hopefully three more rounds down the weekend.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I don't know. I didn't do it. I felt pretty good after my first round last week, I did a normal cool down session and all that stuff and just, I don't know if I slept funny or something last week.

But ideally wake up tomorrow and feel as good as I did today and go out and get 'em. I mean, the crowds here at the Waste Management Open, the Thunderbirds, it's a great one to play in front of. It's a great one to be sort of the first one back. Obviously I've been an ambassador for WM for about 16 years now and I want to put on a good show for everybody out here in Phoenix and definitely for the execs at WM.

Q. You mentioned you are an ambassador for Waste Management, what does this specifically mean to you being able to come out and perform?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, I just know all the hard work and branding that WM does for this week. And obviously they got rebranding now with the changing from Waste Management to WM and there's no greater platform than this and the PGA TOUR to display that at. But the Thunderbirds obviously put on an amazing show, this event wouldn't happen without them and all the charitable causes they support. So the team together with WM and Thunderbirds is a team that, I don't know if you can get a better event anywhere on the PGA TOUR, those two together are a deadly combination.

Q. So would you say it's your favorite event on TOUR then?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I'm glad it's one week a year, I think if it was every week it might be a little intense, but definitely one week a year this is a lot of fun and I embrace it.