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US Masters 2020: Paul Casey: “It was a glorious day for golf”

US Masters 2020: Paul Casey talks to the media

THE MODERATOR:  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s our pleasure to welcome Paul Casey to the interview room today.  Paul, welcome to the press building.  Paul, you equalled your low round of the fourth round of 2018 here with a 65, and you started 10, you started on No. 10, and with a birdie, and then you followed it with birdies on 13, 15, 16, 6, and you also had the eagle on 2.  Tell us a little bit about what it was like to start the 2020 Masters on No. 10 and build the momentum from there. 

PAUL CASEY:  Let me look at my scorecard.  I don’t see my birdie on 10, but I did birdie 10.  

First, starting on 10 was strange because it’s not the easiest tee shot.  I much prefer starting on 1.  I find 10 a tricky tee shot, but I actually feel fortunate because I feel like if I teed off on time at 7:44, those conditions were pretty tough.  

I was not relishing the challenge ahead waking up in the rain this morning, so I felt like, to be honest, that was a very good break that I capitalized on because it was a glorious day for golf, really, after that.  The guys that had to play a couple of holes this morning, I think they got a little bit of a rough draw but only for two holes. 

It was a great round.  I got through Amen Corner unscathed, and picked one up on 13.  And yeah, it was just very, very solid golf.  And for me the difficult kind of key holes out there, holes like 1 and 5, 7, you have to hit a good tee shot.  

I did the right things when I needed to, and to be honest, you rarely walk off this golf course going, it could have been two or three better, but it kind of felt that way.  I don’t want to be greedy.  I’m very, very happy with my 65. 

[gpalbum id=5487]

Q. Obvious stuff here, Paul, in your 14th appearance, what was the biggest difference?  What was noticeable to you as you were going about, not just the birdies, but everything? 

PAUL CASEY:  You’re talking about this 2020 version of the Masters?  

Q. Pretty much.  

PAUL CASEY:  You know, this is something I’ve looked forward to.  I with as vocal earlier in the year at Harding Park about not enjoying golf in a pandemic.  I’m acutely aware of    I’m in a very fortuitous position.  I still get to be a professional golfer and play championship golf, but I didn’t know how the fanless experience would be.  And so far, I’ve not enjoyed it, and I’ve lacked    I felt like the lack of energy for me.  I’ve had nothing or very little to draw from being out playing tournament golf.  

The Masters, though, this week    it still has a buzz to it.  There’s an energy and a little bit of a vibe.  Yes, it’s clearly a lot less than what we are used to, but there’s something about this place that is still    I felt excited to be here.  

As soon as I stepped foot on property on Monday, I’ve never been to happy to pass a COVID 19 test in my life.  Was genuinely nervous about that.  I don’t know why I was nervous because my protocols haven’t changed.  The kids were denied from going out on play dates last week.  Can’t go on play dates.  Dad’s got to go to the Masters next week.  

You know, the beauty of the place is probably even more so this week.  I’ve been fortunate to play this golf course outside of tournament week, and it’s quite a special experience this week.  

Q. Where do you think the buzz comes from? 

PAUL CASEY:  I guess the history.  I mean, the golf course itself is part of it.  The history of this championship, this tournament.  So many people like myself are just excited to play this.  You know, this is a treat.  It always has been and always will be a real treat.  There’s many great golfers who are not here this week because they are not high enough in the rankings or how they didn’t qualify, and they are envious of every single player in the field.  

So for me, it’s not lost on me.  

Q. When you see, you look at the leaderboard, you probably haven’t had a whole lot of time to look and see how everybody else is playing, you see familiar names up here at this tournament that are kind of up there toward the top year after year after year.  Is there absolutely no surprise to see Westy’s name up there or Woods’s name up there? 

PAUL CASEY:  Zero surprise to see Westy.  He’s so good.  He continues to be world class.  He knows this place better than I do.  Very few guys know it better than I do, but he’s one of them.  

No, it’s no surprise.  I love the fact Paul Tesori was talking    he was talking Webb    he wasn’t talking Webb down, but he’s just like, “There’s no way for my man Webb to compete.”  I think Webb might have played a practice round with Dustin and some other guys, and he’s just seen    obviously Webb’s approach or style of golf is very different to a lot of the guys talked about this week, and there he is, 5 under.  

So what does Paul Tesori know about Webb Simpson.  

No surprise.  Matsuyama, Oosty, this golf course, look, some would say it’s the same old kind of names up there, but this golf course, to me, exposes what a guy has got.  I’m not saying it’s the ultimate test.  There are different types of tests of golf around the world, but this particular test you have to do certain things very, very well, and predominately the best players in the world always rise to the top this week.  

Q. Is there anything special that you have worked with your coach on that has allowed you to play so well in the majors this year?  

PAUL CASEY:  No.  No.  I actually had not seen Peter Kostis for quite a while in the summer.  He was up in Maine, and I was in Arizona, and we didn’t cross paths.  We tried to do a lot of work remotely, which wasn’t massively productive.  And I actually wasn’t swinging it very well through the vast majority of this season.  Since getting back, and all the way through to the last few weeks, poor performances in Vegas and California, and it was like a crash course the last two weeks.  

The last two weeks, I spent a lot of time actually on tempo.  Tempo, big turn, tried to hit the ball maybe a little bit harder than normal, and that was really it.  So the tempo was the big thing, that worked all the way through the game, because the tempo wasn’t the same with the driving and with the putting, and normally for me it is.  

For me, the putting and the chipping, I was a little slow.  Maybe a little quick on some of the irons.  So it was all just trying to get things matched up, and it seems to have kind of paid dividends the last two weeks. 

Q. Following up on that, it was mentioned in the broadcast that you are working with Peter on trying to chase some distance.  How is that going, and what was the impetus to do so? 

PAUL CASEY:  It was more so, rather than anything we’ve been seeing recently with certain players, it was more I hadn’t seen Peter through the summer, and he came back and goes, “You’re not hitting it as hard as you normally do.”  He goes, “You’re hitting it poorly because you’re trying not to make mistakes, you’re trying not to make errors.  I need you to make a bigger turn and smash it like you normally do.”  

I was like, “Are we chasing distance here?”  

He goes, “No, I just want you to hit it like you normally do.  You have plenty of length, speed in there.”  He goes, “Well, why don’t you actually    you know, why don’t you push it a little bit, kind of hit some a little harder, and hopefully you’ll fall back into your regular kind of tempo and regular speed.”  

So it was less about chasing distance.  I’m not    look, I’m not    I’m 43.  I stuck a couple on Instagram last week, a couple of 184 ball speeds.  I think I got one up to 190, which is pretty good for me.  I tend not to talk about it.  I don’t think I can    no, I’m not going to talk about chasing distance.  I just need to hit    guys who play with me know that there’s plenty of length there.  

Q. What was the difference between this year and last year, other than 16 strokes? 

PAUL CASEY:  The first round?  

Q. Yeah.  

PAUL CASEY:  I have no idea.  I don’t know.  Just rubbish.  But I played some decent golf in 2019 overall.  Just not the first round of the Masters.  I don’t know why it was rubbish.  

Q. Speak to us, to the media (indiscernible) dinner, so maybe it was that. 

PAUL CASEY:  Maybe it was that.  Yeah, that’s right.  Nothing was different.  It wasn’t any extra glass of red wine or anything like that.  In fact, I’ve not had a glass of red wine this week.  Maybe that was it.  I don’t know.  

I’m not blaming anybody.  I take full responsibility.  It was rubbish.  As many rounds of golf as I’ve    14 appearances, Doug said.  It’s just one of those things. 

Q. Would you tell us about the conditions out there today, and how much do you feel the softness of the greens contributed to the low scoring? 

PAUL CASEY:  It did.  It’s not just the softness of the greens, it’s the little bit of    some guys have mentioned it, there’s a little bit of bermuda still in there.  So the bermuda has a twofold effect.  One, the greens are very receptive coming in, and there was a shot I hit on No. 2, a 6 iron to that left hand pin that you can’t hit that shot in April.  It was just left of the flag.  It pitched and stopped instantly, and that shot in April would have one hopped over into the Patrons, and probably would have walked off with a 5 instead of a 3. 

So it’s that receptiveness and you can be aggressive with the approach shots, and obviously the putts are not as quick as well.  So there are certain    I hit a couple of shots today, one on 14, I didn’t capitalize on the good shot in, but again that would have released down and finished in the middle of the green instead of staying next to the left hand pin.  

Yeah, receptiveness and speed, but it’s not just the rain.  It’s the bermuda, but that also changes    I haven’t quite figured it out yet; do we have to read a bit more grain than normal?  It’s just different.  Just a different challenge.  It’s still very much the Masters and Augusta National, but just a little different.  

So the guys that know, the guys that don’t know, this is going to be great.  The guys whose first Masters, Jason Kokrak and everyone else, and they will be back, hopefully back in April, they are going to have a rude awakening for how    this golf course is still very, very difficult, but April is just a different difficult and it could be quite funny. 

Q. Did it feel longer out there today? 

PAUL CASEY:  Certain holes, I think I got lucky with the wind.  Certain holes like 8, they kicked up straight into us and made 8 play very long.  Some other holes, like 2, it was downwind.  2 played short.  10 was short.  11 was short, which was nice, because if it turns around on 11 it’s a beast.  It wasn’t too bad.  I think that was just luck of the draw with the wind.  

Q. Have you ever played a round here where you had balls that plugged in greens, and then it seemed as the day wore on, they stopped plugging and started spinning back.  Is it going to be harder from now on in the afternoon than it was maybe when you all went through that stretch? 

PAUL CASEY:  I’m not sure.  To answer your first part, I’m not sure I’ve played a round where I’ve seen balls make such an impression.  Yeah, I don’t think I have.  And that’s amazing amount of    again, grass types and all the rest of it, it just feels very humid out here.  It’s the humidity, ignoring the rain we’ve had fall, there’s just a humidity to this time of year I’ve never experienced because I’ve never been here at this time of year, sticky like it is at East Lake in September or something like that.  

Yeah, it’s a good point you raised.  I saw Tony Finau in our group on the first land the ball 10, 12 feet short of the flag on the first, which is a pretty decent way, I don’t know what the pin is today on the first, it’s 15 or 18 on on the left, and he spun it back into the bunker on a good looking wedge shot.  It poses a very different challenge from what we are used to. 

Yes, maybe that change in condition is going to be difficult for the guys this afternoon.  For me the biggest thing is the greens are just going to have    they are just going to grow a little bit so the speed is not going to be there.  They are perfect, when they are mowed in the morning, they are absolutely perfect.  They are just going to get a little more chewed up in the afternoons. 

Q. Would you walk us through your thinking in how you played 13 and 15.  

PAUL CASEY:  13 for me, I played sort of straight down the hole, so to speak.  There’s a couple of tree trunks that I aim and I try to not run out on the fairway, which I did today.  So for me it’s a 3 wood.  I don’t know the yardage.  

I hit a very good tee shot today, and it unfortunately was just a yard through the fairway into the first cut and leave myself    if I hit a good tee shot, it will be 200 and change to the front, typically, which is exactly what I had today.  Left myself a 5 iron today out of that first cut and hit a glorious shot to 15 feet and 2 putted.  

But that’s the way I will play it all week, unless the wind changes, in which case the club will change, but the style, the way of playing the hole remains the same.  

Sorry, what was the second part of the question?  13?  

