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AT&T BYRON NELSON

May 18, 2016

Colt Knost

Irving, Texas

JOHN BUSH: All right. Thank you for that. Colt, we appreciate you joining us here. Your 10th start here at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Finally cracked the Top-10 last year. Just talk a little bit about your play here and how this course suits you.

COLT KNOST: Yeah, you know, I was lucky enough to Monday qualify in college and it to be my first ever event in my home town was just amazing and had a pretty good run there in college at least for one day but this tournament has always meant so much.

I remember playing in the Byron Nelson Junior growing up and meeting Mr. Nelson and coming out here and watching the guys when I was growing up.

It's always just been a favorite tournament of mine and it means so much to play at home in front of my family and friends. Me and the course haven't gotten along too great here. It's not ideal for me but last year was great.

It was fun to get up in the mix a little bit and be able to do that in front of my family and friends and hopefully maybe I learned something last year and be able to carry it over this year.

JOHN BUSH: Talk a little bit about the momentum you bring in, the 3rd place finish last week. Great playing at The Players.

COLT KNOST: It was a great week. Just a lot of fun. Just a tournament I look forward to. Haven't had success there in the past but I knew over time I would get comfortable there and I would be able to really play well there.

It's just so ideal for my game. I've kind of been trending pretty well all year, just haven't put four together and was pretty close last week and got in the mix but it was a huge week for me, locked up my card, kind of gave me a little be able to relax a little bit the rest of the year even though I'm still -- I'm not going to just chill the rest of the year. I want to still push and try to get that first win out here.

JOHN BUSH: Let's open it up to questions.

Q. Is it a hard transition after what happened last week with the greens on Saturday coming here or any tournament that would not have greens that fast?
COLT KNOST: You know, not really. I mean it's just -- it's just a couple of days to adjust and stuff. You know, they were way different from Saturday to Sunday last week. Sunday they were great. It's how the golf course should be played. There was good scores given up and also some bad ones.

I think we adjust pretty quickly. It's just last week was such a shock that it -- we've played fast greens, never seen anything like that, I would say. It was such a different, different level of speed for those greens and that's why I don't think guys adjusted as well. I think guys will adjust pretty quickly here.

Q. Colt, I heard you had some interesting accommodations this week. How did that happen?
COLT KNOST: Yeah. I'm staying at Jordan's house. He was nice enough to put me up now that I don't have a house here anymore. So, I'm slumming over there, that little shack he's got (laughter).

Q. Where are you living these days, you're not here?
COLT KNOST: I moved to Scottsdale a month ago.

Q. We're not going to let you off that easy.
COLT KNOST: I figured not.

Q. Take us for a little tour around the little house.
COLT KNOST: It's pretty special, real cool house. I would never need to leave. It's got everything you need there except I was giving him a hard time. There's a TV every three feet in the house except in the bedroom I'm staying in. It's pretty amazing (laughter). We changed that pretty quickly, though. It's a phenomenal place, especially for a 22 year old to be living in.

Q. Just wanted to get your thoughts on the 3rd hole, I think one of the longer par 4s on Tour. What's your strategy there?
COLT KNOST: Survive. I don't like that hole at all. It's a tough one. Going to be really tough tomorrow, I guess the wind will be out of the north it says and be dead into the wind. It's a brutal hole, really long and the green is very severe.

I think there's probably, looking back at my history, I've struggled pretty bad on it but it's one you just try to make par and get out. 5 doesn't hurt you. Most of the field probably makes 5 there. Try not to make a big number there.

Q. Colt, kind of extending on the comments from last week, you seem to embrace the role of being the "Every Man" as opposed to someone who is in his own little corner, you're someone who is one of the people, as it were.
Why do you embrace that role?

COLT KNOST: I don't know. I just feel like I'm a really social guy that likes to have a good time. You know, I mean they call me "Every Man", whatever they want. I don't know. I understand who I am and I enjoy playing golf for a living and enjoy having a good time. You know, golf is very important to me but -- I mean it's what I do for a living. It doesn't define who I am.

You know, we're very lucky to play this game for a living, make a good living off of it. I like to enjoy myself with what I make out here.

Q. Talking to Bryson yesterday, he says he's gotten to know you little bit. Do you consider you guys to be any kind of part of like an SMU, U.S. Amateur fraternity and have you imparted any advice in a position to trying to get his card and has only a few events to do that?
You also obviously started out. Just wondered if you've imparted any advice to him.

COLT KNOST: We've played a few times together when he was in college and then first off it's amazing what's happened there at SMU with myself, Kelly Kraft and Bryson, and even going back to Hank Kuehne, having 4 in 18 years I think it is pretty amazing at a smaller school like SMU.

Yeah, I mean we've talked. I'm not one to give him advice. Me and him kind of beat to different drums, I would say. But we've played some and talked and I just told him, I mean just you got to be patient, you can't be hard on yourself. I know he was pretty hard on himself at Charlotte after a tough first day.

I remember I played -- he played in the morning, I played in the afternoon and I was getting in my car to leave the course after the round and he was just leaving the range after playing that morning. "Man, take it a little easy on yourself. You got to rest. It's different."

I just try to tell him I think it's an adjustment all of us have to make, you go from playing 12 to 14 times a year in college to playing 30 times a year out here. It takes a lot out of you. You got to be patient and rested.

Q. Kind of following up on that, I'm wondering if when you have spoken with him, has he gotten much into the physics talk and, if so, how does that come across to you?
COLT KNOST: Yeah. I mean -- obviously we all are interested in what he does because it's different and I've talked to him about his stuff and I've argued with him about his stuff.

