SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 13, 2023

Chris Kirk

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Chris, couldn't get off to a much better start birdieing the first three holes. When you get off to a start like that, what does that do for your confidence as you go forward in the round?

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah, I felt good going into today, and after playing really well yesterday you want to come out and hit some solid shots and kind of ease into it. I did not ease into it at all. Really nice putt I made on 1, and then couple pitching wedges on 2 and 3 that I hit pretty close.

I was felt like off the races, but then maybe, yeah, it can be hard to sustain that sometimes for 18 holes, that type of momentum. We're all trying to birdie all 18 holes but we never do it.

Hit a couple tee shots that weren't quite what I wanted on 5 and 6 and was able to make a good save on 5, and then bogeyed on 6 unfortunately. But then after that, after I made the turn, really just kind of settled in and played steady, solid golf on the back nine.

Three birdies, no bogeys. Never really in any kind of stress, which was a nice way to finish off my day.

Q. How did you find the conditions this afternoon? Wind pick up maybe a little bit for you guys this afternoon?

CHRIS KIRK: It did pick up more than forecasted for sure around the middle of our round and the beginning of the back nine. It's now died down a little bit, back to what we expected in the past hour or so.

But, yeah, some of those holes, 11 and 13 specifically, I think 11 was 198 and I hit an -- absolutely blistered a 5-iron that's a 210 club for me and wasn't really close to getting back there.

It was in the middle of the green, which is what I wanted. Then hit a good tee ball on 13 and had 220 straight into the wind to a par-4, so hit a really nice shot there as well. Kind of a low 4-iron in the middle of the green and made two really good pars.

That was definitely more than what we were expecting conditions-wise.

Q. You said earlier it's tough when you get off to a start like that, it's tough to sustain it. How do you go about trying to mentally settle into the round, you're not going to birdie every hole? How do you prepare for that?

CHRIS KIRK: I don't know. It's hard. That's the hardest part about what we do for sure, the mental side of it. It's something that I love the challenge of. It's so difficult to be great at this game professionally in the mental side.

So I don't know if I did a good job today or not, but thankfully did on the back nine anyway. Yeah, I just enjoy -- I think that I definitely always remind myself that pressure is a privilege when you start feeling a little bit of nerves.

In our sport, the psychology of our sport is the ultimate challenge, so I just try to embrace it as much as I can.

Q. What do you need to do well in the next two days to stay in this position and have a chance come the back nine on Sunday?

CHRIS KIRK: More of the same really. I've felt good about the way my swing has been this week. I've driven the ball for the most part really well. Hit a lot of really quality irons shots and wedge shots. Didn't quite make as many putts today as yesterday maybe, but I feel like I'm rolling the ball really nicely. I'm hitting my lines. My speed has been pretty good. Just more of the same recipe.

Q. Last question from me. You said you had a couple chances last year to win, outside chances to win. When you get back into these situations where you've been in the past, obviously multiple winner in the PGA TOUR.

CHRIS KIRK: Uh-huh.

Q. Do the feelings and you remember kind of almost how to do it, does that come back to you quickly?

CHRIS KIRK: Yes and no. It always feels different. Every time it feels different. I remember that from my wins on tour. There were some times where I felt great and felt confident in everything I was doing, and there were times where maybe I just felt okay and still was somehow able to do it.

I think one important thing for me is to not give my thoughts too much credit. Like it's easy to fall into the trap of if you think something negative, oh, I'm screwed now. But we all -- myself and every other player in the field here -- we all have a pretty incredible ability to play golf, whether we're thinking good or not.

So just try to keep plugging along and focus on what I want to do, what my objective is on each shot and hole, and let the rest take care of itself.