Club Professional Quotes from Thursday s First Round August 11, 2005

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1 Craig Thomas (10-over par 80) Club Professional Quotes from 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club (On the course and how it played) I think the course is in great shape. The greens are considerably quicker in the last day and a half. They were a little bit soft and a little slow Monday and Tuesday. Now they re pretty much where you want them, which is good. You have to be a little bit careful on your approach shots, but it s a good test out there. (On the experience of playing in the PGA Championship) The experience is tremendous. It s one that I wish every club pro like me could experience and get out there. It s really a lot of fun. Chip Johnson (2-over par 72) (On his round today and the course) It s a tough golf course. I made two lousy bogeys on holes 10 and 11. On 11 the wind was blowing to the right and I pushed my tee shot a little bit. Then I was four inches away from an eagle on 18. It you drive it really good, the golf course is very fair. You can get it where you want to on the greens. If you miss a little off the tee, it s very difficult. (On whether he was on the leaderboard long enough to see his name) No. I don t even look. I played in the U.S. Open in 1988 and I remember looking up as I was chipping in for eagle. I was tied for the lead with Scott Simpson and I made a triple bogey. (On the experience of playing in the PGA Championship) For a guy like me that s just not used to these type of conditions daily, I m a little nervous on almost every tee box. It s fantastic being here though. For a club professional, this is it. The Club Pro Championship (CPC) is a really special tournament they do for us, which gives us this feel, but this is like the CPC on steroids. It s just a bigger event. To come out here and sign all these autographs the little kids don t recognize who you are, all they know is you re inside the ropes. For one week you re in here and you deserve to be in here and it s amazing. It s just a great experience.

2 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 2 Jeff Martin (10-over par 80) (On the experience of playing in the event) The experience was great. I was nervous. It s my first PGA Championship and my second PGA Tour event so I was pretty nervous. I hit a good shot on one, but then just got off to a bad start after that. (On the course) It s very difficult. It s long. If you hit it in the fairway you have a chance to make some birdies especially if you re hitting it good. The greens are firming up, but they re quick. (On what he ll try to do differently in his round tomorrow) Nothing. I ll just go about it the same way. I ll keep my same game plan and just try to putt a little better. Scott Spence (9-over par 79) (On his play during first round and what he would like to do on Friday) Hit more fairways, I missed too many fairways today and it wasn t by a lot. I got lucky and had a few good lies and happened to get up and make par but you have to hit the fairways. (On the condition of the golf course) The golf course is playing tough, I mean real tough. It s also something you re not used to all the time. I m sweating up a good storm here and I m used to sitting on my can in the office with the air conditioning on. (On the experience of playing in the PGA Championship) It s fabulous. It is great to be a PGA member and to be playing in our championship.

3 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 3 Mark Mielke (7-over par 77) (On overall play in first round and birdie on final hole) Well it was a par-3 so I didn t have to hit my driver. I hit my driver into the rough a lot today. If I play better tomorrow and if I hit driver better tomorrow I think I can still do alright. On these golf courses in the majors when you hit your driver crooked you really struggle. (On playing conditions) They were fine. It was a lot softer than I thought I would see this golf course. I played the (U.S.) Open in 1993 here and the greens were hard, the fairways were hard and the fairways weren t quite this thick. They had the hole locations tucked today and it was hard to get to them but you hit to the middle of the green and two-putt. I love the golf course. I think it is a great test where if you hit a good shot, you are rewarded and if you hit a bad shot you are penalized. Rich Steinmetz (11-over par 81) (On playing his first PGA Championship round and what he needs to do on Friday) I just have to go out and get the putter squared away. The first hole, I went in the hazard and had to drop it in the rough and was able to make a pretty good bogey there, almost made birdie on two, middle of the fairway on three and missed the green and three-putted four. I just got off to a bad start and couldn t get it rolling. I need to get off to a smoother start tomorrow and make some putts. (On playing conditions in the morning) The playing conditions were fine. I just missed some fairways, hit some squirrelly drives and three-putted a bunch of times. It seemed like when I got out there the greens were a little slower than the practice greens. I don t know if that was a difference or not but I couldn t get the ball to the hole a lot, so I just need to putt better and put the ball in the fairway. Tim Weinhart (8-over par 78) (On settling down after first four holes) I drove it bad, I don t even want to look at the stats. Every time I hit it in the rough or in the bunker I didn t play as smart as I should have. I could have played a little more conservative. (On feeling loose and relaxed coming into today s round) I felt very relaxed and was not nervous. It was a great group today so it wasn t that, it was me. My golf wasn t good enough today.

4 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 4 Tim Fleming (4-over par 74) (On how he felt he played during first round) Overall I am reasonably pleased. I had been struggling quite a bit prior to the event. I hit the ball better off the tee than I had been so that was a positive but then I am going to turn around and say that I far exceeded my expectations of getting the ball in the fairway and I had two or three putts but I just didn t do anything special. (On how the course penalizes a player for missing the fairway) The problem is, and it is the same for everybody, that if you barely miss the fairway it is the worst thing you can do because that is where it is the thickest. If you miss it way off, you are fine, and that is unfortunate. (On experience of playing in PGA Championship) It is terrific. It is always a pleasure. This is my fifth time in a row and I never get tired of it. It is something I will always remember. Bob Ford (5-over par 75) (On the course) The course is really playing nice. I m actually surprised that no one is better than 2-under or 3-under. It s out there for the getting. Charles (Howell III) shot 70 and he could have easily shot 66 or 67. Ron Philo, Jr. (1-over par 71) (On shooting 1-over) Well they don t have any prize money for that, so I m trying to keep my eye on the field as opposed to just the 25 of us. I ve done that enough. I ve been here before. (On playing the course) The last time I felt this comfortable at this Championship was at Winged Foot, another Tillinghast course, where everything is just in front of you and nothing is hidden. There are a couple of trees that you have to curve around but otherwise it feels comfortable for me to drive it here. I m more comfortable here driving the ball than in past Championships. It s easy to find good targets and you try keep it in front of the hole as best you can.

5 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 5 Chris Starkjohann (8-over par 78) (On his first round) I just got in a couple of bad spots. I played it in the rough on No. 5 and then rough to rough to rough and then hit it over the green and make seven there. Then on 17 I hit a tree and it went straight to the right and hit a lady in the jaw. I felt real bad. Then I had to chip it out to a tee box, hit a rescue wood, then a three wood and then a wedge and I make seven there. If you take those away, I didn t play too bad. (On what happened No. 17) My right hand slipped off the club. I didn t see it, but it went left hit off the tree and went right. It hit another tree and came down in the gallery just missing a few little kids and hit a lady right here (pointing to his left jaw). She was down for a while and then they carted her off. I saw the guy on the 18 th tee box and gave him the ball. It s not much of a consolation. I felt as badly about it as she did. Well, she probably felt worse. That s the first person I ve hit and I played on the Nationwide Tour for almost eight years. (On what happened after the woman was struck) She was okay. She didn t look like she could talk too well. We stood there and made sure she was up and around. I gave the guy the ball on the 18 th tee box. I m not sure who he was, but I believe he knew her. He knew I couldn t give him the ball until I finished the hole. It was nice to know that I could give her the ball. Chris Weimers (4-over par 74) (On the experience of playing in the tournament) It s phenomenal. It s unbelievable. It s my wildest dream. (On his round today) I actually played pretty badly. I didn t hit many fairways. I started to hit a few at the end, but I scrambled to get up and down. If I can play tomorrow like I played the last five or six holes then I think I can shoot pretty good out here. (On how the weather has affected him and the course) It s starting to dry out a little bit. The fairways are drying out a lot more than they were the last three days. The heat doesn t bother me at all though. Everything s okay.

6 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 6 Jeff Yurkiewicz (2-over par 72) (On what playing in the PGA Championship means to him) It means everything. I mean obviously this is it. For club pros, the CPC is our major, but making it here is unbelievable. (On his round today) I kind of started off a little shaky. I just couldn t get any rhythm going. I made a triple in the beginning and then calmed down and finished off with three birdies at the end. It was fun. (On what he thinks of the course) It s beautiful. It s perfect. For about the last eight holes, it was dry, fast and firm so it was good. (On finishing late and what he ll do to mentally prepare to play early on Friday) I m going to go home and get something to eat and maybe have a cold beer. Brett Melton (2-over par 72) (On his round today) I played good. I drove it a little sideways and only hit about six fairways. I got it up and down all right and made a few birdies when I hit good shots. But I have to improve on that if I want to move up the leaderboard. (On the course) It s tough. If you drive it in the rough and make par, it s a good par. The greens were lightning (fast) and I think everyone knows that. It firmed up quite a bit. (On the weather) The weather wasn t too bad. The wind was a little tough to judge on some of the shots. It was swirling around and sometimes you felt like you were downwind. You hit it out there and it might go across.

7 Dave Tentis (7-over par 77) Club Professional Quotes from 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 7 (On the weather affecting his round) I wasn t all that hot. You just have to execute. You have to hit quality shots and not get in that rough. I spent a lot of time in the rough today. (On the course) The course is fantastic. I would have kept playing if they would have let me. Just because I wasn t playing well didn t mean I wanted it to end. (On how he could improve in his second round) I m just going to try and hit it straighter and hit my targets. I missed a lot of targets today, by a lot. Kelly Mitchum (8-over par 78) (On his round) That rough was wearing me out. I struggled, but I finished with two birdies, so that s always nice. I hit it in the rough a few too many times and it was penalizing. (On the course today) The golf course played so much different today than it did in any of my practice rounds. The fairways were much firmer and the greens were much firmer. The rough was the same, but it played different today. Don Berry (6-over par 76) (On his round) I played horrible, so it wasn t much fun. I was in the rough all day long. (On the course today) It s great, it s just a fantastic course. (On what he must do better on Friday) I just need to play better. The course is there. It s not the hardest course in the world, but you just have to hit it better and I didn t do that today.

