JOEL DAHMEN
Q. Joel, what a round, eight birdies, no bogeys. You have to be very pleased with that?
JOEL DAHMEN: Absolutely, yeah. I think it played a little easier today. The wind was down, greens were a little softer over here on the Plantation side. But just kept the ball in front of me and made a bunch of eight‑ to 10‑footers today.
Q. You came over from the Web where you played really well. Is there any different feeling, any more pressure playing on the PGA TOUR, are you enjoying it?
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, being out here last year helped a lot. I was kind of a deer in the headlights, honestly, for the first half of the year. I played this event before. Seeing the courses, just kind of being familiar out here is a huge thing. I only played nine holes of practice rounds this week, so just felt like my game’s in pretty good shape and feeling good.
Q. You putted very well, but I think it was set up by good iron play, don’t you agree?
JOEL DAHMEN: Absolutely, I’ve been driving the ball really well this fall. Always been a strength of mine, so I’m normally always in the fairway or at least in play. And I have not hit my irons well so far this year, but did just a little bit of work yesterday on the range kind of getting wider and it paid off today.
Q. It’s not often we see a stand bag for a touring professional.
JOEL DAHMEN: I’m a free agent, I’m a free agent. So I’ve got a hat available, I’ve got a bag available get a hold of me or my agent, I’m open.
Q. Well, that’s good, I love that. Your caddie obviously loves it, too, because I have one of those bags, it’s pretty light.
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, it’s great. It’s way better to travel with, stay under 50 pounds easy that way. We have a couple extra jackets and rain gear in there just in case so it got a little heavy, but I think he likes it overall.
Q. Talk about tomorrow going over to Seaside, a little different animal over there?
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, definitely a little tougher. Wind could pick up more, the greens are more challenging; definitely the approach shots are anyways. So yeah, off to a good start and we’ll try again tomorrow.
Q. Joel, part of playing the Plantation sometimes is having your ball in the correct spot to be able to make some putts. Tell us kind of how you pulled off an 8 under today.
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I drove it really well off the tee, I was always in play off the tee and just kind of played to the fat side of the greens. The greens are actually really small overall, so if you can just get it on the green, most of the time you’re going to have a birdie look. So just kind of kept it on the fat side and just made some putts.
Q. How easy or difficult is it to carry over the momentum that you had from the Web.com Tour?
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, pretty easy. When you’re playing well, it just kind of keeps rolling. I actually played really well last week in Mexico, probably could have finished off a little better, but yeah, I felt really good coming into this week and I like the courses this week.
Q. So you’ve got a stand bag and we don’t see that very often.
JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I’m actually a free agent right now. So if anybody ‑‑ I’ve got a free hat available, too, got a bag available, but it’s way easier to travel with. And with no real sponsors at the moment, kind of letting everybody know I’m out there and free, so call me.
Q. What are your expectations out here on the PGA TOUR?
JOEL DAHMEN: I expect to play well. I know I’m good enough. Last year was tough out here, kind of got teed up. Definitely wasn’t as good as I am now. I learned a lot last year, so I expect to compete out here, whatever that means. Get myself in contention, which is great. Hopefully we’re in this spot on Sunday, but yeah, just compete out here and hopefully have a good year.
Q. If I could ask you one more, what is the biggest thing you learned?
JOEL DAHMEN: Patience. I beat myself up a lot in the first, second rounds and just trying to make cuts kind of. Now just being patient. Par is actually pretty good out here on Tour where it’s not as good on the mini tours or Web.com Tour, so if you can just stay patient out here, normally it pays off.
