THE MODERATOR: Bogey-free opening round. How would you assess your opening round?
JOHN PAK: Yeah, like a solid 8 out of 10. Yeah, I hit the ball well. I judged it really well when I did miss the fairway and kind of just made sure to leave myself in the right spots. The putting was the best I've had all year. So, yeah, I'm pretty happy about it.
THE MODERATOR: Walk us through your opening hole on number 10, the eagle.
JOHN PAK: It was just like a perfect 9-iron. The wind was off the left, and I just tried to hit a 145 shot. I actually pushed it a little bit because I was aiming left of it, and it kind of just trickled in.
We didn't really see it, but saw a couple of guys behind the green throw their hands in the air. It was kind of nice to see that fall in.
THE MODERATOR: Have you ever opened a round with an eagle or a hole-out like that?
JOHN PAK: First time. I was telling them on tournament round, practice round, rounds with my buddies I don't think I've ever done that, so that's pretty cool.
THE MODERATOR: Last time you were here on a sponsor exemption. The course has changed a bit. What are we seeing with the course providing this week?
JOHN PAK: I personally like the changes. I think it makes it a little different going into the greens. I feel like they opened up the front portion so when you are in trouble, you can kind of pitch it in the front and chase it up there. SO I kind of like those changes.
But, yeah, I really like the golf course, and I think it suits my game pretty well.
THE MODERATOR: Your rookie season, oftentimes seeing courses for the first time, but how nice is it to be able to be at a tournament where you've already had a start?
JOHN PAK: It definitely helps a lot. I forget what they say. What is it, like, you're playing as a rookie on the PGA TOUR against guys that this is their home course for the last 20 years. It is definitely difficult seeing courses for the first time, and definitely having one under my belt kind of helps me navigate the course a little better.
THE MODERATOR: Putter was hot today. You were just talking with Rex saying you found something. What was that you found in your putting?
JOHN PAK: I really worked on my alignment. I was struggling with aiming where I'm trying to hit it. Like I said, when you're trying to aim right edge and you're aiming two cups out right, it's kind of hard. You're then trying to pull it into the hole, and it just gets really messy from there. So I really worked on that during the off week last week. Yeah, that was kind of a big change for me.
THE MODERATOR: You mentioned you're playing partner Taylor Montgomery at Zurich was helping you with putting. What was he showing or helping you with?
JOHN PAK: We just did a couple of drills where on right-to-lefters I would try to aim a cup out right, and I would try to just train my eyes to see what that is, and just over repetition last week it kind of helped me see what a good right-to-left putt looks like or a left-to-right, whatever it is.
THE MODERATOR: What's the rest of the afternoon look like for you?
JOHN PAK: Get a little practice in, work on what I was working on in my putting last week, hit a couple of balls.
Thankfully the Knicks aren't playing tonight, so I won't be stressed about that. I didn't sleep well after that loss last night. I'm going to recover, do a little stretching, and then maybe watch the Thunder game later tonight.
THE MODERATOR: So you stayed up kind of late watching the game last night?
JOHN PAK: I'm a die-hard Knicks fan, and that was historically one of the worst losses I've ever seen in my life. There was a fire lit under me, yeah, this morning. I was a little pissed off about that.
THE MODERATOR: Have you made it to any games this season?
JOHN PAK: No, it's too hard. It's Madison Square Garden. Those tickets go for a gazillion dollars.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports