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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCEJune 1, 2014Jason AllredDUBLIN, OHIO Q. You were an alternate (indiscernible). What is this tournament going to say about where you are right now? JASON ALLRED: Well, you know what, to be honest, I wasn't even an alternate. I was just off the charts. Thanks to the tournament staff here, Mr.Nicklaus, they gave me a sponsor exemption to come play. I have no status on the PGA TOUR. I can't even tell you what a surprise it was Saturday night before the tournament to get a call from the tournament director. But I also can't tell you how thrilled I was to have a chance. This is ‑‑ my two years on the PGA TOUR, this is a tournament that I didn't get into but one I always dreamed of playing since I was a kid. So to get to be here and ‑‑ I didn't have my best stuff the first three rounds, but I hung in there well. To go out and play a really nice round today, it was just a thrill for me. Q. Shoot a 66, obviously disappointed with the 18th, but you were on fire? JASON ALLRED: Gosh, you know, more than anything, I'm still new at this, being in this situation, but Riviera earlier this year, having a guy like Keith Nolan helping me, my good friend and caddie, we just remind each other all the time to take it in and have an absolute blast with it. My tendency in the past always was to put so much pressure on myself to do so well, because I love this game, but I'm learning slowly. I have a lot of learning to do, just to really enjoy, just to play my heart out and realize what else can a guy do other than just do that and it's going to go where it goes. Trust me, I do that better than others some days. Q. Silly question. Did you even ask for a spot? JASON ALLRED: After Rivera, I'd do anything to have a chance to play anywhere. I sent out letters and I tried to make it unique with pictures and the whole deal. Q. Pictures. JASON ALLRED: Pictures of Rivera, pictures of my family. We had a newborn baby right after the Rivera. Q. Please let me play kind of thing? JASON ALLRED: Well, yeah. I mean, but beyond that, just to try to let them know how much I love this game. I feel so fortunate I get to do it. And how grateful I would be to have a spot. When we're here, Keith's a great help. We try to be a blessing to others, too, to engage the fans and really enjoy it. So, to be honest, this is probably one of the last places I ever thought I'd get a sponsor spot. I know they're hard to get, and this place of all places. Q. I'm not good enough at math, but whatever you finish today, 20th maybe, wherever it's going to be, where does that leave you? If you do nothing else the rest of the year, what have you done? JASON ALLRED: That's a good question. Coming into this week, I think I was at 405 on the money list, I mean, earnings‑wise. And to be honest, I don't know what ‑‑ there's a certain threshold where if you cross it you become a temporarymember ‑‑ Q. Yeah, yeah, I wasn't so much worried about that; I was just wondering if you were at least nailed down for the four Web.com finals. JASON ALLRED: After Rivera, I didn't know that, but they said you should be comfortably inside there based on their projections. Which that was ‑‑ talk about a good surprise, because I started out the year conditional on the Web.com, so far down the list I wasn't going to get in anything out there. Q. I don't know a lot about your background. Tell me why you were there at the start of the year. JASON ALLRED: At Rivera? Q. Yeah. JASON ALLRED: Partly the Web.com started that same week down in South America, and I didn't get in based on my number. Otherwise I would have gone down there. So, again, the support of my family is amazing. I feel so fortunate I still get to be ‑‑ I'm 34, which I don't feel old, but I've also been at it awhile, ups and downs. But to be able to go to a Monday qualifier. They're tough, obviously. You've got to play great. But I love having a chance. And thankfully that week Keith caddied for me on the Monday qualifier and got in there and ‑‑ kind of like here, I didn't get off to a particularly great start, but just enjoyed the opportunity. And thankfully it went well. Q. You ripped Rivera to shreds that week, most of it. JASON ALLRED: Almost. Q. What does this tell you about where you are, as far as give you hope? JASON ALLRED: You know, it does. It's been such a fun journey the last couple of months. If you sat me down at the start of the year and said this is what's going to happen, on one hand I would have thought you were crazy, but at the same time all along I've believed in my ability to do this. The thing is I'm learning to believe in it more, which is fun. It's really rewarding to feel that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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