GARY WOODLAND: Probably the happiest I've ever been shooting over par, tell you that. At the end of the day the goal this week was to see how I was mentally, and I was really, really good.
It was pretty tough out there. Been here nine times. This was one of the hardest rounds I've ever had here. And got off to a rough start. I was excited and was doing a lot of breathing trying to slow everything down because I was moving fast.
I settled in, especially the last nine holes, and played really, really well.
A lot to build on and. Like I said, I'm excited. The energy stayed up. Focus stayed up. A lot to be proud of.
Q. What was that first tee shot like?
GARY WOODLAND: A little more emotional than I thought I was going to be. Took an extra second being deep breath, hearing Topeka, Kansas, hearing my name called, there was a time when I didn't know if that was going to be called again, so it got me a little more than I thought it was going to.
After a couple holes I was able to settle down. Didn't drive it very well and didn't make any putts, but outside of that iron play was beautiful.
Q. Hard to get back into a rhythm of scoring?
GARY WOODLAND: It was, yeah, it was. I mean, I've done a lot of work the last six weeks but it's different out here.
I was rusty. Hit some poor chip shots. Hit good putts. Speed was a little off. Haven't taken many five-month breaks, and that was definitely a little more difficult than I expected.
Q. Did you have any expectations today unrelated to score?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, I tried to eliminate expectations. It's hard to do, especially when you play in a result-oriented world. I tried to eliminate expectations and focus on what I can control, focus on slowing everything down, having the energy stay up, which it did.
It was a little more tough, especially from the start, than I thought it was going to be.
Q. Because you were too hyped.
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, I was so excited. Like I said, got a little more emotional than I thought. I was able to calm down.
Q. Emotions not at all tied to UCF?
GARY WOODLAND: No, that was more frustration.
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