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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2017

Daniel Summerhays

Augusta, Georgia

Q. Did you think it was going in?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: When it landed past the hole and started coming back, for a minute there I had some‑‑ I definitely had some thoughts of throwing the arms up in the air watching it disappear. But I'll definitely remember that shot for the rest of my life. First shot on 1, 2017 Masters, almost making it.

Q. What did you hit there?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: It was an 8‑iron.

Q. How far behind the hole did it go?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: About three yards, and it came back eight, nine feet.

Q. It was four or five inches, you said?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: It was a tap‑in. It was right next to the cup. You like those kick‑ins.

Q. What were you thinking before you hit it, did you have any trepidation?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I was a little nervous. But the difference in the mindset is the excitement. It's like the 16th hole at Phoenix, you want to put on a good show. And that gets me excited to hit a shot. It's a nervous, excited instead of a nervous‑‑ a fearful nervousness.
So overall I felt like I was‑‑ I played pretty well. I hit a lot of good shots, but flat out just didn't turn out good for me. I got in some really tough spots on the greens, and it's hard coming and going on the wind. It's hard to lag it in there tight sometimes. I hit a few really nice lags, but it's hard to get it close. And I had a lot of challenging putts. So obviously disappointed in bogeying 16 and 17, especially after kind of battling back, making a good par on 10 and 11, birdieing 12, birdieing 14. But some disappointment, for sure. I felt like I lipped out five or six cups out there today. And that was definitely disappointing. But I think 2‑over by the end of the day is still going to be right in the thick of it. Keep playing solid and I should hopefully be around.

Q. I was watching you on the 7th. When you got to the second shot the wind was in you, and when you got ready to hit it was completely downwind. Was that typical of what was going on?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, it wasn't so much switching 180 degrees. Probably‑‑ it was probably more of a quarter change on wind sometimes. So there it was kind of cross, and then it was down, cross and then down. And maybe it did a few of that. But I was happy to see my ball stay up there on that tier. When it was in the air I didn't think there was any chance it wasn't going down off that false ledge there.

Q. What did you hit in there?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: It was a pitching wedge.

Q. How about the opening tee shot and the whole atmosphere this morning, what was that like?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: I really tried to picture it. Typically I show up right around the teeing area five minutes before, whatever, from the range, but I did it a little different this time because I wanted to soak in the experience, being first off and knowing that Jack and Gary were going to be there.
I stood‑‑ I got up to the putting green, and had a moment of silence for Arnold. And it was‑‑ I had the goosebumps thinking about Jack. He could barely see the golf ball, he was in tears. When he hit a shot. He still striped it right down the middle. But at the end of the day, no matter how nervous we are, the biggest stage, it's all about relationships. And you could feel Jack Nicklaus' love for Arnold Palmer in that moment. And that was a really special thing.
But your first Masters, first off following them, it was really special. I was definitely nervous, but I've been really nervous a lot of other stages in my life. So it was nice to get one right in the fairway there.

Q. You guys took over four hours, despite being first out. Is that an indication of how tough it was?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, you've got to take your time. I don't even know where the group behind us is. They may still be out there, I don't know. It was actually really nice. I feel fortunate to have had the tee time I did. First out, wind was slightly calm, the greens were receptive, perfect surface to putt on. But you had to take your time, because the wind was switching. So we kind of told that to each other, hey, Russell apologized to me on 10, because it took three or four minutes to hit his iron shot in there. I said, "Hey, we're all in this together, and there's no need to rush it, especially when we have a two hole gap behind us."

Q. Was there an expectation of how long the round would take?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: No, nobody ever talked to us. So I felt like we had a plenty good pace. Yeah. It was definitely challenging. I think they're going to be a little kind to us as far as pace of play goes, because it is very challenging out there.

Q. On 16, it was quite windy when you hit your shot. Did that affect your shot?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: It was one of those where it was petering, the wind. I couldn't tell if it was into off the left or into off the right. Probably chose a little too far to the right line, and then just pushed it. And then the wind took it. So I was definitely disappointed in that iron shot. But I hit a lot of really nice iron shots today. Like I said, a lot of them didn't turn out amazing, but overall I'm proud of my performance, and hopefully I can get some putts to fall tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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