Q. 13 and 15.  

PAUL CASEY:  15 to me is bombs away.  I smash it.  I have a small little tree picked out in the distance which is probably all the way up on the 5th somewhere, but that’s where I’m looking because I can see the grouping of trees on the left, so I know where to position it and just don’t go too far left.  

I hit a perfect drive today.  Left myself 210 or something like that, 205, 210.  Maybe a bit more.  I hit a 6 iron to seven feet and missed it comfortably.  That’s the way, again, I’ll play it all week.  

For me, it’s funny, 13 is conservative off the tee and aggressive with a second shot, and 15 is aggressive off the tee and then kind of conservative with the second shot, so they are kind of flipped.  If I mess up the tee shot on 15, I still have an opportunity for birdie to knock it down and wedge it in and I’ll always knock it down there and wedge it in.  And I’ll always knock it down the left side if I have to lay it up so I have got more pitch of the green to hold the ball.  

But that’s the way, yeah, conservative off the tee on 13, and aggressive off the tee on 15.  

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you very much.  We appreciate your time and best of luck the rest of the tournament.  

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US Masters 2020: Tiger Woods: “I expect to contend!”

THE MODERATOR:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, it is always such a great pleasure to welcome back to the media center, our now five time green jacket winner and defending Masters Champion, Mr. Tiger Woods.  Tiger, thank you for spending the time with us for a few minutes here in the media. 

TIGER WOODS:  Yeah, thanks, Rob.  

THE MODERATOR:  19 months ago, Tiger Woods decisively showed the world what determination and grit and resiliency can accomplish with winning his fifth green jacket.  

And the scene on 18 that Sunday, with you embracing your children, and the thousands of Patrons chanting your name was seen by many, if not most, that this was probably one of the most remarkable, exceptional comeback victories in all of sport.  Would you take us back to Sunday, April 14th, as you’re getting ready to tee up    

TIGER WOODS:  Yeah, I’m getting chills about it, yeah. 

THE MODERATOR: On Round 4, two back, what was the range of emotion during that round? 

TIGER WOODS:  Well, it was just a fight and a grind, and just trying to hang in there, trying to make a dent in the lead.  Frankie basically had control of it, and then No. 12 happened and everything flipped.  And you know, a few guys hit the ball in the water there.  I didn’t.  Made par there.  Birdied 13.  Birdied 15, 16.  

I’m still getting chills just thinking about it  feelings, coming up 18, and knowing that all I have to do is just two putt that little 15 footer and to see my family there and my mom and my kids and all of the people that helped support me or were there for me in the tough times, and I was walking up there trying not to lose it, and still saying, hey, I’ve still got to two putt this.  

Then I walked off the back of the green, to see Charlie there, just opened up our arms, it meant a lot to me and still does.  It just reminded me so much of me and my dad, and to come full circle like that, it stills gives me, you know, a little teary.  

THE MODERATOR:  This year marks the 25th anniversary of your first appearance in the Masters. Any thoughts or memories you’d like to share about that first visit?  

TIGER WOODS:  I got a chance to play on Wednesday with Jack and Arnold, and you know, at the time, I was a little punk college student, and we’re playing for some skins, and I didn’t have any cash in my pocket, and you know, Arnold makes a putt on 18.  Takes all the skins away from us.  And Jack and Arnold asked me, “Hey, do you want to go play the Par 3 Contest?”  

I said, “Well, I’m scheduled to go later.” They responded, “Hey, just follow us.”    

Went over with them, went to the Par 3 Contest, and we played together, and that was awesome.  You know, that was one of the most incredible memories I think that I’ve ever had, and the story that I always tell all the amateurs I’ve ever played with, on No. 1, I putted off the green on my first hole.  Putted right in the gallery.  Played with Ollie and chipped it back up and made the putt there, made a hell of a bogey.  Then just pumped it right over the top of the bunker on 2 to start my Masters.  

Q. Because of the unique circumstances in the world, you’ve been the reigning Masters Champion for an unprecedented 19 months.  What’s that experience been like? 

TIGER WOODS:  It’s not how I wanted to retain the jacket for this long.  Obviously this has been an unprecedented circumstance we’re all dealing with.  It’s been incredible to have the jacket and to have it around the house and to share with people, but to have it this long, it’s not the way I want to have it.  I wanted to earn it back in April, but obviously we didn’t have that.  

But we had an opportunity to play this week, which, you know, early in the year, we didn’t think we would have this opportunity.  We are all very fortunate to be able to compete, and tonight, and, well, this whole day, is awfully special.  

I may never have the opportunity to take the jacket off property again, and so this means a lot to me today, and to have this opportunity to have the Champions Dinner and to be able to host it tonight with all the guys that are here, it’s going to be awfully special for me.  

Q. Six events since the restart.  I’m guessing you’re probably not happy with your results. Can you pinpoint what’s been missing?  What’s kept you from contending?

TIGER WOODS:  Well, you know, it’s been either    I haven’t put all the pieces together at the same time, whether it’s I’ve driven well or hit my irons poorly.  Or I’ve put the ball striking together, and I haven’t putted well.  And then I’ve had it where I’ve putted well and I’ve hit it poorly.  

It’s just been, I haven’t put together at the same time.  I haven’t played a lot, obviously.  You mentioned I only played six events.  

But it’s been gearing up for the major championships and trying to understand what we have to deal with, you know, this year with COVID and trying to be safe, and I was hesitant to come back and start playing, and that’s why I waited as long as I did and came back at Memorial.  From there, I really haven’t    as I said, I haven’t put all the pieces together, and hopefully that will be this week. 

Q. Statistically, you look over your career, the first round has not really been yours. Your numbers are pretty pedestrian, when you look at all your big rounds, a second, third and clearly the fourth.  You’ve broken 70 once I think in the first round.  Do you have a mindset here?  Do you just ease yourself into the tournament?   

TIGER WOODS:  You know, Jim, I wish I could pinpoint it and tell you what it is, but I have not historically started off well here.  

I think the times I have shot 70 in that first round, I’ve gone on to win a few of them (smiling).  It’s just one of those weird things I haven’t put together, and the second and thirds round were usually where I made my hay and got myself back into the event or taken the lead in the event.  

Hopefully this year will be a little different and I can shoot a little better score and get off to a better start.  

Q. A lot of talk about Honorary Starters this week. 30 years from now, it’s probably going to be you and Phil.  How does that make you feel thinking about that? 

TIGER WOODS:  You said 30 years from now?  That’s a long time.  You know, the fact that I had an opportunity to watch Byron Nelson and Sam Snead tee off there, and to see even Jack and Arnold and Gary, and now to have Lee start next year, whether it’s Phil and I down the road or whatever it may be, it’s up to the Chairman, and it’s an honor; you start off the Masters.  Hopefully that will be us one day, and I’ll be hitting bombs past him.  

Q. You’re able to talk about two decades of experience and pull stories like playing with Jack and Arnie back then, but you’re also the defending champion.  Where do you feel like you are on that continuum, certainly not a ceremonial player, but do you expect to contend here for this week and years to come, or are you past that point where it’s annual possible?  

TIGER WOODS:  Do I expect to contend?  Yes, I do.  I mean, you look at Freddie and Bernhard, they are in their 60s and they seem to contend.  Jack contended here when he was, what, 58, or 56, 58, whatever it was.  

It can be done.  This is a golf course in which having an understanding how to play and where to miss it and how to hit the shots around here, it helps.  The golf course keeps getting longer.  It gets a little bit more difficult as I’ve gotten older and I don’t quite hit it as far.  

Q. I know this is hypothetical, but do you think you    you’re playing this year without them.  Could you have won it without them?  Is it going to be very strange for you this year not having them?  Did they help you last year? 

TIGER WOODS:  Absolutely they did.  They helped me win.  The support that I had, the energy that was around the property, it was electric that day.  

We all miss the energy of the crowds.  And yes, this year is going to be very different.  It’s going to be stark in what we see, our sights into the greens, the energy that you hear from different roars, from different parts of the golf course.  I mean, you’re on the putting green up on 1 and you can hear eagles down on 13.  That’s what this tournament is all about, and we’re not going to have that this year.  It’s going to be very different.  

It’s one that none of us have ever experienced.  So we’re all going to go through it together at the same time and it’s going to be a very different experience, and you know, hopefully one that I can figure it out and be able to replicate what I did last year. 

Q. Just with regard to Bryson, I’m wondering how much you see what’s going on with him as a flashback to when you came on the scene in ’97, with all the length and everyone is trying to catch up to you, and what your fascination is about what he’s done to transform himself where he’s at right now? 

TIGER WOODS:  Well, back then, there wasn’t the technology to optimize our tee shots and optimize the driver yet.  We were just coming out of basically the persimmon days and coming into metal.  More guys were switching over to graphite instead of steel.  The wound ball was very spinny, and heads were very small, so it was important to hit the ball in the middle of the face.  

Well, I happened to have speed and I happened to hit the ball in the middle of the face and was able to have a little bit of an advantage over the guys.  But now you have the ability to optimize one club, and to be able to use that driver as a weapon, to hit it basically as for as you possibly can, we just didn’t have the technology to be able to optimize that.  

And Bryson has put in the time.  He’s put in the work.  What he’s done in the gym has been incredible and what he’s done on the range and what he’s done with his entire team to be able to optimize that one club and transform his game and the ability to hit the ball as far as he has and in as short a span as he has, it’s never been done before. 

You know, I had speed, and as you say, in ’97, I hit it far.  As I got bigger and I filled out and tried to get stronger, it was to not hit the ball further.  It was to be more consistent and to be able to practice longer.  Actually I got a little bit shorter as I got into my mid 20s and late 20s.  Probably the most speed I ever had, I was 20 years old.  So 21, I still had a little bit more speed, but as I got a little bit bigger, I didn’t hit it as far, but I got better.  

What Bryson has done has been absolutely incredible, and we have all been amazed at what he’s been able to do in such a short span of time; it’s never been done before.  

Q. You referenced the Champions Dinner tonight.  What is your favorite memory from all the past Champions Dinners?

TIGER WOODS:  To see Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead, and drinking milkshakes, that was awesome.  Just to hear the stories of all the guys over the years.  The stuff that we say in the dinners stays between us, and that’s the most awesome part about it is we keep it in house and keep it within the family.  

They are awesome stories and a lot of things I can’t say here that have been said, but they are awesome.  

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you, Tiger, very much.  We wish you the very best of luck this week.

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The Masters of the universe

The tournament of the tournaments is coming. For the first time, owed to the stranglehold of the virus, it‘s happening in autumn and not during the most beautiful azalea bloom in April as we‘re used to it. It’s gonna be autumnal in southern Georgia and in the last few weeks there have been countless photos of the brown fairways of the course which are supposed to glow in lush green for the tournament. What the season and greenkeeping isn‘t able to manage will be enhanced with artificially colored lawn (standard), artificial flowers (probably) and various camera filters so everything is looking smooth and shiny as always. And let‘s be honest: even if overly pittoresque places that look like straight out of Walt Disney films aren‘t contemporary anymore, you also want to see the icons of the sport in a painterly exaggerated framework. For those who can‘t get enough of the Masters, the patrons in front of the TVs, everyone who has been feverish for weeks, we dug a little deeper into the fan material box and found some nice things.

