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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2016

Smylie Kaufman

Augusta, Georgia

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome to the interview room Smylie Kaufman, a first‑time Masters competitor who currently stands at third after carding a 3‑under par 69 in today's third round, currently the low round of the day.
He started the tournament with a 1‑over 73 in the first round and had an even par 72 in yesterday's second round. Tomorrow, he'll be looking to become just the third first‑time participant to win the Masters.
Before we take questions, if you don't mind, share a little bit about today's round and we'll open it up to the media.
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Today was a good day. I think our game plan the last couple days kind of carried into today. I knew it was going to play extremely difficult today, and you know, I just went out and tried to stay as committed as possible to all my golf shots.
I knew it was going to be a day of patience and I think Aaron, my caddie, did a great job of continually reminding me to stay patient.
My birdie putts were good today. I had a lot of tap‑in pars, easy pars. Most of the holes it was pretty stress‑free. It's what you want on a day like today. It was really nice just to keep going and not having to build up my, I guess, patience level where I was going to get upset about things.
Overall, really excited about today and look forward to tomorrow.

Q. Overall, where are your emotions going to bed Saturday night with your first Masters with a chance to play in the final group?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Yeah, it's going to be different obviously, this being my‑‑ I played the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, but I was a completely different golfer than I am now.
You know, I'm going to hang out with my buddies and friends and family, do the same things we've been doing all week, just hang out and try to keep it pretty casual and hopefully I sleep good.

Q. Is there any part of you that's surprised you're in this position in your first Masters?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Not really. The golf course plays really hard. I tend to play well on hard golf courses. I'm driving the ball really well right now and if I'm going to get on the greens just as much as everybody else, I think that I'll have a pretty good opportunity to be in contention, which it doesn't surprise me.

Q. And then just as a follow‑up, how do you kind of get over the jitters, just being in this position, your first Masters, second place at the moment?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Yeah, I don't know, I don't really have a great answer. I'm just kind of going with the flow and just going to try to play golf and just do the same thing I've been doing, try to keep to the same routine, talk out shots like I've been talking out shots. Just try to stay 100 percent committed to everything I'm doing out there.
Obviously the wind has been swirling. Tomorrow it's not supposed to blow as much, so hopefully it will be a little less tough to judge around here tomorrow.

Q. You compared your first win, the stress level, to watching an LSU football game, I think. Does being in contention at a major, does that finally overtake that stress?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: No, it still doesn't (laughter). LSU football is one of the most painful things to watch ever really (laughter). That just speaks to how big of a fan I am, though.
I guess Vegas is different because I came from so far back. I had to just wait so long to see if I had a chance to win. I think that is why it was so comparable to watching the LSU football game.
Yeah, for the most part, it is what it is. I'm just going to do my best.

Q. I think you had a 61 to win in Vegas and obviously 69 today. Which was the more impressive round? Is this the best round you've ever played?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: 61, easily, was better than today. Today I just kind of plodded along and made a bunch of pars and made birdies on holes that I had really good opportunities to make birdies on.
The wind was supposed to blow harder, I felt like today, and it really wasn't as hard as I anticipated. It was right at the beginning, but there was points in the day where it kind of laid down a little bit. I don't know if the guys this morning had it tougher than we did. I think they might have. So you know, I think there's some opportunities to make some birdies out there, and I was just putting my ball in the right position to do so today, I believe.

Q. You said you liked the kind of undulated, heavily‑breaking greens like these ones. What appeals to you about those type of greens?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Just what I grew up on. I grew up on bentgreens, undulated. That's one thing my coach at college always said: Put me on greens that are bent, fast, undulated, I'm going to play really well. This place fits my eye pretty well. I just enjoy playing, coming out every day. It's Augusta National, it's hard not to have some fun out there.

Q. Talk about LSU a little bit. After David Toms, there was a little lull, but guys like you and Loupe and John Peterson, obviously winning a National Championship for them last year, it's got to be a fun time to be purple and gold?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Absolutely. There's so many great players that are coming out of LSU now, it's something we all kind of take pride in and wanted to have the best golf team that we could while we were in college.
So I think the guys that I was surrounded with in college made me tougher and wanted me to be better, which is great. Props to our coach for bringing in players that wanted to be successful and work hard, and I think that kind of rubbed off on me and made me work harder and made me realize I had to get a lot better than what I was when I got to school.

Q. Jordan just made another birdie and he's at 6 now. Is this a guy you can imagine, after what's happened in the last year or so, ever beating himself, or do you feel like you have to go out and shoot something like a 63 or something completely crazy tomorrow?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: No, I don't think so. I'm just going to go do‑‑ play my golf, hit to my spots and just try to make some putts. I'm not going to put extra pressure on myself to try to catch him. I'm just going to go play my game and just let it come to me. I'm not going to try to force things. That's when you kind of get in trouble out here is when you try to force stuff, is what I've realized.
I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing, and if there are shots I need to take out there and take on some lines, then I will if the situation calls for it. But I'm going to still keep on playing kind of the way I'm playing right now.

