PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 21, 2021

Brad Marek

The Ocean Course at Kiawah

Flash Quotes

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Brad Marek. Brad posted a 1-over 73 today. He's 2-over for the championship. Brad, you're going to make the cut this weekend.

Let's start there, then we'll backtrack to your play today, but just the accomplishment that you feel earning your way here three weeks ago, a little time to bone up and then you get to one of the toughest golf courses on the planet, and you are firmly going to make the weekend.

BRAD MAREK: Yeah, I'm not sure that it's totally sunk in. You know, kind of knew that if I had good preparation and a good plan, that this would be possible, so I got here last Tuesday, the Tuesday before the event. First time I was on property was a week ago on Thursday, so saw the place a bunch.

Obviously incredibly difficult golf course. I think it requires you to be very, very patient, so it's a lot of centers of greens, and you have to hit fairways to have success, and short game is obviously super important because there's just some greens that not a whole lot of people are hitting.

Yeah, but really proud of myself. First PGA TOUR event, to make the cut on this golf course is pretty much a dream come true.

Q. You had a really good start with birdies on 10 and 11. Did that kind of put you in a good frame of mind the rest of the day knowing that birdies were potentially out there for the taking?

BRAD MAREK: Well, they were except for 14 through No. 1 basically. So I knew that that first stretch, even though 12 and 13 are super difficult holes, just to get them downwind, those are going to be a heck of a lot easier than say 15, 17 and 18 coming home. I knew hitting the fairway on 10 and 11 was going to be huge, and I was able to do that on 10, rolled one in from the back fringe maybe about 20 feet, had a really good read on it, and then 11 was really good, a good driver and I believe a good 6-iron. Climbed up onto the top of that mound, fell back and I chipped it to a couple feet. But that definitely settled me down.

Yeah, once we flipped, you get 14 coming back into the wind, and you just know for the next nine holes, you're just holding on, trying to keep your head above water and hopefully get a little bit of reprieve 6 through 9.

Q. What's your main role at the club you're at, and how much competitive golf are you able to play?

BRAD MAREK: So I'm just an independent contractor with Corica Park, so I just teach there. My primary business is junior golf academy for kids that are trying to play golf in college, so I work with a small number of kids on a very frequent basis, some as much as two or three times a week, kind of in small groups after school. Everybody in that has a goal of trying to move up to the next level in terms of their golf.

So that's my primary focus with the teaching, but teaching is all that I do.

Q. It's going to be cool going back to the kids playing on the weekend at the PGA Championship.

BRAD MAREK: Yeah, I just had a chance to glance at my phone, and there were quite a few text messages, to say the least, and a ton from obviously friends and family but also students back in the Bay.

Q. You beat world No. 1, world No. 3, world No. 4 today. Where does this rank for you?

BRAD MAREK: Pretty high. Yeah, I just knew talking with my caddie and my coach that I have in this week, we knew it was going to be a battle. It was just -- you had to put your head down. You knew you were going to make some bogeys. That was just inevitable. Really happy the way I hung in there.

It was kind of a rough patch on 18 through 4. I don't think I hit a green in there. Miracle bogey on 18. That really kept me going. And then to pitch it in on 2 was incredible. It was a really good shot but did not expect that to go in.

Q. How long has this been a dream for you, playing the PGA TOUR?

BRAD MAREK: That's what I did after college. I chased mini Tours nine or ten years after college, always with the goal of trying to get out here. Obviously didn't attain that via the regular route, but as soon as I was done playing, I knew I wanted to be a part of the PGA for the opportunities like this on the playing side.

Jeff, to answer your earlier question, I still play -- last year I probably played half a dozen events. I would say that we're not like immediately affiliated with our section, and our section does a good job. We have seven or eight, nine events over the course of the year that are pretty good, and then there's a few that are like pro-ams and state opens that I'll travel to over the course of a year.

Q. Any good finishes in a state open?

BRAD MAREK: I've won a couple times on the Dakotas Tour, which is a decent sized mini Tour. A lot of second place finishes in state opens. Yeah, a lot. Idaho, Nebraska, a couple others. But that was kind of the route that I chose, just a little bit lower cost than some of the other bigger mini Tours, and state opens kind of supplement the purses a little bit, so kind of went that route.

Q. When you made that putt on the last hole, what were you feeling? What were the thoughts knowing you had made the cut?

BRAD MAREK: To be honest, once that ball landed and stopped on the green, like I knew -- I was well aware what the cut line was, so we knew we were safe for the weekend barring some sort of catastrophe. It was getting really dark, and I was just trying to get it out there and just dribble it down the hill so I had a kick-in, and I still can't believe that thing went in.

Q. Is there like a moment from the last two days you'll always remember that sticks out?

BRAD MAREK: Really, really cool to have probably 20 people here following me. That's incredible. It's not easy to get to Kiawah. People from across the country. That just means so much to me that they would come out and support me, and a bunch of friends and family back home watching, cheering on. Glad I could play well and give them something to watch and root for.

Q. Is it comforting to know that Ben would be with you through the weekend, Ben Cook, another Team of 20 member, and the two of you are representing the 28,000 PGA professionals nationwide?

BRAD MAREK: Yeah, I think any time one of us can make the cut, I think it's really good for -- I think there used to be 25 spots in this and it got reduced to 20, so I feel like any time a couple of us can make the cut and represent the PGA well, I think that bodes well for the organization as a whole and just kind of shows the type of players that are at the top level of the PGA of America.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, more good play to be had, but really pleased that you made it to the weekend.

BRAD MAREK: Yes, me too. Thanks, you guys.