Q. After a hiccup on the first, 17 strong holes. How would you break down your second round?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I played really solid. It was a very similar round to yesterday, I just felt like I hit it a hair bit closer to the hole and made a couple more putts, but I didn't really feel like I did anything extravagant out there.

Q. How do you steady yourself on the second tee after a start like that?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Well, I started on the back, so I was 3 under par going on my front nine, the back nine. Then I get to the first hole, hit it in the left rough and I didn't have very far in and I pushed it a little bit and literally landed four steps right of the pin, hits a sprinkler head and goes in the trees over the green. That was obviously, that's a bad break, but it's not like I sliced it OB or something like that. I knew I was playing good golf, so I just had to reset, and I was happy I made five birdies coming in.

Q. What's the comfort level like now (inaudible)?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I mean obviously I have some good memories here and I know I can play this course well, but it's not going to -- the putts aren't going to make themselves and it's not just going to roll over, so I've got to step up and play the golf that I expect of myself.

Q. Viktor, 6-under 65, how would you describe your round? What was working well for you today?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I'm hitting it really straight off the tee and was able to set up some really nice birdie looks with some good approaches. It was a little bit difficult early on in the morning because the ball just went so short and I hit a lot of good shots that just ended up 25, 30 feet short, but as soon as it got a little hotter and I was able to adjust a little bit better, I stuck the ball a little bit closer and rolled some nice putts in.

Q. So you're still hitting that driver pretty straight?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah. It's honestly, yeah, I think from an accuracy standpoint, I think the driver might be better.

Q. The comfort level here, obviously coming in as the defending champion, is there something about the golf course that fits your eye or is it just kind of a vibe about this place?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I think it helps me the greens are pretty flat, they're pretty soft. They're on the slower side to what we normally see on Tour and that's closer to -- you know, it's not the same grass obviously, but flat and slow greens are what I'm used to back home in Norway. I think that's a good comfort level for me. I feel like I can hit putts more. And then just off the tee, there's a lot of trouble on both sides and being a straight driver and good off the tee, that helps me.

Q. How comfortable are you with your game plan right now? Will you have to make any adjustments, do you think, heading into the weekend?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: No, not really. It's all just kind of knowing what the wind is doing, because it was a different wind direction today and it definitely changes a couple of tee shots with club selections and stuff like that. It all depends kind of what the conditions are and where the pins are at. Other than it, it's just kind of point and shoot.

Q. Looking ahead a little bit to the Race to Dubai, the finale is in a few weeks time, how do you prepare for that, which is obviously very far from here, but how do you prepare for that? You're 10th in those standings.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I was there last year and I thought it was a great course. You've certainly got to drive it well off the tee. It's a longer course with a lot of deep bunkers, so if I can keep driving it well and hit my irons well, that's a good start for that week.

Q. Still, Dubai is not close. Is there anything sort of physical that you have to do for that trip?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, jetlag tends to kind of kick my ass a little bit, so we'll see. Hopefully I can kind of plan out a good flight time so I don't -- like I sleep kind of on the right times and try to mimic the same meals as I would have over there. I tend not to do that and end up paying the price for it, but we'll see, we'll figure it out.