THE MODERATOR: Bogey-free 64. How would you assess your opening round?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, great start. Did a lot of good things. Hit the ball nicely. Didn't miss too many greens. Got lucky there on No. 8 as well for a hole-out. All in all a lot of good stuff.
It was great playing with Mackenzie there. Obviously seeing a lot of birdies go in is also a good thing. We had a nice grouping and nice to get off to a good start.
THE MODERATOR: Going back to that eagle on 8, walk us through the shots there.
SEAMUS POWER: It was a funny one. It was right between clubs. With the greens being firm and that pin once you got past it, it's just not going to stop. I just tried to lean on a 9-iron and came out perfectly. It landed right where I wanted it, and obviously it was very lucky to go in.
It's a bonus. I haven't holed out too many shots this year, so it's nice to see one go in.
THE MODERATOR: Also had a great opening round last week. Were you feeling comfortable and trending with your game?
SEAMUS POWER: It's getting there. A new putter in the bag this week. For the most part it's a lot of the same stuff. Game felt good.
Never got it going last week. When the scoring is so low, it's weird when you look up and see guys -- obviously Scottie was at 17 or 18 when I looked up at one point. You are probably kind of trying to press it a little too much, and they don't go in.
It's nice to get off to a quicker start. That always helps. I always feel more comfortable in that situation.
THE MODERATOR: First time playing this event. What do you like about the Dunes course?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, I was very impressed when I saw it for the first time on Tuesday morning. Great condition. Very good layout. Some of the best greens you'll see, to be honest. All in all, very, very impressed.
Obviously being an opposite field event you're not 100 percent sure, especially playing for the first time. It's a really good test. You get firm, fast greens. You have good rough and a nice layout. Absolutely loving it.
Q. What's it been like to be here in Myrtle Beach for this event. It's a relatively new event. What does this place bring in terms of a host venue?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, it's great. I lived in the Southeast. I went to East Tennessee State. We played a college tournament at TPC here four years. We would come down sometimes in college. I lived in Charlotte the same way.
It's nice to be back down here. It's a lovely area. Something about having the ocean close. It's amazing. Yeah, great place. A lot of fun options to do things and eat and all that kind of stuff.
Then I feel like you would never play all the golf courses down here. It's a beautiful place. The weather is so nice. This is what you want. It's so pleasant out there.
Yeah, all in all really enjoying my stay so far.
Q. I'm not sure if she asked you, but what did you hit into 8?
SEAMUS POWER: 9 iron.
Q. How much did you have?
SEAMUS POWER: 162 all.
Q. Some people see these events, they're, like, Oh, it's an opposite field event. The real event is up in Philly. What do you say to people when they say that?
SEAMUS POWER: You know, people are always going to have that opinion, but I mean, the depth on the PGA TOUR, if it's ever been higher, I would be surprised. Here you've got 132 in the field. You've got so many good players.
Everyone is trying to get in the elevated events. Obviously I get that, but it's a good golf course, and at the end of the week I will say it's going to be someone with a two and a half year PGA TOUR exemption. That's going to be the big thing. You have a ticket to Maui sitting here too. You have all that stuff.
I guess everyone here would prefer to be playing in Philly, but you have a great course and a great tournament. Hopefully it's here to stay. It's a very good sponsor and stuff, so it's been great.
My experience always with these events have been fantastic. It's a good feel around it. You see guys are happy to be playing, happy to do all that stuff, and I think it's a good feel around this.
Q. You said you changed putters. I'm assuming because the other putter was misbehaving.
SEAMUS POWER: Just put the other one on alert, sometimes works. Yeah, just haven't been making as much as -- I feel like I've been hitting decent putts, but my speed has been a little bit up and down. It's tough to make putts when your speed is a little bit off.
So, yeah, got a new one that Ping made. It feels great. I put it in on the weekend, and it felt really good immediately. Yeah, it's definitely in for the time being. It felt very nice on the course.
It can be different from hitting putts in practice to tournament. It was nice even on the second hole today to knock one in and get a little confidence going with it early. Yeah, it felt great out there.
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