Q. In with nine birdies, 64. It's your career low on TOUR. How would you assess that round? Obviously a pretty good one.
A.J. EWART: Yeah, it was good. I was just saying that I almost felt like I hit it better yesterday, but it was just so windy and so challenging in the afternoon that you couldn't be very aggressive. I was playing pretty conservative and leaving myself 20, 30 feet all day. Hard to make putts from there.
Today was a little bit calmer but it was still up there, and I just kind of put the pedal on the gas and little bit and went for it, and it went well.
Q. What are you more proud of, the five birdies in a row or the birdie after the double bogey?
A.J. EWART: Yeah, I would say the six birdies on the front. That was good. Obviously the five in a row was cool. I didn't realize I made nine until Mark just told me, but it was a good day. The double was -- it didn't really fluster me that much. It's a hard hole, and the wind is blowing and it's swirling and gusting, so it's challenging. I didn't hit the best shot.
I knew there was opportunities in front of me, and just kind of put it behind me and kept going.
Q. You missed the cut in your first event on TOUR this season as a rookie, made the cut each time since, so pretty solid performances. How would you assess your season so far?
A.J. EWART: Yeah, it's been good. Hawai'i was tough. I kind of got the short end of the stick with the draw, but that's no excuse. That was a big learning week.
Then just to kind of build on that each and every week has been good. Just getting more comfortable out here and learning more about myself and figuring things out as we go.
Q. What's been the biggest adjustment coming from maybe PGA TOUR Americas or some of the smaller tours to coming out on the PGA TOUR?
A.J. EWART: I guess it's just the crowd control, just dealing with crowds. But it's not much. Our lives are much easier out here, I would say, on the PGA TOUR than what I had to deal with on the Americas Tour. We have a lot of support out here. Life is good out here. I'm super thankful to be here, and excited for the weekend and the future.
Q. You went to Barry, right? Are you going to have a bit of support this week and this weekend in particular?
A.J. EWART: Yeah, my coach came out yesterday. My college coach came out yesterday, and the women's assistant coach came out. I had some buddies out today, and I'm going to have a lot more out tomorrow. It should be a good week to see some familiar faces.
Q. Does it feel like a home game for you?
A.J. EWART: Somewhat, yeah. We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched. It was kind of coming into the week, I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it. Somewhat of a home game, yeah. It feels good.
Q. What was your outstanding memory of when you came and watched?
A.J. EWART: I don't really remember. I think we had a couple too many drinks sitting in the Bear Trap, so I don't really remember.
I would say just being here and seeing all the guys. That was kind of -- it made me want to work harder and get to here, so it's nice to be here now.
Q. No player in particular that you were interested in seeing?
A.J. EWART: I remember we followed Brooks a little bit. We followed Adam Svensson, obviously, who went to Barry, as well. We followed him.
I can't really remember. Those two do stand out, but that's kind of what I remember.
Q. A little off the beaten path, but from a rookie's perspective, as it seems like the PGA TOUR is going to make some changes in the upcoming years to the schedule, events like this that don't have that signature status have been rumored to be on the chopping block. What are your feelings on that as you're looking to rise up the ranks and get into that top 70, top 50 and onward?
A.J. EWART: Yeah, I'm not a fan of it. I think these events are great, and it's great for the community.
Coming out here when I was in college, it was so cool to just come out here and see the guys. Even if it's not the top-ranked guys, you're coming out and you're seeing a bunch of PGA TOUR pros, which was really cool.
I hope it doesn't get cut, and I hope it stays around. It's an awesome event at an amazing golf course. I hope to see it around, and I hope to be able to play it in the future.
It's been one of my favorite stops so far. Obviously I'm still fresh into it, but it's been really enjoyable, so I hope it sticks around.
Q. Obviously you're a big hockey guy --
A.J. EWART: I know what's coming.
Q. Did you have any funny interactions with the guys out here, any side bets or anything going on? Just your thoughts on the game in general?
A.J. EWART: Yeah, it sucked. I was hitting balls beside Neal Shipley the other day, and he turned to me and he said, hey, A.J., sorry about that game, man, it really sucks, eh? It must have hurt. He was just pouring salt on the wound.
Yeah, I'd rather not talk about it. I watched it with a couple buddies who are American, and they were cheering for the Americans and they had their American gear on. It was tough, but it was an amazing game. Seeing the best on best, it's essentially an All-Star Game and they're laying their bodies on the line. It was so cool, and I think it just grows the game of hockey and makes everybody appreciate it even more.
Q. Do you think there's any rhyme or reason why the Canadians have played good this morning? Mac Hughes shot 6-under, Ben Silverman 4-under, yourself. Is it just a coincidence?
A.J. EWART: No, I think we're all just a little bit pissed off about what happened, so a little more fire in us to get going. So maybe that's it.
Q. Do you have any sense if you might be leading at the end of the day?
A.J. EWART: I have no idea. If I am, I am. If not -- but I feel like what's more important is I've been playing well, and I've put myself in a good position going into the weekend and I feel good about where my game is and where my head is. If I'm leading, so be it, but if not, then I'm just excited to go play 36 more holes of golf.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports