WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 11, 2022

Adam Hadwin

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. 3-under, 68, if we can get some comments on your play today.

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I did a really good job of managing the golf ball around the golf course. I didn't hit nearly as well as I did yesterday, I just wasn't, wasn't confident in what I was doing, to be honest.

So I kept it out of trouble, my short game was good I made a couple putts on the front and speed control on the greens on the back was key.

Q. Talk a little bit about your thoughts going into the weekend, hopefully the leaders won't get too far ahead of you.

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, we'll see. I could be one back, I could be six back, depending upon what happens this afternoon. So but I'm still in a great position. I'm leaving my 36 holes tied for first right now, so get some rest and just get those feels back for the weekend.

Q. Comment a little bit, when you are first out in the morning what a difference that makes in terms of condition of the course and the greens especially.

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, it was a little bit softer, ball doesn't fly as far or nearly as far as it started out yesterday afternoon. Might have been a few hole locations you could be a little bit more aggressive on, greens being a little bit more receptive but I still think you got to be very patient around this golf course. I think you can be a little bit too aggressive and get yourself into some bad spots.

So with me not feeling a hundred percent with everything I did a really good job of managing all that, but we'll see what the afternoon brings.

Q. What were your thoughts on the pin placements today and were there any pins that specifically challenged you?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I mean nothing stood out. Good set of pins again. I thought there were a couple yesterday that were really good. But, yeah, nothing too crazy today, nothing we haven't seen in the past. Again, spots you can be aggressive in and spots where you just kind of have to take your 15, 25 feet and try and make a putt.

Q. And then what aspects of your game today and the last two days are you looking to really hone in on and continue with into the weekend?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I struck it really well yesterday, didn't make a whole lot until the back nine. I just didn't hit it as well today. I still hit a bunch of greens, but I was putting from 30, 40 feet all day. So I just need to just go to the range, hit a few balls, it's not going to take much, just to get a feel back for where that club face is at the bottom and big thing is just to go out there and trust the golf swing, I know it's there, it's just a matter of doing it.

Q. You mentioned not feeling super confident with the swing today. How big is it on a day like that to still card a bogey-free round and get in at 3-under, what does that do for you moving in?

ADAM HADWIN: It's massive. My short game was solid. Drove it in the water on 17, got up-and-down for par. Doing things like that go a long way. I didn't shoot myself out of the tournament, I could have easily done that today. Shooting even, 1-over, I might have, I would have needed two, probably two really good rounds to get back into it after that, so get in 3-under, I'm in a good spot.

Q. You live here and obviously played this course a ton, because you don't play it in these conditions is that even almost really that much of an advantage?

ADAM HADWIN: I still think it's a little bit, especially when it comes to the greens. I've had a lot of different putts around this place and they can be tricky to read and I think I've got a pretty good feel for what they do and how they roll, but, yeah, I mean it plays so much firmer and faster than we normally get to see it, so some of the lines off the tee and some of the clubs.

Like normally No. 1 is just a driver all day, never going to run out and now you're running out with a 3-wood, so it's a very familiar golf course though which is nice.

Q. I'm asking a question that's more for a general audience than a very specific golf audience. One of my favorite things about the sport is the civility, the sights, the sounds. But then I notice that there are these two cactus right next to the first hole, right next to 1 there's two, and they're all pock marked, like battle scared where golf balls have gone and stuck all in them. Have you ever noticed that?

ADAM HADWIN: No.

Q. No? Okay. You'll forgive me for asking you a golf question then, what would be the mechanics of a right-handed golfer putting a ball into a cactus that's maybe 30, 40 feet away, a little bit off to the left, what would be the mechanics that would cause that error?

ADAM HADWIN: Probably not something that I want to be thinking about right now going into the weekend at 8-under. (Laughing).

Yeah, it happens. I've dedicated my entire life to playing golf and it's not an easy sport to do, even having reached those 10,000 hours of practice. So yeah, I'll leave it at that.