VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 16, 2023

Ryan Brehm

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice round. You're in at 5-under. Obviously, the highlight at 17 is something we want to hear about. Can you just describe that 7-iron and your reactions?

RYAN BREHM: Yeah, it kind of surprised me when I saw it go in the hole, honestly. But we got a good reaction. It was a lot of fun. I was really just trying to cover the front edge of the green, and we had the wind that was down off of the right. I think we had 189 to cover the front edge and it probably flew almost 200 yards. So it was pretty fun to see that thing trickle in.

Q. That was your first ace on TOUR, correct?

RYAN BREHM: Yeah. My wife and I talk about it all the time. I'm glad she was there because she's like, I've never seen you have one. And ironically, in the Monday pro-am, I rinsed one on 13 for my first shot, grabbed a different club, teed it up, and jarred it for a par. (Laughing.)

So it must be something about this week.

Q. What did you hit that club?

RYAN BREHM: I went from a 7-iron to a 6-iron.

Q. How many do you have total?

RYAN BREHM: It's been so long -- let's see -- I think five. I'm 99 percent -- I'm going with five.

Q. Care to guess the last one you had?

RYAN BREHM: It had to be 15 years ago, probably.

Q. What about the rest of the round? You're 5-under, as I said. Was there any other highlights that stood out to you during that round, something you did particularly well?

RYAN BREHM: No real highlights. I took care of the par-5s. That's obviously a goal of mine every time play, but it seems harder to do than on paper. So we took care of the par-5s and that was nice. Then everything else I just kind of -- my lag putting was good enough to get the balls down in two, I had a few up-and-downs and never hit one out of play. So I think that's kind of a recipe to just hang in there.

Q. This is your third start here. Do you feel like this course fits your eye?

RYAN BREHM: No, I'm not comfortable out there at all, but I don't think anybody really is. Maybe Sam Burns. He's won it a couple times. But I think it's a good test of golf. Golf's not supposed to be easy, I don't think, and the course does a good job of making you think.

Q. Was it last year or two years ago you came in off a Puerto Rico?

RYAN BREHM: That was last year.

Q. Last year. And was that a bit of a whirlwind, winning for the first time and all that comes with this and then trying to tee it up at a test like this?

RYAN BREHM: Yeah, it was a whirlwind. We ended up making the cut. I almost botched it. It was definitely a whirlwind. There was a lot changing after that. I went straight to the PLAYERS and then here. Yeah, it was a bit of a whirlwind.

Q. Life was in motion a little bit, right?

RYAN BREHM: Yeah, you know, a lot changed, but then again a lot stayed the same. So we've been grinding for a little while since then to try and find some good form again and hopefully this is -- it's been showing signs of good play, so we're just going to keep doing it.