Media Center Interviews
March 31, 2022
First Round Interview with Matt Kuchar
Q. Matt, 5 under par, excellent start to the tournament. If we can get some comments on your play.
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, thanks, John. It was a good day. This course is one of my favorites out on Tour. There's a lot of -- a lot of good and bad that can happen here. I feel like this place really punishes the bad shots, but it's a type of course that it rewards good quality shots. I was kind of managing early on in the round and then found a little something on about the fifth or sixth hole where started having some birdie chances and converted on a few birdie chances late in my first round, first nine, and I was able to kind of maintain some good golf throughout my second nine today.
Q. Anything in particular that you want to share that you did find?
MATT KUCHAR: Oh, it's just kind of swing just started feeling a lot better, I just started going to kind of a little fade, which is my normal shot but started kind of playing it just maybe a little bit bigger than normal and with that I felt like I gained control of the golf ball, knew where it was going and started hitting a lot of quality shots.
Q. When you're in the groove that you found that you talked about, is there an idea I need to maximize this, make the most of it while it lasts?
MATT KUCHAR: No, I've never been that thought. I think each shot presents its own scenario of the right shot for the moment. Even if I'm on, I don't know that being overly aggressive is always the key. Each one presents kind of a different opportunity. It depends so much on what hazards lie around each area you're looking to hit towards.
Q. Also curious about playing with the group of guys that seem to get along with Jason and Rory. Is there anything to that? Do you enjoy being able to talk with guys like that?
MATT KUCHAR: I don't find many groups that I don't enjoy, so I think the game of golf attracts good people, the PGA Tour has a whole bunch of good people, and certainly nice to have guys that you're familiar with. I've been around a lot with both Rory and Jason and always enjoy their company. You know, it's always an enjoyable round with those two.
Q. Can you wrap your head around 500 starts now on Tour and what that means to you, that longevity?
MATT KUCHAR: Five hundred, it's a number I don't put a whole lot of stake into that being a huge feather in the cap or anything. It is a big number. It's kind of caused me to just reflect a little bit going, holy cow, 500 is a big number. I think I look back and I go, what a great ride, what a great run, how much I've enjoyed my years out on Tour. It's been an incredible journey, for sure, and I've been fortunate to share most of the 500 with my family. They've been traveling most of the time, so it's really been an enjoyable stretch.