But, you know, it works for him and honestly what he does makes sense to me for the most part with his golf swing. The only thing argue about is I don't see you having an amazing short game with a lob wedge the length of the 6-iron.

It's just one thing that -- we all have our own opinions and something I disagree with a little bit. Like I said, I agree with what a lot of what he does because the way his rhythm and his swing is under pressure, I feel like it holds up really well. It's cool.

If he makes it like we all think he can, he could make some changes in this game for sure and you might see more guys doing what he's doing.

JOHN BUSH: Anything else?

Q. You changed teachers and everything?
COLT KNOST: No. I work with Randy Smith, still and I brought on Gabriel Hjertstedt a year and a half ago to work on my short game. He's out in Scottsdale, works with a couple other guys out here, and he's been a big help.

Q. Some of the other players who are from around here have talked about the difficulty treating this like any other week when your friends and family are watching.
What's your approach to that?

COLT KNOST: I used to put a lot more pressure on myself and made it such a big week, you know, and the last couple years I've kind of tried to just relax and try to treat it as a normal week and actually this week for me it's been really different coming off last week. Actually had something to do yesterday. This is the first time to the course this week which is very unusual for me. I'll get my first look today. I played here so much. I don't think much has changed. And it's going to be soft so you can be pretty aggressive.

But, yeah, you got to treat it as another week. It's hard to do because you want to play so well in front of your family ands friends but that extra pressure definitely doesn't help you. You know, they're out there supporting you and it means a lot that they're out there.

JOHN BUSH: Colt, your first ever Tour start was at this start as am amateur. What's your recollections of that week?

COLT KNOST: I remember how nervous I was in the on the first tee. It was the last year we played Cottonwood. I got off to a slow start and shot 4-over over there. I don't even know what happened on Friday.

I got off to an amazing start and kind of kept it going and I never played in front of a crowd like that. I remember coming down the last few holes, I mean there were so many people out there. I had like 7-under for the day going into 17 and I never even played 17 because we got rained out in the practice round. So I didn't know how far downhill it played. I didn't know anything. Just somehow got it in the house.

Made a short one on the last for par because I could barely breathe. It was awesome just being at that stage and my first ever win was cool.

JOHN BUSH: Shot 64 that day, too.

Q. Colt, I really enjoyed watching you play Sunday, played so well.
COLT KNOST: Thank you.

Q. This may be a stupid question or stupid comment but Johnny Miller made the comment you have a great putting stroke. I wonder if your confidence and what that means to you to hear that from him.
COLT KNOST: Yeah. It's no secret the strength of my game is not obviously overpowering golf courses so I have to make up for it in other areas.

I've always been a really good putter I feel like and ever since I brought on Gabe I think my stats have improved quite a bit. But I mean I have to give a lot of credit to my caddy on Sunday, I was struggling with my putter a little bit Saturday and Sunday when the greens changed and I missed a 4-footer for birdie on the 6th and he told me -- we talked about hovering my putter with the greens being so fast because the putter, there was no friction on the greens and wouldn't sit still. The putter would constantly move. Go back to hovering your putter.

I did on 7 and made a good putt on 7, 9, 10 and 12. I pretty much made every putt coming in except for 16. I got to give him credit. I said, "You're crazy if you think I'm going to change the way I'm putting in the middle of this golf tournament right now." If I didn't make that one on 7 I probably wouldn't have stuck with it. I did, it made a world of difference. Gave me a chance.

Q. The Nelson is the largest charity fundraiser on the Tour. Is there a cause that's really meaningful for you?
COLT KNOST: I'm really big into the Junior Golf events, NTPGA, The First Tee, they're amazing organizations that are getting kids going in the game of golf and I think like The First Tee program, it gets kids going the right path, not just in golf but in life as well.

It helps them out so much, keeping them out of trouble. Those junior programs are just so meaningful to us and helping us grow the team.

Q. This is kind of a follow-up to NTPGA guys, but with all the locals here, the local pros here, how easy is it, how often do you guys get together for little games on Monday or something like that?
Who is the easiest to pick pocket from?

COLT KNOST: No one is easy. They might say I'm the easiest. I don't know. Yeah, we always play a lot when I'm here in Dallas. Obviously just moved away.

But when I was here we played a lot out of Royal Oaks and had great games going. There's lot of guys that live here in the area and it's great. Who is the easiest? I don't know. Kelly Kraft is pretty easy (laughter). I enjoy picking on him.

Q. Sorry if I missed this part, did you explain why you moved to Arizona and then also will you be host for anytime Jordan comes out there?
COLT KNOST: Of course I'll host Jordan if he needs it, if he wants it.

But, no, I would always go out there a couple times during the winter in the off-season just to practice because the weather is so good.

Last year I decided I was going to rent a house for three months through the West Coast swing just to see if I could maybe take my game to the next level where I wanted to go, just spend the whole off-season out there and feel like I was more prepared once Hawaii came around, and I was there for two weeks and just loved it.

I thought if I want to take the next step in my career this is a great place to do it. I joined Westbrook Golf Club which is a amazing facility. We have probably 15 Tour players there. It's just awesome.

I've always felt you get better by playing with guys that are better than you and there's so many Tour players out there you play with them everyday you -- we still all learn from each other, I feel like, and they push you to get better and it's just great.

I'll always call Dallas home and come here, my mom is here, my coach, Randy Smith, is here. This will always be home for me. Just an experiment to see if I can take my game to the next level.

JOHN BUSH: Good stuff, Colt. Best of luck this week.

COLT KNOST: Thanks guys.

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