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

Post author By Jonas Lerch
Post date October 8, 2020
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Major Champion Sophia Popov attempting KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2020 (photo: Getty)

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.

Tags live-highlight-tours, live-majors, LPGA, LPGA Tour, Sophia Popov

Highlights Tours

Sergio Garcia on his first PGA Tour victory since 2017

Post author By Tim Dettmar
Post date October 5, 2020
No Comments on 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.

Tags live-highlight-tours, Sanderson Farms Championship, Sergio Garcia

Top Tours

Sebastian Munoz: “The energy of this place, I really like it”

Post author By Tim Dettmar
Post date October 2, 2020
No Comments on Sebastian Munoz: “The energy of this place, I really like it”

Q. How has this week been? Has the week been fun as you come back defending champion?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: Yeah, absolutely. I get to see old faces, great memories. I don’t know, the energy of this place, I really like it, and I just kind of grow under it. I just kind of thrive under it.

Q. Were you a little nervous about how you were going to play today? Obviously everybody wants to defend their title, but were you a little nervous starting today?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: Not really. I just kind of tricked myself into thinking I was not the defending champion maybe, just kind of thinking it was another tournament at a course that I really like, and it’s been working so far, so I’ll keep doing that.

Q. What is it about this golf course that really fits your eye?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: You know, the layout is really good. You have to hit drivers both left to right and right to left, and I like to control my ball, and then the greens are pure, so kind of where you start it it’s going to finish. That’s something I really like about that.

Q. When you see 8-under scores already out there before you even tee off, how does that affect you and what did that — how did that impact you today?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: I mean, I knew it was gettable, just seeing the guys get it that low. I knew it was doable, and you just kind of need to get a hue, and I did, I started with a birdie, almost jarred it from 100 yards, so that just kind of gave me the confidence, I got a quick start, 4-under through 5, and it kind of slowed down, but then I matched it again on the back. I don’t know, sometimes I just ride the momentum. One good shot kind of feeds me for two, three holes.

Q. What happened on the shot on 9?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: I was in a divot and there was more wind than I thought, so I kind of went down to get it and just spun too much and got kind of hanging in the end and came up short.

Q. And then 13 you got another heater, right?

SEBASTIAN MU�OZ: Yeah, good shot on 13, a baby 7-iron just to get it rolling all the way to the back, and I just kind of fed off of that and birdied 14, 15 and 16.

Q. What do you think was the highlight for you today? Is there a certain shot that sticks out in your mind?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: I think probably my wedge on 1. It just kind of like set the tone for the day. Good solid driver and then almost jarred it for an eagle, so I felt pretty good after that.

Q. How would this round compare to the ones you had last year after you won?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: You know, it reminded me a lot of when I shot 9-under. I was definitely trying to get to that number again. I felt like this one — I mean, I don’t know. It felt like this — they were pretty similar. I remember the last one was bogey-free, this one I made one bogey. I think that one I played a little better golf. I had a really good chance for eagle on 15, but I parred it. I don’t know, I feel pretty solid in both of them, but I feel that one was a little better.

Q. What did you do with the trophy?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: The trophy, I put it on the club I’m a member at for like six months, and recently like the last two months I moved it to my house.

Q. Where in the house?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: It was in the gym, now it’s in the front, like as soon as you walk in the house you can see it.

Q. What’s the name of the club?

SEBASTIAN MUNOZ: Maridoe Golf Club.

Tags live-main-tours, live-pga-tour, Sanderson Farms Championship, Sebastian Munoz

Top Tours

Tommy Fleetwood: “I’m feeling more optimistic”

Post author By Tim Dettmar
Post date October 1, 2020
No Comments on Tommy Fleetwood: “I’m feeling more optimistic”

Tommy Fleetwood is feeling more optimistic (Photo: Getty)

Q.Tommy, welcome to a freezing room. Talk about your recent form, great finish in Portugal but disappointing week at Winged Foot?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, to be honest, you know, I think since being back out playing again from late summer when I first came back out and after that COVID lockdown, I think I haven’t played great, and again, I think, the way it’s been, the year has been very different. Some guys have had lots of things there. It’s been great to get home to kind of start seeing — even sporadically just getting that kind of guidance, some positive practise sessions after Portugal. Portugal I played great and I chose to play because I knew I had gone home and I was having to work on things. Struggled with a few things. I didn’t putt very well but overall I hit it great on what was a very, very difficult golf course to hit fairways can get into position, which is disappointing. This year, three events — a bit of an asterisk on your career, if you like. That week, Bryson did great.

But again, been home and feel like my game is progressively — I’m feeling a lot more motivated is not the right word but I’m feeling more optimistic about every sort of practise session I’m having and going out there and hitting it this week, which is great. I’m not like, you know, particularly happy with my form, but I feel positive.

Q. Your first Scottish Open since 2016, Castle Stuart?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Maybe, yeah. I genuinely love coming to Scotland. I get a great vibe every time I come here, St Andrews, one of my most favorite praises in the world. Staying here, sat in the room last night — but the last few years, I’ve kind of taken the decision where I feel like having a week off before, the way the schedule has worked, I feel like having a week off before majors is giving myself the best chance to prepare. It’s just always fallen that week before The Open, and I remember the first time I missed it, I was — I said this is what I want to do. Kept it like that most of the year. So this year, it’s been nice to get a chance to come back, even if it is a bit later on in the year and a bit colder.

Q. Pictures of you out on the course. What are your impressions of it?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I didn’t watch much last year, I was in Ireland at the time, but I know the scoring was really low. I turn up here and I don’t see any low score out there the way conditions are out there. I think for the first few holes, we were talk, me and Tony Finau were saying, it’s great, every hole is a different challenge. I think especially with the wind is pumping the way it is, there were so many crosswind shots, you’re going back and forth a lot. Especially today, I think it’s been a really good test. You have to change what you do on each hole, and given all the different demands of the hole. I enjoyed being out there. Felt like stretching my game a little bit. And again, when you’re working on things, having those kind of conditions on a pretty tough golf course is nice because it challenges you.

Q. The last few years, following a different schedule, how weird is it with all the interruptions and stop pages, Scotland in October, Augusta in November? How difficult is it?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I just think there’s been changes that have been out of our control. I think just getting to play — I could easily get to take it for granted at the point where we are in the year, yeah, the schedule is funky and things have changed, but I think it’s easy when you’ve played for a while now to take it for granted that we are playing all the time. You look at when everything first happened, oh, we’re done and we’re going to be in lockdown for a year, everybody, you always think the worst.

There’s definitely things that I have missed. Again, playing the week before the U.S. Open, something I haven’t done before. I think for sure people have missed having — you don’t have your coach every week, you don’t want to do that, you’re professional golfers and you should be able to figure things out on your own but the truth is you can’t and everybody needs a bit of guidance now and again. Definitely missed that.

