Alexandra Caspers, Author at Golf Post

Daniel Berger won his third PGA Tour event at this weeks Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Afterwards he talked to the media about his victory.

Daniel Berger, winner of the PGA Tour’s 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge

We’d like to welcome our 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge champion, Daniel Berger, into our first-ever virtual media center. Thank you for joining us. Congratulations on stepping into the PGA TOUR winner’s circle again. If we can get your comments on the victory today.

DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, it was a hard-fought battle today, and I just kept telling myself, why not me today. From the beginning tee shot to the end, and some things went my way, obviously; a couple missed putts here and there for Collin. But in the end, it was a great week, and I’ve been playing some great golf for the last couple months, so I’m just excited to be back in this position.

Q. Talk a little bit about the emotion of winning again after all you’ve been through from a health standpoint.
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think when I won my first couple times, I took it a little bit for granted thinking that every year it was just going to be easy and you’d have that chance to win, but it’s tough out here. It’s cutthroat, and the best players in the world every week are showing up. I worked my butt off the last year to be in this position, and I’m just glad it all paid off.

Q. I know you’re a little bit removed from it, but you talked about some things going your way. With Jordan’s chip-in at Travelers, as well as you played there, it didn’t go your way. When you look back at that, obviously you handled it very well at that time, and nothing is owed to anybody in golf, but do you feel something special about this?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I’ve been on the other end of that, have been in playoffs. I was 0 for 2 coming into this one. It was tough; obviously it was a three-footer, but it was a sliding left-to-righter and by no means was it a gimme. If I was at home playing with my buddies for 20 bucks I’d be making them putt it.

You know, it is what it is. You’ve got to get the ball in the hole, and it’s unfortunate that it ended that way, but it’s just the way golf goes.

Q. In terms of this week, what were your expectations of it, whether there were some apprehensions or not, and do you think this entire week, aside from your win, of course, could have gone any better just in terms of the TOUR pulling this thing off, first event in three months, of any mainstream sport?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think the PGA TOUR did an unbelievable job. The staff at Colonial, the greenskeepers, everyone involved with making this tournament go did an unbelievable job. It was a little different without fans, but it didn’t feel like it wasn’t a PGA TOUR event. You still felt that pressure. You still felt like there was so much on the line.

Like I said, it was a little different, obviously, being five, six feet apart from everyone and not shaking hands at the end of the round and obviously following social distancing, but I thought they did a fantastic job, and the tournament was a huge success in my opinion.

Q. You just mentioned the fans and it being a little bit different. What do you think was most profound? Was it on the 18th green or when you finished up with the playoff? Was that when you felt it the most?
DANIEL BERGER: You know, you definitely making a putt on the 18th hole to tie the lead and not hearing any roars is a little bit different, but there’s some holes where you get the crowd standing on the left to right side of the tee and where you kind of spray one, they’re kind of there. It just wasn’t like that. Certain areas that are usually matted down from thousands of fans walking through weren’t there, and certain holes where the grandstands weren’t there, just gave you a little different feel than in years past.

But overall the golf course was fantastic. The atmosphere in my opinion was fantastic, even though there weren’t any fans out there. You knew that millions of people were watching at home, and that was just enough for me.

Q. Does this feel historic after everything we’ve been through with the quarantine coming back?
DANIEL BERGER: It does, especially obviously with the pandemic hitting and taking so much time off in the middle of the season. But I think it went off without a hitch, and everyone did a great job. I’m just very lucky and blessed to be here as the champion.

Q. Just kind of going off the atmosphere, can you explain what that felt like walking up to 17 for the playoff and kind of — I guess were you used to it after four days? Was it a weird feeling?
DANIEL BERGER: It was a little bit of a weird feeling. You know, I think it was a little bit of an advantage to go second after Collin hit that tee shot because right was probably the only spot that you couldn’t hit it on the green from. I knew there was a little bit of an opening there, and I stepped up there and hit a great shot, and my approach shot I hit a great shot, it just was a little long, but I left myself in a good spot. Collin hit a great chip shot, and like I said, it was unfortunate that it ended that way, but golf is golf.