Cayce – DURA+ State Outline Headcover

The iconic Masters logo, which probably every golf nerd around the globe is able to draw with closed eyes or, depending on your talent, maybe at least imagine it perfectly, is available from Cayce for all 50 US states, which are made for you on demand. Nice idea, unfortunately not available in the versions of Scotland, Italy, Australia or Germany. As being an owner of a Cayce head cover myself, I can say firsthand: they do some good stuff. $ 59.99 via caycegolf.com

BNKR – Green Jacket Tee

”Excuse me! May I point out that you still have to wear a collared shirt!?“

”Ok, but may I point out that I am wearing the Green Jacket?!“

The club, which wouldn’t smile and let him play in his T-shirt must be the most humorless, stuffy club on earth. I‘d like to give the boys from BNKR a kiss for this charming, smirking idea. Available for $ 25 from bnkrgolfclub.com

Johnston Gray Designs – 1.50 Sammy Full Mesh

”One Pimento Cheese Sandwich please!“ – the price of the Augusta Patrons‘ most essential snack, a sandwich with the „caviar of the southern states“, has been constant for years at an almost socialist bargain price of $ 1.50. Insiders immediately see the message in this cap, everyone else is reminded of the hygiene safety distance in the pandemic-determined year 2020 of at least 1,50 meters, which is also not wrong. The cap costs a little more than the snack, but is still a reasonable $ 30 via johnstongraydesigns.com

Out Of Bounds Candle Company – Augusta

Out Of Bounds – you can hardly believe it – make candles whose smell is supposed to remind you of the great courses of the world. Pinehurst, St. Andrews, Merion, Pine Valley etc. I was in Augusta for a few days myself some decades ago, but back then I wasn‘t infected with the golf virus, so I didn‘t take a deep breath of legend aroma and azalea. Magnolia, Georgia Peach, Azalea in the top note, Fresh Air, Chardonnay, Barn Wood and others underneath, according to the manufacturer‘s description. Light a candle during the Masters broadcast, I‘d say. Available in three sizes starting at $ 9.99 via outofboundscandles.com

Hazard Golf – Green Jackets Champions Poster

Actually a young clothing brand with smart designs on t-shirts, sweaters and caps, Hazard Golf also has this pretty Masters poster with all previous winners in their respective winner outfits or  THE striking poses with which Nicklaus, Lefty, Tiger and co. burned themselves into the collective golf brain. Nice graphic work for the office, the hallway or the living room – next to the television. There‘s three different formats for 25,-, 30,- or 40,- $ or with a frame from 45,- $ on  hazardgolf.co

Golfdrawn – Augusta Magnet

Another small company for beautifully made graphics on the subject of golf. Golfdrawn offers the most famous courses as posters, T-shirts or, as in this case, as fridge magnets. Hang your personal “bucket list” on your walls with Kingbarns, Cape Kidnappers, Spyglass, Pebble Beach, etc. or use this Augusta magnet to get amped while getting a beer during the tournament commercials. $ 5.99 at golfdrawn.com

Fade Golf n‘ Stuff – Azalea Dreaming Tee

The dream of the azalea bloom has drawn on quite a bit this year and it will be interesting to see whether the organizers will somehow manage to let them bloom at Augusta National in November. It wouldn‘t be surprising if they had them come fresh from the nursery in dozens so everything looks like as if it was April in November. We don‘t know yet, so we keep on dreaming… The shirt is available for $ 30 via fadegolfnstuff.com

Coobs Golf – Holes of Augusta Headcover

With this beautiful head cover from Coobs your flight partners can show whether or not they‘ve done their homework. What are the 18 holes of Augusta National named after? Who of your friends puts them in the right order? Which were the decisive shots? At which of these holes you better don‘t grab the driver? Fine leather, embroidered in green, comes as driver or wood head cover for 100,- or 90,- $ from coobsgolf.com

Baker Golf – Augusta National Illustration

Similar to Golfdrawn, Baker Golf has beautiful wall hanging goodies. Pinehurst, Sheep Ranch, Sweetens Cove, Tobacco Road, Whistling Straits and many more in vector graphic retro style. Here we got – what else? – the Hogan Bridge, probably the most iconic piece of the Masters sitting right in the middle of the Amen Corner crossing Rae‘s Creek to the 12th green. Printed on Kodak Endura glossy paper, this poster (unframed) is also available in three different sizes from $ 30 to $ 60 on bakergolfco.com

Sendit – Masters Nylon

Sendit, the small, lovely label from San Diego, also got two Masters themed items: The Augusta Snapback Cap with the Course Map as a subtle print on the visor and this nylon cap with fast drying fabrics – ideal for fall golfing. We also really like the paper plane design in the Masters look. Well, send it! Available for $ 28 via senditgolf.com

Patch Producer – Masters Golf Tournament Patch

Not a golf brand, but for your battle vest (or your bag) this is some nice little merch for the true lover. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out if the articles in the shop are actually all licensed. Seen on etsy.com/de/shop/PatchProducer for $ 3,99.

McEwan Golf – Patrons Only Sticker Pack

Finally, a sticker pack to customize your car, laptop, trolley or front door and show the world that you‘re a Patron in mind. The set is consisting of the above-mentioned Pimento Cheese Sandwich and the typical Patrons camping chair. Available for $ 8 on mcewangolf.com

Categories
Highlights Tours

Sophia Popov on her attempt at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 2020

THE MODERATOR: We are back with Rolex Rankings No. 25 Sophia Popov. Sophia is competing in her third KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and her first since 2018. This is her fifth start of the 2020 season and has a breakthrough win at the AIG Women’s Open several weeks ago. What have the last six, seven weeks been like for you since that blustery day at Troon when your life just changed?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, it’s been crazy. You know, it’s been probably the coolest five weeks of my life. For me obviously it was an unexpected win, too, and I got to enjoy that with my family and my friends, and so it’s been a little bit of a whirlwind with all the media and everything, but it’s obviously been awesome, and I wouldn’t want to change it for anything.

It gave me a big confidence boost going into Portland and ShopRite, also, so I feel like I’ve been playing some solid golf since then, and it’s nice to see that pay off now.

THE MODERATOR: You definitely have been playing some solid golf. Thinking back to Troon, how much inspiration do you take from that? You want to win and you need to move on at some point, but how much inspiration do you take back from that week at Troon as you move into the rest of this week?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, a win is a win. I felt like even when I won mini-Tour events before, it gives you a lot of confidence going into the next few weeks, and for me that win was — gave me all the confidence in the world. It kind of proved to me that I knew my game — I always knew my game was there, it was just a matter of being able to play well during the right weeks and keeping my card for the most part, and then I finally had the breakthrough win, and ever since it’s been kind of nice because I can kind of relax a little bit. On the course I think it’s changed my attitude even more, just being a little bit more calm on the golf course and letting it come to me instead of pushing for it or having to play super aggressive.

It’s just been really working in my favor, and that’s another part that I’m really enjoying since that win.

THE MODERATOR: We’re at your next major playing as a major champion where you get announced as “major champion Sophia Popov” and we’re at Aronimink. What are your thoughts on this golf course?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, I actually saw all 18 today for the first time, and it was super chilly this morning. I needed everything, mittens, beanie. I was like, I’m right back at Troon, which felt pretty good to me, but except for the fact that I was hitting like 3-hybrids into every green, and I was like, this is a little bit exhausting, so I hope they might put up some tee boxes.

But overall I think it’s an amazing golf course. It sets up well I think for my game. I hit it decently long, so I think that plays in my favor, and some good greens — huge greens. I feel like you can have about 300 different kinds of putts on there.

You know, you try to practice around them and see whether you can get any kind of lie you can possibly get in a tournament, but you’re always going to be somewhere else. It was nice. It’s just in amazing shape, and I’m really excited about going out there on Thursday.

THE MODERATOR: One of the fun things about this event is you go to a different place every year, someplace you’ve never been. What’s your practice of how do you practice for a place you’ve never been?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, it’s interesting, you go by the yardage book. You just kind of check, where do I want to hit this tee shot, pick some targets, pretty much can hit driver on almost every hole here, which is great, and then you kind of have to — like I said, you play by the yardage book so you see some of the plateaus on the greens and you try to play to a couple different ones and see how the ball reacts, and then on the back nine honestly I just played a game against myself or with my caddie, and I played my score and just tried to see was it scorable, what can you get out of the course. So that’s kind of been a nice preparation.

Q.  I believe you went home after your victory at Troon; is that right?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah.

Q.  How long does it take to really sink in?

SOPHIA POPOV: You know, I feel like it’s never going to quite sink in. I mean, eventually it will, but not this year. I mean, this is just my birthday present, my Christmas present, everything to myself. And I also — from talking to a lot of different players, men’s and women’s side, they all said to me, you know what, sit back, kind of relax. I know you want to get out there and play but really enjoy it. You’re not going to get that time again. Come next year it’s going to be crazy and you’re going to want to — you’re looking forward to every next tournament and you forget about what happened in the past and you want to really just enjoy it and take some time and spend it with your family. I took that time, I took three weeks, I celebrated with my family, with my friends, and I’m ready to celebrate a little bit more towards the end of the year, but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

Q.  You said it was five weeks, the best five weeks of your life.

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah. Is that how long it was ago? Whatever it was since the tournament.

Q.  Tell me what you did outside of playing tournament golf. What did you do?

SOPHIA POPOV: I went home to Germany first, saw some of my family, some of my friends there. I honestly didn’t play a lot of golf this week. Then I went back to Arizona to my immediate family and celebrated with my brothers. They were over the moon. They’ve been kind of waiting for this moment for a long time, and they were probably more proud than anyone else was.

I got to spend the whole week with my nieces and my family and just — played a little bit of golf, got back into it as far as my — seeing my trainer, my physio and everything, so I was ready to go. That third week off I started practicing full-time again and getting back into things, but those two weeks went by fast because it felt like you were kind of celebrating with everyone so it all kind of merged into one big celebration over two weeks. I wish it was a little bit longer to be honest, but I was ready to get going again. I saw everyone play at the ANA and I was really bummed, and I was like, now I’m ready, I want to go. Going to Portland was really nice. I was very excited about that.

Q.  As the Women’s British Open champion, what gets you excited if it’s not on the golf course?

SOPHIA POPOV: A lot of things. I mean, I’m into anything sports. I was glad sports on TV was on again, so I was watching a little bit of that and kind of planning a couple trips for Christmas. I love skiing, so that’s going to be fun.

I like a lot of things. I like hiking, I like running, I like biking, road biking. I did everything during those two weeks, kind of everything that I can’t do normally when I’m on Tour. Yeah, I don’t know, just hang out with my family. I love that. That’s the most fun I have.

Q.  A big check came with that win; did you splurge on anything or do you have any plans to splurge?

SOPHIA POPOV: No, it’s been like five weeks, and you’re like, I’m sure you’ve spent it on something. You know what, I bought myself a TrackMan. That was a dream of mine, and I couldn’t really afford it before. I was like, I really want one, and I always had to go see my coach to go get some numbers, and now I finally have one, so I’m really excited about that. All the other stuff I kind of let it come to me. I’m not typically someone who just goes out — I’m not a big shopper, so I don’t even know, I have to see — there’s some bigger things, some bigger projects I have in mind. Like I said, I’ll just let it come to me, and eventually — I’m kind of a — German people save all their money and then one day they pass it on to their kids or something. That’s probably what’s going to end up happening. Save for college funds and everything.

Q.  What would you say is the biggest difference in your life since winning the British, and then also how many congratulatory text messages would you say you got?

SOPHIA POPOV: The biggest thing that’s changed since the British for me as a player or just as a person in general?

