Q. Brian, in the lead here today. How would you assess your round, I guess? It looked like you were rolling it really well.
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, finally, I hit 16 greens, I think. So didn't get out of position much. So it was just kind of looking at birdies all day, made a few.
Q. We talked after the par-3 at the Masters last week, and you said you felt like your game was coming into form. What happened at the Masters? And what did you do between Friday and the beginning of this tournament?
BRIAN HARMAN: I went, and I killed a pig Friday night at my farm, and I killed a turkey Saturday morning. I didn't hit any balls until I got here Tuesday.
Q. Okay. Well, you're doing what you love then. That probably relaxed you, right?
BRIAN HARMAN: That's right.
Q. You got into -- I believe it was on 5 and 16, you got into a couple spots where the drive kind of sliced out to the edges of the course there. What ended up happening on those shots? How do you think you managed to get out of those? I believe you salvaged both of those for birdie.
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, I hit a bad second shot off -- I hit a great drive on 5 and then really missed the 3-wood, got into a bad spot, but got a little lucky.
Then 6, I hit it down the left side, but I had a clear shot to the green, so no problem.
Q. You mentioned a little bit earlier that this place has kind of given you fits historically. Talk a little bit about local guys, talk about your background with this place. Did you ever get a chance to play it growing up? Obviously in your amateur time up until now.
BRIAN HARMAN: I got two sponsor exemptions as an amateur, once as a junior, once when I was in college. Didn't do any good, but I was thrilled to come over here.
It was the first golf tournament I ever attended. I think I was 10 or 11 years old. So it's a cool place. I love coming here.
Q. What are your memories of your first round here as a junior?
BRIAN HARMAN: I remember hitting it left on 3, and then I tried to chip it out, hit a tree, and it came back and hit me right in the chest. It's like welcome to the PGA TOUR.
It was cool. I was blown away by how nice everyone was. Davis Love was obviously a hero of mine, and he was super nice. Played a practice round with Steve Elkington. He was great. So I've got a lot of fond memories of that week.
Q. Do you remember what year that was?
BRIAN HARMAN: 2004.
Q. Nearly 20 years ago.
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah.
Q. Hope it treats you a bit better this time around.
BRIAN HARMAN: Hope so.
Q. Best round here in about six years. Did it just pop up out of somewhere?
BRIAN HARMAN: My game's been good. I mean, I was really excited to play Augusta last week. I had struggled for a while, and I played good at the Match Play, ran into Patrick Cantlay. He just beat me. Played good against him, though. Missed a couple putts.
Then I prepared for Augusta as good as I'd ever prepared for it. I was really excited and just laid an egg.
So, yeah, you just have to be patient. You just never know when it's going to happen.
Q. You've been out there a long time now, coming back here a long time. Does it still feel special, still feel like home?
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, it does. I love coming here. I mean, golf is my job, so I try to make it as business-like as possible because, if I get so wound up in who's coming and who's getting tickets and who's coming out to watch, like I just end up focusing on the wrong things.
So my job is to hit fairways, greens, and try to make putts. Whether that's here or Memphis, Tennessee, or New York City, it's all the same.
Q. You got off to some real good starts in 2022. Calendar year, this is probably your best Thursday. How much does that kind of just carry you into the next three days?
BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, just knowing that the game is there and just keep your nose on the grindstone and keep after it.
Anything, Xander?
XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Great playing, Brian. Great golf.
BRIAN HARMAN: Any day I beat him, I'm happy.
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