Q. How nice does it feel to wear the plaid jacket, and I don’t know how much of a student of the game you are, but what does it mean to you to be Colonial champion?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think I took it for granted a little bit in years past when I came here and you stand on the first tee and you see all the names that are on the wall, some of the greatest to play of all time. Now my name is up there, and I feel a real sense of honor having my name up there along with so many other great players.

Q. I wanted to ask you, what were you asking Mark Russell there on the playoff just before you finished up your par putt?
DANIEL BERGER: You know, I hit that chip shot to about two feet, and I was just curious whether could I finish out or did I have to wait for Collin to go ahead because I wanted to knock that one in before Collin had that three-footer coming up. So I just wanted to clarify before I did do that, and Mark said it was okay, so I went ahead and did that.

Q. I did want to ask you about your putt at 18. A lot of guys had putts there to either force a playoff or to even take the lead and they didn’t make it. With or without fans, there’s obviously still a lot of pressure on you guys and everybody feels that pressure, doesn’t matter if there’s fans or not, correct?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, you still feel that pressure. You know exactly where you stand. You know, I dreamt of a putt like that to get into a playoff or to win, so it was kind of just like repetition going through my mind. I hit a great putt, and it went in. It was a great way to finish the day.

Q. What were your emotions? What was going through your mind there actually out on the 18th green, you getting the plaid jacket, you get the big Leonard Trophy, obviously holding up the big check. It was a little weird, wasn’t it?
DANIEL BERGER: It was a little different for sure, but in the end I was holding the trophy, and that’s all that matters to me. I’ve got a nice jacket to go with it, as well, so very cool.

Q. I was wondering, were you one of the players that stayed in a hotel this week or did you rent a house? And at any time during the week did you feel safe about what the TOUR was doing, and every time you entered the ground did you feel good about the protocols that were put in place?
DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I felt a hundred percent safe. I actually rented a house right in the neighborhood. I mean, I almost could have walked to the first tee, and I had my uncle with me here cooking me breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Other than going to the golf course, that was the only time I really was out in public. I didn’t go anywhere, so it was basically golf course, house, golf course, house, so I felt really safe with the protocols they had in place, and I thought they did a great job.

Q. Did you think much about the virus this week, and if you did, what made you think of it?
DANIEL BERGER: I thought about the virus very few times this week. You know, it’s been such a big part of our lives for the last two months, and I feel like I just tried to do everything I can to be safe, and that’s all you really can do. You wash your hands, you don’t touch your face, you wear a mask when you can, you social distance, and obviously we got tested early in the week, so I knew I was healthy before I got here. We had the temperature readings before we got on-site every single day. I knew that all of the employees and staff that were here were doing the same thing. I felt completely safe. I felt very comfortable, and I thought they did a great job in implementing their plan.

Q. What do you look like with a mask on?
DANIEL BERGER: About the same I do now, gorgeous.

Q. You’ve had a couple of long layoffs in the last couple years, one from the pandemic, the other one from your wrist. Was there a difference in returning? I realize they’re different with injury, but in terms of just getting back to things?
DANIEL BERGER: I would say I was nervous on the first tee both times, more nervous with the wrist injury because I hadn’t actually played competitive golf in such a long period of time. But you know, any time you step — I don’t care what any golfer says; you step up to the first tee of a competition, whether it’s nervous or excitement, you have some butterflies going, and I felt that way from the beginning of the week, and I just tried to really focus on staying calm and sticking to the things that I’ve done so well in the last couple months.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Daniel Berger, our 2020 champion.

PGA Tour Comissioner Jay Monahan talks to the media about the PGA Tour’s restart at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Colonial Country Club in Texas and what his conclusions are about the first week back.

