Tyler Collet, the 2025 PGA Professional champion, meets with the media on Wednesday before the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. 2025 PGA professional champion and Corebridge Financial team member Tyler Collet joins us now at the 107th PGA Championship.
Welcome to Quail Hollow. How does it feel to be back for your fourth PGA Championship.
TYLER COLLET: Yeah, it feels awesome. It's nice to see everything that I've formed relationships with along the last five years.
It was cool to get out with Cam Young this morning and see the back nine and was just kind of chatting with him because he's played here with the Wells Fargo, or the Truist now, and it was nice to pick his brain a little bit about the golf course and how it plays differently this week versus previous years.
But year, obviously it feels, it's really nice to be playing in a major, and I think it's awesome that the PGA of America offers this for the twenty of us, and couldn't be more thankful or more proud.
THE MODERATOR: What stands out to you from your previous appearances at the PGA?
TYLER COLLET: Like in terms of the golf course or --
THE MODERATOR: The golf course, the whole experience, yeah.
TYLER COLLET: Golf course-wise, I think this is probably, of the four that I've played, I think this is probably the best venue that I've been a part of. Not to take away from the other ones that I've played in, but this is a really big golf course, but it's set up so good for a major.
Credit to the grounds crew and the staff here; it's unbelievable.
Q. How do you overcome bad shots?
TYLER COLLET: That's a great question. I think if you would have asked me that four years ago, I would have told you a different answer.
But now I would just say golf is just a game, and it's a game that we love to play, and it's supposed to be fun. Just try to be light with it and try to have fun with shots. Everybody hits bad shots. I'm going to tell a story that I probably shouldn't, but I'm going to.
In 2022, I was at Southern Hills, and it was Sunday afternoon before the week started. And it was me and one other person on the range hitting golf balls. Here comes Tiger Woods. He drops balls next to me literally right next to me on the range. Growing up in his era, watching him play golf on TV, it was really cool to have one of my idols hit balls next to me. But he's a human being, and he was mis-hitting shots just like I was.
He's the greatest to ever do it, but he does hit bad shots, too. Just kind of take the shots how you have it. Everybody hits bad shots, but just try to have fun with it.
Q. In that story, was Tiger Woods hitting bad shots on the range and you were learning from him? What's the moral there, and what was are going on specifically?
TYLER COLLET: Yeah, as we play on this level, we know what a thin shot sounds like, we know what a fat shot sounds like, and listening to the sound of the golf ball.
Obviously when he hits it good it's a different sound; obviously he's the best ever to do it. But I know what a thin shot sounds like, and I know what a push sounds like or a pull. And he was hitting those shots just like everyone else would. That's all I meant by it.
Q. You mentioned this is just a really big golf course and it's wet so even longer this week. How do the shorter hitters in the world get around these big golf courses effectively when, again --
TYLER COLLET: Good question. I think honestly, it all starts off the tee. You have to hit fairways around these big golf courses. If you hit the fairways, then you can usually -- usually, the shorter hitters, they're better with their longer clubs because they have to be, or they're better with their short games, right.
I think the shorter hitters around here, they have to find fairways first, and if you can do that, then I think you can score. Because around the greens, you can miss it in areas that are a little bit bigger, that are easier up-and-downs around here than, I would say, maybe Kiawah Island a few years ago or Southern Hills.
Q. Could you give us a little bit of your background? Would you call yourself, based on what you did as a junior golfer, would you say that, Man, Tyler is a longshot to ever make it into the PGA Championship? Was all your work and your progression done late teens, early 20s?
TYLER COLLET: Yeah, good question. I would say I didn't really get -- I don't think I got good enough until a few years ago, and it all kind of changed on how I approached and viewed the game of golf.
I would say in junior golf, college, maybe a year after college, I always had the dream to play professionally and play at the highest level. But I viewed it as, like, my 100 percent job, which it is, but I never had fun doing it.
Now I enjoy what I do, and I think it's -- my mindset is it's not the end of the world anymore. It's a game that I love to play, and it's obviously the highest level, but it's not like it's life and death out there. And I think that calms me mind down and calms my approach, and I play better because of it.
Q. We talked in Port St. Lucie about your embracing and loving of Florida golf, which was the vibe there at PGA Golf Club. In North Carolina here, it looks like we are going to be getting a little bit of sunshine, humidity and a breeze later in the week. With that being said, any similar vibes between Quail Hollow and Port St. Lucie that might help you carry that momentum from a couple weeks ago?
TYLER COLLET: I think the only similarities of these two golf courses are the firmness of the greens. Port St. Lucie was a little bit of a shorter golf course, the ball was running out in the fairways a little bit more.
It's a little bit of a shame, the weather that we've had the last couple days. But it's going to be a good test. Like you said, there are little similarities around the greens.
But for the most part, it's completely different if you ask me. So it's different, but it's going to be a fun test.
Q. I know it's been mindset, I'm going to the PGA Championship, but have you had time to think going forward, you have some of the perks that come with winning the PGA Championship: Six PGA TOUR, final qualifying for U.S. Open qualifying, Open Championship. Have you given thought to: This is my schedule going forward?
TYLER COLLET: Yeah, absolutely. I'm definitely going to do final qualifying for U.S. Open and British Open.
I will definitely take advantage of the six starts next year. I haven't quite set my mind on which ones I'm going to pick.
I will also do -- I believe it gets me into second stage of Q-school. I will pursue that, as well. That's the plan going forward.
