|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INVITATIONALJuly 13, 2007Daniel SummerhaysCOLUMBUS, OHIO THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Daniel Summerhayes into the interview room. On a very tough course you're making things look pretty easy out there. Get your comments on your day. DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: You know, I hit it really well off the tee today. I just missed three fairways. You know, I just missed three fairways. I hit every single fairway on the front 9. So that makes it a lot easier when you don't have to hit out of the bunkers or high into the greens. But the key so far this week has been I've made all my putts. Well, not all of them. But it's good, because that kind of what I've always relied on is my putting. I'm hitting it pretty solid and I'm missing on the safe side of these greens. Some of Par 3s you can't go at the flag because you can't stop it. So on a number of them I just hit it in the middle of the green about 50 feet away and putt it up to a foot and tap it in for par. So those easy pars helped me stay in a rhythm out there. THE MODERATOR: And obviously you're taking advantage of the unique format that we have this week where the First-Team All Americans are invited. So that makes for a neat tournament to have the professionals and also a lot of amateurs as really. DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. It's great. We worked really hard out there on the college circuit and, you know, it's a blessing and we're really grateful to be able to play here. This is our dream, you know, to come play here. So it's nice to get a taste of it before we're actually out here so we can go back home and understand what we need to work on and what we need to get better at. Learn how to be gentlemen and try and be appreciative of all of it. THE MODERATOR: You also got your Nationwide Tour, you had your debut back in 2001. I think you were the Utah State Amateur Champion. DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. THE MODERATOR: And I guess Evan Byers gave you a sponsor's exemption that week. Talk about the tour back then and how it's changed. DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Back then I think I was a lot more nervous. I remember that first time. I still got the jitters on the first tee this week, but I think I have matured a lot and learned a lot. That year I had won our state amateur and made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S Am, so I had that opportunity. It was at different because I was still in high school. I would go to school in the morning and then I drove from school to the tournament. So it was a little different. Here I'm able to just be all around the tournament and be around everybody, so it's been such a great experience. THE MODERATOR: Take us through your birdies and bogeys and we'll open it up for questions. You started with a birdie on No. 1. DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. I hit it right down the middle with a 3-wood. I was playing yesterday straight into the wind and thought 3- wood would be perfect. Hit 3-wood 9-iron to about six feet and just straight up the hill in the rough left and made it. No. 9 hit a driver right off the tee right in between the bunker. I had about 105 yards and I just hit a little three quarter gap wedge to about 12 feet and made a little bend there just short and right of the hole. 11 I hit it in the left trap and I hit it 9-iron out of the trap just short left on that fringe there. I opted to putt it, but it was so slow it got hopping a little bit and I left it just -- the pin was way back right up and over a hill and missed about a 15-footer back down that hill. 16, I hit 3-wood to 104 yards. Just a full sand wedge to about eight feet and made that. THE MODERATOR: Got it. Questions. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: I've played in three U.S. Juniors and three U.S. Amateurs. I made it, let's see, in the U.S. Junior, I made it to the round of 16 once, and then the round of 32 twice. Then in the U.S. Amateur I played in 2001 at Eastlake and I made it to the quarterfinals there. Then the next year Oakland Hills I lost to Ricky Barnes in the second round. He gave me a pretty good whooping. It was nice. But he went on to win it that year. And then I actually took two years off. I was on a church mission in Chile from June 2003 to June 2005, and I didn't touch a golf club for those two years. I got back in June of 2005 and I actually broke my pinky toe playing volleyball with some friends so I couldn't play in the U.S. Amateur that year. I wasn't available for the qualifier. Then I qualify last year at Hazeltine and lost in the first round. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. I've -- a few years ago I made it to the sectional twice and I played both of the those at Lake Merced. When I was 18 I missed it by three shots, and then last year two shots. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: They say you should never enter a tournament if you don't think you can win it, but I'm not going to lie. I wasn't exacting to be here at this stage in the tournament. I believe in my game. I believe I can hit fairways and greens, and I really do believe that I'm a really good putter. So, you know, I had the picture that I would be at the top of leaderboard right now, but I do believe in myself and my game so, yeah, I guess you could say I expect to be close to the top. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, Sunday night I got in and he's been such a support this week. He called me Monday morning and said, Okay, you guys are here. You can go out on this side with your caddie. You got to have a caddie to go out. Just taking me through step by step. So it's been so good to have big brother around to show you the ropes, because it's a lot different atmosphere. In college you can just go out by yourself and go play, whatever. There's not too many rules. You know, if you go in to get something to eat leave a dollar on the table for a tip. Things like that. Things like that. They're small but personal things. How to be gracious to people. You know, show them that you care about them, that you're grateful for what they're doing. So it's been a huge support this week. I think part of my success this week has come from him and that he's been able to show me around. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: A little bit. The golf part isn't intimidating, or it shouldn't be, because it's the same everywhere. The golf is going to be the exact same. Trying to figure out how to pace yourself, you know, those first few days it's different. Because in college or amateur events you play a practice round the day before and then you go get it the next day. Here you're practicing Monday and Tuesday and maybe sneak one or two holes early in the morning on Wednesday. Just trying to learn how to pace yourself is a little bit different. So that part, learning how to do that is a little bit intimidating. But overall the golf it's just the same. Maybe the pins are a yard or two closer to the edges of the greens. But you're making a 25-footer instead of an 18-footer. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: I'm actually going to play quite a few more. I've only been home about a week so far in the last two and a half months, but after this I'm going to try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur in Philadelphia. Then I'll go to the Porter Cup in Buffalo, New York and the Western Am and the Pacific Coast Am. Hopefully the U.S. Am if I qualify, and we'll start that next week. So no rest. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: I think I shot like 42 or something that first nine holes when I got back. It's a long road. It's very difficult to come back from, you know, taking two years off. But I think the things that I learned when I was in Chile as a missionary, I think that only made me stronger mentally, and it gave me more sense of purpose and, you know, really allowed me to understand what it takes to be great. I don't think I understand completely yet, but I think I'm getting better at that and working towards it. So after it was pretty ugly, you know. There's a funny story. A lot of the guys on the college circuit still give me grief because I couldn't hit my driver very straight off the tee, but it felt pretty good hitting it off the ground. So I would step up to the tee box and it would be like a 270 carry, and I would just make a little tee out of turf, you know, and I'd hit it off the ground. The guys, they still give me grief about that. Well, you got it off the tee now. That's pretty good. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. Yeah. On a regular basis. But it was very tough. You know, I was chunking my pitch shot and blading them. It was pretty hard. But I've done a lot of hard work and, you know, a lot of luck. Hopefully I can continue to get better and chase my dream. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yes, very much. Q. (No microphone.) DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah, you know, it's just tough because you don't know if you should e-mail someone and say, Hey, I'd like to be considered for this. Here's my summer schedule, or this is what I'm ranked. You just don't know who to talk to. But I guess what I've tried to do this summer is just try and let my game do the talking. Hopefully, you know, if they decide to look at me then they do. But that's kind of been one of my goals for the last years is to make that team. What a great opportunity to represent your country and to get closer to a great group of guys. Q. Have you ever played with Harris before? DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: John Harris? I haven't. Q. A win this week would look pretty good on the resume, wouldn't it? DANIEL SUMMERHAYES: Yeah. Hopefully they would consider me more after that. But I think just the sheer goal making Walker Cup has spurred me on for better scores and to working harder. THE MODERATOR: All right, Daniel. Great playing. Keep it going this weekend. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|