Jay Monahan about the return of the PGA Tour

Q. Jay, if you’re being really honest with yourself, what was your biggest concern as everyone started showing up in Fort Worth for the week?
JAY MONAHAN: Biggest concern? I think the biggest concern given the amount of time that we put into our testing and safety protocols was that even though we felt really good about the plan we had in place, if we saw the number of tests that were positive or we got into a situation where we were dealing with a number of positive tests, that’s something, candidly, that I lost a lot of sleep over in the weeks that preceded coming in there.

A lot of challenges, but I would say that would probably have been the biggest concern because it’s the one that we’ve all been dealing with, wrestling with, trying to understand and trying to prepare for.

Q. I just was wondering, obviously we don’t have a winner yet, but where we stand right now, is there a favorite moment you’ve had this week and what is it? Even if it was just what you just talked about, having those tests cleared right off the bat, that first tee on Thursday?
JAY MONAHAN: Yeah, I think — I would say it’s hard to pick a favorite moment because there’s so many along the way. I think just everybody being back together and being on property on Thursday, recognizing that the PGA TOUR was returning, and to see our players, to see all of you, to be back together in the environment of a PGA TOUR event, knowing the incredible amount of teamwork that went into getting there, and I think seeing players interact with each other, players and caddies interact with each other. It’s almost like when you went away for school for the summer and then you come back in the fall, those first couple days, seeing people that you haven’t seen in a while, it’s that good feeling you have as a result of that. I think that was the thing that was to me really, really powerful and meaningful.

And then when you add on top of it the 8:46 moment, and I look at the caddie bibs and I see the respect that we as an organization were paying to the front line healthcare workers — I mean, just a lot of things that roll up into it. But I think that Thursday morning was really, really a meaningful moment.

Q. If I could just ask you, is there anything that maybe you learned this week that you adjusted going forward as far as the plan, the things that you probably didn’t know about a month ago when you came up with the plan?
JAY MONAHAN: I’m sure there are, and we’re going to be on the phone later today and further tomorrow to talk about some of those things, but yeah, I’m sure there are adjustments that we’ll make. That’s a commitment that we made going into it. But I wouldn’t say — I would characterize any change that we’re making as probably slight adjustments to a plan that we feel has worked very well thus far.

Q. I was wondering, is the feeling as you play out this week a sense of relief or a sense of excitement that everything is back and now you go forward?
JAY MONAHAN: I think it’s a sense of excitement. You know, you can’t have one without the other, I guess, in this environment. But we’ve got five or six holes left to go here and a great championship, and players have really played exceedingly well and handled this environment so, so well. So I’m excited to see how this concludes.

Our work, there’s more work to be done. As I said to you guys earlier this week, this is about a sustained return, but I think as we sit here late in the day on Sunday, there’s no question that this has been an exceptional week.

Q. I know you told us earlier this week that you heard from some of your peers in other sports wishing you good luck. I wondered if you’d heard from any of them this weekend or today, and I wondered also if they’ve expressed a desire for you guys to share notes from what you’ve learned during the lead-up and this week?
JAY MONAHAN: You know, I’ve heard from some of my peers, and I think as I mentioned as we go forward, we will share — we’ll share everything that we’ve learned and how we’re applying our protocols, and I would imagine some of those calls will happen over the next several days. But I know there are a lot of people that when you’re in an industry and you’re in an important time like this where we’re all trying to take our own respective sports and make sure that we’re doing — we are prioritizing the health and safety of our athletes and all of our constituents, really that each sport is different, I think that there is — I know there’s a lot of people that are watching us, and hopefully they’re proud of what’s been done here.

Q. I just wanted to get your take on what you thought of Colonial and Fort Worth and coming back here, and especially when you look two years ago this tournament was kind of in jeopardy without a title sponsor.
JAY MONAHAN: Well, I think the club has always been exceptional. I mentioned to you that right away the club and Charles Schwab raised their hand and said, when you reset the schedule, not only do we want to be back, but we’d like to be considered to be the first event. You saw Mayor Price was out here earlier in the week. We’ve had her support throughout. That has been very, very meaningful.

When you play at a venue like Colonial every year consecutively since 1946 and you have the rich history and tradition we have, and it’s such a great golf course, to me it’s the perfect course to come back to when you’ve been out 91 days. You know, I think we’re really thankful for the partnership that we have with Colonial.

It’s very different for them. Not only do they get to host this event every single year, but in that town and over the course of the week, it’s an opportunity to showcase the beauty of their club and to be around their fellow members and friends, and a lot of that didn’t happen, but it did not in any way take away from the energy, the commitment and the enthusiasm from the leadership of the club.

Q. I’m guessing you’re watching the telecast right now; what’s your take watching it without any fans? Is it different to you or does it seem the same?
JAY MONAHAN: Well, I’m not watching it now because I’m talking to you guys and I can’t do two things at once, but I would say it’s — listen, it’s different. It really is different, but I look at the work that Golf Channel and CBS have done, and again, I think what they’ve been able to produce and present to our fans is remarkable. It’s different.

I also don’t think — to me what I really have focused on is the intensity of the competition and the intensity that you see and experience from the players, and whether it’s those opening tee shots the last couple days, the close of the round yesterday, throughout the course of the day here, I get the same level, I get the same feeling in my stomach as I’m watching these players compete for a PGA TOUR win on Sunday.

But to not have the fan roars, to see the way players are responding when they’re making birdies and there’s not noise, I mean, that’s just all of our — that’s a new reality for all of us. But I still as an obvious fan, I feel the intensity, and I think that’s what fans are experiencing, as well.

Q. Given all the challenges that we’ve spoken about all week, is this everything you could have possibly asked for this week? Is there anything that could have gone better for you other than obviously not having fans here?
JAY MONAHAN: Listen, there is more work to be done, but this is a phenomenal start to our return. There’s no question about it. A lot of people that deserve a lot of credit for that, our players certainly at the top of that list for all of their involvement in the weeks leading into this, and the way that they’ve come back and adapted to these new protocols, again, going back at that our partners at Colonial, our partners at Fort Worth, our partners at CBS, our partners at Golf Channel. A lot of us came together to be able to put the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry TOUR back in play, and I think as we leave here with the first — concluding the first week of a new safety and testing protocol, to not have had any issues, and for players to adapt to that system so well, and for us as a collective to be focused on what’s actually happening inside the field of play, watching competition, I think it’s gone — yeah, to answer your question in a long way, I think it’s gone about as well as we could have hoped for. I’m proud of our team for that.

Q. When we talk about a successful week, which it seems like on our end, as well, is the real measure not until next week when everyone turns up at Hilton Head? And kind of on that note, have you gotten any test results back from the boys who had to do it yesterday getting on the charter?
JAY MONAHAN: Yeah. You know, I think that’s right. I was asked what’s a successful week look like. It means us getting to the RBC Heritage and having another successful week next week. I was on the phone with our team earlier today up at the RBC Heritage, and I feel very good about the setup there, and we’re ready to go again.

As it relates to testing from yesterday and the charter flight tomorrow, I don’t have those results back. That flight leaves tomorrow. But all indications are that we should be in a good spot for that.

Q. One more thing on fans that was brought up because it was kind of cool to see people erect tents behind like 15, 16, 3, people sticking their nose through the fence, which is probably good optics. What about next week? Is there any concern security-wise of all the homes that line the fairway and how many people will try and spill out on to the course, or on the perimeter anyway?
JAY MONAHAN: You know, I think that — listen, I do think that next week — we’ve all experienced Harbour Town and seen the houses that line those fairways, and I suspect that you’ll see, as we’ve seen in the past, a number of people in the back yards that are rooting on our players. I was out watching the final group today on the back nine of the Korn Ferry challenge and saw a lot of people out in their back yards rooting on the players today. I think we’ll see a lot of that tomorrow, and obviously as a partner in that community and working with Steve there, I know they’re going to be communicating the importance of social distancing even on the perimeters.