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JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 13, 2013Morgan HoffmannSILVIS, ILLINOIS JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome Morgan Hoffmann into the interview room. Morgan, another really good round today. I think a lot of people want to know what's going on this week; why is it so good? And what happened yesterday that forced you into this aggressiveness, I guess, and all of a sudden you're 18‑under on your last 33 holes. MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, my caddie Ryan and I came into this week knowing that we have a week off next week and just kind of excited about that after I think seven in a row. I knew my game was right for playing well, and that first round out there of 74 was kind of a fluke, I felt, and that 8 on the second hole yesterday was a little crazy, too, but I kept my head up and just hoped for the best after that. JOE CHEMYCZ: We chatted yesterday and you said you got a little more aggressive at that point, correct? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, definitely. I knew I had to make at least eight birdies coming in after that quadruple, and it turned out I had to make 10, so I didn't think the cut would be 4‑under. Q. How do you keep your emotions in check, not get too high or low on yourself? MORGAN HOFFMANN: You know, that's golf, and every day is different out here. You can play great the first day and shoot 74, which I did, and I think my game every day has been very similar and just putts have dropped and some haven't. Just the way golf is. Q. When a hole kicks you in the butt do you get motivated? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, it's not very fun hitting it in the hazard three times on one hole, but as I said, my mentality was good for the week, and I was just trying to have fun out here. This was one of my first events when I turned pro two years ago, and I missed the cut. One of my goals this week was to make the cut and play well, and that was kind of a motivating factor for me, also. Q. 59 is a record number. Do you realize how close you were? I mean, 8‑under and you left it on the lip on 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15. MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I got a little tentative in there in the middle of the round. I guess that's golf again, and your stroke just feels a little weird sometimes. But I got it back on the last few holes, so I think I feel good going into tomorrow. I think yesterday was closer to 59 than today. Excluding that 8, I think I was 11‑under. Q. You actually do have a 59 on the front the last two days. MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I wish the front was the whole course, I guess. Q. If someone were to tell you you were going to shoot 74 and make a quad the next day and be in contention on this course, what would you say? MORGAN HOFFMANN: I'd probably say you were crazy. Q. What's your best round on the PGA TOUR? MORGAN HOFFMANN: I think it is a 63, yep. I believe so. Q. You called the 74 on Thursday a fluke. Expound on that. MORGAN HOFFMANN: I was swinging just as good as I did the last couple days, and like the wind would hit it and it would come up on the fringe and then I'd hit a good chip and it would hit a bump, then lip out the putt, and just things weren't really going my way. We were trying to focus on momentum out there a lot, and this week I've changed a couple things up. My goal for each round is when I make a birdie I want to try and birdie the next hole so I keep my momentum up and keep my focus keen. What has been difficult for me in the past or in the beginning of the year was when I'd go out and birdie one hole I'd kind of get excited and then might bogey the next. It's been different. Q. Putting has been your challenge before in this tournament. What have you done the last two days to make it go right? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Just try to get a consistent routine. They beginning of the year I was very inconsistent putting and my coach and I about five weeks ago really worked on getting the same routine every time, and kind of yes‑no putting, and before I look up think, say it's a good putt or a bad putt and go from there. Q. How were the greens today? Guys were talking about the speed being surprisingly‑‑ it's been difficult to get it to the hole, at least on the uphill putts. Did they get a little firmer today, a little faster? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, today a little faster. They were definitely pure because there was less people out there. They rolled really well today, I think. Maybe it's because I went off a little earlier. Hopefully everyone has good greens and goes on until tomorrow. Q. At Greenbrier you had a good Saturday, too. You made it to the top of the leaderboard there, too, I think for a hole or two? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, you're right. Q. So Saturdays are starting to produce? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah. I mean, I'm trying to keep that moving day intact there, have some fun. Q. When you have some misfortune like you had Thursday, talking about just the little things happening, the wind, divots, whatever, then you came out with an 8 on Friday, how do you keep the mindset straight and not just say, man, this isn't my week, let's just get out of here? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I think it's very easy to do that, but I've never given up. I've only withdrawn from one tournament in my life, and it's because my dad had a heart attack. I'm not one to quit out there. I'm just going to try because I think anything can happen, and golf is such a crazy game, and yesterday proved that. Q. Were you mad after the 8 or did you just kind of shake it off? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I was pretty mad. I kind of let it get into my head a little bit on the next shot, too. I kind of whiffed a 5‑iron on 12, but got up‑and‑down, made a good putt, and then after that it kind of sparked, let's go, there's still a lot of golf left. Q. Have you always had that mentality, to not give up, always forge ahead? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I think so. I always have, definitely, ever since I was a little kid I always wanted to be out there practicing and trying to out‑practice anybody. And John Smith, who is the wrestling coach at Oklahoma State, has a great mentality, who I've tried to learn off of, who I think won the world championship for wrestling six times in a row, and he said when the Russians were weak, everybody else in the United States was asleep, so he would go do stadiums in the middle of the night just to try to get a step up on those guys. So I try and do similar things like that. Q. What are you doing hanging around with wrestling coaches? MORGAN HOFFMANN: I try to hang around the most motivating people I can. Q. In your 59 you birdied every hole but 8, and that seems to be typically the softest hole on that side, other than maybe 2. MORGAN HOFFMANN: Oh, yeah, 8. Yeah, some weird shots happened there. Like today I got a flier out of the first cut. Yesterday I hit it in the bunker off the tee. But that's a good hole. You have to hit a good tee shot. Q. Do you step to the tee on No.11 thinking, hit it straight? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah. On No.10 I was thinking about 11. (Laughter.) Q. Was it driver on 11 that got you in trouble or were you just trying to lay up? MORGAN HOFFMANN: No, I hit 3‑wood every day. Q. Have you encountered Patrick Rodgers in your amateur career? MORGAN HOFFMANN: No, I've heard about him, heard he's an awesome player, and one of the great up‑and‑coming stars like Jordan Spieth obviously has shown, and I think he'll be the next big guy to come up. Q. You played here as an amateur. How impressive is he, what he's got going out there right now? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, I think if you're hitting it well you can definitely take advantage of this course, and he's definitely shown that in his career. Q. Are you aware that a 59 was shot here by Goydos? MORGAN HOFFMANN: Yeah, definitely, I watched it on TV. JOE CHEMYCZ: Morgan, thank you. Play well tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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