KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 24, 2024

Jeff Schmid

Quick Quotes

Harbor Shores

Q. PGA of America golf professional Jeff Schmid is back with us at the 84th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. Jeff, how you feeling heading into the weekend?

JEFF SCHMID: I mean, after 36 holes, if you asked me yesterday I would've been really happy with this, but I let a lot get away today. It was disappointing. But then I came back and shot even par, too.

I had all four Par-5s I had a chance to go for the green and played 2-over par with a birdie, so that was really a disappointment.

Q. Yeah, saw you had a double on one of the 5s.

JEFF SCHMID: Yeah.

Q. What were your --

JEFF SCHMID: I mean, I killed a drive. I had 234. I mean, you can't have a better place to be and I literally almost -- I wouldn't say I topped my caddie. It went about this high and carried about -- I needed to carry about 200 and probably would've been -- skipped on the green and carried about 198 in the water.

Then I dropped and thought I hit a really good shot and hit it long over the flag and that was toast. So then I chipped on and missed the putt. Pretty bad.

Yeah, birdied the next. That was kind of nice. Birdied No. 9 as well, so...

Q. Yeah, that was good.

JEFF SCHMID: Yeah.

Q. Given the spotlight from yesterday, how hard was today's round?

JEFF SCHMID: I mean, I don't know. I'm playing well, so I didn't get off the to best start either on 10. Kind of got a bad break I would say.

But I don't know. I grinded early. Missed some greens, made some nice putts, and then I started hitting it well. Missed some putts. Made a long putt on 17 for birdie. Kind of got me going.

Then I had a couple gap wedges on 18 and 1, so they're -- and didn't get those. Made a birdie, got going, and then -- so I'm 1-under going into the par-5 and I smash a drive and I'm like, all right, now make a birdie here, make maybe another one, get to 4 and I would be kind of in the thick of it.

I don't know -- I don't think I let myself get ahead of it but I was thinking that because I was playing well. Drove the ball well again today, so that was kind of nice.

Q. How long was the putt on 17?

JEFF SCHMID: 33 feet. Yeah. Yeah, I made a couple nice ones. Yeah, both days I made -- the other long putt I made on that hole is about the same distance, yeah, so that was nice.

Q. So you mentioned that it was a comeback during the round. What mentality did you have to keep? What were you telling, yourself something to just keep going?

JEFF SCHMID: Yeah, I just -- yeah, we talked about this yesterday. I feel like I'm at a level where I should expect myself to maintain it. I work mentally to try to maintain my rounds. And I have a tendency to let stupid shots kind of sabotage myself, so it was a real grind.

Made the birdie on 6 and 7 I hit a great drive. I was really slow out there, too, so we had to wait on every shot. And then, so I hit a bad shot on 7 and didn't -- pretty much terrible. I was in the bunker had no shot basically.

Yeah, just trying to keep -- stay in the moment. I'm driving the ball so frigging good I always have a chance to make birdies.

Q. What kind of reaction did you get after yesterday's round?

JEFF SCHMID: It was kind of cool. A lot of good texts. Yeah, it's kind of nice. And I know a lot of the guys out here so it's nice. People are so positive. You know, it's good. I'm very tough on myself. It's always funny, as a coach I'm very positive. I've always been -- had a really tough -- and that's another thing I'm trying to work on, too, give myself a little more breaks and not hold it in as much.

Yeah, it was really awesome to see. And Facebook it's kind of cool, too. You get to see people you haven't talked to in years and years.

But kind of don't want to disappoint them either. You come out in the second round and you want to keep playing well.

So I'm still in a good position. I think I can have a good finish if I play well. If I can get a couple good rounds, who knows.

Q. You got pretty good experience in these type stages have you played with Frank Esposito at all? We had him in here earlier.

JEFF SCHMID: Frank I played with a couple times, yeah, yeah. So yeah, I don't know him real well but I have played with him a few times.

I played a lot of -- played in Asia and South America, so a lot of guys on the Senior Tour I know back in the day. It's kind of a homecoming. Jeev Singh who I played with, I've known him since '95, and all of a sudden I haven't talked to him in 25 years and I ran into him last year at this tournament, too.

It's always kind of fun for me.