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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

June 1, 2017

Daniel Summerhays

Dublin, Ohio

Q. Great start. You know this golf course is going to get firm and fast. To take advantage of it on a Thursday morning had to be key for you this week?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: I had a great tee time this morning. The greens here are so perfect. This is Jack's Augusta. And it's probably one of my favorite. It's in the top three courses all year long. I was able to hit some nice shots.

This course, if you are in the wrong spots, you'll make bogeys. If you're in the right spots, you're going to make birdies because the greens are so perfect. I was able to hit some nice approach shots and make some putts.

Q. Hard golf courses tend to fit your eye. Is there a particular look this golf course gives you that you really enjoy?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I think I've played it so many times now. This is fortunately my seventh Memorial tournament. You know where you can and can't hit it. But obviously the greens really -- they do -- like I see at these speeds, you know, like Oakmont last year at the U.S. Open, fast greens. My eyes see the correct amount of break. And for some reason they just start pouring in on fast greens.

Q. Good vibes anytime you come back to this city?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: I have a lot of good vibes when I come back to Columbus. This is where my professional golf career started down at Scarlet. I finished fourth at Memorial here a few years back. So I'm part Buckeye, I think.

Q. Eight birdies, a couple of bogeys. What were you doing so well out there?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: I was in the fairway. I think I only missed one fairway out there today. And my wedge game -- I ended up with quite a few 9-irons to gap wedges, and I was hitting them really nice. If you're precise on the approach shots, it will funnel to the hole. If you're off you're hosed, pretty much. You can barely miss by a yard and have a slick downhill chip shot. But I was fortunate to get some really nice looks and roll in some putts.

Q. As I mentioned, you've had a couple of great starts this season. What is the key for you now to be consistent through the reminder of this tournament?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: It's been a slow year, for sure. I've had some bright spots. I feel like my game is coming into shape. My short game is improving, which is taking a little bit of heat off my long game. I think continuing to improve the short game.

It's not going to get any easier as the weekend progresses. How I had it this morning is as easy as it's going to get. I think with improved short game, I'll be able to sustain good scores over the rest of the week. Columbus has always been good to me. I like this city.

Q. Turned pro right after, was it, Nationwide?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I was First Team All-American in 2007, and it was the first year that the Nationwide Children's Hospital was putting on the tournament there at the Scarlet course, and they invited us ten First Teamers to play.

I was playing good all summer and wound up winning. I turned pro the next week after. I still had one week of eligibility left. I only had three classes to graduate. I called my coach that night, and he was kind of like -- he hated to say it, but he's like, Summer, this is a no-brainer. You can get your degree with three more classes and you can have Tour status, so go for it.

Q. What is it? A vibe coming here?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I finished here 4th at the Memorial. Even that Columbus event two years after that I had a chance to win that tournament again, I finished third that year. I honestly don't know. I know for a fact like faster greens, I putt better on faster greens. I read the proper amount of break and I see the putts a lot easier. So I don't know, maybe it's late May, early June when I kind of start hitting my stride.

But I do, I love this place. I think the grass is really similar to Salt Lake City come the summertime with the bent with a bit of poa annua mixed in there. It's a very familiar feeling.

Q. Any keys to getting it around better than ever before, given you've had a good record here?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I missed one fairway -- excuse me, I missed two fairways, one was in a fairway bunker, the other was in the first cut of rough. Jack does a great job of giving ample room to hit the fairways here. But the second -- your approach shots, you have to be very, very precise, and I was today.

I hit a lot of nice iron shots, had a lot of good looks. I made eight birdies. I did hole out for a bunker shot on one of them. Honestly I had four or five other good opportunities, good looks. So I hit it really nicely on the approach shots.

Q. Can you describe your putting stroke?
DANIEL SUMMERHAYS: I've been working on that, getting more comfortable. Trying to get the path of my stroke a little better, more toward the inside on the back stroke and that's kinds of letting me keep the face square going through. Actually I was really pleased how I rolled it today. I wasn't completely comfortable on all the putts, but for the most part I felt very good on the greens.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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