Yeah, it is different and it’s a strange year but at the same time, you know, turning up week-in, week-out with a chance to play golf tournaments, to win golf tournaments, to win majors, that’s the way you’ve got to look at it. You kind of nailed that straightaway that yeah, things are different and a bit weird, but it doesn’t actually stop you from having the ability and having the chance to have a great season still.

There’s still plenty of good events to play, and it’s been — I would say, as strange as it’s been, I had a long spell in America which I — again, I’m not going to use terms — say I enjoy it, rather be home rather than seven weeks away or whatever but I feel like I’ve learned a lot from things being taken away from you or things being slightly different and I think I’ll take them with me forever, FOR as long as I’m playing, really, maybe knowing what I missed at certain times or what I didn’t mind about it. It’s just been very, very different.

Q. You’ve got some great Scottish golfing memories. How confident are you that you can add to that collection this week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I always — every week in golf is a blank canvas. Everybody has the opportunity, and I always feel like my good golf is clearly good enough to be there at the end of the week. I am excited about playing here again, and like you say, I do have some great memories in Scotland.

I was thinking of it while I was traveling over actually, was that one of the — just at Archerfield, a match-play event and I got beat by Graeme Storm in the first round. I actually look at that as the turning point when I started coming out of my slump that was for like a year that was well documented. I actually lost that match but I played and drove home and thought, I haven’t played like that for a year. I didn’t miss a shot.

So Archerfield was a turning point where I got things going on again, and that’s a nice little positive and nice memory coming here, which is one people probably wouldn’t think about a lot.

Q. You’re much-loved give Scottish fans. How much are you going to miss them this week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: That’s always, I think I turned the golf on the first time they started playing in America when it was the first event back and I kind of watched — I was watching the players, and I said, well, yeah, there’s no fans, but everybody looks like when they are playing, what they are doing is just the same. They are going through — everything is the same. Same routines. Everybody looks really focused. When it comes to winning, it means the same.

When I started playing, again, it’s different, but there’s certain times when it feels more different than others. I think that the majors clearly have that feeling, and certain other points where you’re on the golf course where you might have a good moment or a bad moment, and you think, that could have been very different.

I think playing in front of Scottish fans, because they are such good fans, they know exactly what they are doing. They will be missed. Me personally, I’ll miss the odd dog roaming around on the golf course.

Q. I know when you won at Gleneagles — the dog — pretty special to you, wasn’t?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it was. I actually got asked about it a couple of times. I think it was like two Nike calls to like ambassadors or friends, whatever you call it, and Robin, he asked me about that time, and I was like, I can’t believe it. Yeah, fond memories, Scotland, the country, the golf course, always looked fondly upon me for whatever reason that. Is I’ve always loved coming to Scotland and played. Had some great experiences. That was one of them. That was great.

Q. Apologies if you asked this already because I came in late for the interview. Talk of playing the CJ Championship and ZoZo ahead of Masters, are you committing to those two events ahead of the Masters and what might you want to be playing ahead of Augusta?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I haven’t committed to those yet. The guys were very kind. I got invites into those events this year which is great. Yeah, I want to keep playing, obviously. Like I said earlier, part of the reason why I’m playing quite a bit at the moment is because I feel like I’ve been working hard and I feel like I’m progressing in the right direction, and I want to get out on the golf course and I feel golf can change at any given week and hopefully my time will come again and it could be any week from now.

I want to play those events that are clearly great events until world golf and that will be it until the actual Masters which is November.

Q. From one Fleetwood to another, at Ryder Cup, your energy was phenomenal. How easy is it to replicate that energy at all the competitions?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Pretty much impossible, I think. The Ryder Cup seems — it’s been my one experience, and it was for sure — it’s definitely like it’s own individual event, and it brings with it emotions that you just don’t seem to be able to get every week. I mean, you don’t really see moments like — that you get at The Ryder Cup on a Friday morning and Friday afternoon, still two days left of the tournament, and you just don’t seem to get that. I think what makes The Ryder Cup, for us golfers, for starters, it’s the biggest sporting occasion in the world when it comes to The Ryder Cup, and we’re lucky enough that we get to play in it, and the fan interaction, seems impossible to replicate. You have 60,000 fans and there’s 16 people on the golf course, it’s not a lot.

For me, that was just — it was, it was an amazing experience. Again — you look at it and I think it’s more — it’s more of a massive motivational factor that you know what you experienced that week and you want to do it again. Everybody just wants to do it again and keep playing in those things and I think week-in, week-out, you’re not going to feel like that all the time but you look at that and it is definitely a motivation for you.

Q. Just for the record, I would like to see Tommy Fleetwood replicate that in a major?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Me, too.

Q. If there is one major where you would like to see Tommy Fleetwood on the trophy, which one, and which golf course?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It’s The Open by a long way. I’m not overly picky about the golf course to be honest but I think coming from where I’m from, very, very lucky that I have — I mean, Birkdale is my ultimate. I’m from that town. Hoylake is just down the road and Lytham is just down the road. Those are pretty much as close to home as people ever get to play in their careers, and they are all Open Championship for me, and it’s the Old Course, winning at St Andrews.

If I win all four of them, then great, but take one.

Q. Just to follow up on The Ryder Cup, apologies if this was asked earlier, late in the call, but we haven’t seen Molinari this year, I believe he’s just moved to California. Are you keeping in touch with him? Is he in good spirits, working hard? What is the latest from the Molinari camp?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, we speak. I mean, we speak quite regularly, anyway. He’s been a busy man moving home, moving the family and everything. That was something they really wanted to do and they have done that now. I’m sure he’s very happy with it.

I think he’ll be looking forward to coming back. I think they have done that move now, and he can start progressing to where he wants to play again and stuff. I think everybody will be happy to see him, but I think he’s just taking care of things that he knew he wanted to do and the family wanted to do, and then he’ll be back very soon, I’m guessing.

Q. Since Tiger won the Masters, do you think that maybe took him longer than expected to get over that, that mental hurdle that he had to get over?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No. I think — I saw him the following week at Harbour Town, I played a practise round with him and he was absolutely fine. Golf, as in life, you go through great spells, and for sure, about, what, six, seven months, he was the best golfer on the planet pretty much, not far off. I think everyone had expectations, huge for somebody like that when he’s playing like that. He’s gone through a slight loss of form, and then this all happened, COVID and everything, and he’s moved house.

I’ve had my good times and poor times in my career so far. I’m sure my poor times will come again like everyone else, but he’s far too good to not win again and start playing well again.

Tags live-european-tour, live-main-tours, Tommy Fleetwood

Top Tours

US Open 2020: Bryson DeChambeau in his first Champion Interview

Post author By Alexandra Caspers
Post date September 21, 2020
No Comments on US Open 2020: Bryson DeChambeau in his first Champion Interview

Bryson DeChambea at the US Open 2020 (Foto: Getty)

MODERATOR: We’re pleased to welcome champion of the 120th U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau. How does that sound?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Surreal. It sounds amazing, but surreal. It’s been a lot of hard work, and I got to say thanks to my whole team again, all my sponsors as well — Brett, Tim, my caddie works his butt off every single day for me. Connor works his butt off for me every single day. Chris Como works really, really hard for me and helps me think through a lot of amazing things. Even Mike Schy, I still talk to Mike, and we still talk about how to get better. I would be remiss if I didn’t say his name either.

It’s one of those things that doesn’t really hit you — it’s not going to hit me until tonight, but I will say that my parents have given so much up for me. I mean, there were times that I went to school without any lunch money, and we had to make bologna sandwiches and didn’t have anything to eat. We had some very, very difficult times, but every single day, they always wanted the best for me, and they always gave me the opportunity to go golf, go practice, and go get better.

This one’s for my parents. It’s for Mike Schy, it’s for Chris, it’s for my whole team. All the work, all the blood, sweat, and tears we put into it, it just means the world to me.

Q. It’s going to be hard to reflect on right now, but that moment when you putted in on 18 and you put your hands in the air, what was going through your mind?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I did it. I did it. As difficult as this golf course was presented, I played it beautifully. Even through the rough, I was still able to manage my game and hit it to correct sides of the greens, except on 14 today, and kept plugging away. My putting was immaculate today. My speed control, incredible. That’s why we worked so hard on my speed control. You see me out there on the greens with the device trying to control my speed.

It’s just something that allows me and gives me comfort to know that on this green, or these speeds of greens, you know, it’s going to be repeatable. It’s going to be this. It’s going to be that. It’s going to be comfort in knowing how far I can take it back and go through.

So many times I relied on science, and it worked every single time.

Q. Your fans and backers are very passionate in their support of you. What do you have to say to them right now?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I can’t say thank you enough for supporting me and staying with me through thick and thin. There’s always going to be people that say things. There’s always going to be people that do things. But no matter what, my focus and my message to everybody out there is each and every day that you’re living life try and make this day better than the previous day. Let today’s garbage be better than yesterday.

The fans that have always been there, the supporters that have always been there, I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have meant for me. You’ve kept me pushing the needle, moving the needle, and you’re going to keep inspiring me too. So I really thank you for everything. I couldn’t do it without you guys.

Q. Bryson, you said the T4 at the PGA felt like you were moving in the right direction, but with all of the chatter and all of the doubters, what is he doing, does this absolutely put you over the edge in terms of validating what you’ve done?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Absolutely. And I’m not going to stop. Next week I’m going to be trying a 48-inch driver. We’re going to be messing with some head designs and do some amazing with things with Cobra to make it feasible to hit these drives maybe 360, 370, maybe even farther. I don’t know.

Q. Given the way you’ve adopted this approach, do you feel like you’re potentially changing the game, or at least changing the way that people think about playing in the game?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think I’m definitely changing the way people think about the game. Now, whether you can do it, that’s a whole different situation. There’s a lot of people that are going to be hitting it far. Matthew was hitting it plenty far today. A couple of putts just didn’t go in for him today and kept the momentum on my side. So he’s definitely got the firepower and the strength to do it. You’ve got to be looking out for him in the future.

There’s a lot of young guns that are unbelievable players, and I think the next generation that’s coming up into golf hopefully will see this and go, hey, I can do that too.

Q. Bryson, you very much do things your own way. What kind of mental strength do you take from that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s a lot of validation through science, just making sure that the numbers are what they are and the result is accurate. So if I had — just an example. If I hit a 40-footer and it says 10.1 miles per hour on the device, I know that I’ve executed it correctly; and if I see the ball go two feet past that 40 foot mark, I know it’s perfect. I know I’ve done everything I can in my brain to make my perception reality.

So it’s all about trying to make my perception of what I feel, what I think, what I — you know, whatever it is, turn into proper reality. It definitely is validating that I’m able to execute time and time again and have it be good enough to win an Open. I don’t know if that answered your question.

Q. There’s so much talk about the driving and the distance and whatnot, but you did shoot the best score today by three, I believe. Do you feel like you’re proving, with a victory in a Major like this, on a golf course like this, even more so that you’re not just a one-dimensional player?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No, I think I’ve got a lot of creativity. Phil said it to me earlier this week. He said, in 2006, I had the best short game week of my life, and that really stuck out to me for some reason because I just knew that, if I did hit it in the rough, I’m going to have to get it up and down quite a bit.

So I made sure that I needed to practice those shots coming into the week, and I did that beautifully, and I felt super comfortable out of the rough no matter the situation.

I mean, a perfect example was No. 14, uphill lie, just hit it off the top of the face, came out dead and rolled down there to ten feet, and I made it. That was huge. If I don’t make that and he makes his, you know, we’ve got a fight.

So, yeah, I think that answered your question. I don’t know. I’m just kind of rambling a little bit.

Q. It seems like the putting has really been on point.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yes. Yes, putting has been — sorry. I love it. The putting has gradually improved over the course of my career. I was dead last when I came out on TOUR, and the SIG guys, SIG golf, they helped me understand how a ball needs to roll in order to give me the best chance to hole a putt.

Over the course of these four years, every year I’ve gotten a little bit better. I’ve gotten in the top ten now. I don’t know how much better I can get, but I’m going to keep trying every single week.

Q. Bryson, you used your own approach to the game to get here. Do you think kids watching today are now going to follow in your footsteps and look at this approach and try to replicate that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: You know, I hope I can inspire some people. My goal in playing golf and playing this game is to try and figure it out. I’m just trying to figure out this very complex, multivariable game, and multidimensional game as well. It’s very, very difficult. It’s a fun journey for me.

I hope that inspires people to say, hey, look, maybe there is a different way to do it. Not everybody has to do it my way. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying in general that there are different ways to do things. If you can find your own way, find your passion — like Arnie said, swing your swing. That’s what I do. That’s what Matthew Wolff does. That’s what Tiger does. That’s what Phil does. That’s what everybody does, and we’re all trying to play the best golf we can.

Hopefully, my way inspires people. This is my seventh win PGA TOUR, first Major, couldn’t be more proud. I hope that it does inspire a few people.

Q. Just for the record, what is your current height and weight?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 6’1″, 230 to 235, depending on if I’ve eaten steak or not.

Q. Do you want to be bigger when you get to Augusta?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah.

Q. What would you say is your like — what are you shooting for?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think I can get to 245. It’s going to be a lot of working out. I don’t think it’s possible — it may be, I don’t know. It’s just I’ve gained so much so quickly in a year. They always say, when you work out, you gain your 30 pounds or whatever it is, and then after that, each year, you half it. So you can go 15. If you keep working out every day, you keep halving it. And then eventually there comes a point where you can’t gain much more.

But I still feel like I can get up there if you work hard enough.

Q. What’s your answer to people who say it can’t be healthy for the body?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I am talking to a doctor. I got all my blood sample tests, everything back a couple weeks ago. Everything is fine so far. We’re going to keep monitoring it and making sure I’m as healthy as possible because I do want to live for a long time.

