Q. 9-under, 64, excellent start to the season, if we can get some comments on your round?
TOM HOGE: Really didn't have much for expectations coming in, because there wasn't a whole lot of play or practice the last few months. But felt like I was putting really well coming into the week.
Started right off the bat on 1 with a nice 15, 20-footer that I made.
Made another one on 3.
And then chipped in on 4. So kind of a nice way to ease into the round and kind of get things going.
Q. Third time here, how comfortable are you getting with the golf course?
TOM HOGE: Yeah, I feel like it's a golf course that sets up for me well. There's some room off the tee, so you can drive it in a lot of fairways. And then you hit some good irons in you feel like you can make a lot of birdie out here. Feel like I should play well, and hopefully I can keep that going.
Q. One bogey on No. 6. What happened there?
TOM HOGE: Yeah, a 3-putt. Standing at the top of the hill with a wedge in, and thinking I should make another birdie again, and was pretty frustrated walking off that. Luckily bounced back on the next hole, made a nice putt from 15 feet or so, and that's kind of the story of the day.
Q. It's not like to you take much time off. How come you didn't play much of late?
TOM HOGE: I played all the way through Mexico, first week of November. Then was just at home, and we had our first child in early December, so kind of forced time off. I feel like with the changes in the schedule, last year was a lot of golf from now until the TOUR Championship, it was cramped in there pretty tight, so I felt like I was pretty burned out at that point, needed a little bit of time away.
Q. What was the key to your round today?
TOM HOGE: I would say putting. Make a few of those early on, chip one in on 4 from kind of a tough spot, it just kind of frees you up. And you're in Maui, kind of just no expectations, just let it go and see what you can do.
Q. Feels a little windy right now, how was it this morning, and do you think was it maybe a little bit of an advantage to go early today?
TOM HOGE: For sure. We had a few holes where there wasn't a whole lot of impact from the wind. By the time we made the turn it came up pretty strong. Some greens like 10 and a few of those on the back nine, they're very exposed, even those tap-in putts get pretty difficult, so you got to be pretty focused out there.
Q. With the way Lahaina is kind of bouncing back, what are the difference of your observations from last year and the way things were, just five months or so after the fires, and where we are now?
TOM HOGE: Yeah, I haven't had a whole lot of opportunity to go see Lahaina yet and check it out. A couple years ago, my first year here, we had dinner down there a few nights, really enjoyed the time down there. To see it last year, you know, the impact and how sad it was kind of puts things in perspective for us as golfers to be out here playing still, and what a great opportunity we have, but hopefully I can get down here this weekend and check it out a little bit more and see how it's going.
Q. Are you a big goal-setting guy?
TOM HOGE: Not really. Just try to keep getting better a little bit each year, each day, each tournament. I think when we kind of start off the year, expectations aren't as high, you don't know where the game's at, so I feel like I'm maybe a little bit freer out here on the golf course, just because you shake off the bad shots a little bit easier and just chalk it up for being January.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports