BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

July 13, 2022

Rasmus Hojgaard

Tahoe Mountain Club

Press Conference

Q. Welcome to the Barracuda Championship. Played in Scotland last week, T10 at the Genesis Scottish Open. Great to bring some momentum over here to the PGA Tour?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Yeah, of course. Played well overall last week. Obviously had a goal to make it into the Open but didn't do that, so well, I was fortunate to get in over here and made the trip.

Yeah, looking forward to the week.

Q. How are you feeling after the trip?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Tired. A bit of jet lag in there. But it's fine. You have to get used to it at some point, I think.

Q. Just in terms of the golf course, it's a little bit different to the test that you had last week. What are your thoughts?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: It's a great golf course. Conditions are good. The ball is traveling a long way. Have to probably count on maybe 10, 12 percent extra.

Yeah, it's a bit long and I'd say a bit narrow off the tee, tree-lined course, but I enjoy courses like this. My home club in Denmark reminds me a little bit of this, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Different format this week with the modified Stableford. What are your thoughts on that?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Well, I've seen the tournament on TV and the scoring before. It seems like there's a lot of birdie chances and potential eagles out there.

But again, I don't think that means you necessarily have to go for everything. You've still got to be a little bit sensible and then be aggressive at the right time, I think. I think that will be my approach.

Q. You've had a couple of starts on the PGA TOUR this year; what can you take from those experiences into this week?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Well, it's just, I guess, get a bit more comfortable with all the people out here and just the surroundings. Obviously in Europe I know all the guys there, all the staff, everyone. Everything feels so comfortable, where over here everything is new. It's just getting to know the people here and just spend a bit more time figuring out how it works over here.

I think I'm getting there slowly, but yeah.

Q. How would you describe kind of the differences in preparing for the Scottish Open type of layout and this layout here with the elevation? Are there extra steps with the elevation?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Well, in Scotland it's a links course. It's very firm. The ball runs 50, 60 yards. It's very windy so you have to control the ball flight certainly.

I think here you can kind of -- I can kind of start to hit normal golf shots again in some way. It's just having that adjustment to be able to do that.

I think yesterday was a bit weird because I've been hitting all those punch shots into the wind in Scotland, and suddenly now I have to get the ball in the air.

Yeah, it's fun to play two types of golf, if you can say so.

Q. How many holes have you played here so far?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: I played all 18, played the front nine yesterday and back nine today.

Q. Are there any particular holes here where you might be more aggressive based on the scoring format?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: I don't think so. I mean, I still think there's a lot of par-4s out there where you have to hit the middle of the green and take what you get from there and obviously the par-5s are gettable. I don't know, I think it's easy to become overaggressive in this format and kind of chase the eagle or a lot of birdies, but at the same time seven birdies and seven bogeys are better than 14 pars.

I guess it's just a mix and having a balance to be aggressive at the right time, I think.

Q. Can you kind of go through your travel from Sunday night? Did you have a flight here already or did you have to book it last minute?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: No, I actually didn't have a flight booked. I was hoping to get in the Open or play my way into the Open on Sunday, but obviously missed out by a shot, I think.

Sunday night I had to book a flight, so flew from Edinburgh to Washington and then Washington to Sacramento and then drove from there. It was a very long trip.

Q. You got in like late Monday night?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Yeah, got in Monday night, and yeah, woke up -- got to bed about 11:30 at night there and then woke up at 4:30. Good preparation.

Q. Did you drive all the way to Truckee on Monday night or did you stay around Sacramento?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: No, we trove to Truckee Monday night and just had a very chill morning that Tuesday and then got to the course here about 10:00 or 11:00 Tuesday and then started practicing.

Q. Is it kind of weird how you feel like you're eight hours different timing than Scotland, so do you find yourself waking up a little earlier?

RASMUS HOJGAARD: Yeah, I haven't made it past 5:00 a.m. yet. I feel like I've been up for a long time now. But yeah, that's just how it is. I find it easier going this way than going back again.