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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 16, 2011

Nathan Smith

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Q. Nate, talk about finishing your first tournament on the PGA TOUR.
NATE SMITH: Well, today was a really long day, so I'm kind of happy it's done. We weren't quite sure if it was going to rain or not. The weather was great. But it was a long day of golf. I didn't get tired or anything, but we played and we had four minutes to get to the tee, so it was kind of an odd experience just the whole week for your first PGA TOUR event. I think a lot was going on.
I can't believe that we have to leave the island already tomorrow, or today actually, tonight. So off we go again. I guess that's kind of the life.
I guess I can take away some positives like being in position to contend for a tournament after a couple days and after the third day, was a really good experience. It was nice to get like a little taste of what it's like to play in between the ropes with the crowds and some of the guys that you've seen playing. It's definitely not as intimidating.
I would have obviously liked to have played a lot better than I did in the afternoon round today. But other than that, it was a cool experience, and I'm looking forward to kind of making it better.

Q. What was your reaction when you found out early on in the week that you guys were going to be doing 36 holes on Sunday for your first PGA TOUR event?
NATE SMITH: Well, I didn't really care because I played it in college and I'm young and fit and I figured it would be to my advantage, but obviously it didn't work out that way. Maybe I need to put on a few pounds and get that 46-year-old beer gut going that some of these guys got. Maybe that will help me get around a little better in the afternoon round. Maybe I just have too much energy.
No, we had a good time out there. It didn't really bother me. I thought it was an interesting thing. I couldn't figure out why we were playing on Sunday, but I don't have any clue what's going on here about the scenarios of anything, so I just kind of show up when they tell me, hope I get my text messages on time and my caddie gets me to the tee on time.

Q. So as far as the expectations of the event itself, how would you compare it to the events that you've played previously prior to the PGA TOUR?
NATE SMITH: You know, playing on the PGA TOUR, the money is different, but nothing really changes. You know, we've played and competed in golf tournaments our whole life, so playing well the first couple days, first two days and then definitely not playing well the last day, no matter where you are, it kind of like -- it sucks. So obviously that's disappointing.
It was nice to make my first cut. That was obviously the goal going into the week, make the cut and then try and win the golf tournament. That didn't even come close to happening.
I don't know, it was a good experience, and like I said, it's kind of something that makes me feel -- it makes me feel more confident to be honest even though I didn't play so well today, just to know that it's really not so daunting out here. These guys are good, obviously, but so am I, and the golf courses this week didn't seem to overmatch me. So to definitely know that you can go out and if you play well have a chance to win is something that's awesome.

Q. Other than confidence, anything that you're going to take away for your game specifically going forward as you continue to play more PGA TOUR events?
NATE SMITH: Well, my driver kept going left, so I'm going to get a new driver, hopefully one that doesn't go left. That's about it. I'm just rusty, like coming off the off-season I wasn't sure how I was going to play. I exceeded my expectations in the first couple rounds and definitely did not exceed my expectations in the last round.
Sometimes when you come back you're a little sharper than you should be and then it kind of catches up to you, and going to Palm Springs we'll have plenty of time to play golf and practice and hopefully I'll just keep getting better. All things considered it's been a good week.

End of FastScripts

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