Q. Bryson, what drove you to the range in the cold and dark last night? What were you looking for, and what did you find?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: So my driver was not performing in the way I wanted it to. Thursday, Friday, I felt super comfortable with the driver. Saturday wasn’t comfortable. So I knew I needed to go to the range, figure something out, so I could play for tomorrow and be super comfortable because, if I’m comfortable with the driver, I knew I could play golf and shoot under par on this golf course.

I was able to find something out last night, and then on the 6th hole today, I figured out a little bit more, and that gave me the confidence to play for the rest of the day.

That was essentially — it’s all about the governors for me. I have a limit to kind of what I do with the swing so I don’t overrotate. You can see I missed a lot of shots left this week. My left arm wasn’t holding and being stable enough through impact. It was just rolling over. That’s why I was drawing it and hooking it a little bit.

So I worked on that yesterday, and on the 6th hole I figured out that, even though I was holding it off, my left arm was too bent. So I was still leading to where the face is way open to the target, and then I felt like I had to do that to close the face. So once I straightened that out, got the face back a little more square, I felt like I could hold it off the whole way, and gave me so much comfort for the rest of the round.

Q. I was going to ask you what’s for dinner right now?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Steak and potatoes. We’ve got to keep it going.

Q. Very simple, Bryson. What makes you the happiest right now?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I would say, first off, knowing that the team around me has worked just as hard as I have, if not harder, to get me to where I am today. And knowing that I was able to execute for 72 holes in a Major Championship under the toughest conditions and perform to the highest level.

Q. And that trophy?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, the trophy, obviously, is really nice that comes with it.

Q. This has got to be some form of validation in your head, you know?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 100 percent, no doubt. For me, it’s about the journey of can I execute every shot more repeatably than everybody else? I was able to do that this week. That’s why I won by six, yeah.

Q. How do you explain how during a pandemic and what a lot of people are writing off as kind of a lost year, you’ve elevated your game this much?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I felt like it was an opportunity, not a lost year at all. I felt like it was an opportunity to do something great — change my lifestyle, make it healthier, make it better — and I hope it inspires everybody else to do the same. When you have time, when you have that little free moment, don’t squander it. Look at it as an opportunity to make yourself better.

That’s what I think I did this year, and I’m going to keep trying to do that.

Q. When you were a little kid starting out with this whole thing, was the U.S. Open one you wanted to win, or was it something else?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I would say any Major was the ones I — they were all ones that I wanted to win, but I knew that my game would fit best for a U.S. Open. The reason for that is I always felt growing up, in college, I was always a super straight driver of the golf ball, super great iron player. Putting was always iffy, but I knew I could get around it on fast, quick greens. I was always really good on quick greens.

I’ve become a great putter, and my ball striking has improved consistently, and now I’ve got an advantage with this length, and that’s all she wrote.

But, yes, growing up, the U.S. Open is the one I thought I could win the most.

Q. Bryson, I don’t mean to look past this accomplishment after a half hour, but have you thought about how you might game plan for Augusta National?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, length is going to be a big advantage there. I know that for a fact. It’s always an advantage pretty much anywhere, but given that fact, I’m going to try and prepare by testing a couple things with the driver. I mean, by that, it’s 48 inches, and I’ll also do something with the face to account for the new speed that I’m going at.

Then I’ve got to get better with my iron play a little bit. I felt like it was great today, but definitely the driver needs to go straighter. That’s really my main focus still.

Q. Bryson, if the USGA had a debriefing meeting tomorrow morning to talk about how this U.S. Open was won at Winged Foot, what do you think they’d talk about?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: He’s hitting it forever. That’s why he won. I mean, it was a tremendous advantage this week. I kept telling everybody it’s an advantage to hit it farther. It’s an advantage. Mark Broadie was talking to Chris Como, and they were both talking about how they just made the fairways too small this week to have it be an advantage for guys hitting the fairway.

So what I mean by that — let’s take an example of you going like a yard wide. Nobody’s got the fairway. Okay, length’s going to win. You make the fairways too wide, length’s going to win. There’s like this balance between widths of fairways and where they want to play it and where they’re going to try to make you play it.

Q. If distance has been such a hot topic over the last two, three years and they’re looking into it now, do you think this will accelerate any desire to rein you guys in?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s tough to rein in athleticism. We’re always going to be trying to get fitter, stronger, more athletic, and Tiger inspired this whole generation to do this, and we’re going to keep going after it. I don’t think it’s going to stop. Will they rein it back? I’m sure. I’m sure something might happen. But I don’t know what it will be. I just know that length is always going to be an advantage.

Q. How much is athleticism and how much is science, technology —

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, the COR was locked in back in 2000 or something like that. You could only have it come off the face so much, right? So it’s been that way ever since. The rules haven’t changed. People have just gotten a little longer with their driver. The shafts have become better for sustaining higher swing speeds, and we’re constantly trying to just hit it as hard as we possibly can.

Kyle Berkshire, Justin James, a bunch of those guys, Josh, they all inspired me to try and go harder at it. They are the ones breaking the barriers. I can see what is possible.

So that inspires me to keep pushing the limits. I don’t think that science is that — is as big of a role in the market today. I would say it’s more of athleticism playing probably a bigger role for that for sure.

I was hitting it — on just a normal average TOUR player a year ago, and then I all of a sudden got a lot stronger, worked out every day, been working out every day, and all of a sudden — not because of clubs, but because of me, I was able to gain 20, 25 yards.

MODERATOR: Bryson, our 120th U.S. Open champion, congratulations again.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Thank you all.

Tags Bryson DeChambeau, live-main-tours, live-us-open, US Open 2020, Winged Foot

Team Ireland

US Open 2020 – Rory McIlroy: “I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance tomorrow.”

Post author By Golf Post
Post date September 19, 2020
No Comments on US Open 2020 – Rory McIlroy: “I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance tomorrow.”

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waits to putt on the first green during the third round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 19, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Q. Rory, 2-under 68; how are you feeling about your round today?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, really good. Geez, I think anything under par on this golf course today is a really good score. I saw Alex go out there and shoot 3-under earlier. You know, I’m not saying it’s out there; he got a good one, I did, and there’s maybe a couple other guys that are under par. Yeah, and the wind is not quite as strong as it was yesterday. You know, it maybe played a touch less difficult I’ll say. Not easier, but it was a little less difficult.

But some of the hole locations are still pretty tricky and got to leave yourself on the right side. But yeah, overall 68 out there is a really good score. I don’t know where that’s going to leave me at the end of the day, but I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance going into tomorrow.

Q. When you’re in a little bit of a chasing position as you are right now, what kind of conditions are you kind of hoping for or half hoping for tomorrow?

RORY McILROY: It’s sort of a double-edged sword, right, because you would think that you’d want tougher conditions because it’ll make it more difficult for the guys in front of you, but also makes it more difficult for yourself. I think looking at the forecast, the conditions are going to be pretty similar to today, which is fine. If I go out there tomorrow and shoot another 68, I won’t be too far away.

