Q. How would you assess the day?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I would say it was pretty scrappy from a swing standpoint, but I'm very happy with the score. Managed to make some putts and kept it really relatively stress-free.
Q. You got here early on the 28th of the month. What did you do to prepare during that time that you were here?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Just played some golf. I took three weeks off and didn't really touch a club, so just trying to get the feels back and see if the ball's curving left or right. Got some good rounds in, got some good practice in and, yeah, just feeling the turf interaction.
Q. In those three weeks, what did you do to get away from golf?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Hung out with my friends and family. We got a lot of snow back home, and I'm glad I got out of there, because I think the last couple days I think we got like six, seven feet of snow, so everyone is snowed in. So I'm happy to be here in Hawaii.
Q. It looks like we got a horse race. A lot of guys there at 8, Sahith is at 9. Is it going to have to be pedal to the metal the rest of the week to get a win here?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I mean, you usually have to score pretty low out here. It usually blows and it can be a challenge on some holes. It's usually, like, if you can escape with a couple pars when you're in trouble, and birdie all the par-5s and pick up a couple birdies on the shorter-ish holes that's kind of what you have to do. Couple years ago guys were shooting in the 30-under pars, so, I mean, yeah, it's a nice round of golf, but we're going to have to keep it going to be there on Sunday.
Q. How much does course knowledge help here?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I think a little bit, yeah. I have not played particularly well here. I think my Christmas break over in Norway where I don't touch a club, usually I have to pay a price for that coming out here. Yeah, there's a lot of big slopes, there's a lot of wind directions that can be a little tricky. Knowing where to miss it, where not to miss it. I think that you learn a little bit more every single time you come here.
Q. You rooting for that wind to pick up a bit these next few days?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: I don't know. I would say my ball flight flies pretty nicely through the wind, but, yeah, I haven't thought too much of it.
Q. Did you get a chance to reflect on last year?
VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, a little bit. I would say I kind of did that after the Ryder Cup, and kind of the last part of the year, where I didn't really play too much golf, I would say I definitely laid down on the couch and thought back of a crazy summer and the crazy fall. It's been, yeah, it's been a really, really good year, but now this is a new year and we're still trying to improve.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports