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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 14, 2005

Steve Schneiter

SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY

JULIUS MASON: Good afternoon, late afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for our low club professional presentation. It's my pleasure to introduce the president of the PGA of America, Mr. Roger Warren, at this time.

ROGER WARREN: Thank you, Julius. It's certainly a pleasure to be here today to recognize our low PGA club professional in the 87th PGA Championship, and our professional is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. Steve Schneiter lives in Sandy, Utah, now where he is the PGA assistant professional at Pebblebrook. He's third generation in his family, his grandfather George, Senior, followed by George, Junior, and his brother, Gary. He attended Brigham Young University, where he was an All American selection and turned professional in 1987.

He selected a membership in 1983 and two years later won the PGA Club Professional Championship. This is his eighth appearance in the PGA Championship and certainly today he finished in style making a 3 1/2 foot eagle putt to shoot an even par 70 round. Today he sits here as he represents more than 3,500 PGA golf professionals who started to qualify for the right to play in the PGA Championship, and we are proud of his effort and his ability to play as well as he did in this event.

It is my honor today as we recognize him as the low PGA club professional for this season's final major, and Steve, on behalf of 28,000, your fellow 28,000 men and women golf professionals around the country, it's a proud moment to congratulate you on your finish in the 87th PGA Championship. Congratulations.

STEVE SCHNEITER: Thanks, Roger. What an honor to be the first to get recognized as the low club professional. It's an honor.

JULIUS MASON: We'll go to Q&A, Steve and Roger.

Q. I had two questions; one, did you have any sense what have the other club pros were doing out there? It's probably a little hard to keep track of where you were in that race. And two, how did the pressure of this compare to the high stakes tournament that you played in in Mesquite?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Oh, the big stakes, yeah. To answer question one, I really had no idea what any of the other three club pros were doing. And I figured that was everything would take care of itself if I just played my game.

And then to answer question two, the Big Stakes, when you put up one over money, it's a different feeling. I mean, you know, it's just different. I don't know how to explain it, unless you've been, you know, been there.

But I had a great week, and this is a great honor.

Q. What does this do for your confidence and what are your aspirations going forward? Are you going to try to use this as a springboard to play more?

STEVE SCHNEITER: To springboard what?

Q. Your aspirations after this, what your goals are from this experience as far as playing?

STEVE SCHNEITER: I've always wanted to play the Tour. I'm very active in playing and I love the game, I love competition. You know, I'm going to go to the PGA TOUR qualifying this November and see what happens. Hopefully this can springboard into some good things.

This was a fun week and probably the most comfortable I've felt in this championship, I've played eight of them, that I've ever felt. So I'll take a lot away this week.

Q. Do you think you could get No. 18 and take it home with you by any chance?

STEVE SCHNEITER: I'd like to. I'd like to. I had two eagles on that hole. That's pretty good. I think these guys this afternoon would probably pay a pretty penny for that, for that eagle (laughing).

Q. The eagle in the first round, how did you do that, please.

STEVE SCHNEITER: I hit a good drive down there. I believe it was a 5 iron I hit in, and I made about a 15 footer.

Q. Did you say 50 footer?

STEVE SCHNEITER: A 15 footer.

Q. And how long was the putt today?

STEVE SCHNEITER: The putt today was probably three feet maybe, if that.

Q. Am I right in understanding that you're the son of a club professional and grandson of a PGA of America professional?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Yeah, my grandfather, he was like the Commissioner of the Tour, which back then it was Tournament Bureau Manager, he ran the Tour for the PGA of America. Back then it was the PGA of America that ran it, and he played the Tour and he was a semi finalist in the PGA Championship in '44, I believe. My dad has played in the PGA, too.

Q. What were their names?

STEVE SCHNEITER: George Schneiter, Senior and Junior.

Q. What's the significance for you, the emotional, sentimental significance of following along and doing well in the PGA's flagship event? Do you feel like you're carrying on in your family's footsteps, so to speak?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Yeah, it's an honor that, you know, to think that my granddad and my dad have kind of led the way, and I've kind of followed in their footsteps.

Q. Who did you play with today?

STEVE SCHNEITER: I played with Luke Donald.

Q. Was Luke aware at all that you were going for low club pro and did he say anything at the end of the day?

STEVE SCHNEITER: No. No. No, we had a great it was a great pairing. I had a great time. I played with him two years ago at Rochester, at the PGA in Rochester. So it was good.

Q. How would you describe the atmosphere given your background? You have a deep background in golf, but not in tournament golf on the PGA TOUR; so how would you describe the atmosphere of playing in a tournament like this, coming from your background?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Say that can you I can't hear.

Q. What I'm trying to get to is what it's like for a club professional no matter how accomplished and how deep and experienced to come here and play in a major championship and get the description of the whole atmosphere, playing with the best players in the world, whatever happens, good bad or indifferent; what's that like?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Well, it's having a chance to play in something this big and playing only one event like this every year, it's pretty overwhelming. And though the first few years, everything is big, just you get in, it's just big. You get all the people, you've got the media, you've got things that you you're playing your State Open and you might have a hundred people out there. So it's a lot different. It's exciting.

JULIUS MASON: We can scratch off the season's final major and we're going to rephrase it to "it's big," from now on. I like that (laughter).

Q. So we've established what I thought you would think it would be; it's big. Once you got in the competition, how did you did you find it just like anything else, it was golf, or is there more to it than that? You spoke about everything being big, but you're inside the ropes, your own little world; what was that like?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Well, it's what you put how you process it, is how big it is. I mean, you've just got to hit the shots. You just go play your game and let things happen the way they will happen. If you're playing good, you're going to have a good week. If not, you're still going to have a good week because you're playing in a major.

JULIUS MASON: Are you trying to get his emotions? Were you nervous, Steve, out there? Did it feel like another event?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Yeah, everyone gets nervous. I didn't feel as nervous this week as I have in the past. I don't know, maybe I was confident with playing well. You know, I just figured, well, what do I got to lose?

JULIUS MASON: Maybe that's why you're sitting where you are today.

STEVE SCHNEITER: Well, maybe so (laughing).

Q. Being you're the first recipient of this award, how special is that to you and on down the line for the rest of the club pros who will eventually receive this award?

STEVE SCHNEITER: I'm honored. I think that's exciting. This tournament, since the beginning it started I believe was the club pros are a big part of this championship. You know, I feel honored to have been the recipient.

Q. Have you spoken to anyone back at your home course since finishing play today about your achievement?

STEVE SCHNEITER: Just my wife. She was all excited and wished she could have been here.

My son was here with me and my brother. It was fun. It was fun having them see it.

JULIUS MASON: Questions?

Steve, congratulations, thanks again for coming down. Roger, thanks very much for joining us.

End of FastScripts.

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