Q. Kind of along those lines, depending on how the next few hours work out, is there a number in your head based on how difficult this golf course is that you feel like legitimately I could come back from?

RORY McILROY: I mean, around here, anything. Not necessarily anything, but I said over there, if Matt pars his way in and is 5-under par, I still don’t think that’s out of it by any stretch of the imagination. You know, it doesn’t take much around here for — someone gets off to a decent start, maybe 1- or 2-under through 5 and then the leader goes the other way, 1- or 2-over through 5, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.

But yeah, we’ll see what happens. No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.

Q. Is yesterday’s round a little harder to swallow after today?

RORY McILROY: No, not really. I mean, I felt like I finished the round well yesterday. I was sort of hemorrhaging after like 12 or 13 holes, and then to just par my way in, right, so 14 through 18, so five in a row, just to get it in the clubhouse, sort of regroup, and then I sort of started the same way today. I parred the first five, first six holes, made a birdie on 7, made another birdie on 9, so played a really nice stretch of holes there from the 14th last night to the 9th today. I played those holes in 2-under par and didn’t make a bogey in that stretch.

You’re going to have stretches in U.S. Opens where you’re going to make bogeys and you’re going to make mistakes, but if you can back it up with stretches of golf like I showed there, that’s what you have to do. It’s not going to be all plain sailing in this tournament.

Q. Given how hard you had to work to get 68, how surprising is it to look up at the board and see somebody with a 30 on the front?

RORY McILROY: Is that what it was, a 30?

Q. Yeah, missed probably about an eight-footer for 29.

RORY McILROY: Wow. I mean, that’s just — you can’t say anything but that’s just awesome golf. Yeah, I mean, everyone knows how talented Matt is and he played great at Harding Park in the last major. You know, he’s explosive like that. He can get on runs like that. So yeah, I’m not saying it’s out there. I certainly didn’t see shooting 30 on any nine today, but we’ll see what happens over the back nine.

Q. If Matt is leading tomorrow, do you think it helps him to not have to try to win a major with a massive crowd around him in the same way that Morikawa didn’t have to face the crowd at Harding Park?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, of course. Of course, yeah. It’s one variable that you just don’t have to deal with, where — is that a loss of an advantage to you who’s accustomed to being in that environment.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it could be, a little bit. Maybe not a loss of an advantage to me, but just more of a — just makes it a touch easier for the guys at the top. Even today, look, you’ve got Bryson and P-Reed out in the final group, and any other U.S. Open final grouping you’ve got those two guys, things are going to be said and tempers are going to flare. Even if those guys don’t have to deal with that today, it just makes it a little different and maybe a touch easier if you’re in those final few groups.

Q. Do you have a simple explanation for why it hasn’t been the massacre that many expected going into this week?

RORY McILROY: I mean, I guess what’s a massacre? Yeah, okay, 5-over is not going to win like last time and 7-over when Hale Irwin won. I’d say the golf course is playing just as difficult.

You know, you’ve got to think 14 years on the game has changed a lot, guys hit it further, equipment. There’s a lot of different things that — scoring averages have went down a little bit, on average. The game has just moved on a little bit and everyone has collectively, I think, just got a little bit better.

Q. You mentioned just earlier the first three or four holes and how difficult they are and just hoping to kind of get through those unscathed. Can you talk more about what that’s going to mean for you tomorrow and just getting off to a good start?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, fairways and greens. It’s literally just bringing it back to the basics. From that first tee shot, just try and make a good swing and hit the fairway, hit it on the middle of the green, take two putts, especially on that green because it’s probably one of the craziest greens on the course and in golf. And then it’s the same thing on 2, hit the fairway, hit the green. You get yourself out of position those first few holes, it just makes it really difficult.

And when you do get yourself out of position, making bogey is fine. That’s the thing, you look at some of the guys that went off earlier today those first few holes there was some big numbers made, and when you’re in trouble, get it out, play for a 5, and if you’re not going to putt for a 4, that’s a bonus.

Q. The course is playing about a shot easier today. Do you attribute that more to the gentler winds or the hole locations were more gettable?

RORY McILROY: No, the wind more than anything else. The hole locations today I thought were pretty tricky. It was hard to leave a putt dead. Even if you’ve got a putt that’s uphill, once it gets past the hole it starts to go downhill again. It was very hard to leave putts within top-in range. I felt like every time I hit a good putt that didn’t go in, I was marking it and resetting and it was at least three or four feet.

Source: ASAP Sport

Tags professionals-rory-mcilroy, US Open 2020

Professionals

US Open 2020 – Alex Noren about his brilliant Moving Day: “Just view it as a normal tournament.”

Post author By Golf Post
Post date September 19, 2020
No Comments on US Open 2020 – Alex Noren about his brilliant Moving Day: “Just view it as a normal tournament.”

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 17: Alex Noren of Sweden plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 17, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Q. Alex Noren, 3-under 67. Alex, heck of a round. Talk a little bit about the conditions and what you were able to execute.

ALEX NOREN: The first five holes, it was so windy, first six, seven holes. My goal was to kind of try to get up to the pins, but otherwise leave it short of the hole, and I was able to make birdies on those and then make two good birdies on 6, 7, and then on the back, my putter was the best it’s ever been.

So I saved myself a lot of times, and then a couple of birdies as well.

Q. You have a pretty new relationship with your caddie, Austin. What was it like working with him on that kind of round?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, it’s good. He doesn’t read my putts. I can’t give him any credit for that, but, no, he’s good. We get along well. He’s giving me the stuff I need. He was good. He wanted me to maybe play a few other shots than I tried to. It would have been good to listen to him there.

Overall, yeah, it worked well today.

Q. How does 67 compare — the 67 today, among the best rounds you’ve played? I suspect that will be the lowest round of the day, maybe by multiple shots.

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, so starting out, it felt like it was going to be the toughest day ever on a golf course, with pretty strong winds on the first like six, seven holes. Then it got a little bit easier, but the pins are still tricked up. I putted my life out.

And you hit some shots out here, you think it’s like a decent shot, and then you just make it into the rough, and all of a sudden, the hole feels impossible. Normally, you hit decent drives or decent shots off the tee or into the greens and you get away with them. Here you don’t get away with anything.

Yesterday I was very like angry man on the golf course, and my goal today was to putt better and be more — be in a little happier place. I just tried to be that way.

Q. How important is patience out here with the way the setup is and knowing how few the birdie opportunities are going to be?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, that’s maybe the key to the whole thing. Just view it as a normal tournament because, when you look at the putts, you look at the shots, and you stand on the tee boxes, there’s a lot more pressure on yourself. If you don’t hit the fairway, you’re going to struggle, and if you don’t hit the greens, you’re going to struggle.

