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CAREERBUILDER CHALLENGE

January 19, 2017

Hudson Swafford

La Quinta, California

Q. Great start for Hudson Swafford. At what point did you know it could be a special first round?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Not at the beginning, it was a little cold, my hand were numb really the first three holes. But I birdied 3, 4 and 5 -- or 4, 5 and 6, I guess. And so I knew I got off to a good start, made some pars through a tough stretch, some rain and cold, and then ended up squeaking one in on 8.

And then made a great putt on 9 to turn in 5-under.

So I knew that, with some good tee balls on the back, that I would have some more chances and gave myself a lot of good opportunities.

Q. You're a Georgia guy through and through. You live on Sea Island. To start every year you've put up a month long residency in the California desert. Why do you do that and how comfortable are you playing here?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: My wife and I have rented the same house for four years at the Hideaway and love it there. The members are unbelievable. They welcome us with open arms. And usually you come out here to enjoy the good weather and the CareerBuilder, you can pretty much leave your umbrella at home. And it's not the case this year. It was a little cold and rainy. So hopefully it gets a little better as the week goes on. But, yeah, it's really nice coming out and start of the year, refreshed and rejuvenated get ready for Sony and nice weather.

Q. So you're the jinx for not bringing your umbrella?
HUDSON SWAFFORD: I had my umbrella. I made my caddie carry it. He didn't want to, but we had it.

Q. Let's talk about today. A continuation of last week, you played terrific out there at Sony, wouldn't you say? You just kind of brought it right here.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely. Played really solid last week in Honolulu. A couple random bad breaks on Sunday, crazy breaks, really. But I really played good all week. It was a great week. Just kind of rolled into this week with a nice opening round.

Q. The weather changed on you, it didn't seem to bother you, 31 on your outward nine. That's pretty good playing in cold, windy conditions.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Absolutely. No, I was really happy with it, because the first three holes were a bit off. I hit some shots -- I probably hit two solid shots in the first four holes, but managed to play them 1-under. Missed it in the right spots. Gave myself some good looks.

Then birdied three in a row.

It kind of warmed up there towards the middle of the round and then made birdie on 8 and 9 and kind of got in a good rhythm. Gave myself a lot of good looks.

Q. You've been talking about you did a lot of work before Sony with your instructor. It seems to really be working. Talk about what changes you made.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, Scotty Hamilton and I -- I actually was struggling this winter, I didn't play much before Christmas, and got after it, and was rusty, needless to say. But went right before we came out to the Hideaway, had a great lesson with Scotty, just trying to get it get the club a little more on plane than laid off and whatever he said, it just kind of clicked and registered really nicely. And I had a great week out in Palm Springs, saw a lot of nice shots, saw some good scoring, finally, for the off break and just kind of rolled into the Sony, a place that I really love, and just seeing it come over to this week is nice.

Q. How excited are you about the rest of this week, because this could be something special for you.
HUDSON SWAFFORD: Yeah, absolutely. I feel good with my ball striking. My putter feels really good. Just keep doing what I'm doing. Just give myself a lot of chances for birdie. That's all we're really doing. Trying to not make it too difficult, which, boring golf is good golf.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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