Q.  Both.

SOPHIA POPOV: I think the biggest thing has just been my confidence. You know, it’s funny, I’m a pretty confident person off the golf course and then when I’m on the golf course and it seems like I just — it’s not like — I know what I’m capable of, but it was just kind of believing in the fact that I can go out and shoot low, and no matter on what day, and I think that changed a lot, that I go out and I feel more like a sense of belonging and I can just go out and shoot low any day and be in the mix at any tournament now. So I think that’s changed a lot for me.

And then what was the second question?

Q.  How many text messages?

SOPHIA POPOV: How many text messages? WhatsApp and messages and Facebook all together? It was crazy. I think the morning after I had close to 415 just text messages, which I still have not even replied to. So if you’re in the — I’m sorry. I’m slowly getting back to everyone. Probably a good 600 total. Obviously a lot of people that I don’t talk to all the time, and then a lot of people I do talk to all the time. It was a lot for sure.

Q.  So I guess you didn’t get my text then?

SOPHIA POPOV: Or I didn’t get back to you.

Q.  You were, I think, 304 in the world when you won. There was some extenuating circumstances with health and whatnot, but we’ve also had Mirim Lee win at No. 94 and Hannah was 114 when she won this last year. My question is should anyone, given the state of women’s golf, should anyone be surprised when that happens?

SOPHIA POPOV: You know, I mean, I think it’s always a surprise because you just don’t see it coming. But you know, it kind of speaks for the depth of talent out there. I think on any given week a girl that’s ranked 200 or 300 can play her best golf and win.

I think it’s like that on the — I wouldn’t say it’s not like that on the men’s Tour. I think every now and then you have a breakout winner, you have a surprise winner that no one was talking about previously.

So yeah, it’s always a surprise. It’s just kind of knowing that any girl out here this week can win because we’re all capable of playing some really good golf. I don’t know — of course the surprise factor is always going to be there, but I’m not surprised about any of the girls winning this week.

Q.  Kind of as a follow-up to that, there was a time 20 years ago, and I don’t want to throw a bunch of numbers at you, but there was like 18 majors played and only one first-time major winner in that whole group. It was Annika and Juli and Seri, Karrie, the whole lot of it. Do you think we’ll ever see an era like that again?

SOPHIA POPOV: You never know. I mean, I just think it’s similar to the men’s game where we have a lot of good players out there now. The top 10 in the World Ranking for the women, everyone is up there every week. I think it just, again, speaks to the depth of the field and how good everyone is now, and everyone is capable of winning. That’s why not the same person wins every week. But you’ve still got your favorites every week, and I think that’s not going to change. It’s just that there are so many good players out there so you just never know, and I think that’s just the golf game today in general is like that. I think you’re just — it’s the same as Tiger Woods that won everything, you hardly find a guy out there now winning the same amount that he’s won.

We’ll see; maybe there will be. But I honestly don’t think so. I think more girls are going to win multiple events.

Q.  I’m sure you replayed the final day at Troon here and there and think about it. When you get on the other side of that, is it about the shots that you physically hit or is it more about how mentally you handled the challenge of the day?

SOPHIA POPOV: I think a little bit of both. You know, I love to look back and I look at certain shots that I hit, and you know, it’s also great for me mentally to go back and look at those and remind myself of how well I was playing under pressure, and I think mentally it was a huge breakthrough for myself.

I think I’ve always battled the game between the ears more than anything else my whole golf career, and I think for me that was the most important thing. But I still had to execute.

So I think I look back a lot and I look at certain shots and I go, you know, I’m just — I think it’s a lot of self-pride in that moment that I was aggressive and I didn’t back off of any of the shots, and I just played — I went for most of them and went right at the pin and stuff like that.

I think it’s a little bit of both, but I think obviously proud of the execution just as much as the mental part.

Q.  How does money like that hit your account on the LPGA Tour and how often do you go back to look to confirm that it actually was the right amount?

SOPHIA POPOV: I mean, it just hits my bank account like every week.

Q.  On a Monday —

SOPHIA POPOV: No, not on a Monday, somewhere end of the — I don’t even know, end of the week sometime. I never even pay attention. At some point it’s there, and I’m like, oh, yes, I can go shop, which I don’t like, though. But I can — I don’t know, it came towards the end of the week, and of course you look at it and you’re going, man — it just feels like something illegal is happening on your account. And it still does. I still look at it and I go, oh, my.

But I’m kind of a very pragmatic person. Like immediately I would put half of it away, and I don’t look at it all the time, to be honest. I was doing — I just keep doing my taxes, do all my stuff that I’ve been doing the same way I did before, and of course it’s with a bigger amount now. I think the more often I look at it, the more I get used to it, but it’s definitely still weird.

You know, I think after a while you get used to it, and of course there’s been more coming in after, so I think that’s just something that — I mean, hopefully at some point I can just get used to and don’t have to keep looking at it. I try to ignore it, to be honest.

Q.  I don’t know if you have an agent. I’m assuming you do —

SOPHIA POPOV: Yes.

Q.  Has there been a lot more interest in Sophia since the win from outside sources?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, for sure. I mean, would be weird if it wasn’t that way, so definitely. But yeah, I let my agent handle that. Derek, do you hear that? Yeah, like everything goes to my agency, so for the most part — of course there’s still coming in, but again, they want me to play golf, I want myself to play golf. I don’t want to have to worry about that stuff, so I let them handle everything.

Q.  A lot of players are kind of overwhelmed by media and attention after a big win like that, but you actually were mic’d up last week. Are you kind of like — is this fueling you, the attention?

SOPHIA POPOV: Well, in some ways maybe. I just have always been the kind of person, I like — anything that I did media related, I really enjoy it. Most of the time, to be honest, I was doing internships where I was working behind the camera. I wasn’t even in front of it. But I like working with the media, so I think for me, it’s something that comes naturally. So I wasn’t really worried about being mic’d up at all because I knew really all I had to do was just be myself out there and maybe throw in a couple of funny comments here and there. I was like, trying to make up for my group. I was like, you’re probably talking more than you usually do. But I really enjoy it.

So I said to them, it’s no problem to me. I don’t get annoyed by the mic or anything hanging out. I don’t know if it fuels me. I just enjoy it. So far. So far.

Q.  What were your internships, out of curiosity?

SOPHIA POPOV: I just did some with German sports channels, and one of them was commentating the Solheim Cup for the Solheim Cup for German TV, so I did a couple weeks with them and a few things with our golf club in Germany when I was younger, like 10th, 11th grade, 12th grade I did some stuff, and then in college, too, I was a communication major. And I wrote some blogs, I worked for the history department in school where I was interviewing people. Just like little things here and there. I like doing that. Eventually that’s something I’m hoping to get into anyways.

Q.  At the British I know you said your swing thought was just to swing aggressively. I was wondering if that’s still a swing thought you lean on or if there’s something new you’ve been employing lately?

SOPHIA POPOV: Definitely still swinging aggressively, but of course since the British I’ve looked at some just technical things, too, in my swing. I obviously don’t want to change a lot. Trying not to change anything to be honest, but I’ve just got the same thing I work on, which is lowering my ball flight a little bit, which I was trying to do for the British anyways, and it just helps my swing in general to have more solid contact, more consistent and hit the ball flight that I like to see, and I still work on exactly the same things. It’s not very technical, it’s just more of a swing thought or a movement thought.

Q.  So how do you flight it down more?

SOPHIA POPOV: Just for me it’s just keep the hands in front. I’ve tried to — I’m someone who gets the hands — I get a little bit scoopy. Scoopy is a big — is not the right word probably because it’s not really scoopy but I try to keep the hands up front and shut the face a little bit more at impact, and that’s how — I try and use my body a little bit, all that together, just get a little bit lower.

Q.  You mentioned the ANA and how you were bummed about not being there, and then obviously you know about the fact that you don’t get a five-year and all that stuff. Were you surprised at the amount of people that seemed to be in support of you when all that came out?

SOPHIA POPOV: Definitely. I mean, it was — honestly I don’t spend a lot of time on Twitter or I didn’t before the British, and then after the British I was like, the whole thing was blowing up more than I honestly wanted it to. It wasn’t my intention at all. I just kind of took it the way it is because midway through a season I know there’s nothing that’s going to change about that, and I’m okay with that, I just — like I said, I just want to go out and play. That’s something that we’re going to deal with towards the end of the season.

But it was really nice to see that pretty much everyone was on my side, and I had a lot of support on our Tour and on the men’s Tour.

I think players in general, they — I think they could put themselves in my position, and I think they felt for me a little bit in that respect. But again, it’s something that I don’t think will be changed right now, and so we’re going to — we’ll see towards the end of the season whether there’s anything that can be done about it, or I just have to go out and play good golf. That’s not going to change.

THE MODERATOR: Troon where you won was a course with a great history on the men’s side, now we’re here at Aronimink and we’re playing so many tournaments with KPMG and PGA of America that have such a great tradition in the men’s game. How does it feel to you and the rest of the Tour as we come to places like here and Atlanta Athletic Club and Olympia Fields a few years ago with such a rich men’s tradition as we continue to promote and grow the women’s game?

SOPHIA POPOV: It means a lot. I’m someone who’s watched a lot of golf my whole life, especially the men’s side, just because when I was in Germany they wouldn’t show the women’s. So I would watch all the majors and I would see tournaments happening on these courses all the time. I think it’s amazing since KPMG has stepped in; the kind of courses they get us on is incredible. We were just out here this morning, we were talking about it, and I said, I love it, it’s so pure, it’s a championship golf course, it’s long, it’s very difficult. And I think that’s what a lot of us want. We want those kind of golf courses, and it’s just really nice to see because you can compare the games side by side, same golf course, and maybe not the same conditions and you’re not playing the same time of year maybe, but in general it’s awesome. Like I love it, and I’m just super excited for the next few years to come, also.

Categories
Highlights Tours

Sergio Garcia on his first PGA Tour victory since 2017

DOUG MILNE: We’d like to welcome Sergio Garcia, winner of the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship. Congratulations on a very convincing victory, your 11th on the PGA TOUR and first since the 2017 Masters. Obviously last shot coming into 18, third shot coming into 18, second shot coming into 18, just a few highlights of the week ending with that 18th hole.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously the perfect way, the perfect ending for an amazing week. I obviously knew that Pedrito — he finished at 18, so I knew that I needed to birdie one of the last two or three to get ahead. I actually thought I birdied 17. I hit a great putt. I thought I made it. Unfortunately I didn’t.

But then I stood up on 18 and I did what I’ve been doing all week. I trusted myself. I aimed down the right side of the fairway and just hit a hard draw, really, really nice drive, actually went quite long because it was playing a little bit into the wind, and it gave me the ability to have an 8-iron into the green instead of having a 6 or something like that, and then just hit, funny enough, my last win, Augusta — well, my last win on the PGA TOUR at Augusta, the 8-iron on 15, this time it was the 8-iron on 18, and to almost hit the pin again and to hit it that close, obviously it was a dream come true.

DOUG MILNE: With the win you move to No. 4 in the FedExCup standings. You’re making your first start here at the Sanderson Farms Championship, capped it off in great style. Just some thoughts on being here and playing the Sanderson Farms Championship for the first time.

SERGIO GARCIA: It’s great. They’ve taken amazing care of it, Joe and everyone around. I mean, I saw — I watched this tournament last year, and I thought — obviously a friend of mine that I was talking with, Juan, and I thought, that looks like a really nice course. This year because of everything, I should be — funny enough — well, the Ryder Cup should have been last week. I probably should have been in Europe if things would have been normal, and because of COVID and everything, it kind of changed my schedule a little bit, and I’m able to play a few tournaments in the fall.