Normally, there is still opportunities to do well even from the rough or from a bunker, but here it’s just like try to just do your routine and hit the shot, and whatever happens, you’ve got to keep the energy because you’ll need it down the round. Yesterday I was furious over that I didn’t hit the shots that I wanted, and then it kind of affects your game.

Q. How close do you think you’ll be in the lead at the end of the day?

ALEX NOREN: If the weather stays like it is now, you’re going to see better rounds in the afternoon maybe but maybe — we’ll see. It’s hard to predict.

Q. Despite your score, there were some higher scores today. Talk about the course setup, and was it the hardest course setup of the week is the question.

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, probably yesterday and today was maybe similar. Yeah, the hardest course I’ve ever played. Three days — and yesterday was some wind and this morning was some wind, but without the wind, it’s still so demanding. It’s a good test.

Q. One follow-up to the question earlier. How did you and Austin meet, and when did you start working with him?

ALEX NOREN: So we started right before Corona hit us at Arnold Palmer, and we met through Erik van Rooyen’s caddie, that’s Austin’s brother, Alex, and we met through him.

Q. Did you have anything in mind when you teed off today?

ALEX NOREN: These tournaments, all you try to do when you tee off is just to hit a good shot off the 1st and then take it from there. The older I get, the more so is how everybody does it, kind of. You don’t really think about winning until you have the chance to win. I’m just trying to hit good shots and trying to warm up and do everything I can to just be in the best possible shape I can be golf-wise, yeah.

Q. It’s been a tough couple of years since the Ryder Cup. What’s changed now, and what’s led to that difficult period?

ALEX NOREN: I had — I was better, I think, in the fall last year, played a little bit better, but had so much — put a lot of pressure on myself because I used to, in the three years prior, had a lot of good finishes, a few wins here and there.

You accept the bad rounds easier because you’ve got the confidence, you have the results in the back, and when you don’t get in for a while, you start pressing. All of a sudden, you start focusing on is my technique wrong, is this wrong, is that wrong, instead of, if that would have happened, that bad play for a couple weeks when you’re having those good weeks, you don’t think about them.

So I think maybe it’s a mix of not playing and technique is not up to point, but mostly kind of the pressure and stress you put on yourself. I changed kind of the last two, three months, I changed how I practice. I practiced on the golf course a little bit at home, trying to not be on the driving range, trying to work on maybe situations more than a specific look of the swing. So a lot more on the course.

Then is kind of frees up my game. I don’t look at my swing on a video camera, don’t analyze. Just if the shots are good enough, I’m happy. If they’re not, I go out and work on them, you know.

Q. You never look at your swing in the mirror anymore?

ALEX NOREN: Not much. I try to ask my coach if he can — if it’s good enough, and if he says good enough, or if he says you’d better get it a little more this way or that way and we work on it, but I try not to look at it.

Q. Are you still doing the —

ALEX NOREN: I do whatever makes me better, and if it’s that way or any other — I do whatever I can do to get a good feel over the ball.

SOURCE: ASAP Sports

Tags Alex Noren, US Open 2020

Top Tours

US Open 2020: Bryson DeChambeau with the best round of the day

Post author By Golf Post
Post date September 18, 2020
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US Open Golf 2020 Bryson DeChambeau (Source: Getty) — MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States lines up a putt on the 17th hole during the second round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 18, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Q. 2-under 68. Hard to come by red numbers today. What was working well for you?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I felt like a lot of things were working well for me. I was driving it well. My iron play was impeccable. When I got into trouble, wasn’t able to get out of it as well today as yesterday, but when I was in the fairway I was able to attack and take advantage, and finished really well today. I hit a great drive on 6, great drive on 8, great shot on 7, and a great drive on 9 that just set me up to be able to attack that flag today, and that was a fun way to finish off at a U.S. Open so far. It’s great.

Q. You said yesterday the key was missing the drivers in the right spots. Can you give me an example today of missing one in the right spot, missing one in the wrong spot?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Missed one in the wrong spot on 2, so I hit it to the right and just — you’ve got nothing. I tried to get over the tree, was too far back. Kind of spun one up in the air and really didn’t have a chance. I tried to go for it, didn’t come out, got lucky, it bounced back in the first cut, got it out.

And then another one, let’s see, 16. Hitting driver all the way up into the right rough past that dogleg, I still had pitching wedge to the front edge and it was just a pretty easy shot, and I left it short of the green but I was still able to play up to the flag, and I fortunately made that putt for birdie. So that was kind of where I felt like I missed it in the right spot.

Q. You followed up three bogeys with birdies today; how important do you think that bounce-back stat is here?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s important. It keeps your momentum going, I’ll tell you that. I don’t really have too much more to say on that other than the fact that you need momentum to keep playing well in a U.S. Open, and that’s what I was able to do today.

Q. One of the volunteers on the range today said you shut the place down last night. What was working for you today?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: So my wedges yesterday weren’t that good. I was flying them too far and I wanted to know what the problem was and we figured out what the problem was. It just was going farther than I thought it was. We didn’t practice them as well as I should have leading up to this tournament, but we made that adjustment, and it worked out beautifully for me today.

Q. What was the adjustment?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, it was just saying on the devices that I was hitting it shorter than what it was actually going. So for example, like we calibrated — okay, this is — I’m trying to make it as easy as possible. So for me, my 47-degree flies normally 145. Well, last night I was hitting shots and it was flying 155. That’s what we were on the normalizing mode with that wind. And we just didn’t calibrate correctly. So I was flying everything 10 yards long consequently with my wedges. And we recalibrated all of them today, and I felt like they worked out really well today.

Q. What did you hit on 9 for your second?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Pitching wedge.

Q. Only two rounds under par so far today. How does that play into your confidence for this weekend?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I feel great. Confidence is at an all-time high right now, driving it well, iron play is fantastic, wedging is getting better each and every day, and I’m putting it like I know I can. So very happy.

Q. What part of your game do you get more confidence from, your driving, iron play or putting?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Iron play. If my iron play is great, I feel like I can play from anywhere. I know my driver is going to be going far; sometimes straight, sometimes a little crooked. But if I can hit my irons really well, then I feel like I’ll be good for the rest of the day.

Q. Bryson, you were the one guy before the tournament who said you were just going to hit it as far as you could at every opportunity —

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: And straight. I still want to hit it straight.

Q. But the fact that you have that in your arsenal, do you think your round today just shows you get more — you create more birdie opportunities —

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Absolutely.

Q. — than anybody else out here?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Absolutely.

Q. When you look at the conditions, what kind of an advantage does that give you?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I want it to play as hard as possible. I feel like there’s so many holes out here that I can take advantage of that some people can’t. Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to win or anything. You’ve still got to execute, you’ve still got to hit the driver straight. If I’m hitting the driver far but all over the place, you can’t make birdies from the rough. It’s very difficult to. So I still have to work on hitting it straight while hitting it far. And that’s a unique combo that I’m going to strive for for the rest of my life.

