Kapalua Transcript: Hunter Mahan
Q. Happy new year to you. 9-under par with an eagle on the 18th.
HUNTER MAHAN: It was nice. I felt like I had a good round in me all week, and it was nice to finish up like that.
Q. You say you felt like you had a good round in you. Were the putts just not dropping earlier in the week? Did you feel anything special today?
MAHAN: I felt like I was hitting it good all week, and I just didn't have the feel of these greens. I mean, these greens are Bermuda and they've got a lot of slope, so feel is very important. Today I just kind of found that. I had a lot of chances on the back nine to make putts, I just didn't make them.
Q. Take me through the eagle on the 18th, because you took a while lining that up. You talked with your caddie, you wanted to make sure of that line?
MAHAN: Yeah, I wanted to give it the best effort I could. Wood has been here before, so I was going to take any advice he had. I thought we read it really well and it did exactly what we thought, which was nice.
Q. It's one thing to read it right, it's another to make the putt, though?
MAHAN: Yeah, for sure. It was a great way to end the week.
Q. What a great frame of mind you must have for the remainder of the year.
MAHAN: Yeah, I wanted to get off to a good start this first half of the year, and this is a great beginning.
Q. You have to have Ryder Cup on your mind maybe a little bit?
MAHAN: Not really. It's a long ways away and I have a lot of tournaments, so that's a little premature.
Q. First of all, a 64, what is it that worked so well for you today?
MAHAN: I just made some putts early, got a little momentum. I hadn't had any momentum all week it felt like. I hadn't done much on the front nine. It was nice to get out there and get off to a good start and give myself a good chance to play well.
Q. What does this do sending you forward for the year?
MAHAN: You know, I'm excited about the year for sure. I wanted to get off to a good start this year. I'm taking a couple off after the next five, so I'll focus on that. But I'm looking forward to the year.
Q. Tell me a little bit about the eagle putt on 18.
MAHAN: It was a pretty basic putt. There wasn't much to it. We thought it was just going to break a little right at the end, which it did, and luckily I had the perfect speed.
Q. We're doing a piece on the fact that the date is changed next year for the Mercedes. It actually starts on January 8th. It's about five days later so it's not going to kind of conflict with the holidays. Obviously you want to be back here next year, and the way you're playing it looks like you might be. What do you think about a little bit later date for this tournament?
MAHAN: It would probably be good. I mean, golf is pretty much year-round now. You can play every week if you want, so it's nice to have a little break and starting a little bit later would be nice.
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