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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

June 27, 2019

Chris Smith

Notre Dame, Indiana

Q. Summarize your round today if you would.
CHRIS SMITH: It was a strange round, to be honest. I felt good. I couldn't get the ball close to the hole, which was a huge problem on this golf course, and I was -- I just never got close. I was short a lot, and then I'd try to make sure I got it to the hole, and then I'd hit it past the hole, and with these greens, you have to hit it closer. I drove the ball really well. I felt good, and I just couldn't get the ball close.

I will tell you, I thought I was going to start crying on the first tee. I was not ready for that. It was much more -- I thought I was going to be nervous, but it was much more emotional than it was nerves.

Q. Seeing all the support you had?
CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, well, and -- I was fine until I heard Peru, Indiana, and I'm really proud of Indiana, and when I heard that, it was just like, whoa, and I really honestly thought I was going to start crying. And so I just got to hit it as fast as I could and got off of there. I didn't care if it went in the water. I didn't care where it went.

Q. A hybrid off the --
CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I had a quick strike, quick address hybrid.

Q. What was it like hearing well-wishers?
CHRIS SMITH: Oh, it was great. Overall it was probably not the easiest to play golf with, but life experience and -- there's an old face. Life experience and the important things in life, I mean, it's one of the best days I've probably ever had.

Q. How much do you look forward to eventually getting out here on this Tour?
CHRIS SMITH: It would be great if we played more in Indiana. I'd really look forward to it. But I'm really looking forward to it. I've waited -- kind of muddled around waiting the last three or four years to get to this point. I kind of had high expectations of this week, and I still -- who knows what can happen. But also I knew that it was going to be a little different experience than a normal tournament, and that definitely was the case today.

But I'm looking forward to it. I feel -- I still feel healthy. I feel good. I'm excited to play. I still really like golf. So, yeah, I think once I kind of get rolling with it, it'll be a lot of fun.

Q. Having gotten the emotions out of the way, do you think you'll play a little more focused tomorrow?
CHRIS SMITH: Well, there will be more people here tomorrow, Friday afternoon. But, yeah, I know the first shot tomorrow will be easier than it was today. I'll be in a little different spot because I'll have to -- I'm going to have to play good tomorrow, so that'll put me in a little different spot.

But hopefully get today kind of taken care of and tomorrow hopefully play a little bit better, and it'll be a little bit more normal tomorrow I'm thinking.

Q. How did you feel about the course conditions today?
CHRIS SMITH: Well, I think we got another -- this place never stops amazing me because I came up -- I've been coming up the last two weeks to play some, and every time I come, they get an inch of rain before I get here. I'm thinking, well, it's going to be underwater, but the course was fine today. I'm sure it's softer than the USGA wants it, but I didn't have mud on a single ball today. I didn't have a single ball plug. You know, the golf course, I heard that they got over an inch of rain again last night. I mean, it's pretty amazing, actually, how nice the golf course played.

Q. Knowing that you were turning 50 this year, how far ahead did you plan that this tournament might be an opportunity for you?
CHRIS SMITH: Well, John asked me that question when I qualified, and, I mean, obviously it was kind of out there, and I knew that it was a possibility. But when I went to the qualifier, it wasn't really a life-or-death thing, and I wasn't really that nervous about it, and it was like, okay, if I play good, I'll have a shot; if I don't play good, it's not that big a deal. I told John after I qualified, driving home, it was a totally different thing because I was really excited and really happy.

You know, I looked at it, but these qualifiers to get into U.S. Opens are very difficult, so I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself that, oh, I have to make this because it's close to home. But then once I did make it, then it got exciting.

Q. What's it been like to see your friends out here on the Tour?
CHRIS SMITH: It's been great. On Tuesday I came, and I got here an hour and a half before I teed off in the practice round, and I hit balls for like five minutes because I talked for an hour and 20 minutes. It's been great because really all my close friends have turned 50, and they've been gone for a couple years, so it's been really nice to see everybody this week.

Q. You mentioned how emotional the first tee was for you. Were there any other highlights or memorable moments from today?
CHRIS SMITH: No -- yes, because it's nice to see all these people that I don't get to see, and like I saw Jerry Kelly's mom when I finished, and I hadn't seen her for a couple years, and it was nice to see her. So I didn't expect to see her.

But a lot of the people that were following me today, I kind of knew they were coming. So I was kind of trying to do this thing where -- I enjoy it, and the one thing I do want to take from this is I want to make sure that I enjoy the experience.

And I will tell you the one -- there is one thing that really did shock me today. Walked in the locker room this morning -- have you guys heard about this? Walked in the locker room this morning, and every locker had a Notre Dame football jersey hanging on the locker with our names on it. And I was the first group off, so I was in the locker room first this morning. And my caddie is a huge Notre Dame fan, and I had him come in with me to get my bag. And we walked in, and we both just kind of went, oh, my gosh. It was like one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

And so that took my breath away this morning. But the stuff on the golf course was -- it was just fun. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing the people, and I'll have a good time tomorrow. We'll have more people out tomorrow, so that'll be fun, too.

Q. They once had a Chris Smith here that played football.
CHRIS SMITH: Had to be a bench warmer or third-string kicker or something like that.

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