Q. As far as scrambling, that seems like the other crucial component to have around here, so do you take as much from those times when you save par as —

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Absolutely. Phil gave me some great advice. He said when he almost won back in 2006, he said he had the best short game week of his life, so that’s just a testament to showing that you have to have a great wedge game out here.

I feel like my irons are great, the wedges are better, and short game needs to be worked on just a little bit. But I would say it’s been good so far, and that’s what I’m going to hopefully do this weekend.

Q. Wondering how hard it is to stay focused when you’re making a series of birdies and bogeys as opposed to steady pars.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, it’s definitely ebbs and flows, but I’ve been working hard on that recently and trying to keep myself level-headed no matter what, and I feel like I did a great job of that today. Even on 5, made a dumb bogey, just didn’t play the right distance and consequently hurt myself there. And then on 6 I just focused up and I was able to stay patient and execute a great drive and make two great putts there.

Q. You mentioned in that TV interview that you want to be more and more patient. That’s something you can’t calibrate, to use your word. What does that process look like? How do you teach yourself that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: For me it’s been a lot of breathing. Been working hard with Neuropeak on that for a long time. I know I’ve talked about it before, but just keep breathing and try and let the advantages play themselves out, what I have, and if they don’t, so be it.

But as of right now, they’ve been doing well so far, and just know that I’m going to have a lot of opportunities if I keep driving it well.

Q. Do you see a noticeable difference if you get something like what you might term an unlucky bounce or something like that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s going to happen out here. I say it sometimes, like man, that was unlucky, but that’s just golf. It’s not me being other than just honest. It happens sometimes. I realize that and I’m okay with it. Everybody is subject to a bad break, and sometimes I wear the emotions on the sleeve a little bit, but I focus it right back up.

Q. The test yesterday, the test today, which one do you enjoy more and why?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: When I play well in these conditions, it’s a lot more enjoyable. But it is comforting yesterday when you feel like I can go after it and wind isn’t affecting it that much, I’m hitting it well.

I would personally say if I had to truly look back on it, I would say that this today is a more enjoyable test after I’m done because it shows who executed the shots the best for sure.

Q. So many people love to see carnage at a U.S. Open; why do you think that is, and were you one of them?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s relatable. I think it’s relatable to a lot of players out there. They struggle with their game and they don’t hit the greatest shots, and they like seeing carnage.

I’m going to look this afternoon and do the same thing, be seeing, like wow, that’s really difficult, because I experienced it and I appreciate it.

Q. Will you laugh or sympathize?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Sympathize. No, I’m not laughing at them. I won’t go there.

Q. Given the force that you play with, is it possible to impose your will on a U.S. Open?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: That’s a great question. That’s a question for the gods. That’s a question for God. I don’t know if you can — I mean, Tiger has been able to do something like that many times before, so I think there is something, but human scientific research does not say that there’s anything about that.

Q. Are there times you are trying to do that?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Oh, yeah, yeah. It’s just got to go here, it’s just got to go here, and I think it’s more of a positive mindset that allows your brain to be in a better state so you can problem solve in your brain to know what you need to do to hit a shot. I think that’s kind of willing it.

Q. You mentioned breathing, right?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah.

Q. I think a lot of people struggle with that, who don’t play golf even, but how does it work for you?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: A lot of deep, long breaths. So it’s sitting back, realizing the state you’re in and being able to take an eight-second breath in and then eight-second breath out. That’s just as simple as it gets for me.

Q. Count to eight?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s somewhere around there. I don’t do it perfectly on eight, but it’s definitely just to calm myself down.

Tags Bryson DeChambeau, live-main-tours, professionals-team-us, US Open 2020

Top Tours

US Open 2020 Tiger Woods: “I don’t see any reason why it won’t get harder and get more difficult.”

Post author By Alexandra Caspers
Post date September 17, 2020
No Comments on US Open 2020 Tiger Woods: “I don’t see any reason why it won’t get harder and get more difficult.”
Sticky post

Tiger Woods at the US Open 2020 (Source: Getty)

Tiger Woods talked to the media after his not so satisfying first round of 73 at the US Open 2020 at Winged Foot. He expects the course to become even tougher over the next few days.

Q. Tiger, talk about the round a bit.

TIGER WOODS: Well, it was a bit of ebb and flow to the round today. I did not finish off the round like I needed to. I made a bunch of putts in the middle part of the round. It seemed like most of my drives on the front nine landed in the fairway and ended up in bad spots, and I tried to stay as patient as possible, and unfortunately just did not finish off my round the way I needed to.

Q. Do you take any positives that you made five birdies, made a bunch of putts?

TIGER WOODS: No, but I needed to finish off the round better, and I didn’t. As I said, I made a few putts the middle part of the round. Seemed like I wasn’t getting anything out of my round early on, and it flipped, and unfortunately I just didn’t finish off the way I needed to.

Q. What did you think of the conditions of the golf course, and was it how you expected or a little bit different in any way?

TIGER WOODS: I thought the golf course was set up fantastic. I thought that what they did with the hole locations were very fair today. It gave us an opportunity to make some birdies, and you look at most of the scores, and the guys took advantage of it.

Q. Do you expect it to keep getting firmer as the week goes on?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I don’t see any reason why it won’t get harder and get more difficult. I just think that the golf course is there to be had. They gave us a lot of opportunities with the hole locations. Obviously they could have made it a lot more difficult if they wanted to, but I thought it was very fair.

Q. Is there any solace knowing it’s going to be such a grind this week that shooting a sub-par first round isn’t anything near —

TIGER WOODS: Well, we have a long way to go. This is a long marathon of a tournament. There’s a lot of different things that can go on. I just wish I would have finished off my round better.

Q. Given how little you’ve played this year, when you strung those birdies together in the middle of the round to kind of reel it back in and preserve it, isn’t that a pretty positive sign for you going forward?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the middle part of my round, a lot of things went my way. Beginning part of the round it seemed like things weren’t going my way. Good tee shots were ended up in the rough in bad spots, and I had a nice little hot run there in the middle part of my round, hit a really good putt at 12, thought it was going to go in and then I lipped it out, and then made two bogeys after that. Didn’t finish off my round the way I needed to.

Tags live-main-tours, Tiger Woods, US Open 2020, Winged Foot Golf Club

Live

Webb Simpson: “I have always loved this tournament”

Post author By Eric Effey
Post date September 17, 2020
No Comments on Webb Simpson: “I have always loved this tournament”

Webb Simpson during his practice round at Winged Foot. (Foto: Getty)

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Webb Simpson to the podium here at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot golf course. Webb is the 2012 U.S. Open champion. Webb was a member of the 2007 Walker Cup team and is making his 10th career U.S. Open start. He’s currently the 6th ranked player in the world. Webb, what are your first impressions of the golf course?

