	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2011

Nathan Smith

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. I trust you wanted to get off to a good start and didn't do that.
NATHAN SMITH: I didn't do that, no. I don't know. No. 1 was kind of just kind of how the whole day was. I actually thought I hit a pretty good drive and kind of bounced in the rough and the lie was like somebody stepped on it and just barely in the rough. And I hit a good shot, it just hit the tier in the front, rolled back off and I hit a good putt there and I had a lot of good putts there the last two days that didn't go in. And they had pretty good speed on them and, yeah, it didn't catch it.
And 2 I actually hit a pretty good chip there. And the pins are tough today. I mean, it doesn't make this course easy. I thought it was really tough out there.

Q. Maybe it is your style, I don't know, but you seem to be soaking in the moment, especially, I saw you on the 18th, you seemed to be almost --
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, I think actually, I don't know, it's kind of weird to say maybe this time might be a little more enjoyable because I wasn't really close to the cut, so you're just kind of just soaking it all in.
I think sometimes you can get lost in it, but it was fun and I was, I was, yeah, definitely having a fun time. You never know, it could be your last, probably.

Q. A lot of people might always assume it's so hard to get here that it might be your last, but you made a habit of coming back.
NATHAN SMITH: Well, I don't know, I don't know how many times you can hit the lottery. I've been really fortunate and I enjoyed all of my times and I tried like heck to make the cut, but it gets tougher and tougher each year with these guys.

Q. What did you think you needed to do today and when did it become evident that it was probably slipping away from you?
NATHAN SMITH: I thought just there on the front I thought I just had some great opportunities.
I thought 1 was big. And then not catching 2. And then every hole it just seemed like there was one thing or another, whether I was in between clubs or even like 18 I thought that shot got up. But, and it was kind of on the tier and we're looking and going, well how did that --

Q. It only barely got on.
NATHAN SMITH: Did it? Okay. Well just stuff like that. Stuff like that. Barely miss the fairway and behind a tree and you're going to hit some bad shots too, but I hit a lot of good shots that weren't rewarded and a lot of good putts too, and I got to have them go in, I got to have something happen good.

Q. You wound up just barely not making a par.
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, that's it, you got to hit two great ones to put it in the right section of the green to make a par.

Q. Some TOUR guys don't get here three times and you've been able to do that in a relatively short period of time.
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, well it was weird for me to play a practice round, Bo Van Pelt and Ryan Palmer and they were asking me questions about it. I mean, I guess I'm just a little older and, but, yeah, that's just something, I'm actually I feel really fortunate, obviously sure I'm disappointed I couldn't play the weekend, that was the goal going in, but I mean kind of is when it is with these guys. But I feel like, you know, very fortunate.

Q. Did you give them good stuff or just what?
NATHAN SMITH: I tried to help them the best I could. Hit it firm here, you know.

Q. Who were your partners that you played with over the years, Stadler and Streelman last year who did you play with the past years?
NATHAN SMITH: I played with Palmer and in his last one in 2004 and Bob Estes, so that was pretty special, to come right out of the gate and last year I was with Sabbatini and O'Meara, so it's tough to get a bad pairing down here. It's a lot of fun.

Q. What happened on 9?
NATHAN SMITH: 9 got a little chaotic there. It's funny, that fairway's wide open, but looks so small from the tee. And I hooked a drive a little bit and of course it's, I mean, I'm done, it's right up against a tree like somebody just like placed it there. And I couldn't get to it to pitch it back out to the green that way, so I got to come out to 1.
Of course you're, right place, right time. Here comes Phil Mickelson coming off the first tee. Exactly what you want to have going on. Here comes the world, here comes Phil over the hill. So.

Q. Did he say anything to you?
NATHAN SMITH: He was making fun of me. I think he asked me if that was my drive, I said, yeah, sure.

Q. Did Peter hug you?
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, we hugged real quick there. We hugged there. He loves me. I love him. And, but I was just trying to make a five there and get out. For me at least I didn't make any doubles or any big numbers this week, that was kind of, I thought that was one of the key things to make the cut for me. Unfortunately, I just made a lot of bogeys.

Q. When you get home people probably ask you the same time each time like, what was the Masters like. Have you come up with a perfect answer?
NATHAN SMITH: Surreal. Its everything you think it is and a lot more, which is pretty special. It's hard to -- TV does a great job, but it's hard to put into words what playing Amen Corner and playing in front of these people and your thoughts and feelings off the first tee are. And that's something that I, like I said, I feel fortunate. I try to say it, but unless you're going through it you can't quite understand it.

Q. Can you speak the language of your investment people and kind of put it in an analogy that way? What it's comparable to?
NATHAN SMITH: No. No.

Q. Isn't the first question, "What did you bring me?"
NATHAN SMITH: Exactly. Yeah, I got to get some shirts and hats I think for my clients.

Q. So you lose money coming here?
NATHAN SMITH: I don't know. Probably. It's worth every penny.

Q. From the wedge on No. 6 on the green there, I never seen that before and I certainly haven't seen a lot of golf in the past, but what went into that process and what did you use?
NATHAN SMITH: Well I was teasing Fritzy there, like I practice that shot off the pine straw all the time. And so I saw it -- years ago I saw Brandt Snedeker do that there and --

Q. Hale Irwin did it at Oakmont.
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah. And I thought when I got over I thought there was a little slope that could take it to the right, but I thought, I got to chip it up into the fringe and that was, I mean that was an unbelievable shot.

Q. You went into the green thinking that might be your shot or did you have to look at it?
NATHAN SMITH: I thought, I wasn't sure, I didn't realize it got that far up and then I got up there and I was stymied and that the green is just, you know, I mean it's, you saw Streelman's chip, it just took off. So, but I just tried to keep it as high as you can and I hit a great chip.

Q. Yesterday when you had to hold the guy's beer. Did you sip it or no?
NATHAN SMITH: I did.

Q. Did you pretend to?
NATHAN SMITH: On purpose. No, I took a drink. I needed it. I hope that's not --

Q. Miller light you said?
NATHAN SMITH: It was.

Q. Not Iron City. Is that what it was?
NATHAN SMITH: It was. It was. Yeah.

Q. No beer today yet?
NATHAN SMITH: No beer today. No. I didn't hit it -- I did hit it in some places, but nobody was greeting me with beer.

Q. 18 was much better this time.
NATHAN SMITH: 18 was. Yeah. I kept it, I had, I don't know, it was only a foot or two from where I hit it yesterday, but.

Q. First par there or have you paid it in the tournament?
NATHAN SMITH: Oh, I parred it twice last year.

Q. Did you?
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah.

Q. Talk about your birdie on 16. You carried the water this time.
NATHAN SMITH: That was fun.

Q. Different approach, I mean you knew where you were in the numbers and last year was a whole different story. Good hole for you.
NATHAN SMITH: Yeah, I was a little, I was a good 10 or 12 yards up. Yesterday I probably would have had to hit 3-wood.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297