.
Q. Talk to me about the scope of this experience from the beginning.
HIROSHI TAI: Yeah, it's been awesome. I think the last few days have been really cool just to be able to play with a bunch of really good players and learn a lot from them and watch them play as well while we're playing together.
Q. How do you think this changes your opinion of not just yourself as a person but your skill set as a golfer, to kind of measure yourself against the very best in the world because you're going right back to college and the SEC is coming up. Where does that put you mentally?
HIROSHI TAI: Yeah, I feel excited for the rest of the spring. Obviously the next few events are pretty important. So I feel excited for that and just kind of taking positives and working on what I need to work on the next few weeks.
Q. What would you say were some of those positives that you took from this experience?
HIROSHI TAI: I think mentally just doing a good job of resetting in between shots. Obviously there's some really hard shots out here, and you've kind of just got to step up and hit it, be committed to your number and things like that.
I think mentally resetting in between shots and kind of calming myself down after a few bad holes, that's probably what I learned the most.
Q. What does it mean to represent Georgia Tech on this stage?
HIROSHI TAI: It means a lot. Obviously we've had, I think, four guys play this, including myself, in the last six years. We've had a lot of amateurs play in this event, and it's really cool to be one of those guys, and obviously Bobby Jones is a cofounder here, so it means a lot to us, and it's something we always look forward to.
Q. What's the difference between playing this course during this event versus back when you played it when there weren't so many people here?
HIROSHI TAI: It's a little firmer and faster compared to when we usually play it. I guess today was pretty windy, but it's been windy in the past. Just the greens get a little firmer and faster, fairways a little tighter. Those are probably the biggest changes.
Q. I remember we talked about the idea of having to take a tee shot with people lining up on the sides. You talked about not trying to hit anybody.
HIROSHI TAI: Yeah, it was cool. I don't think I hit -- I might have hit someone on 4 today, but other than that, it was really good. It was a cool experience having so many people out here watching me play golf.
Q. You're the first recipient of the exemption for the NCAA to get to play in the Masters. I know a lot of the focus is on the Team Championships and even some of the pathways that have been created to the professional ranks.
How do you think this will change how the individual championship is looked at for years to come, knowing that there's a Masters invitation on the line?
HIROSHI TAI: I think it's really cool that a place like this would recognize that that tournament is one of the strongest fields of the year, all the best college or amateur players are playing in it.
So it's really cool that they recognize it, and hopefully more events do something like that. But yeah, it's been a really good experience, and I had a lot of fun.
Q. Has Coach Heppler given you an exemption into the starting lineup for the next tech tournament or is there a qualifier?
HIROSHI TAI: It starts on Monday, so I don't know if I have time to qualify, but we'll see what happens the next few days.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports