Alex replaced Sahith Theegala this Wednesday afternoon and shot 67 in the first round of the tournament.
Alex Smiley is with us now at the 107th PJ Championship. Alex, a 67 for you today in the first round. What did you do well out there today? Uh did a lot of things well. Uh number one key here is to get the ball in the fairway. Um feel like the for the most part the fairways are relatively generous and then given the conditions the ball’s not rolling too far. So if your ball hits in the fairway, it’s probably going to stay there. Um little extra added challenge today was uh playing it down which I think a few of us were a little surprised by. But um for the most part it was pretty good. We had a couple holes where we had a little bit of uh organic matter on the ball that kind of affected a few shots, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was for the practice day. So, um, felt like I hit a lot of greens, gave myself a lot of chances, played the, uh, difficult holes. Well, just trying to get through those, and then, uh, added a few birdies in between. That’s great. Take some questions over here, right here to mike three, and then we’ll go to Sean. Alex, this is a sort of a local place for you, right? maybe explain you getting in at the last minute and how this is sort of a your backyard kind of thing. Yeah, I mean I live about an hour and a half from here in Greensboro. I grew up just north of Raleigh, so to have a major championship in your home state is awesome. Um to be able to get in last minute is great. You know, obviously I feel for Sah and I know he pulled out last week as well. So, I, you know, wish him the best and hope to have him back out here as quick as possible because u us players and I know the fans really like him a lot. So, it’s it was a shame to see him not be able to play this week. Um, but it was nice to get an opportunity to play. Um, I played the Wells Fargo here two years ago. Didn’t really play here before that, so I really only have a few rounds under my belt. It’s not like I’ve got 30 or 40. So, um, yeah, I I played decently well when I played in the Wells Fargo. I think I might have finished top 15. So, I guess I I like the course and like the property. Thank you. Uh, Ryan Fox was just in here and he said he was also a little surprised maybe to play the ball down. Yeah. Can you help us understand the line for you guys on where it’s like, no, this makes sense, we’re playing it down versus, no, we should probably be playing lift clean in place. [Music] Um, yeah. I mean, it wasn’t like we had the whole, you know, a whole quarter or half the ball that was covered. It was only a couple specks here and there, and it wasn’t anything too significant, but it was enough to definitely affect the flight some. Um, it wasn’t like it was going to turn 20 or 30, 40 yards on you. I I think I had one on 18 that got me a little bit and I hit a little long left I was kind of surprised by, but for the most part, it was pretty good. But I mean given the like I mentioned the conditions in the practice rounds Tuesday, Wednesday, I mean we were stepping in the fairways and there was water coming up with every step. So I think that’s kind of what surprised most of us. Um it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a significant difference between the morning and afternoon wave. I think the afternoon wave might have it a little bit better, but they they still might have to deal with it a little bit. So overall, I didn’t think it was a a bad decision. Um, I think most of us were just a little surprised given the conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, but like I mentioned, it it it didn’t really affect a lot of the shots out there. We’ll go 136 and then 10. Hi, Alex. Um, could you just tell me um obviously you mentioned practice this week? Um, when did you get the call that you were going to be taking part and just how was the preparation sort of in terms of practice and also mentally knowing that you know you weren’t in the lineup but could potentially be in it and that sort of thing? Yeah, so I I prepared just like I would any other tournament. I uh I I actually went home um after the tournament last week in Myrtle Beach. Drove home Sunday night and then it I think it rained pretty much all day here on Monday and I drove down Monday night. Um played the front nine on Tuesday after the hour and a half or two hour delay that we had. Then I played the back nine yesterday morning. So I I really prepared just like any other week. Um, obviously I it it’s interesting being first alternate. You know, you kind of I was losing hope after every passing hour. Um, and you know, you hear about everybody’s ailments as being first alternate as well. Um, I found out about 4:00 4:15 yesterday that Sah had withdrawn. Um, and I I would, you know, I was prepared to be here all day today if I didn’t get in yesterday afternoon or last night. So, it was, like I mentioned before, uh, obviously feel for Sah, but it it was nice to know uh, before the morning that I was going to play so I could kind of mentally prepare for that. Yeah, I was going to that’s exactly what I was going to ask you. I mean, mentally, how does it change things? I mean, does it take some pressure off you not not knowing if you’re going to play? You’re just kind of out here just practicing and then you get the call. I mean, just to not have to think about, you know, playing him. Is it is it any different than a normal tournament? I think it would have been if I didn’t get in until this morning or, you know, might not have gotten in. Just getting into a routine, the same routine that I typically get in if I wasn’t in until this morning and wasn’t really sure if I was going going to get to play in the morning or have to wait till the afternoon. And that kind of would have thrown off the routine because I would have had to have found time to fill. You know, obviously I would have had to have been here to be ready to tee off in the first first tea time at seven in case someone for whatever reason didn’t go then. So, um I think knowing just kind of uh knowing last night just put me in a good space that I could go out and do my typical, you know, routine that I typically would on any other given tournament round. Um I’ve been first alternate a few other times. couple years ago, two or three years ago at Riviera, I got the call at 5:15 or 5:20 Thursday morning that I was in and then similar situation in Houston where I found out, you know, 5:15, 5:20 in the morning. So, um, I guess I’ve had decent luck as first alternate before, but I don’t really want to be in that position anymore. Thanks for your time, Alex. We appreciate it. Thank you.