Q. You said earlier in the week, staying away from the big number is important. 11, you faced a situation where you could have made a 6 or worse. Talk about what you did there to avoid it. And the putt on 16, was that one of the tougher putts you've made this week for birdie?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Yeah, 11, just didn't hit a very good drive there. Just not a very good swing. Bad spot over there, right on 11, missing the fairway in the pine straw.
Just I didn't have anything, so I kind of took a little bit of a risky chip‑out. I just wanted to get it out there kind of a little closer than hitting 8‑ or 7‑iron in. I hit a really good punch‑out, and from there I was just trying to give myself a decent look at par and just try to eliminate double‑bogey. That's kind of what I did there on 11.
16, that was kind of a pin that I putted to in the practice rounds. I kind of knew what it did. The only difficult part was just judging how it was going to come out of the fringe, but as soon as it came off and it was rolling, I kind of knew it was in. Actually stepped at it, because I knew it was in but I was like, don't walk it in and then it lip out.
As soon as I‑‑ I gave a little fist‑pump after, so it was good to see that drop.

Q. Your parents said you had pretty much every meal at the house; is that the plan tonight?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Yeah, that's the plan. Don't know what we're eating. I guess we'll find out soon. But that's the plan right now.

Q. Secondly, back in 2007, you had a chance to come here and Thompson but couldn't miss school. Does this kind of make up for that?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Yeah, I think I was a seventh grader. I was on the high school team‑‑ actually I don't know how old I was. But anyways, we had been playing too much high school golf and I was missing too much school and for some reason, the scholar that I am wanted to stay in school instead of coming here to Augusta on Monday. That's me being sarcastic that I'm a scholar (laughter).
I didn't come for some reason and I'm catching crap for it now.

Q. What's your experience with Jordan, against each other amateur‑wise, and did you come here as a kid to this event before?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: I have come here before.

Q. Earliest memory?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Well, the earliest memory, I can actually look back atthe ‑‑ I brought one of those disposable Kodak cameras that zoom in like ‑‑ they don't zoom. All my photos are terrible and not good at all. That's my earliest memory of Augusta. I just remember it being so green and so cool and I always wanted to come here and play.
My dream was just to play here, and now that I've won Vegas and got in, I was like, okay, it's the real thing. Let's see what happens.

Q. And then Jordan, your experience playing against him in junior golf, that sort of thing?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: He's probably 1000‑0. He's always beating me. Granted, he was so much better than I was as a junior and amateur. I was kind of a late bloomer in that regard. Just kind of kept on getting better.
As soon as I realized my potential, I really started to improve and just sort of absorbed information as I went and stuck to a plan and just stayed committed to it and worked really hard at that plan.

Q. Did you feel good about your driving coming into this week or did you make changes?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: Coming into the week, about the driver‑‑ I think I was hitting it decent with the driver. When I got here, though, Tony, my swing coach and I, we kind of found something with the driver. Just tempo feels pretty good. I feel like I can really go after it if the transition is the right way.
Swing feels pretty good and I feel like I can pull off a lot of different golf shots with the wind. So it was, so far, so good.

Q. Does it help to be in a little bit of denial about how big this is, treat it like a regular tournament and all that stuff?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: That's kind of what I've done all week, treat it like a regular tournament. Feel real comfortable out there. The golf course fits my eye. We'll see. I'm not trying to overlook the situation. I know what's going on. I know it's the Masters. I know how important it is.
But I'm just going to go out there and just do my best. I think that's all I can do tomorrow, and just not try to force it and just try to have some fun.

Q. You said it was a dream of yours to come here. The last six months, winning your first PGA TOUR title, now in contention for the Masters, does that feel like a dream or does it feel real?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: It definitely feels real. That was the goal coming into the week was just get in contention. And now that I'm here, you know, there's a lot of work left to do, kind of re‑adjust the goals a little bit and going to go try to win tomorrow.

Q. Looks like you've got about ten or 12 family and friends in the back there. How many people in all do you have here this week, do you think?
SMYLIE KAUFMAN: I think people are coming in and out, but at least 20 to 30 a day, kind of rotating in and out. But I've got my friends that are here that are taking advantage of the great prices Augusta offers on the beer (laughter). So I've got them kind of making the crowds, or making me get pumped up after I make some birdies. It's cool seeing them out there and kind of sharing this experience with them.
It's always great to have my parents and grandparents here. I've got my brother, came in town from Baton Rouge. He's a senior at LSU. A bunch of people are here that mean a lot to me and they are supporting me right now, so it's really good to have them here.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on a great round. All the best for you tomorrow. Thanks for being with us.

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