8 Rob Moss (4-over par 74) Club Professional Quotes from 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 8 (On his first PGA Championship) As a club professional it was a very exciting day for me. I got to walk the fairways at a PGA Championship. (On his round) I got off to a little rocky start bogeying 10,11 and 12 right out of the gate. It wasn t the start I was looking for, but I stepped up on 13, hit a good tee shot, settled down a little and made some pars from there. I played solid on the back nine. All and all at 4-over, I m pretty pleased with how it went. Tim Thelen (7-over par 77) (On first round and how closing out with birdie sets him up for Friday) The birdie on 18 was the only one so it sets me up pretty good. I didn t hit the ball that well today with my driver, which I usually do. I missed some fairways today and when you miss the fairways you re going to make bogies and doubles. I hit a lot of good iron shots but for some reason I am not gauging them correctly. (On the experience of playing in his sixth PGA Championship) The experience every time you come here is fantastic. All of the greatest players in the world are here. I played a practice round with a few of them and just doing that makes my whole week. Travis Long (6-over par 76) (On how he played in the first round) I didn t hit the driver so well today. I hit very few fairways. I don t know how many I hit but it definitely penalized me. I putted well and hit my irons okay so a 76 in my first tour event is okay, I ll take it. (On birdie on last hole after blind third shot form the bunker) I guess it pumps me up a little bit. I was a little disappointed after making bogey on 17 so I tried to grind it out on 18 and make birdie. (On experience of playing in a major) This is absolutely incredible. The experience, has far as golf goes, is the best I have ever had. Despite my horrible score, it was still great out there.

9 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 9 Darrell Kestner (2-over par 72) (On his opening round) It was very steady. I started on the back nine and hit a lot of fairways. I made a bogey but came right back with a birdie. Had two missed clubs after that on the back side and came back with two more birdies so I was happy about that. Then I came to No. 1 and it got away from me a little. I hit a cart, it went under a tree and I couldn t recover and made a double bogey. I came back with a birdie on two and came back nicely. (On importance to start round playing well) You don t want to have to play catch up on this golf course. It s too hard of a course to play catch up. If you can get off to a steady start, then you can kind of get in pace with the round and get your concentration going because if you lose your concentration every hole is going to get you. (On playing in his 10 th PGA Championship and what it is like to play in the event) This is my 10 th PGA Championship and I have missed the cut by a shot three or four times so I am just trying my best to just make the cut finally. Mike Small (4-over par 74) (On how he felt he played in the first round) I was 6-over-par after six holes. Everything bad was happening. I was missing putts, buried in bunkers, hit it in the water, then I came back and played pretty good after that on the last 12 holes. (On how his eagle on No. 18 helped turn things around) It helped and it offset the triple bogey I made a little bit and then on my back nine I made eight pars and missed a short putt for par. I need to play better tomorrow. (One what he needs to do on Friday) I want to shoot under 70 so I can make the cut.

10 87 th PGA Championship Baltusrol Golf Club Page 10 Steve Schneiter (2-over par 72) (On how he felt he played during the opening round) I played good. I shot 1-under on my first nine and shot 3-over on the back. I had about three missed little putts but I hit it good. I hit a lot of fairways and I hit a lot of greens. I had a lot good chances at birdies and that s all I could ask for. (On how the course changed as the day went on) It got fast and it got firm. The ball seemed like it was going forever and it seemed to play a lot differently than it did during the practice rounds. (On the experience and atmosphere of a major) It s fun. When you are a little kid you dream of playing in a major and doing well and competing and having this opportunity. So I will just keep hitting fairways and greens, hopefully the putts will start going and we will see what happens. Alan Morin (6-over par 76) (On experience and atmosphere during first round) The atmosphere was exciting because there were some big groups ahead of us cheering, we just wished there were cheering for us. (On playing in third PGA Championship) This is my third one, I played at Hazeltine and Oak Hill and it is just a great experience. It is a wonderful way to represent our sections and our championship. Jeff Coston (4-over par 74) (On how he thought he played during Thursday s round) More birdies, more birdies, more birdies. It is a great golf course and I played with a great group of guys. It is a great thing for 25 club pros to play in this tournament and it is interesting because all 25 of us are pulling for each other. (On what he is looking forward to on Friday) My son (Tyler), who is 24, is my caddie and he was when I played in the U.S. Open in 2000 as well. I was paired with Colin Montgomerie during the final round on Sunday. I hit a great approach shot onto the 18 th green and the crowd roared. As we got to the top of the hill, my son nudged me and said, Happy Father s Day, Dad. So I am just looking forward to enjoying my time with my son tomorrow.