Then it was really, really great to be here, to play the way I played, to believe in myself the way I did, and I’m really, really proud.

Q. It’s been more than a year, just over a year since your last win at the Dutch Open. Is it hard to trust yourself when you need to like you did on 18?

SERGIO GARCIA: Sometimes it can be. But I think that the great thing about it is my mind was very clear throughout the whole week. You know, I knew what I wanted to do pretty much every single shot I hit. The only one that I would love to take back — not even the one on 8 but the tee shot on 15. I should have hit like a strong 3-wood and deal with that. But other than that, like I said, I was very confident throughout the whole week. I was believing in myself the whole week. I obviously hit a bad putt on 6 for par, but I stuck with it, I kept going, I kept believing, I kept telling myself, you’re doing great, just keep doing what you’re doing, it’s great. So you’re not going to make every single putt, and I was able to come up with some great shots and some great key putts on the back nine to win it.

Q. As much as you were yelling at your ball on the 14th when it was in the air, at what point did you realize how close it was?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, obviously when it just carried the bunker I knew that it was going to be fairly close, if it didn’t bounce right and kind of caught the slope. I wasn’t even sure if it was on the green. I was like, well — it looked like it bounced pretty straight, but I knew that there was a little bit of a run-off area there. So until I saw it, I didn’t know it was that close.

I was expecting it to be about 10 feet or so just right of the hole, which was already a great shot, but instead of that it was probably about three feet, which made it a lot easier for sure.

Q. Sergio, what club did you hit there on 14?

SERGIO GARCIA: It was a 5-wood.

Q. How frustrated were you getting having so many people, media, asking you what’s wrong with your game?

SERGIO GARCIA: I really wasn’t that frustrated because nobody was really talking to me. You know, they had other guys to talk to, and I was just working hard and just trying to get better in every aspect of the game, mentally and physically, and I was just doing my own thing, trying to figure out what I needed to do, and that’s what I did.

Q. Also after the round you mentioned dedicating this win to your father and the loss of a couple family members. Can you share a little bit about that?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. Unfortunately my father has a lot of family in Madrid. He’s one of nine siblings, and unfortunately we lost two of his brothers because of COVID, one at the beginning, Uncle Paco, and one just last Saturday actually, not yesterday but the Saturday before, Uncle Angel.

You know, it’s sad. It’s sad. And I know that a lot of families have lost a lot more people, but you never want to lose anyone like that, and I wanted to win this for them.

Q. What do you think this victory can do for you going forward with a Masters and other events coming up?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it’s obviously a boost of confidence, there’s no doubt. Every time you play well, even if I would have not won it, it still would have been a massive high for me this week. To be able to do a lot of the things that I did, it meant a lot. It showed me a lot of what I still have and what I still can do.

It’s obviously exciting. I’m finally very happy with the equipment that I have in my bag, with everything that I’m playing. I feel like I’m starting to be the old me, being able to hit shots from every angle, and obviously it’s exciting.

Q. Just a point of clarification. First of all, I saw that you had mentioned previously that you’d been sort of putting with your eyes closed maybe up to three years ago and you did at the Masters. But you don’t do it all the time in these three years; you kind of go back and forth; is that kind of accurate?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. Most of the times, but then sometimes when it starts feeling really well, really good, I think, maybe I can just do it with my eyes open and kind of do it normal — well, I guess my eyes closed is probably normal for me now.

But then I realize that I get too caught up in trying to make it too perfect instead of just letting myself do it. You don’t have to hit a perfect putt every time to be able to make it, and that’s what I’ve been working on, and that’s what I’m going to keep working on. Don’t worry, I’m still going to be putting with my eyes closed for probably a long time, so you guys probably won’t have to ask me all the time.

Q. Better shot, 14, that 5-wood, or 18? They’re both important, but 14 set up 18 in my mind —

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it definitely does. I think — I mean, I think obviously if I hit a good shot on 14 and I make birdie and then I birdie 15, which is a birdie hole, then I’m still at 18. Obviously 14 was very important because it gave me the opportunity of only having to birdie one of the last four to win it.

But then 18 you still have to do it. It’s not an easy hole. It’s 500 yards, and you have to hit a great drive. The pin was a good pin on the right side, and if you miss it a little bit right, it’s a very tricky up-and-down. To be able to stand there and hit the kind of 8-iron that I did and then hit the putt that I did, even though it was only two and a half feet or something like that, you still have to gather yourself and trust yourself and do it. So that was really nice.

Q. Is it easier to trust yourself knowing that you’ve been a good ball striker, a great ball striker for your whole career? I mean, this is what you’ve relied on more than anything is being able to hit shots —

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, the great thing for me is that when I’m feeling it, I don’t feel like I even have to putt too well to have a chance at winning, or to win. With an average or just above average kind of putting week, if I’m playing the way I played this week, I can give myself a chance of winning almost every week. Obviously it’s not easy to play the way I played this week every single week because there’s some weeks that you feel a little bit better, some weeks you feel a little bit worse. But my long game, it’s always been a strength, and everyone knows that, and that’s what I rely on, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t work on the short game, too.

Q. You’ve now won at least one time each of the last 10 years. Is that important to you? Is that impressive to you?

SERGIO GARCIA: I didn’t even know. Yeah, obviously it is important. It’s something that you have to be proud of, and I am. But I didn’t even think about it.

You know, I’m not — I’ve been out here for 21 years, so you know that I’m not the kind of records kind of guy. I’ve been able to achieve some of them without even thinking about them, and I’m very proud of them. But that’s not what motivates me.

Q. I mentioned the Dutch Open earlier; did it feel longer than a year since you’ve won? When you struggle, does your last win feel like longer ago than it actually was?

SERGIO GARCIA: A little bit, yes. Without a doubt it does feel — yeah, it does feel like it was a little bit longer.

But you know, I don’t take any wins for granted. It doesn’t matter which Tour, PGA TOUR, European Tour, Asian Tour, it doesn’t matter. To me, winning nowadays anywhere in the world is tough. There’s so many great young guys playing, and they play the game at an unbelievable level. Any win you can get, it’s always something to really have in your heart.

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Collin Morikawas Interview before the US Open

Q. First major since you became a major champion. Does it feel any different or do you approach it any different? COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don’t think I approach it any different. I think I do some really good prep, and I’m sure that’ll kind of adjust as time goes on. This is my third major, so figuring out how to — guys know how to prep for majors, especially the ones that have won, and know the secret to doing that. But I think I do a really good job Monday through Wednesday of figuring out a course, figuring out what I need to do, so I’m doing the same thing. But I think walking here as a major champion, you have a sense of knowing how to get things done. Yes, I’ve only done it once, but I’ve done it. You just want more. You get that little taste of what it’s like, and you know why guys mark in their calendars the major championships for the year. So it’s not like I’m showing up not knowing what a major championship feels like. You still have that feeling here even without the fans. You can tell how guys are prepping, how guys are getting ready, but for me it’s just, okay, let’s come out here, I see all these guys every week, and let’s have some fun playing golf. Q. I’m sure there’s no similarities between the two golf courses, but from off the tee is there anything to be said for the fact that you have to be able to play from the short grass if you’re going to do anything? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I love that. We saw all of us tested a couple weeks ago at Olympia Fields, and you can see what scores does like that. I love playing courses like that because, yes, guys can make birdies, but you also have to know how to make pars and you have to be able to know when to take a bogey if you have to or when you hit it in the rough and really take your medicine. As a young player, we necessarily might not have that mindset as some guys, but I think if you look back, the four years I spent in college, college coaches loved telling you hit to the middle of the green, and this week might not necessarily be hit to the middle of the green, but it’s hit to your spots. You look at hole 1, and I only played it once yesterday, but you can be pin high and not have a putt at the hole. That’s just how tough this course is. You have to know where to hit it. Just getting to know the course is going to be really beneficial for everyone. Q. Collin, when there was a Tour stop in Westchester, guys would come over, play here, go play Quaker Ridge. Your generation hasn’t had a chance to do that. So how new is the Winged Foot experience for you guys? Do you know many guys who have played here? COLLIN MORIKAWA: My caddie played in the U.S. Am here in 2004, so he’s bringing a lot of knowledge. I think he was here in ’06. Yeah, that’s just part of what I’ve been doing, playing only a year and a half in, is figuring out these courses Monday through Wednesday and that’s kind of all you get. It’s nice to go to courses that I’ve played before, but it’s nothing new. So I come out here yesterday and start figuring out what I need to do, what is going to be the important factors. Obviously off the tee is going to be important, but you can’t let up on any part of your game out here. You’re going to see every shot. You’re going to see some really good shots, really bad shots from every part of in golf course. It’s just the way it’s set up. It’ll be fun, yeah. Q. And when you’re not on Tour, when you get a week down, do you ever go visit some of the historical places, or is that ever part of your routine? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Not really. I’ll go eat. No, I’d rather relax and get away from the golf course as much as I can. I know you’ve talked to other people, I’m sure, and asked them what courses they want to play. To be honest, I really don’t have many because I just don’t want to keep playing golf on those off weeks. Our off-season — you look at our off-season this year, right, Tuesday through Sunday. It’s not a lot of time. It’s not like any other sport, and I’ve talked to other guys about it. It’s just the way we go. But it’s really cool we get to travel to so many cities, give back, and help out as much as we can. Q. How does the course suit your eye and shot shape, and how many drivers will you hit in each round? COLLIN MORIKAWA: I’ve only seen the front nine, so I hit a lot of drivers yesterday. It fits my eye pretty good. I think there’s a couple holes on the front where they were kind of dogleg lefts and the fairway was sloping to the right, and I think 12 — 12 might be the par-5. I think that’s really similar to that. Those tee shots I really just got to hit the most neutral ball flight I can. But I’ve kind of tweaked my driver here and there and just on every other fairway, especially with the narrow fairways, I’ve been able just to aim down the left side and have it peel back to the middle, and that’s all I can ask for. That pretty much makes my fairway as wide as it can be, knowing that my ball is going to fall right. It’s going to be a lot of drivers. It’s cold this morning, so if we get some cold mornings throughout the tournament, the course is going to play very long. It’s going to play a little tougher, especially this first stretch of golf. Q. Where is the line between extremely difficult and unfair? COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don’t know. I really don’t know because I would love to see it as tough as it can get. I think when it starts getting unfair is when it’s more on our approach shots and more on the we can’t stop a ball in a certain part of the green. I realize it’s Tuesday now and the greens are going to get firmer, they’re going to dry them out, they’re going to roll them, cut them, but off the tee, if you look at it, it’s just penalizing bad tee shots. And it’s not something we see all the time because sometimes we can just hit it as hard as we want and get away with it. That’s just how different golf courses work. But this is a golf course this week where you’ve got to hit it in the fairway, and if you’re not in the fairway, you’ve got to play smart. The good thing about this course is that a lot of the front of the parts of the greens are shaved and you can almost run them up if you have — if you get a decent lie, I guess. That’s not going to be the case all week. But you have some flexibility in some shots if you miss it off the tee. Q. What’s the hardest course you’ve played? COLLIN MORIKAWA: This one probably. (Laughter.) Q. Number of guys, young guys, whether it’s Rahm or Xander or maybe even Bryson, who the next step is the major, is this the week they win the major, is there any part of you that’s considered what it’s like to not have to get that question for the rest of your career, having knocked it out at age 23? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it’s nice, I guess, I won’t get that question asked. But now it’s going to be what’s next and what are you going to win next. But that’s the thing; I’m not waking up every day realizing, yeah, I’m a major champion. I’m realizing we’re at the U.S. Open, let’s go win another tournament. So for me it’s always what’s next, like what can I put my head forward, what is going to be the next test of golf, and obviously it’s this week. I’ve got to focus on every week. I can’t get ahead of myself, can’t start thinking about this long season that we have, what tournaments I’m going to play. It’s just let’s get focused for this week. To be honest, the game, swing feels really good, and it should be really fun Thursday through Sunday. Q. Especially after the PGA Championship, you talk to a lot of the older players, veteran players about you, they said that you have a lot of courage. They use a lot of terms I can’t say right here, but they’d say hutzpah. Talking about in terms of your golf. You seem poised in all these moments; where does that come from do you think? COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don’t know. My parents raised me really well, and they’ve been a huge impact on my life. But I think that’s just who I am. I’ve always had kind of a mature head on my back, and that’s just the way I think. I kind of think through things a lot. Q. Some people in pressure moments shrink, especially the first time they might be in them. You had a little trouble on the green early in the year, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting you, you seem to be able to handle those moments. COLLIN MORIKAWA: Well, I think you learn from moments like that. You learn from tough breaks. You learn from losses, and you learn from — like the two missed cuts I’ve had, I’ve learned, seriously, some of the most things I could have learned from just two days of golf. That’s where I’ve learned the most. So I think that’s where I’ve done a really good job is reflecting back. And I need to do a better job of reflecting back on the good weeks, as well. It’s not just, okay, we’re good and we’re going to go win every week. That’s not how golf works. You wake up every day, and you don’t know how your body is going to feel, you don’t know how you’re going to hit it. But it’s about being as consistent as possible. Yeah, I think I’ve learned a lot, and I go back and I do reflect on what I need to get better, what I’ve been doing well. So I think that’s why, yes, I’ve had a tough break, but it’s okay, like what is next. How do we improve, how do we not do that in the next situation. Q. Is there such a thing as a clutch player, people that are able to do that and people that aren’t? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, there’s Tiger Woods and there’s the rest of us. But yeah, you look at guys like — there are definitely guys that are clutch in moments, and every PGA TOUR player wouldn’t be here — they wouldn’t be on the PGA TOUR, they wouldn’t be at the U.S. Open if they weren’t clutch. It’s just who is going to step up to the next moment. We’re on a different stage now. It’s not just another amateur event or another college event or whatever it is. This is the big time. This is the major. So yeah, you’ve got to step up, and you can’t be scared of taking another step because that puts you in another level of golf. Q. Has being a major champion and having the success in such a short period of time put pressure on your time demands for interviews and things off the course, and how do you manage that time? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I’ve definitely been busier, especially that week after. I couldn’t tell you how much sleepy got. But for me it was actually a lot of fun, and it’s weird to say that. Now, I’m not going to take like every interview you guys ask, but for me, it was not just golf interviews, there were interviews on like all networks, on like different topics. So it was cool to talk to those people because it wasn’t just golf related and it’s not like they knew golf that well so I could have said a lot of things and it would have passed on their end. But yeah, I think if we talk about managing time, being efficient is I think what I do. Going through college, finishing it in four years, getting my degree, my business degree, I had to be efficient. I couldn’t just show up and get things done and have time pass by and realize, okay, I’m in my fourth year. I had to know what was going to be done and when. I think that’s just kind of who I am, so I’ve brought that here. I bring that to how I practice. If you look at me, I’m not pounding balls on the range until sunset. I just get things done when I need to. Adding in media, a little more media, yeah, maybe I’ve got to get here an hour earlier, but other than that, it hasn’t been too overwhelming I’d say. Q. What’s the worst lie you’ve found so far at Winged Foot? COLLIN MORIKAWA: Well, I only hit one ball in the rough yesterday, but that was only nine holes, and we’ve got par-3s, so let’s not make a big deal out of that. So 9. But I did see some, I threw some balls in just walking down the fairways. There’s lies that you know you’re just going to have to wedge it out, and that’s why I say you’ve got to take your medicine. You’re going to hear that all week. Guys that are going to play well are going to take their medicine and scramble really well. That’s just the way this course is going to play out. Q. I don’t know what made me think of this, but there’s been stories over the years of what guys put in the Claret Jug or where they take the green jacket with them. The Wanamaker weighs like 35 pounds. What are you supposed to do with that? COLLIN MORIKAWA: There’s a lot of things you can do with it. There’s a lot of things. Q. Do you take it anywhere? COLLIN MORIKAWA: No, I haven’t taken it anywhere, but there’s things you can do. It’s pretty big.
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Highlights Tours

PGA Championship 2020 Collin Morikawas victory interview

Collin Morikawa talks to the media about his first victory at a major championship after the PGA Championship 2020.

JOHN DEVER: Good evening, and welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We are really pleased to be joined by Collin Morikawa, who closed with a 6-under 64 today, finished the championship 13-under par with a four-day total of 267. Congratulations, Collin.

Emotionally, how are you processing winning the PGA in just your second career start in a major at the ripe old age of 23? I mean, that’s a remarkable achievement no matter what way you shies.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah I don’t even know. I’m on Cloud Nine, I don’t know about you guys, but yeah, I’ve believed in myself since day one. I’ve said it when we sat down, I specifically remember at Travelers the fours of us, me and Wolff, Viktor and Justin Suh, and I just told everyone, all four of us and obviously we’ve all had some pretty good paths, Justin has struggled a little bit, but we all believed since day one that we can do this. I haven’t let up from that.

I feel very comfortable in this position. But it was going to take a very, very good round today, and I knew with the leaderboard the way it was looking and everyone out there, you just had to play well.

You either win or you lose, and I got off to a little shaky start. Made a putt on 1, and you know, went full steam ahead there.

Q. (By Steph Curry): Question for you, coming down the stretch in the back nine of a major, everybody knows that that’s the moment that you go take it. Are you a leaderboard watcher? Did you know where you were? What’s your mindset in that moment the last two and a half hours of your round?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Steph, you mind taking off your hat? No, it’s fun to see you. I saw you out there on 9, and my caddie is a huge Warriors fan, I think you heard him — I’m not (laughter). I’m an L.A. boy at heart.

But yeah, I do look at leaderboards. I want to know where I’m at. Why not? I don’t think it affects me. I think gets to know where you’re at. I don’t want to be coming down 18 knowing I need to make par, and trying to force a birdie or doing something stupid. You know, when I looked on 12, and there’s a party of us at 10-under, and someone was going to separate themselves, especially with 16, gettable pins, 14, 15, but you know, I knew where I stood stepping on 16 tee. I knew I hit a good shot — I had to hit a good shot, tied with Paul after he just made birdie.

You know, yeah, what a drive that was on 16.

Q. Quick follow-up. I’m free for the next three months if you need a caddie or replacement. No, J.J. is a great guy, but if you need me, I’m available.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Perfect. I can’t wait. I want to see your game. Cam was talking about he played with you at Stonebrae.

Q. You upgraded his playing partner, so yeah, 100 percent. Congratulations. Can you take us through everything related to 16, what your game was all week and then just your mindset today and exactly where you were in your mind in the tournament when you got on that tee?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, by Wednesday night, I had no plans on going for 16 at all. I told Colt Knost, he saw me Wednesday afternoon practicing on there, and he asked me if I was ever going to go for it. I told him a quick no, it’s too much into the wind, why go for it. I didn’t think the pin was going to be where it was.

You know, my caddie, it was like 278 to the front, and just a good drive for me. It was going to land just short of that in this weather; it’s going to bounce on up. He looked at me, he counted off and asked me what I wanted to do and I told him, let’s hit a good drive. And I counted back from 14 at Muirfield. What’s different from 14 at Muirfield and this shot, similar numbers, wind was a little left, kind of into me, but I knew I had to hit a good one.

And stepped up, you know, and those are moments I’m always going to remember. Hit it, J.J. actually walked in the tee and he never does that and he was talking to the ball a bunch. I don’t really talk to it too much, but we were both screaming at it to get a good bounce, and we obviously got a very good bounce, and you just have to capitalize on those shots.

Q. You got in trouble early on 1, spun back into the bunker and made the long putt to save par and on 6 you were trapped in the left side in the trees to the other rough on the right side and then saved par. What were you thinking when you made those par putts? Did you feel like this might be your day? Even when you were in trouble you were able to get out?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, those are huge, especially for me when I make a putt like that, I feel like I can make anything on the golf course. So for me it was just like, let’s get the ball on the green and give myself a chance for a putt at birdie or par or whatever it is.

1 was huge. 6, yeah, it was big. But 1 was big because, you know, a bunch of guys I’m sure were making birdie on 1. I don’t want to start off with a bogey in the final round of a major championship, so I stepped up, I felt comfortable. Felt comfortable over the putter today, and rolled it right in.

Q. Can you describe the emotion of today? You talked yesterday about feeling more comfortable over these last couple months as you get in these situations. But not only did you end up in contention at a major on Sunday, but a major with seven guys tied for the lead and just sort of this very crazy, tense atmosphere. How much did you stay calm and how much does J.J. help that as a caddie who has been around before?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, this is the first time I’ve been around a leaderboard that crowded, so many guys out there trying to make birdies, we’re all tied for the lead or whatever it is, one back. Especially in the closing holes out here, they’re not easy. We got a little fortunate with some pin locations today coming down the stretch, but J.J. is huge. J.J., I am so lucky, I’m so happy to have him on the bag. Thank you, Ryan Moore, for not keeping him.

But not just as a caddie, a person I can talk to on the course and just keep it comfortable. He knows what to say, when to say it. He has figured out my game and what kind of player I am, what I need to know, what I don’t need to know, and it’s as simple as that.

I’m very lucky to have him. I brought him in for the last three holes, 16, 17, 18, to help me read them, and I think I’m going to do that all the time, especially coming down the stretch because it doesn’t hurt. He knows how my mind works and what we’re going to see together. He’s not just saying stuff just to say it. I’m very lucky to have him on the bag.

Q. On the tee shot on 16, did you hear anything? Were there any cheers, anything that gave you any indication it was close? And can you imagine what the reaction would have been on a green in normal times?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I wish — this is the one time I really wish there were crowds right there. But no, so I was just praying for a straight bounce short of the green on to the green, and then after it bounced it kind of got behind a tree that we couldn’t see around the corner. So once it bounced, I was like, okay, I will take it anywhere it is, because it is on the green, whether it’s short, long, and I peeked around right at the tee and looked around the tree, and it looked really, really good.

So I heard some claps. Obviously not a ton. But you know, the claps could mean I’m on the green and I’ve got 50 feet. But walking up, you know, I knew it was right above the tier, and you had to make it. I had to make that putt. Two strokes is a lot different than one stroke coming down 18.

Q. This PGA will be remembered for a lot of things, your win of course, but also because it was played on a public course on the West Coast with those of us on the East Coast watching at night. Can you imagine a steady diet of public courses, PGA Championships on public courses on the West Coast?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, of course. I love the West Coast. I think there’s a ton of great public courses around. I grew up playing some public courses around the area where I grew up in L.A., and yeah, you know, you look at TPC Harding Park, and winning score is at 13, and I think everyone enjoys watching leaderboards like this that are bunched. You don’t want to see — yes, it would be nice to be on the other end of leading by seven, whatever it is. But it’s exciting.

