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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 25, 2018

Avondale, Louisiana

THE MODERATOR: Like to welcome the defending champions of Zurich Classic, Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt. Just thinking to myself, I was about to say, we were here a year ogo on Sunday night, actually Monday morning, after an amazing playoff, and amazing finish.

You guys have had interesting years since then. Just want to get your thoughts on your years since winning. Jonas, we'll start with you. I know you've been fighting a bit of an injury, but you played really well a couple weeks ago RBC Heritage. Just talk about since winning what your last year has been like.

JONAS BLIXT: Yeah, I'm looking forward to this week. Obviously Cameron has been playing great, so it's nice to have a good partner coming into this tournament. Looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: Cameron, you have had a pretty impressive year since then obviously getting to the PLAYERS a couple weeks after the Zurich Classic, and then just coming off a couple top 5s at a couple big tournaments. Winning here must have given you a great deal of confidence to go on and have a year like that.

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. Being able to win out on the PGA TOUR obviously isn't an easy thing. I think it was made a little bit easier in the fact that I had Jonas as a partner and being able to free up out there.

But still, the confidence it brought in my own golf game, playing really good down the stretch here last year and being able to put my hand up in big moments later that year was, yeah, I drew a lot from it.

THE MODERATOR: You just finished playing the pro-am. Thoughts in the golf course? Any changes on the golf course? Anything different from last year when you won? And also, just comment on the format for the pro-am and actually the tournament as well.

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, the course is looking great. Jonas and I both mentioned the that greens are probably a little bit firmer and faster this year, which is always a nice thing to have.

Obviously had some pretty good weather around here, and looking forward to some good weather this week. I think the course might play a little bit tougher, a little bit longer.

And, yeah, I mean, the format, obviously being switched to the other way, might make it a little bit more difficult on Sunday with foursomes being the deciding factor there.

But we played foursomes really well last year, and that might just play into our hands a little bit more.

THE MODERATOR: Just to have that format in the pro-am; you got to play as teams rather than as individuals. Did you work on strategy?

JONAS BLIXT: No. You don't want to change a winning concept, so we kind of went with that. I think it was a really good pro-am having Cameron with me, having a lot of guys around and just having a relaxed pro-am where we just had a lot of fun with the guys out there.

Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

THE MODERATOR: Great, we'll take some questions. Raise your hand.

Q. Just going to ask you guys if you thought team chemistry is the X factor this week? How much does that play into success, the ability to have some chemistry? You guys are obviously good buds.
CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, obviously we bonded pretty well last year. Just being able to give each other a pat on the back or a slap across the face when the time was right.

Yeah, so, I mean, it definitely helped us I think just knowing each other so well. Spending so much time together definitely helped us out I think for sure.

JONAS BLIXT: Yeah, kind of have similar games in certain ways. Kind of can sync each other up or you can recognize the lies and shots you get sometimes, and I think that helps as well.

Q. Jonas, if I could ask you about Cam. Last year when you're sort of coming down the stretch and he was playing so well, you were both were, did you expect that? Were you surprised in any way? You obviously know him very well, but people out here hadn't seen how good he is until then. Any sort of surprise for you?
JONAS BLIXT: Not at all actually. We play a bunch of games at home, and I remember couple times maybe I been beating him -- for the first 14 or 15 holes I'm up on him, and he just kicks in another gear and birdies out.

You end up losing that day and go home and kind of ask yourself what happened. He definitely has another when he is gear under pressure. I wasn't surprised at all, no.

Q. (Inaudible) ...tells a story about how you almost called it a victory before it was a victory last year on the 72nd hole, telling him he should putt out for the win.
JONAS BLIXT: I'm sorry?

Q. There has been lightness about on the 72nd hole last year, he says that you may have mentioned that he could putt for the win. Could you just run us through that before Kevin's chip?
JONAS BLIXT: I was just calculating the odds. You know, we were 1-up on Kevin and Scott and it was so dark. I could barely see like how my line was in the fairway.

He had a chip across the green. I mean, odds were not on their side. Now, Kevin pulled off a great shot. Hats off to him. It was awesome just on the green hearing everybody scream and get excited about it.

I told Cam, we were walking up there, that, Yeah, I want to you putt out for your first victory on the PGA TOUR. Kevin had other thoughts about that. It was pretty cool.

Yeah, but it was my fault.

Q. (No microphone.)
JONAS BLIXT: I don't think I can say. Pretty gut wrenching, yeah, in so many ways.

I even said that. Yeah, karma definitely exists.

Q. Today is National Golf Day. I don't know if you're aware of that. I'm sure you'll be celebrating in your own personal way later on. What attracted you to the game of golf? Why do you guys like the game of golf? Why did you choose a profession in the game of golf as opposed to other sports? If you could each answer that, I would appreciate it.
CAMERON SMITH: What got me into the game of golf was my old man was a little bit of a golf addict. He used to work night shift and then pick me up from school and we would go up and practice until he had to go to work again. He kind of got me into the game and mentored me through my younger years.

Why did I choose it professionally? I mean, I think just -- I mean, it just keeps driving you because you know you can keep getting better. There is like a -- it's like never ending what you can do with golf. You can see it in top guys today. They keep working and making themselves better.

I think the drive. I just want to keep doing it.

JONAS BLIXT: Yeah, same for me. My dad got me into it and just fell in love with it. It's that simple.

Spend every summer kind of biking out to the golf course when I was a kid before I got my driver's license.

Yeah, I had two passions growing up. It was ice hockey and golf. Must have some kind of combination because I didn't weigh too much. So, yeah, just love it.

And like Cameron said, I mean, sometimes you feel invincible when you're playing well, and sometimes can bring you to a low, too. You always keep working on it. It's one of those games that makes you come back. You know what you can do, and that's what you're striving for.

Q. Just curious if you guys learned anything about each other during the four rounds last year that you didn't know going into the week?
JONAS BLIXT: Cameron can be kind of funny sometimes.

CAMERON SMITH: No, I didn't really learn anything about Jonas. I think we knew each other at the start of the week and we played so much golf together that nothing was really new to us.

We talk quite often at home or in a tournament week, so we kind of bounce stuff off each other all the time.

JONAS BLIXT: I got to know his family a lot better over the last years. I knew Cameron pretty well before. Yeah, his family is great. He comes from a really good family.

THE MODERATOR: Before we let you go, walk-up music is a new addition to the tournament this year. What do you guys feel about that? Have you chosen a song? If so, how has that song come about?

JONAS BLIXT: I'm just going to not drink coffee that morning. See how jacked up I am.

CAMERON SMITH: No, we kind of had mixed thoughts on the song. Our taste in music is probably a little bit different.

And then we actually just chose it out in the pro-am just now. We were kind of going through some songs and then one just clicked. I think we're going to go with White Stripes, Seven Nation Army. Just a bit of a rev-up song. Just like the beat.

Yeah, so it should be fun.

Q. You couldn't talk him into an ABBA song?
JONAS BLIXT: That was my first thought, and then my second thought was Avici with what happened there. There was some other guys that were in front of me and took that, one of those songs.

But, yeah, we talked about ABBA, but we don't know if too many people under the age of 35 knows who they are.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks guys, and good luck this week.

CAMERON SMITH: Thanks.

JONAS BLIXT: Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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