MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 7, 2003

Chris Smith

MODERATOR: This is your first visit after your first victory last year at the Buick Classic. You had your best season on TOUR last year. You tied your best in Top 10s, Top 25s, finished 43rd. I think more than that, everybody wants to talk about Ohio State.

CHRIS SMITH: That's what I want to talk about, too. It's a great week. Doesn't matter what happens from this point on. We had a lot of fun watching the game Friday. It's been off to a good start.

Q. Let's talk a little bit about last year. It was a phenomenal year for you, set the tone for what you were hoping for. You were always looking for that kind of year. It finally came through for you.

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I think it's probably a combination of a lot of things. I think I've grown up a little bit, which probably has helped the most. I've had a new teacher the last three years. I know he's helped me a lot. I think I've gotten a little bit more comfortable each year. I hit the ball pretty consistently last year. I had a lot of chances to play well. I took advantage of a couple of chances and felt good doing it.

It was a comfortable year. I really don't think that I've been that comfortable in the years before.

Q. You're one 18 first-time winners last year, a record on the PGA TOUR. What does that tell us about the TOUR these days?

CHRIS SMITH: Well, I think there's no doubt that the depth of the TOUR gets better ever year. I think all you have to do is look, 18 winners, 18 first-time winners is an unbelievable stat. It's not really that surprising because there are so many good players, both young and older guys that are playing well. Really it's gotten to the point that you feel like every week it doesn't matter. Anybody that's playing in the tournament has a chance to win. I think it's pretty clear that the strength and the overall depth of the TOUR gets better ever year.

Q. You won a bunch on the old Nike Tour, now the Nationwide Tour. Are we going to see a few more rolling in there?

CHRIS SMITH: I don't know. I told my wife when I won that the best thing about it was I wasn't going to have to play as much. It's kind of nice this year to be able to pick and choose the tournaments that I want to play, to be excited each time that I'm playing, not have to worry about some of the other things I've had to work on.

At Westchester last year, I felt really good the whole time. I do think it's just a matter of me getting a little bit older and a little bit more comfortable in the surroundings.

Who knows. Hopefully I'll play good and we'll have a couple chances again this year, maybe take advantage of one or two of them.

MODERATOR: Now that you have your first victory, what's the next major goal on your list?

CHRIS SMITH: You know, I think probably one thing that I'd rather do than anything right now is play either on The Ryder Cup team or a Presidents Cup team. I think that's probably a good for everybody. That's probably the most important thing to me right now. I think that would probably be the ultimate experience in golf. That's kind of what I'm going to shoot for, as long as I keep playing, obviously, to play a little bit better in the Majors than I've played in the past.

But as long as I start out every year, my major goal is just to improve, to feel like I keep improving, to play better the next year than I did the last year. I'll try to keep that probably as my main goal and feel like I am continually learning and getting better and improving. If I do that, then some of the other stuff will probably take care of itself.

Q. Todd covered everything.

CHRIS SMITH: I'm not a very interesting guy, so you probably got it all. I like that, that was five and out. It's like Miami, three and out (laughter).

Q. A little interference in the end zone?

CHRIS SMITH: It was holding long before it was interference. If they made the right call on Jenkins in regulation, there wouldn't have even been overtime. Jenkins was inbound on the third down pass. It really shouldn't have gotten to overtime.

Q. A 60-yard punt return.

CHRIS SMITH: There shouldn't have been a punt.

Q. Is there a feeling out there with the guys who haven't won, when you see so many first-time winners, "If this guy is doing it, I can do it"?

CHRIS SMITH: I definitely think so. When you have guys that you've played with all the way through the Nike Tour, the Nationwide Tour, out here, you see them winning, I definitely think that it starts wearing off on you and you realize that you can win. My wife has been telling me that for about the last three years. I finally believed her, I think, somewhere in the year last year, and felt like I could do it.

You see guys that are young that are winning, you see Charles, you see other young guys playing well that are young (Interruption in recording.)

CHRIS SMITH: It was a lot of fun, I coached my son's basketball team, got away from it, really enjoyed that. Sure, it's a little relaxing knowing I don't have to grind and worry about keeping a job for two years. But also I feel like I'm getting to the point where it's time. If I'm going to do something, the mid 30s is probably when I should do it. I feel a little anxious in that sense, too.

Q. What is your schedule?

CHRIS SMITH: I think I'm going to play everything between now and Bay Hill. I think I'm going to play everything except Pebble Beach. I'm going to play a lot.

Q. You're anti-Pebble?

CHRIS SMITH: I love Pebble, actually. This will be the first year I haven't played Pebble. I love playing Pebble. I had skipped LA in the past. I think this year, the way the schedule falls, I think it's going to be better for me to skip Pebble and play LA. But I'll miss Pebble. That's one of my favorite tournaments.

Q. What will you miss the most? The greens? The weather?

CHRIS SMITH: All those things don't bother me there. I enjoy being there so much. I like the golf course so much. The craziness of the greens, the long rounds, searching for the amateur balls, all those things are part of the fun really for me that week.

I'll miss that. I will miss that tournament. I think the way my schedule fits, I'm going to have to take that one off and play LA.

Q. Did you change that because the Grammys are in LA?

CHRIS SMITH: That's part of it. Beth and I, I've been working on this for a long time, we actually are going to the Grammys.

Q. You said you might skip LA.

CHRIS SMITH: Gives going to. The way I looked at the schedule, I'm going to play four, take one off, play four. I think that's going to work out the best.

Q. Where are you in the world ranking?

CHRIS SMITH: 73rd, I think.

Q. Do you know what you have to do to get into the Masters? Is that any kind of incentive for you?

CHRIS SMITH: Sure. I think that's why I'm going to play a lot. I'm going to play everything through the Player's except for Pebble and Bay Hill. I'm going to try to hopefully have some good finishes. I think my world ranking, I'm sure you understand the world rankings better than I do.

Q. That isn't saying much.

CHRIS SMITH: I take all the information I can and figure it out. I don't get very far. If I could have some good tournaments, I think my world ranking will go up because I'm finally done with my buy.com points now. If I have a couple good tournaments, obviously one of my biggest goals is the Masters. I would love to play in the Masters. I think I could play okay there. It's not an easy thing in past history for first-time players to play well there.

You know, that's one tournament that I've wanted to play my whole life I haven't gotten to play yet. Obviously, part of the reason I'm hitting it hard at the start of the year is to get in that field.

Q. Are you looking at Money List or world ranking?

CHRIS SMITH: I think world ranking is going to be probably easier.

Q. Was there a big disappointment at the end of the year?

CHRIS SMITH: I worked. Beth is good with me, trying to not look too far ahead. When you start keeping your eyes on the Money List, trying to finish in the top 40, then it gets really hard.

After Westchester, I was keeping track of where 40 was on the Money List all the rest of the year. Obviously, I wanted to be sitting around the Christmas tree knowing I was going to play at Augusta. I didn't quite make it. I played pretty good the last two weeks and finished Top 10 both weeks, I think. I ended up at Mississippi, I finished 5th, and if I finished 4th, I would get in. I was right there. It was a little disappointing. In the whole scheme of things, I felt like last year went pretty well and I knew I still could come out and play decent at the start of this year and still get in.

Q. (Inaudible).

CHRIS SMITH: I needed 4th solo. I finished tied for 5th. It was actually two shots because I would have tied for 4th with one shot better. I wanted to play the last round. I wanted to get home because the year was over. Beth is back there saying, "He wanted to go home." I did want to go home. I didn't want to stay till Tuesday, but I did want to play the last round because I knew I didn't have to do a whole lot to end up getting in.

Q. Winning Westchester, tell me when it clicked in that this was part of the prize? What did you feel upon arriving and seeing what you see?