WEBB SIMPSON: It’s in phenomenal shape, it’s firm, I know there hasn’t been a whole lot of rain up here lately. It’s just hard. It’s really hard. I know they have cut the rough the last few days, but I played in the U.S. Amateur here in 2004, I remember thinking this is a really hard golf course, but it’s very fair. My caddie, Paul Tesori, caddied here in 2006 for Vijay and had the same thoughts. And so this is a, to me, a classic U.S. Open setup where it’s brutally hard all day, but there’s no tricks to it, you got to drive it in the fairway. And I’m sure the guys are saying the same stuff that if you’re not in the fairway it’s hard to score and I do think this will be a higher winning score U.S. Open than we have seen in a while.

THE MODERATOR: Great. Questions.

Q. One of the things guys have kind of talked about this week that seems odd to me is kind of laying up on a par-3. Have you ever done that and would you consider doing it?

WEBB SIMPSON: I’ve never done it, but it’s definitely, it’s definitely a hole where you cannot, you really don’t want to go long and a lot of times we’re going to have yardages where we’re in between clubs and we’re always going to hit the shorter club just to be short. So I hit a shot today, I couldn’t quite get my 3-iron hybrid there, but I still didn’t want to hit a 5-wood long, so I hit it and I was five yards short of the green perfect. I’m not going to purposefully lay up, but I will purposefully try to hit it short of the hole to the front pins. If I miss the green short, that’s fine. I think if you make two pars and two bogeys there, you’re with the field or beating the field.

Q. Were you one of those guys who embraces the harder it is the better you like it or is there a limit and where does this potentially rank on the scale of difficulty places you’ve played?

WEBB SIMPSON: So I like for it to get as hard as it can get without them losing the golf course. I think a couple, we have seen a couple U.S. Opens where it might have gotten away from them and when something, when a golf course gets away from you, you’re bringing in luck. We don’t mind it to be really hard, we just don’t like for luck to play a huge part. This is the epitome of a golf course where it’s just hard, it kind of in your face all day, especially that finish, where the best golfer will win this week. I think there have been setups in the past where you could argue that the a great golfer with a good amount of luck won that week, but you’re not going to have that here at Winged Foot. It’s going to be whoever wins on Sunday is the best golfer here for the week.

Q. Is there anything you find similar to Olympic here that might be an advantage to you?

WEBB SIMPSON: I mean Olympic is similar in the sense that it’s a classic, old-style golf course, doglegs, you have to shape some tee shots to hold the fairways. And again, Olympic was kind of brutally hard, not a lot of scoring holes. Out here there’s only a few holes where you’re going to have shorter shots in, you got to take advantage of those holes. So, yeah, there’s some similarities for sure and we’re going to have, looks like, great weather, so the golf course is going to get firm, a little bit more firm each day. I mean, I’m getting 40 yards of roll right now on some holes. But that’s good, it’s a long golf course. I don’t think that’s bad. And they’re penalizing us when we hit a bad tee shot.

Q. Brandel Chamblee this morning on Golf Channel was pointing out that despite the recent dominance of Dustin Johnson, Rahm, even Justin Thomas, that you are the best combination of length and accuracy off the tee, plus you’re a better putter and you’ve won this championship before. So how do you feel your chances stack up in this event this year and with your understanding of the patience it takes to win at a place like this?

WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean I’m coming in confident, I’ve been playing good golf for awhile, I have always loved this tournament. My first one was 2011 at Congressional, I grew up watching Payne Stewart make the putt in ’99 at No. 2, I was a standard bearer that week as a 13 year old. So I’ve always loved the challenge and kind of the thoughts behind a U.S. Open. I love the idea of patience matters here. Some weeks you can get impatient and that’s okay, but this week you have to stay patient. Every golfer is going to make tons of bogeys this week. So it’s kind of the marathon mentality of kind of who can kind of hang on and play the 72 holes as well as they can. So, yeah, I like my chances. And I’ve been driving it well, I’m certainly not near as long as some of those guys you mentioned, but length on a week like this doesn’t matter as much. It always helps but it doesn’t matter as much.

Q. You’re also No. 1 in bogey avoidance on the tour and given the carnage that has happened here the past couple of times that it’s been here, how important do you feel that will be, just eliminating those kind of mistakes to keep yourself relevant every day?

WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean that’s huge. Somebody told me yesterday that I think Geoff Ogilvy in 2006 hit less than half of the greens in regulation and it just shows how good his wedge game was, his pitching. And so that’s been a major focus for us the last few days, because I’m going to miss fairways and I’m not going to be able to advance it that far, I know that. So how well can I control layups, I mean laying up most weeks out of the rough is pretty easy, you just hack it down there but this week it actually takes skill. And again, there’s a huge emphasis on hitting good pitch shots, controlling them. And what I love about this golf course is the greens are crazy and they’re undulating, but there’s plenty of pins where slopes around the pin can really help you. So if you know what you’re doing, these pitch shots and wedge shots, you actually have a little help. So it really does test every part of your game.

Q. How do you compare the Webb Simpson who won in 2012 to the one who is teeing it up this week?

WEBB SIMPSON: I think I’ve just, years of experience, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve endured a lot, had ups and downs. So I think then everything, I was kind of wide eyed and didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully I was able to get the W. But I really, I just love the moments of getting into contention and trying to win. Whereas, I think then I was extremely nervous, not really knowing how to handle myself. So now I really, I look forward to that, that’s where I hope to be on Sunday afternoon, and I think all around through the bag my game has gotten better and more solid and, yeah, just feel good. I’m getting older, I got my gray hairs, but I feel young inside.

Q. How do you feel about playing without fans? Do you thrive on that energy or is it more calming perhaps or does it, is it advantageous for the younger players perhaps, the more inexperienced players?

WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I think guys that haven’t played many major championships it’s going to help because any major we’re going to have 10, 12 deep on most every hole and the grandstands will be filled up. So I think for those guys it helps. For me, I love the crowd. There’s more going on, but it, actually, I think the more going on, the more that’s out there, the better focused we are. It’s like when I get paired with Tiger or Phil, I’ve always loved it because with how many people are out there and how many moving parts and the golf carts and the cameras, you really got to zero in on what you’re doing and it actually helps. So the PGA was obviously our only major without fans and I didn’t play late so I didn’t really experience kind of the lack of roars when Collin made eagle or somebody makes a long birdie putt, but those things, we miss those things and especially in New York where the fans are historically, they’re just loud and they love golf, so we’ll miss them this week.

Q. Do you have a favorite New York moment in terms of fans? I mean, it’s different up here and having an Open without them is going to be different, but do you have a moment that you remember that sort of got to the essence of what it’s like?

WEBB SIMPSON: No, I mean when I think of the fans in New York I just think of the volume, the noise is louder than anywhere. Boston tries to compete a little bit, but here it’s just louder. I think people aren’t afraid to kind of speak their mind when you hit a bad shot and that’s part of it. We know that going in. And we appreciate that people care enough to come watch us and it’s a bummer, it’s a bummer for all these states and towns, but I think especially here hosting a major.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Interview, live-us-open, US Open, Webb Simpson