PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 19, 2024

Jeremy Wells

Valhalla Golf Club

Flash Quotes

Q. When you were a kid and you were dreaming of things like this, what did that dream look like?

JEREMY WELLS: Yeah, I always wanted to get out here and play for living. Growing up, I got a little better through time and I tried it for a couple years, and it's hard. It's harder than I expected.

What did it look like? It looks like this. Beautiful days playing great golf courses in front of hundreds, thousands of people. Lots of fun.

Q. Last year you kind of got derailed. You looked like you were going to make the cut last year, you got derailed a little bit by the weather that came in. This year, same thing could have happened, but it didn't. What did you learn from last year that maybe helped you this year when you were kind of grinding to make this cut with a strange situation having to finish Saturday morning?

JEREMY WELLS: I think just my prep. Taking it a little easier coming in. Not taking so much on. Not hitting quite as many golf balls, playing quite as many practice rounds. That was helpful. I'm going to have to revise that again next time because playing four days in a row after practicing for a few days, it's a lot. But more of the same in the future, just doing a little less beforehand.

Q. Your last 12 holes I believe were you 3-under to make the cut after a rough stretch. What were you thinking? What was going through your mind during that portion of time when you were trying to grind it out?

JEREMY WELLS: Been fortunate a few times lately, I've kind of known the number I needed to shoot, whether it was our National Club Pro championship, shot the low round of the day -- in the last two years in the final round I shot the low score of the day to make this tournament. A lot can change in an hour, both good and bad, and I'm always just waiting for that run of good holes. Just because something bad happens doesn't mean a lot more bad stuff's going to happen, fortunately.

Q. Tell me if I have this right. I feel like you guys were very inspired by Michael Block last year, like it felt like Michael Block was playing for all of you. Then it feels like it carried over to be like, hey, you know, maybe I can do this. Was there a Michael Block effect on you at all with how he performed last year?

JEREMY WELLS: It's good to see somebody who hits the ball a reasonable, normal distance, you know, that can compete at the highest level on their really good weeks. So certainly that was inspiring. To see the attention it got and to see what it did for the PGA of America I thought was really cool. I'm super proud to, you know, to sort of carry that torch this year.

Q. Your role back in you your home course in Florida. Player development is on your list, right, so when you were out here, what kind of advice did you give yourself?

JEREMY WELLS: Just the one-shot-at-a-time kind of deal, and I played with a variety of golfers this week from the practice rounds to the tournament rounds and everybody hits it different. Everybody's ball flight's different, but these players have tremendous amounts of self-belief and they don't make the simple mistakes. They never follow a mistake with another one.

That was a couple things I noticed this week.

As far as teaching and helping others, you know, I hope that I can sort of take this and bottle it up and help our members improve their rounds and I would like to get out on the golf course with people more, I think, after playing this week and seeing people really grind. I think that a lot can be learned playing the game rather than just hitting balls or our typical instruction.

Q. What will you tell them about what it means to make the cut at a major championship as a PGA professional, but you doing it also here with your family in tow?

JEREMY WELLS: I'm not going to have to tell 'em much. They're all watching and, you know, I know everybody's going to be really proud and we'll definitely have an event at my club when I get back and we'll share and celebrate and, you know, I'm coming off 8 on the last hole here, so it's hard to kind of put it all in perspective right now, but it's a good time, and outside of my wife Melissa and having kids, this is a top thing in my entire life, so really cool week.

Q. What was it like having them there? It was so cool to watch your wife talking about it and have your kids there. I know you made an 8, but you know when the dust settles you're going to look back at some of these memories that you made with your family right here.

JEREMY WELLS: Yeah, it's great. I'm glad people can experience it, the grind, the ups, the downs, how difficult it is playing a major championship golf course when you're struggling. But then how fun it is when you get it going and you can make some birdies and the crowd gets loud.

I hope they learn, my kids especially, just the amount of hard work that goes into this. Got to hang in there, whatever it is in life. If you continue to stay focused and refine it through time you can always get better, and we're going to do that again for next year or for the next opportunity, starting -- probably take a -- actually I have to play in a section event tomorrow if I can get back, but take a little time off after that.