CHRIS SMITH: Well, I played here the last year they had the Lincoln Mercury, which was in '97. I knew what this was all about. Gary has been a friend of ours. Every time I'd seen him out on TOUR, I'd say, "Okay, I'm going to win one of those, I'm going to get out there." As soon as I putted in on the last hole at Westchester, I knew we were coming out. Jerry Kelly was waiting for me behind the green with Beth. He gave me a hug and said, "I'll see you in Hawaii." It was something that was on the front of my mind when I won. It's just really nice to be here, they take such good care of you, the golf course sets up pretty good for me. All these things were really exciting. Beth and I come over in '97 for that tournament. I really had been trying to figure out a way since then to get back. It didn't take long that Sunday night to start making our plans to come out here. I think I actually called Gary on the Monday or Tuesday of the next week trying to set up my hotel reservations. I knew where we wanted to go and when we were going.

Q. You're known as one of the longest hitters out there. It seems to me when you finished well, it turned out to be tournaments you putted well to play well. Have you done anything to work on that portion of your game? Do you feel the same way?

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I'm not sure how many people are in the stats category. I knew I finished 202nd. We moved into a new house this year. Part of what I wanted to do is have someplace that I could actually practice. We put a putting green in. I used it this winter quite a bit. I got over here and 3-putted like the first four holes I played. I said, "All right, that's going to be good."

Obviously, the weeks that I played good were definitely the weeks that I putted good. I hit the ball pretty good for the most part really good all year really. If I get to the point where I feel like I can consistently putt average for out here, things will be okay. Obviously, I'm working on that. That's the one thing that I'm probably trying to improve the most this year.

Q. Next time you're in a lead on Sunday, how is it going to be different than last year?

CHRIS SMITH: I think I'll probably remember it a little bit better. Sunday at Westchester, I was on such an emotional ride that if you ask me back, I can probably remember half of the shots. The day was kind of a blur. I really didn't calm down until the Back 9. I can remember the Back 9 very well. The Front 9 for me, I could feel the earth spinning most of the nine holes. I think it helped me the rest of the year. I got in position to have some good tournaments at the end of the year. You know, I felt really good. I felt like I was going to play good. I felt confident. I felt relaxed.

I think that it's going to help me a lot. The whole key is just playing good enough to get back in that position again because I do feel mentally and physically both I'm going to be in a little better shape the next time it comes around.

Q. You mentioned the depth of the TOUR. This is nothing new, is it?

CHRIS SMITH: I think it is personally. I think just -- this is -- my first year is '96. This will be the start of my seventh year. I think in the time that I've been out here, I've seen the TOUR get better from the top to bottom. Everybody I play with now I feel like has a chance of having a good tournament. I can remember when I first came out that I would get pairings, I would think, "I should be able to beat this guy every single time." I don't get that feeling anymore. I really think that the players have gotten better. I think everybody has a legitimate chance.

I could be totally wrong, but personally I felt like when I first came out, each week there were probably 80 guys that had a chance to win, and I was putting myself in that 80, so there were actually 79 guys that had a chance to win (laughter). I would say now I honestly feel like in a 144-man field, if you go down the list, I'd tell you 135 of them have a chance of winning a tournament.

Q. Do you think you can win a major this year?

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I do.

Q. Did you think that last year?

CHRIS SMITH: No, I didn't (laughter). I told myself I could. If you really got down deep inside, I felt like before I was really ready to compete in a major, I needed to prove to myself that I could do it at a regular event.

My teacher has been telling me, people have been telling me for the last four years, "You're good enough to do this. You hit the ball good enough to do this. You can do this." You know, I told myself I could do it. But there's a big difference between hearing other people say it and telling yourself that you can do it and actually doing it.

I think that was probably the coolest thing about winning was that we laid in bed that night, and I looked at Beth and I said, "I did it. I can actually do it." No matter how good you are, how confident you are in your abilities, I think there's got to be a little bit of doubt in your mind until you actually do do it.

I think that was something that was kind of bothering me and a hurdle I needed to get over. I think I did. I think that will make it so that I can play better. When I get an opportunity, if I get in a situation in a major this year where I'm playing good, I think I have a chance to run it out.

Q. Do you think you can create more of those opportunities now than you could last year?

CHRIS SMITH: I think the key for me in creating those opportunities is not trying to create them. I think at the start of the year last year when I was struggling, I think it was because I was trying to force it. I was trying -- I was always thinking about who was leading, where was the lead, all these things. As long as I can just -- Beth even told me at the Kemper the week before I won, she said, "All we're doing is we have this goal, we're chipping away at the goal." When I started looking at it that way, things started coming easier for me and I started playing better.

I think as long as I relax and let my game go the direction it wants to go, I think that I will probably have more opportunities. But if I tee it up every week and say, "Okay, this is your course, you got to play good here, this is a major, you got to play good here," then I don't think personally I'll play very well. I think I just need to kind of have fun, let it go, ride with it where it wants to take me.

Q. What majors have you played so far?

CHRIS SMITH: I played The Open in '97, '99 and 2001. I played the PGA the last two years. I played the British last year. I want to get back to the British, too.

Q. (Inaudible).

CHRIS SMITH: The win was part of the five tournaments leading up, the TPC.

Q. You did well up until the last round.

CHRIS SMITH: I was in 12th place, teeing off on Sunday. Played great Saturday in the bad weather. Ran into a land mine on Sunday. I don't know what happened to me on Sunday. I shot a bunch, everybody else played good. That was a totally different deal, too. I didn't really know what to expect. I played pretty good. I had some problems on Sunday. For my first time going over there, I thought, "Okay, this is something I really enjoy." I loved the tournament. I loved the people. The golf course was awesome. I mean, I just -- I came home and had a smile on my face. I told Beth, I said, "Next time you're going with me because that tournament is awesome." I love that place.

Q. When you have this many first-time winners, as it relates to Tiger, does that mean the gap is closing or getting wider?

CHRIS SMITH: I don't know. That's a good question. I'd like to think it's getting narrower. That's a great question. I think it's probably in reality until you hear from Duval and Davis, those guys, it's probably getting wider. But I'd like to think that once those guys start playing good again, start challenging with him, it's actually getting narrower. Does that make sense?

I think our pack, the pack of the first-time winners is here. Tiger is here somewhere. The rest of them, the guys you're talking about, are in here, but they aren't playing good, so they're probably back here somewhere. Do you follow what I'm saying?

Hopefully we all can move this way. Beth and I talk about it all the time. I hope that everybody steps up and wants to compete. I have no idea. I have never played with him. I have no idea how I'd play, how I'd react. I want to do it. I want to play with him. I want to be able to compete with him.

I think what he's done has been truly incredible. There is definitely a gap there. I hope somebody can figure out how to make it smaller.

Q. If Tiger is here and the batch of the first-timers are here, the other group is here, what does it take for you to get to that other batch we're talking about?

CHRIS SMITH: I think I need to -- actually with my game, I think I need to putt better. With my mental part of it, I think I just have to keep winning. I think until I can start winning a couple times a year, until I can compete with him in a major or until I can do some of those things, I'm going to have that gap between he and I. It's just there.

If I can start putting consistently, if I can go to 75th on the putting stats, then I would feel like I would probably win a couple times, and I would be able to narrow the gap a little bit.

There's a lot more to one win in 2002 and two wins in 2003 than closing the gap on him. But, I mean, I would like for my game to start moving in that direction. It will take time. I mean, it will take time to close the gap because it's so big.

But I think the guys can do it. I think the intimidation factor has gone down a little bit. I think guys all realize he's the best player in the world. I think everybody wants to try to get into that a little bit. I think it will continue to make everybody play better.

End of FastScripts....