PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 9, 2020

Tom Smith

Harding Park Golf Club

Press Conference

JOHN DEVER: Good morning again. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We are joined by Tom Smith, the PGA general manager here at TPC Harding Park. Today, this weekend, he's been the marker here in the 102nd PGA Championship.

Tom, why don't you tell us about when you were first approached, who approached you, what your mind raced to and your thoughts on having this unique opportunity.

TOM SMITH: Well, yeah, what a special weekend it was for me personally. Friday after the cut, Kerry Haigh called me on the radio and asked me to come meet him in his office, and I did, and he explained that they needed a marker. I said, "Perfect, I've got a marker in mind, I'll give him a shout, I'm sure he'll play. He's played in three PGA Championships before, and he'll do it." He was very excited.

I explained to Kerry, he just needed a COVID test so he could be inside the bubble, and that's where I got called up. Kerry explained we weren't able to test on-site any longer this week. And I said, "Well, I'm inside the bubble, Kerry, if you'd like me to play, I'll play."

And he said, "You're in." So that's kind of how it happened.

It was a very long night for me. I've been in operations mode for the championship, and my team put my clubs together, got my bag ready, got the caddie ready. My good friend, Joe, caddied for me. And we tried to sleep; didn't sleep well, get up and chase it in the morning, so what a day.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your pairings and maybe a few highlights of the weekend golf?

TOM SMITH: Oh, you bet. So on Saturday I played with Mackenzie Hughes. Very, very talented. I was nervous. I was nervous that I would be disruptive to his game. After all, he's competing for the championship.

He put me at ease right away. Both he and his caddie, Jace, really put me at ease and let me just kind of stagger around the golf course a little bit. They were quite great. We explained -- talked about life, talked about life experiences, family, things of that nature. He was very intrigued with the operation here and what it's like on a day-to-day basis and how we accommodate the public.

Probably the most memorable thing for me was the crowd. We were walking down 18 and my whole staff came out of the clubhouse, along with the PGA staff here on-site; and they cheered so loud, people were looking. Mac turned to me and he said, "You've got the largest crowd at the PGA Championship yelling in your corner." That was very, very special.

Today I played with Sung Kang, spectacular gentleman, very talented, and again, I was a little nervous. I didn't want to be disruptive to his game. But he immediately put me at ease. We actually played a little match play back and forth, so that was a lot of fun. Even a long drive contest on No. 12, which I edged him a little bit. The rule is you've got to be in the fairway, so I got him on that hole.

He was very complimentary of my game considering I really haven't played or prepared for the championship. I was pretty much right with him all day, scoring in the mid-70s. I did have to pick up a few times today just in the interest of pace. He was hopeful to catch a flight, which he did make, so we were knowledgeable about our pace. We played in 2 hours and 54 minutes, so we were definitely moving out there today.

Q. I imagine you've been awfully busy getting ready for this championship and not hitting a lot of golf balls. What was it like to play a test like this? And secondly, how proud are you of the way that this facility has pulled off such a big championship?

TOM SMITH: Well, yeah, first, you're right, I haven't touched a golf club in many weeks. We closed on the 17th of July for play, and it was about a week prior to that that I touched a golf club. Needless to say, I was rusty.

I immediately went up to the driving range there and hit some balls to try to loosen up the best I could Friday night.

I didn't expect to shoot low. My goal was just to play my game and fulfill my role as a marker, really, so that the player could go out and play their game.

I can't describe the energy level here. I'm thrilled and ecstatic, very, very proud of my team. They're amazing. They're the true rock stars of this championship, the people behind the scenes that put this on. I couldn't be more proud to represent them.

It was a little emotional hearing them cheer for me coming down 18. I was very prideful inside, so it was special. Very proud of them.

Q. I don't think you got in the way too much. MacKenzie shot a 69 yesterday his best round of the week, and Sung Kang came in with a 73, which is three strokes better than the day you weren't with him, so you kind of brought the best out of them. San Francisco is a golf town. What would you tell someone who was inquiring about playing some golf in a huge, beautiful area such as the Bay Area?

TOM SMITH: Well, you're right. It is a golf town. People sometimes often don't think of it as a golf town, but if you look at the geographic area, seven-by-seven miles, and there's nine golf courses here in those seven-by-seven miles, so we are a vibrant golf community.

It does show that golf can coexist in a major metropolitan market and provide excellent recreation, excellent life skills for youth coming up and just a great social melting pot of the community.

And I think that's one of the most beautiful things about this property and golf here in San Francisco is it's actually allowing golf to be a platform or a vehicle for the betterment of society, making us better humans. Kind of a giant pay-it-forward model. We're really becoming better people. Socially engaging at a social distance standpoint right now, but still, there's a level of normalcy.

But you get to go on a four-and-a-half-hour journey with a fellow human being from diverse backgrounds, and I think ultimately golf is being a vehicle to better us as a society.

It's definitely a golf-centric city with that many golf courses, but I think the greater good of having those golf courses is really the shining star here of the city.

Q. You know this course as well as anybody. You gave some great previews to PGA.com in terms of what to expect. You've got a unique position today having been out playing the golf course, you've seen Kerry's setup. Where do you think the players are going to get after some birdies and maybe some eagles as they come down to step up and try and win this championship.

TOM SMITH: Great question. I was fortunate enough to help Kerry do the layout, the competitive layout of the golf course. So I had a little bit of knowledge from behind the scenes.

I think today with the weather conditions, it's not breezy, as long as that breeze stays down, I think the players will be able to score very well on the back nine, particularly 13 through 16. I think those holes will be defining of the champion today, and I think a champion can make up shots on those holes, play aggressive on those holes, so that will be exciting to see those holes later today.

Q. Maybe just talk about playing 18 today with that pin placement. What do you think is going to happen?

TOM SMITH: 18 was a tough one. One of my poor tee shots today unfortunately. I think that pin placement, you'll see a lot of putts from the right of this pin location today. They'll want to be on the front section of the green just right 10, 12 feet from the hole, leave them a little uphill putt. They can be aggressive with it if they need to make it you just don't want to have to get too aggressive with the approach shot. If you pull it a little left, you can be in the bunker face in the bunker, or worse, hit the tree and careen into the lake. It's going to be a game-time decision for how they pull the trigger there on that approach shot.

JOHN DEVER: Tom, we appreciate your thoughts, your insights, but we mostly appreciate your hospitality all week long.