You know, this is what fans want to see. They want to see who is going to step up, who is going to hit that really good shot towards the end coming down the stretch, you know, whether it’s 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, whatever it is. And Harding Park showed its teeth. It brought every range of player out here. You saw a lot of big hitters just bomb driver out here, still in the rough. But the rough was tough. This is some of the thickest rough I’ve seen for a while. So I had to get used to it.

But you can make courses like this that have really good routes, somewhat challenging greens here and there, and make them tough. You know, we’re not shooting 20-something under par, and it shows you that there are a lot of good public courses out there that still test us every single day.

Q. Could you imagine Rancho Park in Los Angeles being fixed up like Harding Park has been?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don’t have a really good recollection of Rancho Park, but no, I’m guessing.

Q. I want to go back to the chip-in on 14. First, what were you thinking about the iron shots that missed the green on 13 and 14, and did you think that that chip-in was a turning point for you going forward in the championship?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, 13, you know, I just didn’t hit it well. It was a really weird swing. It never really felt — I never felt the ball. I knew it was a bad shot. 15, I hit all right — or no, no, I’m sorry. 12 I hit all right. 13 — and then we go to 14 and on 14, I had 9-iron. Ball is a little above my feet, a little uphill stance, and when you don’t hit it out here, in the thick air, cold, windy, ball is even going to go shorter. I had to step on a 9-iron on that hole on 14 and never got a hold of it.

On the chip shot, yeah I think that was a huge turning point. That separated me. Going into 15, I had really good feels from it, especially from yesterday. I hit a really good 3-wood, I hit a really good wedge. So I knew I could hold up a 3-wood against a left-to-right wind. Felt comfortable it. Hit a good approach shot I would say and left the putt just short.

It was a huge turning point on 15, and it was one of those chips where I stepped over it, and I was like this is going in. This chip just feels like it’s going to go in, and actually when I hit it, I didn’t think it was going to go in. I almost started stepping forward because I thought it was going to be a little short right, and you know, you just get a couple extra rolls and there you go, you’re making birdie.

Q. You led the week in strokes gained putting. What’s behind the turnaround?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, my caddie gave me some advice after the second round last week in Memphis, and I think if you look at my putting stats, for me, normally if I’m putting around zero, I’m very happy. But the last two days at Memphis, I thought I made huge strides. This week, I just kept that going, and yeah, a couple little adjustments in the setup and that paid huge dividends for me. Just feeling a little more comfortable over the ball, getting my head where it should be, and just being able to putt and really react to the target from there.

Q. I have two questions. One, what was your number on 16? What was the actual distance with the driver there?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I want to say it was 278 front, 294 hole. My ball went 291, exactly how I played it. Yeah, I mean, it just had to be a normal driver for me. I didn’t have to do anything special. Thankfully I don’t hit it 330.

Q. You had mentioned in the award ceremony, or right after it was over, that you’ve got a taste of this now. Can you expand on this a little bit, and are you prepared, which I think you are, for the scrutiny — not the scrutiny, but the spotlight that’s now on you, having three wins, two wins this year already and a major already at age 23?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, I love talking to you guys, whatever you guys say. I love hearing what you guys have to critique or whatever it is. It’s all for me to take in and filter out what I need or what I don’t need. That’s just kind of who I am.

Yeah, I feel very comfortable in this spot. When I woke up today, I was like, this is meant to be. This is where I feel very comfortable. This is where I want to be, and I’m not scared from it. I think if I was scared from it, the last few holes would have been a little different, but you want to be in this position.

And for me, like you said, like I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t stop here. I’ve got a very good taste of what this is like, what a major championship is like. I really do miss the fans. I know we all had to have some type of adjustment not having fans; when fans do start coming back hopefully at some point, it’s going to be an adjustment, but this is where I want to be. I love it.

The majors are going to be circled in, just like everyone else, but I’ve got to focus on every single week. I’m trying to win every single week. I’m not trying to come out and just win the majors. I’m 23. This is my first full year. This haven’t even a full year with everything going on.

But yeah, I love golf. I love every part of it. I love being in this position and I love just being able to come out here and play with a bunch of guys that love the sport, too, and that’s why I think I love being in this position.

Q. We saw you had your Cal golf on the yardage book cover. Can you speak to how living in the Bay Area helped shape you as a golfer and as a person?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think growing up in L.A. and coming out to Berkeley, especially where I grew up in L.A., very different, just different walks of life, everything, every part about it was very different and that was kind of eye-opening.

It just got me to open up and have some fun, and being out here in the bay, I was very fortunate with the coaches, with the people, the people supporting, the donors, whatever it was, everyone who helped me get to the point of graduating, I couldn’t be more thankful for them because they set that foundation for me to achieve my goals.

You know, one of those reasons, you look at guys like Max Homa, Michael Kim, Brandon Hagy, they were a big part of why I went to Cal, and what they did in that 2012-2013 season was special. Yeah, they didn’t win it, but for a regular-season team, I would say they are right up there being one of the best.

Yeah, San Francisco is always going to be my second home. I didn’t realize how much I actually missed this area. It’s very crowded; I don’t like the one-way streets at all, but being in this weather, being away from, you know, 95 degrees, 100 degrees in Vegas, 95 percent humidity with just sweating before you even get to the tee, yeah, I do miss it and it’s going to be very special, winning my first one here at Harding Park.

Q. Did you participate in the Berkeley commencement on May 2019?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I was. I was there.

Q. And then two weeks later you’re in Canada debuting on the Tour?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I’m pretty sure I went to graduation, and then I had my Ben Hogan Award at Colonial where I finished runner-up three years in a row, two years with the Hogan Award, and obviously what happened this year.

Q. If you can remember all the way back to Canada that far —

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I got you.

Q. What you expected of yourself, what you thought of yourself, it sounded like from some things you said, this was all possible already?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: They are not expectations, they are all goals. Expectations are what you put on me. That is what I filter out and what I don’t hear because I have set goals, and last year the goal obviously was to get some type of status and to learn from it.

I had dinner with Justin Thomas and I was very fortunate through my agent and everything to have dinner with him that week, and he told me, “If you’re good enough, you’re going to be out here at some point.” And I already felt good enough. I just had to have the starts. I had to have those opportunities. I was like, why not take advantage of these.

I was able to have one Korn Ferry start as an amateur and two PGA Tour starts as an amateur and I learned a lot from them. I actually learned more from my missed the cut than losing in a playoff on the Korn Ferry event, just because you’re able to learn so much in a short amount of time.

You know, I was very lucky to have those starts, but starting from Canada, obviously, J.J. was on the bag, it was very new for me. We had gone through sectionals the Monday before. We didn’t even know Canada was an option. He did not have his passport, so he had to come up Wednesday and end up caddying for me and I’m sure he was wondering what kind of player I was going to be.

Yeah, Canada from the start, I felt very comfortable, but there’s a very different sense of comfort now.

Q. Along those lines, we’re 14 months out of Cal, and you’re now three Tour wins, you’re a Major Champion, No. 5 in the world. That puts you among the elite. Do you feel like one of the elite players? Did you feel that way before you even won today, or do you even think of yourself in those terms?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I think when I play my best, I’m able to compete and if not beat these guys when I’m playing really well.

You know, I think there’s like this brotherhood; there’s a family of professional golf. All these guys, you see their groups. You see the guys that they are playing their practice rounds with, and you know, yeah, I’ve got my young guys with Wolff, Viktor, Scottie, Cameron, Joaquin, whatever it is, but I wouldn’t say I’m as close to those guys as some of the other guys out here that have been able to play and travel for years on end now.

Do I feel like I’m part of that group? Yeah. Do I feel like I’m going to start playing practice rounds with them just because I’m part of this group? No, I have my own group. I want to go out and have fun and do my own thing. Just because I’m sitting near the rankings with these guys doesn’t mean I’m going to start playing every single practice round with them.

It’s cool to play practice rounds with these guys because I learn so much, just how they think. I don’t have to ask a bunch of questions, but just watching even Steve Stricker this week, just how he goes around the practice round, how he chips, how he putts. I’m always trying to pick up on what these best players do and what makes them so great because who knows what I’m going to figure out; who knows what’s going to click in my head to work for the week or the next year or whatever it is.

Q. Was there a point where you felt your mind drift?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Beautiful Dodgers hat, even though they lost yesterday.

Q. They won today.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: They won today? Good. I love to hear that.

I think after the 16 tee, having whatever it was, six, seven — I had to make it. I didn’t have to make it, but it was one that was really going to turn the tables on everyone else in the field, and that’s why I brought J.J. in to add a little more sense of comfort. Did I feel nervous? Yeah, there’s going to be nerves running through there, but can I channel that into excitement, can I channel that into focus, and I think I did a really good job of that today coming down the stretch.

Having him come in to read the putt gave me a couple seconds to get in my own head and really focus on the putt, and talking things out sometimes helps. I was able to talk those out, what the line was, everything, how we were going to feel this putt, and yeah, I think touching on that, I think that’s something that I’m going to remember and use for the future coming down the stretch, whether I have a lead or whether I’m one back or tied for the lead is just being able to communicate. Because sometimes when you’re kind of stuck inside yourself, who knows what’s going on.

Q. Did you have a chance to look at a leaderboards, especially on the back nine, when at one point there were seven people tied for the lead? Did it ever cross your mind that, I have to do something to break out of this, or did you stick with your game plan all along?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think there’s a little of both there. I definitely looked at a leaderboard, I saw on 12, we were all having a party at 10-under. Who is going to break out? Who is going to be the oddball out to separate themselves? I hit a really good drive on 12, not a great approach shot, made up-and-down, hit a good drive on 13, and at that point, I knew someone was going to have to break out.

Does that mean I’m going to change my game plan? No. I went for 16 — was it Friday, I think they moved it up? So I went for 16. So it’s not like that game plan changed whether I was going for it, but you know, I had to step up and be fully committed that I was going to hit driver. Not be like, okay, if I hit driver, this could end up here, this could end up there, or we can chip out, make par, whatever it is. I had to be fully committed.

And you know, I think that’s why I played 14 at Muirfield so well is because I had to be fully committed. There’s water on the right. There’s a hazard on the left on 16, but that’s pretty far away. I just had to be fully committed, and J.J. asked me, you know, “Are you sure? Is this what you want to do?”

I’m like, “Yes, this is driver. This is perfect.” You know, stepped up, hit a really good drive and obviously it ended up where it did and hit the putt.

Q. This is really good news in Japan, because you’re part Japanese. I just want to ask what kind of relationship you have with Japan and what’s your history here, if you know?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I’m actually half-Japanese, half-Chinese. My mom’s Chinese. My dad’s Japanese. I’m about a third, fourth generation on my dad’s side.

So family ties back to Japan, I really, unfortunately I can’t say I have many, if any. But being able to go back to Japan, I went with my family, I don’t know, three, four winters going, and then going back for ZOZO — yeah, this past fall, it’s special, and it means a lot. And going back there, I feel like this is just — it’s home. Even though it was never home for my dad and it was never home for my grandparents, all my grandparents and my cousins and everyone on my dad’s side, they all live in Hawai’i and they have been there for awhile.

But going back to Japan, I love it. My girlfriend loves it. I love it. Obviously the food is, I think, the best in the world, and man, am I hungry (laughing). I love my food.

But you know, I hope I — I’m able to go back to Japan again. Who knows when, but when everything’s safe. Yeah, yeah.

