Q&A: Smith's biggest highlight is playing Augusta

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Emmitt Smith

Editor's note: Former Dallas Cowboys running back and NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is one of the amateurs playing in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am this week. He took time out from his preparation to chat with PGATOUR.COM contributor Rick Odioso.

PGATOUR.COM: You are tied for the lead among the celebrities entering the final round. Where does this rank for you?

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SMITH: I've played in a number of events. I played in the AT&T Pebble Beach (National Pro-Am). I've played the Bob Hope (Classic). I've played the American Century tournament in Lake Tahoe. I've played in quite a few. I haven't won any of them, but I made the cut at the AT&T and that was thrilling.

PGATOUR.COM: Would winning here be your biggest highlight in golf?

SMITH: I'd say playing Augusta was my biggest highlight. I mean this is fun, but I do want to win. I did win an American Amateur tournament in Pensacola one year (and) I won my flight. Now that was a thrilling experience. Four days of golf, the first day I shot 90, then 81, then 78 and going into the final round I was one shot out of first. I shot 73 and ended up winning the flight by 10 shots. That to me was a highlight, because I won a true tournament playing everything down with my own ball.

PGATOUR.COM: So Sunday, you have a partner in Hal Sutton.

SMITH: We've got to ham and egg it again. Today, Hal played great golf. I played very good compared to yesterday, birdied when I needed to, parred when I needed to and we just racked up a bunch of points. We hope to do the same thing tomorrow, except I need to finish 18 the right way. Today, I hooked my tee shot into the driving range.

PGATOUR.COM: What are your thoughts on this tournament, the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am?

SMITH: This is one fun event. It gives me an opportunity to play in the state of Florida, to be around some of my Gator friends. Derrick Brooks, he went to Florida State but he's from Pensacola and he's a friend. My sister drove down from Tallahassee to see me. It's just good. It allows me the flexibility to see a lot of people I wouldn't see on a regular basis.

PGATOUR.COM: What are your thoughts about recommending other athletes take up golf?

SMITH: I think golf is a great social sport. It's where a lot of transactions happen. It's a great networking ability. When you have people like Chris Sullivan around and you get to pick his brain about how he had the vision to create Outback and grow Outback. That's a great thing for an athlete or anybody. It also teaches mental discipline, etiquette and mental toughness.

PGATOUR.COM: Growing up in Pensacola was golf even on your radar?

SMITH: Nah. I was football, baseball, basketball. I played for the first time at UF in spring of 1990. I went out with a bunch of my teammates, to a place called Meadowbrook, and we started playing golf, hacking it around, having fun. I had a great time.

Then after I was drafted by the Cowboys, I bought my first set of clubs in spring of '91 and that's when I got hooked on the game. I started playing every day that summer. I was back in Pensacola after my rookie year and I got the bug. The only thing I was thinking about was getting up in the morning, getting my workout in, then going to play golf the rest of the day. I'd work out, then play 36, maybe even 54 holes. I'd shoot as many as I possibly could.

PGATOUR.COM: What do you do now on a regular basis?

SMITH: I play with a bunch of regular everyday Joes at my home club, TPC Craig Ranch. I've have fun with a great group of guys. One of the best things about these events must be the people you get to play with -- Bill Murray, Rush Limbaugh, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, a lot of others. Wow.

It really is cool. I get to see how they work in their environment. They are just fun to be around. It is great to see professional golfers hit great golf shots, I mean great golf shots. And it's nice to play alongside them to pick up little tips here and there, watch how they approach their shots, watch how they focus. Occasionally, you get to talk about the whole process. It's awesome.

PGATOUR.COM: And then they start talking about football.

SMITH: They're picking my brain about football and I'm talking to them about golf.