Q. Fantastic round, 66. How would you assess today's play?
BUBBA WATSON: It was great. It's a tough golf course because of the elevation. The ball doesn't want to curve as much, and the greens are tricky. These pin placements are pretty tough, but there was a lot of low scores. I just made a lot of putts today, which helped a lot.
Q. I saw some true artistry threading it around the trees. How much does a course layout like this help your creative flair?
BUBBA WATSON: It helps me when I'm in trouble because the ball can't really move that much, so if it's not moving much for me, it's not moving much for the other guys. But there is opportunities out here where you can hit the ball low and run it and curve it and do some things, so it helps me when I get in trouble.
Q. You were No. 1 strokes gained putting at the Masters. How much confidence did that give you into this week?
BUBBA WATSON: It gave me a lot. This whole year since I switched putters, went to a mallet style, it's been amazing. It's been good. It's been where I want to be, where I should be. Middle of the pack is where it would change my whole golfing career if I wasn't at the bottom. I'm just trying to get to the middle of the pack on putting, but right now I think we're top 10 this year in putting, so it's amazing and great.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports