THE MODERATOR: Adam Hadwin with a 4-under 66. Adam, can you talk us through your round today?
ADAM HADWIN: I mean, not much better of a start to a U.S. Open I don't think that you can ask for. I did a lot of good things. Got a nice run there midway through the front. I do think there's a few more scorable holes as long as you hit good quality golf shots there.
Then I kind of just held down the fort there the last little bit. Some key up-and-downs. Made a nice one from the fringe on 13. Just doing a lot of good things.
I hit the ball really well the last four holes, which I was really pleased with. I kind of found a little something there at the end.
We'll try again tomorrow.
THE MODERATOR: Obviously, you put yourself in great position. What are you going to try to do tomorrow to replicate what you did today?
ADAM HADWIN: Same thing. Pick a target. Have a number in mind, and try and execute. Go find it and hit it again.
I've done a great job with that over the last little bit. It's getting easier as I continue to play better to keep in that mindset. There's still 54 holes. There's a lot of golf left, and this course is only going to get tougher. Just keep doing that.
Q. You're the first round leader of the U.S. Open. How does that sound?
ADAM HADWIN: Pretty sweet. Yeah.
Q. Is it kind of ironic that although this week is a major week you're coming in a little bit more chill, maybe a little more relaxed than last week at the Canadian Open?
ADAM HADWIN: Last week was incredible. Two years off. Fans came in strong. They were loud. It was a lot of fun to play up there.
We always want to play a little bit better, but nice to get down here and a couple of days' rest and get going for this week. Not that the golf course gets any easier, but, yeah, in certain instances it definitely felt a little more relaxed than last week.
Q. Just what did you have in mind for a number when you started because the wind was kind of up, and then what did you hit into 4 to really get that thing going?
ADAM HADWIN: It was kind of a flighted drawy 8-iron in there. Came off perfectly and kind of landed where we wanted it to. I didn't have a number in mind today. Like I said, I've done a really good job of keeping expectations at zero to start the round.
Not only start the round, but kind of throughout the round. I think that's been the key to -- one of the keys of why I'm playing well recently. Certainly one of the keys as to why I was able to keep the round going.
You hit -- sometimes you hit good shots, and they don't quite work out. Sometimes you hit bad shots, and they work out. So just, like I said, numbers, targets, and trying to execute, and whatever happens happens.
Q. Is there anything you learned today about the course? Anything you want to focus on for tomorrow, whether it be something in your swing or a specific hole out there?
ADAM HADWIN: No, nothing too crazy. I think between myself and my caddie, Joe, we did a great job of preparing for the golf course and certain conditions.
Other than taking note of where some of the tee shots ended up with today's wind condition and things like that, things started to firm up a little bit as we finished, so take note of that as well going into tomorrow.
I imagine this golf course without rain will only get firmer and faster.
Q. Both early in the week both you and Joe mentioned your attitude and your patience that you've developed could mean success at a tournament like this. How important has that been, and sort of what's changed from then until now with both your attitude and your patience?
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I mean, I think Joe is so even-keel that looking at him you would never know if I was 5-under or 5-over, which is great. That's what you want to have as a player.
Like I've mentioned, I've been trying to work on that myself. I'm trying to be a little bit more even-keel, maybe a little less emotional on the golf course even though it comes out at times.
Certainly just narrowing into the golf shot and the task at hand, and I did a really good job of that today.
Q. 2021 wasn't the best year for you. At THE PLAYERS Championship this year you said you were happy with the work you put in, and you thought it would be a good summer, so this is obviously the start of a good summer. What did you put in to get these results?
ADAM HADWIN: This has been a year in the making really. We set out on a journey, I think, last March, Mark and I. Not of changing the golf swing, but changing the club face in the golf swing, which may be more difficult in and of itself.
It was a process. Went through a lot of different things through that. Just a completely different release pattern, and so it took a while to kind of take ahold.
I think that finally in the fall and kind of the beginning of this year, I really started to feel like I could start to hit shots again with the club face where it was. You know, we continue to monitor that.
When it gets windy like this, it's sort of the benefit of what we wanted to do.
Q. Adam, tour players have said forever it's one shot at a time, but then you just also said something that I found interesting. There's 54 holes left. Do you think of it as a march to that 72nd green, the hole, four days together?
ADAM HADWIN: Absolutely. The idea being you just put yourself in a position to have a chance to win on the back nine on Sunday. That's really the whole goal.
Everything we do leading up to that is trying to do that. 66 at a U.S. Open to take the first round lead is incredible. It's amazing. It's something I'll -- nobody can ever take away from me at this point, but I have bigger things in my mind.
There's lots of golf left. I've been around the block a few times, and I've missed cuts from this position before. That's why I say I've done a really good job of one shot at a time. I've been playing some really good golf, and I just need to kind of match those two and see what happens.
Q. Do you think there's something special about 72 holes as opposed to 90 or 54?
ADAM HADWIN: That's a hard question to answer. Certainly I think the best rises to the top over that amount of holes, yeah, absolutely. Guys play well one day, but can you prove it over four?
We're going to find out. I haven't done it yet, so I'm going to try my best.
Q. The transition from last week to this week, again, very emotional and everything from last week and whatnot. How did you try to handle that so you would be best prepared for this week?
ADAM HADWIN: Just get some rest. I think that's probably the biggest thing. I didn't do much on Monday. I came down Sunday night and didn't do much on Monday. I came out here. A week like this after last week, I think a caddie becomes -- a good caddie becomes very important. I know he did his homework. I know he knows where we should be going as well.
I've got a pretty good idea through the 27 that I played Tuesday, Wednesday. Yeah, biggest thing is just get some rest.
Q. Did you literally just take it easy back at a hotel room? When you say get some rest, what do you --
ADAM HADWIN: No, I came and registered and got situated with the property, putted a little bit, hit a few balls, but I wasn't here more than an hour, hour and a half.
Q. Then your approach to majors, how has that evolved over time? I'm just curious. You've got to play in a few of these now.
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah. I don't think necessarily the approach has changed much. I've gone in just wanting to play as well as I can each and every time. I think the biggest thing -- and I felt it today -- I've said this so many times. I know, a broken record, but I treated each shot for what it was.
I know this is U.S. Open. I know it's difficult. I think back to the shot that I had on 7 was a wedge to a front left pin and, obviously, left is no good, and I think in the past I may have sort of played too cautiously because it was a U.S. Open and said, I need to hit it up here and do that.
Today I didn't treat it like any other tournament. Sorry. I treated it like every other tournament. I got a wedge from 100 yards. I'm going to be aggressive. That was probably the biggest key to my success today.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports