WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 9, 2023

Charley Hoffman

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. Charley, off to a good start, 3-under 68. I know the wind obviously was a factor today. Just a few comments about the score.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, it was cold this morning. I didn't really look at the forecast to be honest with you, but when we got on the 11th or 12th hole I didn't expect it to start blowing 15 to 18.

Yeah, it was definitely blustery out there and tough, especially when you got to like 16, 17, around the coliseum, and you don't really know which direction it's coming from. It got real tricky out there and then you go around the front nine, and you sort of knew where it was coming from.

Q. At the risk of asking a dumb question, you've got a lot of good history here, got the sponsorship. You've been here so many times. How nice is it being here, and happy with the start that you've had?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, very fortunate that WM and Thunderbirds gave me a sponsor invite after last year being injured. Wasn't exempt in this event, so just having the opportunity to play here in front of the crowd is always fun, obviously, representing WM since '07. It's a great partnership, and I love being here, and obviously the Thunderbirds and this golf course is a fun one to play, a lot of risk-reward out there.

Q. Was the wind a little bit of a shock this morning? It wasn't really blowing during the delay and you guys got out there and all of a sudden, boom?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: Yeah, if it was blowing earlier, we probably wouldn't have had a frost delay. Yeah, I didn't look at the forecast, so I didn't know it was even projected to blow at all. It was sort of a shock to me, not that that really matters, you just play as it goes. But once we got on 11 and 12, 12 was straight downwind, and I'm like, it's going to be tough. I was just hoping it sustained all day, it doesn't taper off for the guys in the afternoon.

Q. What was it, 14 ends up being really a beast?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: To be honest with you, all of them are beasts. Left, right, downwind it's to hard to hold the greens, into the wind it's hard to get there. I think the TOUR did a pretty good job setting up the golf course with the wind. I know they changed one pin on 15 because of the wind, but you know what, it's a tough test.