ISPS HANDA WORLD INVITATIONAL

July 29, 2021

Matthias Schmid

Galgorm Castle & Massereene Golf Club

Quick Quotes

MATTHIAS SCHMID: I started well with a couple birdies and had a couple dropped shots towards the end of the front nine, but back nine was great. Very delighted with that.

Q. What do you feel you have to do well around this golf course at Galgorm Castle?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: I mean, it's not a very long course, so if you hit your wedges good and make some putts, I think you're well off.

Q. Golf is a pretty hard game at times, and you just started the pro ranks, your second event. How are you finding life as a professional now?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: So far I like it a lot, actually. No, I've been dreaming to do this for a long time. Yeah, second event, I'm enjoying it a lot. It's great.

Q. What about this as a mixed event with the women here, as well? How are you liking this format?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: Since we play a different tournament it's not that you have to compare scores with them or whatever, but it's nice to see some girls I know from Germany, and hopefully they're doing well.

Q. The last couple of weeks since the Open Championship and becoming a professional and the turnaround of everything, wearing new clothes and things like that, can you talk us through your journey?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: Yeah, you know, a lot of things have changed, but I still think golf -- I always said good golf works everywhere, so you just -- I still try to play my own game and play as well as I can. It doesn't matter what the situation is really.

Obviously with the Silver Medal a lot of things went well for me. That's I think how I could get into these tournaments, and I hope I can draw a few more invites.

Q. Can you tell us about any attention you might have received in Germany since the Open? Presumably you've been talked about a little bit in German media. Have you had any requests and interviews and things?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: My agent is taking care of all of that. I haven't been in Germany in like five weeks, I think, so I haven't noticed anything. I know the people from back home are super supportive, and I'm very thankful for that.

Q. You obviously played well at the BMW International Open, so you know how it feels, and you're probably finding yourself quite comfortable in these conditions?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: Yeah, you know, it took me a while to -- I had a lot of -- like I would say four, five starts before that, but it takes a while to get used to that, and I think it's very important to get some starts as an amateur so you see what you need to do out here or what you need to improve maybe.

For me it was very helpful to play a couple events before it gets serious now, and I'm thankful for every opportunity I got.

Q. Do you feel like you have a bit of momentum? Momentum is so important in golf, but do you feel like you've got momentum and confidence over this summer period?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: Yeah, I've got some momentum. I know I'm a good player, so I think I can keep up with these guys out here if I play well. I hope I can show that a few more times.

Q. Does it feel any different playing in these events as a professional as opposed to an amateur, or is it all just the same?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: So far. Now I have a professional caddie on the bag, which helps a lot. So far it's the same I would say.

Q. Going into tomorrow, everyone sort of expected Massereene would be the easier of the scoring courses, but it seems like Galgorm today has been the easier scoring course. Does that surprise you?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: Yeah, a little bit. Massereene is -- I can see that it can play very tricky because it's a little shorter but it has a lot of doglegs and runoffs and things, but yeah.

Q. Do you put a number on tomorrow in terms of what you want to shoot, or do you not try and look at it that way going into tomorrow?

MATTHIAS SCHMID: I just try to play as good as I can and see how it comes out.