The strong finish at last week’s Barbasol Championship taught Mark Hubbard a thing or two, and those showed up in his strong opening at the Barracuda Championship. Excerpts from an interview:
Coming off a solo third at Barbasol last week, another good round. What was clicking?
Mark Hubbard: I said last week, I really hit it pretty poorly, but I just managed my game well. So I got here this week, I was tired, I was planning on not really doing anything Tuesday, but I just couldn’t stay at home so I came and I had a good range session and I figured some stuff out, so actually I felt like I hit it pretty good today and made some progress from last week actually.
Related: Barbasol to Barracuda C’ship, putts are rolling in nicely for Mark Hubbard
Probably tired from last week, but what’s it like to have one of those rounds where it looked effortless?
Mark: Yeah, it was nice. As much as I did work on my game this week, I prioritized rest, went to the lake and stuff, so cleared my head. I feel comfortable out here. I’m from Colorado. I’m good with elevation, went to school two hours from here, so it kind of feels like a home event anyway.
What do you like about this course? Was there any strategy being aggressive on certain holes?
Mark: Yeah, what I like about it is it reminds me of home. This is the grass I grew up on. I think it’s a good course for this format. There’s a good mix of risk-reward holes and tough holes that you’ve got to buckle down and get through, especially coming down the stretch, which is how a good golf course is supposed to be. It’s supposed to challenge you the last couple holes. So I stayed patient, made some putts and just kept doing what I’m doing.
Looking to make a push coming down to the final couple events, was there any stress or importance on having another good finish this week?
Mark: No, not really. I think coming out of the 126-to-150 category, I was confident in myself, but it’s a tough battle, so I think I kind of secured some stuff last week. A lot of pressure off right now, which feels good, and I’m just playing free and trying to play good golf and not worry about anything else.
What’s the big takeaways from last week? Does that kind of help with ease playing this week?
Mark: Yeah, it does. Like I said, with how bad I felt over the ball last week, to play the way I did, that gives me a ton of confidence because I know I’m going to get better and feel more confident over the ball than I did last week. If I can finish third playing like that, I’m confident I can do some great things when I have it rolling.
You obviously played well last week in a stroke play competition. Trying to adjust to this Stableford system, any change to your game on that?
Mark: Not really. I mean, I think playing well last week obviously freed me up a little, just with my standing in the FedExCup. This format frees you up; bogeys are worth less, so be a little bit more aggressive, and I tried to do that today, fired at pins when I had good yardages and stuff.
A couple weeks you were outside the Top 125, now you’re comfortable in at 92 on the FedExCup. Does that free you up, as well?
Mark: You should just play golf the same way all the time, but it definitely does. I’m just feeling really good about my game. I worked hard on Tuesday and figured some stuff out. Kind of had the slices last week and got rid of those for the most part today except for 16, so feeling good.
Talk about carrying over the momentum from last week, what did you learn from last week and from that experience? Do you feel like you’re the man to beat this week the way you played?
Mark: Yeah, I feel like I learned I don’t need my best stuff to win. Obviously I had a really good round on Sunday, but I felt like I could have been right there with a chance to win. I fell a few short, but I really felt bad over the ball last week, and I still had a good finish. I know that I don’t need to play perfect golf to win.