JOHN DEVER: You told us last night about the big dinner —

COLLIN MORIKAWA: She would know this, I had udon, which is a Japanese noodle.

Q. Only Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus were younger than you to win the PGA Championship during the stroke-play era. What does it mean to you to join that list?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It’s great company. You know, it’s been crazy, because this entire start of my professional career, I see all the things comparing to Tiger and doing all this and then Tiger is on a completely different level. I think we all know that. But any time you’re in the conversation of the greats, Jack, Rory, Tiger, no matter who it is, if you’re in that conversation, you’re doing something well.

So to know that, yeah, what I’ve done, what I did my four years in college, was obviously worth it, but there’s just that extra sense of feeling good in my heart, to finish out, get my business degree, graduate, come out here knowing I’m prepared, and knowing that it’s possible.

You know, when you feel you’re ready, you’re ready, but to be in the conversation with those guys, it’s very special and yeah, you know, I’m ready for the next.

Q. Just on that history theme. Harding Park has produced Byron Nelson, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Tiger, Rory, this great list of winners. How much significance is there in that history, and why do you think Harding has produced such great winners over the years?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it’s really cool. I mean, look at the golf course. This is TPC Harding Park, is now one of my favorites in the bay. To be honest, through college, it wasn’t my favorite. I don’t think I played it extremely well. Everyone kind of shot around even and we drove back to the campus and got our night in.

It shows the quality of golf course, I think because no one separated, but if you look at the end leaderboard and the quality of players and the players that have won majors, that haven’t won majors, they are all there. It brings all the best players and who’s playing really well together, so it shows you this is a very good course, and yeah, I’m happy to come out on top.

JOHN DEVER: Last question for you. You just won the PGA Championship so we would be remiss if we didn’t ask you about your relationship with your coach, Rick Sessinghaus, how long you’ve been with him, the rapport between you two and what you focused on the last few weeks as you got ready for the first major of the season.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, so I’m 23. I first started working with Rick I think around eight, so it’s been 15 years. I have been so lucky. He’s not just a coach. He’s a great friend. He’s a mental coach. But you talk about a person that knows what to say, when to say it and how to say it, he’s your guy.

Thank you, Rick, for everything. It’s been a crazy road and we have only been climbing up so far, and why not keep going up. I’m so happy he was here. He went home Friday. Him and my agent went home back to L.A. and they drove up early this morning. I’m very happy. I almost questioned why they drove up, but it’s really special to have him, you know, for 15 years, and there’s so much for us to keep learning.

I think that’s what’s cool is that I love to learn. He loves probably learning even more than me, but you know, what did we work on over the past month? It’s just continuing things that we’ve done really well and figuring out the things that we didn’t. You know, putting was huge. I credit J.J. a lot for what we changed in the putting.

But Rick, you know, just to keep things — I had him come at Workday. I saw him right before I left for the first event back at Colonial, I had him come out at Workday, though, and it was the first week he was out and it was feeling all right. We went to go hit balls Wednesday afternoon I finished practicing, and I normally don’t do that, and that’s when things clicked. He said one thing about just the way I turn and rotate through my backswing that I had done before, and that’s what you need as a coach. You need something that — he knows what to say, you know, things that maybe he’s said before, but maybe I just need to hear it again. Every week is different. You remember things; you don’t remember things, so it clicked, and it’s still working.

JOHN DEVER: Well, this week clicked, and we appreciate you being with us on a really memorable PGA Championship, and enjoy the spoils.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Thank you so much. Thanks, everyone.

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Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup rescheduled for 2021 and 2022 respectively

The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA Tour jointly announced today that both The Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup have been rescheduled and will now be played one year later than originally planned. 

The 43rd Ryder Cup, scheduled for the week of September 22-27 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, has been rescheduled for the week of September 21-26, 2021. 

Ryder Cup rescheduled

Likewise, the 2021 Presidents Cup, initially scheduled for September 30-October 3, 2021 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, will now be played September 19-25, 2022.

Additionally, as a result of the Presidents Cup date change, the Wells Fargo Championship will be played at its traditional venue at Quail Hollow in 2021 and at TPC Potomac in 2022, during Presidents Cup year.

The decision to reschedule The Ryder Cup was made based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in conjunction with the state of Wisconsin and Sheboygan County, with the health and well-being of all involved as the top priority.

“Unlike other major sporting events that are played in existing stadiums, we had to make a decision now about building facilities to host The 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

“It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible. Given that uncertainty, we knew rescheduling was the right call.

“We are grateful to Commissioner Jay Monahan and our partners at the PGA TOUR for their flexibility and generosity in the complex task of shifting the global golf calendar.

“As disappointing as this is, our mandate to do all we can to safeguard public health is what matters most. The spectators who support both the U.S. and European sides are what make The Ryder Cup such a unique and compelling event and playing without them was not a realistic option.

“We stand united with our partners from Ryder Cup Europe, the NBC Sports Group, Sky and our other broadcast partners around the world. We look forward to delivering The Ryder Cup’s renowned pageantry, emotion and competitive drama to a global audience in 2021.”

Presidents Cup is also postponed

Guy Kinnings, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “The Ryder Cup is rightly celebrated as one of the world’s greatest sporting occasions, made special and totally unique in our sport by the fervent atmosphere created by the passionate spectators of both sides.

“While that point is significant, it is not as important as the health of the spectators which, in these difficult times, is always the main consideration. We considered all options including playing with a limited attendance but all our stakeholders agreed this would dilute the magic of this great occasion.

“We therefore stand beside our partners at the PGA of America in the decision to postpone The Ryder Cup for a year and join with them in extending our thanks to the PGA Tour for their willingness to help by moving the date of the Presidents Cup.

“We also thank NBC, Sky and our many broadcast partners around the globe, in addition to the worldwide partners of this great event, whose support and commitment are second to none.”

With the decision to play The 2020 Ryder Cup in September 2021, all subsequent Ryder Cups after Whistling Straits will also shift to odd years: 2023/Marco Simone Golf and Country Club (Rome, Italy); 2025/Bethpage Black (Farmingdale, New York); 2027/Adare Manor (County Limerick, Ireland); 2029/Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota); 2031/Europe (to be determined); 2033/The Olympic Club (San Francisco); 2035/Europe (to be determined); 2037/Congressional Country Club (Bethesda, Maryland).

Off the momentum of the 2019 Presidents Cup played in Melbourne, Australia, the 14th playing of the Presidents Cup, will now be hosted for the first time in the Southeast United States at Quail Hollow Club in 2022. 

“These two premier international team events are lifted by the spirit of the fans,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “With the uncertainty of the current climate, we fully support The Ryder Cup’s decision to delay a year in order to ensure fans could be a part of the incredible atmosphere in Wisconsin, and the delay of this year’s Presidents Cup was the right decision in order to allow for that option. 

“We are thankful that our global partners, our friends at Quail Hollow Club and all associated with the Presidents Cup and the Junior Presidents Cup have approached this change with a unified, positive spirit. We are confident the move will give us even more runway as we bring the Presidents Cup to Charlotte in 2022.”

(Text: European Tour)

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European Ryder Cup Qualification Process frozen until 2021

The European Tour today confirmed that the qualification process for Team Europe for The 43rdRyder Cup at Whistling Straits has been frozen until the beginning of the new year, after the biennial contest was postponed until 2021.

The Tour’s Tournament Committee voted unanimously to ratify the changes which will see qualifying resume on January 1, 2021, ahead of golf’s greatest team contest which will now be staged from September 24-26, 2021.

Ryder Cup Qualification frozen

All points earned to date on both the European and World Points lists, which started at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and which were paused after the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March this year, will continue to count.

In addition, one or more points multipliers may be introduced during the course of the 2021 European Tour season to ensure that strong performance closer to the match in September 2021 is given added importance. These will be agreed once the 2021 European Tour schedule has been announced and communicated to the Membership prior to January 1.

As in 2020, Qualification points will not be available anywhere in the world during 2021 from a tournament played opposite a Rolex Series event, further enhancing the status of the premier series of events on the European Tour.

Overall, there will be no modification to the qualifying criteria ratified by the Tournament Committee last year: i.e. The first four qualifiers for Team Europe will come from the European Points list, the next five from the World Points list and Captain Pádraig Harrington will have three wildcard picks.

The change to the qualifying process maintains the normal length of the qualification period plus a further two months, as January and February in both 2020 and 2021 are included. The end date of the qualification period will be confirmed when the 2021 Race to Dubai schedule is announced.

“I feel that players should not feel under pressure to play”

European Captain Pádraig Harrington said: “I think the proposals that have been outlined today are fair to all players involved in the qualification process, whether they have already amassed points or will be looking to do so from next January onwards.

“The 2020 season has already been heavily disrupted, and may continue to be further impacted, by a number of COVID-19 related issues in terms of travel restrictions, quarantine regulations and individual personal concerns. I feel that players should not feel under pressure to play and therefore the points tables should not apply from now until the end of the year from a schedule that could change further.

“However, while that is the case, notable performances will still very much count in my considerations for picks as I maintain a keen interest in the form of all possible Ryder Cup team members in tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic.”

(Text: European Tour)

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RBC Heritage: Rory McIlroy after making the Cut

Q. Rory, what was the difference between today and yesterday?
RORY McILROY: It was a little more comfortable off the tee, put the ball in play a little more, and then once you do that around this golf course, you’re going to give yourself chances. The greens are small, and you’re not hitting very long shots into the green.

Yeah, just giving myself chances to hit iron shots within birdie range and was able to convert a few. I played the easier holes better — you know, birdied the three par 5s, birdied the 9th, picked off a couple more. So just a solid day.

When I got myself out of position, I got myself back into position and relied on my short game to bail me out a few times on the back nine when I needed to, but overall just a much better day. I think, whenever you see — going out there this afternoon, I knew I needed at least 66. So having a number in your head definitely focuses your mind, and you know what you need to do.

Q. Did you hear about Nick Watney, and your reaction?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, he texted me actually because we had a chat on the putting green before I went out to play.

Q. This morning?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, but we were at a distance. He was just saying, look, I hope I didn’t get too close to you. He feels badly that he was here today at the golf course. I said, look, it’s fine. You never know. So I said to him, if I was in your position, I probably would have been here too. Look, at this point, you just have to concentrate on getting better and getting healthy.

But, yeah, look, it sucks for him especially. You know, if you contract it, that’s fine, but then it’s the fact that who have you come into contact with, and who you might have exposed and stuff. Look, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Until this thing’s over, we all just have to stay vigilant and keep your distance and wear our masks if we’re going out in public and keep washing our hands.

Q. When did you get the text?
RORY McILROY: Well, as soon as I finished. Yeah, I looked at my phone, and there was a text from Nick. I think he just wanted to tell me personally instead of, obviously, having to read it through the news. So I appreciate that.

Q. Jordan was just here, and he said this was kind of a matter of when, not if.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, for sure, if you look at the statistics. I read a thing today that — look, by the end of the year, there’s going to be 200,000 deaths in the U.S. alone from COVID-19. So to think that us on the PGA TOUR, none of us were going to get it was very — I don’t think anyone thought that. I think the consensus was someone is going to get it at some point, and Nick’s the one that’s got it, and he’s self-isolating and doing what he has to do.

Yeah, it’s a shame, but the show goes on. We’ve got 36 holes to play at this tournament.

Q. Do you still have confidence in the program now?
RORY McILROY: Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, when I do the things I’m supposed to do and I’m at the tournament site, I feel very safe, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports