Media Center Interviews
April 1, 2025
Pre-Tournament Interview with Mac Meissner
Q. Every opportunity to play on the home course in San Antonio, what are these moments like for you professionally?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, they're great, love soaking up time here at home. My parents still live here so it's great to be able to spend some time with them and hopefully get some family out and friends, put together a good week.
Q. What would it be like to be in the fold there on Sunday here this week?
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah, we did pretty well last year and it was fun. I had a good decent following, played with Jordan on Sunday and we played well so that was a lot of fun.
I would love to contend a little bit more than -- I mean, last year I think we top-10ed, but finishing inside the top-5, top-3 would be incredible here, especially with a big following.
Q. What are your impressions, Mac, of the 18th closing hole here at TPC?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, it's great, great risk-reward par 5. I'm a huge fan of golf architecture and that's about as good as it gets in terms of the risk that you take on if you're willing to take on the green, especially one of those hole locations on the right. It's cool.
I guess you've got to be kind of assessing whether you would rather have a wedge shot or get something up there left of the green depending on those hole locations. It's a really good test out here, especially when the wind blows. It will be a lot of fun this week.
Q. For you, how important is course knowledge probably having played this tens of dozens of times, how important is that this week?
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah, I wouldn't say that this course is extremely difficult to learn, but I think that there are some tee balls and shots that are uncomfortable out here. Playing this course as many times as I have, I think I have that advantage over maybe some of the younger guys.
Obviously I'm one of the younger guys as well, but I feel like a little bit of a veteran in this tournament just because I've played out here so many times that I am just comfortable with some of the lines that you have to take.
Q. There's so many guys in this field that are still working to qualify for major tournaments, like the Masters next week. I think it's only 27 people in the field are playing Masters next week. Is that in the front of your mind, the back of your mind to try and win this and qualify, or where is that when you're thinking about playing?
MAC MEISSNER: I mean, that's always a dream that you have playing out here. I think sure, that's the goal, the goal's always to win out here. Honestly, I haven't gotten off -- made a lot of cuts this year, but I haven't really performed as well as I would have liked form-wise.
My goal's just to keep building on good weeks and continue to focus in and dial in on my process and know that the results will come, whether that be this week or in the weeks to come.
Q. As far as your family goes, are you going to have a walking caravan around to every hole that you're at? Are they going to be following you?
MAC MEISSNER: Absolutely. Yeah, both my parents will be out here. My wife's family's coming down, they're from Ft. Worth but they're going to come down and hang out as well. I'll probably have some extended family make it out this week as well. I think I'll have a pretty good following.
Q. Any more pressure on you to perform in front of everybody?
MAC MEISSNER: I would say in the past, yes, certainly there would be. I feel like I'm kind of at the point now where I've had them following me so many times that they know how hard and how bad I want it, so wanting it more is just going to make it harder on me.
Just trying to have the same routine, go through the same process and do as well as I can.
Q. Growing up here in San Antonio, did you ever like attend this as a spectator when you were young? Can you run me through that a little bit?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I came out here, I don't know if I would come out every year, but I would try and come out as often as I could for this event. They always brought in a good field, some guys prepping for Augusta next week.
I'm certainly excited to be kind of competing on a course that I grew up watching guys play, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker obviously, guys like that that you grew up -- Texas guys that you grew up wanting to follow in their footsteps.
Q. The fact that you're one of them now, that you're actually competing here, kind of going from watching it to just actually living it, what does that mean to you?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, it's so special to see that the work that I've put in kind of pay off, and to have a little taste of success, especially just being out here amongst these guys, is such an honor.
Obviously I'd love to compete and beat these guys a little bit more, but I know that if I keep working, that will come. Results are not easy to come by as a first or second year player.
Q. At this stage of your career, what are you learning about the PGA TOUR? Is it more difficult than you could have ever imagined?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, yeah.
Q. What kind of perspective do you have on that?
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah, it certainly is tough. I think that the way the Tour is set up now, it's extremely difficult for a guy in my category to make it into those high level events, whether it be Signature Events or majors. That's always the goal, those high finishes are extremely, extremely big out here for a guy like me because it gets you into those bigger fields with more points, bigger purses. That's kind of the goal.
Q. Coming out of Alamo Heights, was this realistic for you or was it kind of like kind of a pipe dream?
MAC MEISSNER: I've actually had multiple people ask me that. I don't think I recognized my ability or even kind of knew what my potential would be until I got to college.
I had a decent amount of success my -- or A great deal of success, honestly, my senior year of high school, won most of the events I played. But you never really know until you get to that -- you know, as you keep building up in these levels, you never know really how good you are.
Then once I had success in college, I think that's kind of when I learned that I was able to kind of make it to that next level.
Q. You going to the Final Four Saturday night?
MAC MEISSNER: I would love to. I looked into resale tickets and they're out-of-this-world expensive. Maybe if I make the cut I can justify going out there on Saturday.
Q. Hopefully you're playing pretty late on Saturday, right?
MAC MEISSNER: Or if I am playing late Sunday, then I can justify it as well.
Q. With the Final Four in town this weekend, the crowds here are expected to be bigger than they ever have. Does that give you even more juice playing in front of all of your hometown people and on a course that you know really well?
MAC MEISSNER: For sure. I think early on in my career I struggled a little bit when I had crowds following me, but I think I've learned to kind of embrace the noise, the talking and all of it now that you kind of get more and more comfortable with it. I love it, I think it just brings more energy to the tournament, a tournament that I've grown up watching and loving for my whole life basically, to have it building a little bit more buzz this year.
Q. You see a guy like Akshay win last year, relatively unknown before he won at VTO, then he goes to the Masters and he's third in THE PLAYERS. Is it inspiring to see a young player like that, like yourself, that can turn it on and your life changes in the course of the year?
MAC MEISSNER: Oh, yeah, for sure. There's been a couple guys this year that were in my same Korn Ferry class that have won already. It definitely has added motivation I would say because I know that I'm able to compete with all these guys. To see them winning I think gives you that knowledge that you're able to do the same thing.
Yeah, we'll just continue to kind of do our thing and hopefully we can put the pieces together, whether it be this week or sometime this year, that's absolutely the goal.
Q. I want to ask you about Angelo, the fact that you guys ended up together.
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah, for sure. We obviously grew up in San Antonio, He was closer to my brother's age, but we played a lot of golf together during the summers when we were back home from college. He worked at Oak Hills when we were playing at Oak Hills, so we had a great group that we kind of put together, games every day, which was so much fun.
When I graduated, he had kind of finished his professional stint, he didn't really love it as much as he thought he would, so I asked him if he would help on the bag for me. We've been together for three or four years now, it's been great.
Q. I know you guys are pros now, but just the fact that it's a guy that you kind of grew up with and are familiar with, is there a certain comfort level just knowing that you're traveling with somebody who is from where you're from?
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah.
Q. Just tell me about that.
MAC MEISSNER: Yeah, it's great just having a friend around. I think that we've had to, just like any work relationship, we've had to find a good balance between friendship and also kind of working together. I think we've done a really good job of kind of finding that balance and kind of laughing and having fun but also focusing and putting a lot of good work in on days like this especially.
