PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 6, 2020

Cameron Smith

Harding Park Golf Club

Flash Quotes

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park. Pleased to be joined by Cameron Smith.

You started your championship today with a 71. A little bit of everything on the scorecard, but is there some satisfaction that you ended with a birdie?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, I think so. There was lots of good today. Didn't really draw a good lie in the rough all day, so it seemed like as soon as I was out of position, you know, in the rough, I had to hack it out and made -- just made too many driving errors, I think, but rest of the stuff felt really good.

Q. There's enough good in there, though, for you to feel like you can come back tomorrow and build on that, right, surely?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah. Like I said, there was plenty of good shots, plenty of really good iron shots. I've been working a fair bit at home with Slug at home on the swing, and it's obviously a work-in-progress, but it feels like I'm gaining some confidence and some momentum with my iron game. It's just the driver gets a little bit wayward from here to there.

Yeah, I just need to sort that out and I think I'll be well on my way.

Q. Getting yourself back off the break mentally yet? Sometimes you like to have a break, but you're back in business now?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, probably in hindsight, I took a little bit too long off golf, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Yeah, I wish I had worked a little bit harder over the break than what I did for sure, but I feel like the game's right around the corner, and not really a better time of the year to get it cranking than right now.

Q. Just wanted to ask, how tough is it out there to maintain a score? You obviously know you had a good round in you through 13 holes, but is that rough just a huge land mine that you have to constantly dodge?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, I think so. The wind started picking up those last five or six, and like I was saying before, the swing, just not quite there yet, and in tougher conditions, it showed. Hopefully I can get out there in the morning with some lighter breeze and make some of those birdies again.

Q. You talked about regretting taking your foot off the gas a bit; is this week a perfect opportunity to make up for that?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, I've had -- I don't know how long we've been gone now for, since we came back, I feel like the game's right there. I feel like I just need one of those decent rounds, like a 65, 64 or something like that and then I'll be well on my way. Just waiting for everything to come together and then I'll be sweet.

JOHN DEVER: Appreciate you stopping by.