Q. 3-under for the opening round. How would you assess your round today?
CALLUM TARREN: Yeah, pretty solid. Got off to a pretty hot start. 5-under through maybe 7 or 8, 7 maybe. Holed some good putts and, yeah hit some good shots and the wind seemed to pick up that front nine, my back nine, and it was tricky. I left a couple of chances out there on maybe 1, 7 and 8 and then obviously the little flag stick incident on the last there. It just is what it is. But I'm happy with 3-under and in position to have a good week.
Q. Second start here, but it's kind of an entirely different course. Now that you've had a couple practice rounds in, what's the key to navigating around here?
CALLUM TARREN: I actually only got nine holes in practice, just because I was in U.S. Open qualifying on Monday, so I flew in late, so I hadn't seen the back nine. So obviously to be, after that hot start, was great. But, yeah, I like the changes. Yeah, I like the golf course. It's tough. You hit it in the rough and then you just got to figure out how you're going to try and make par of the but if you drive it well, hit it in the fairways there's a lot of chances out there.
Q. With your caddie what was kind of the preparation of the back nine, had he seen it either?
CALLUM TARREN: He walked it on Wednesday morning and then we actually played the pro-am on Wednesday, the back nine, but obviously we got rained out, so we only played three holes, I think. So I hadn't seen from 12 onwards. So, yeah.
Q. Had last week off, what were you doing with your off week and then when did you get back out here for Open qualifying?
CALLUM TARREN: Just hanging out with my family, my daughter, fiance'. Did a bit of biking, practiced a little bit. By the time you do your laundry, when you have these big weeks off, flying to England, it's time to come back out. Them off weeks for me, when it's only a week, kind of fly over, but it's always nice to hang out with family and see the little one.
Q. Just mentioned with broadcast you're feeling comfortable with your game since Valspar. What are you kind of finding that's clicking?
CALLUM TARREN: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of stems back to the bad play at the start of the year. I was really letting the results affect me mentally off the golf course and I wasn't in a good place. I wasn't enjoying it. But that's not me. I love playing golf for a living. So I kind of, the week I took Puerto Rico off kind of last minute and that was my reset button. Since then it's been okay. But I think the best for me this year is yet to come and hopefully it's starting here.
Q. What do you do to change that mentality when you did have the reset?
CALLUM TARREN: Some crazy things, actually. Some, got out of my comfort zone. Reached out to a few people and chatted to a few people and I don't know if it helped, but I feel in a better place mentally. I'm at peace with whatever happens this year happens and that's how my career's been. I've always just accepted good weeks, bad weeks, good play, bad play, but for some reason at the start of the year I was just, yeah, my head was totally gone and that off week I just knuckled down, pressed the reset button and yeah I'm feeling cool.
Q. Going back to the preparation, what kind of challenge is it for you when you don't get to properly prep on a new golf course?
CALLUM TARREN: Yeah, I mean, obviously I played here last year and missed the cut, I think, but the changes are different, but it's still a similar, similar -- the course plays very similar. If you miss fairways, you just trying to put it in a good position to make pars. Just kind of getting the green speeds, new greens and just, yeah, I mean, I played nine holes on Tuesday afternoon, I was absolutely shattered, having flown from England and then flew from New York that morning, but dragged myself round. Got a great caddie on the bag in Sam, and he, we made some good notes and, yeah, just kind of looked at the yardage book and hit to certain spots and go from there.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
144403-1-1044 2024-05-23 21:37:00 GMT
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