Speaker 1: In terms of starstruck, I wouldn't say, well, I would
Speaker 1: say Tiger. This morning he walked onto the range and
Speaker 1: I sort of caught myself because on the parting green,
Speaker 1: I heard some commotion going on, turned around and sort
Speaker 1: of like, what was that? Tiger? And I was like,
Speaker 1: fucking playing cool? Would you past me? I just didn't.
Speaker 1: I didn't look at him. I just was was doing
Speaker 1: what I was doing. But I can tell you I
Speaker 1: was not thinking about the part I was hitting. I
Speaker 1: was just thinking to Tiger, this is behind me. Another
Speaker 1: log on the fire everybody hears is give the time,
Speaker 1: episode two of the fire Drill, and cool that we're
Speaker 1: actually making this a thing because is from time to
Speaker 1: time we've jumped on and you've actually jumped on what
Speaker 1: we call a fire drill, which is around major championships.
Speaker 1: Here we are Augusta National, Augusta, Georgia, home of Augusta National,
Speaker 1: Laird Shepherd, British Amateur champion of is here. Jeff Ogilvy
Speaker 1: US Open winner obviously two thousand and six is here,
Speaker 1: Ship nunk, you're here, stepped down from those guys. But yeah,
Speaker 1: we're fading fast quickly, but it's it's great to have
Speaker 1: you here and here we are around a table, which
Speaker 1: is which is so much better than a zoom call obviously, laird.
Speaker 1: First impressions, first questions, all of the golf course, so
Speaker 1: just the place, I mean, the masses in general, I suppose, Um, yes,
Speaker 1: it's I never really got this far in like my dreams,
Speaker 1: I suppose, so I had no expectations of other being here,
Speaker 1: so to be here to experience it all. Yesterday was
Speaker 1: the first full day with fans there, and yeah, it's
Speaker 1: feeling pretty tight. You know, there's a lot of there's
Speaker 1: a lot of people out there, but it's unbelievable. Um,
Speaker 1: obviously having the big Cat around as well, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of more people feeling like excited about it. So um,
Speaker 1: yeah it's surreal, definitely surreal. Um amateur dinner last night,
Speaker 1: I thought it only gonna be six of us, so
Speaker 1: it was about dred and twenty members there. Um you
Speaker 1: know you mean Condolli sur Rice talking about Russia. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just bizarre. You know, everything that goes with it the
Speaker 1: week is there's there's a lot to take in. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a lot of fun and it will be Are
Speaker 1: you trying to tell me that you never dreamt of
Speaker 1: winning the Masters, No, I never really I never jumped
Speaker 1: of playing it because I never really just ever thought
Speaker 1: it was going to happen, to be honest. Um, So
Speaker 1: in that sense, it is pretty surreal all to be here,
Speaker 1: because it's not like I've been dreaming of driving down
Speaker 1: Magnalia Lane, because you know, that seemed to be a
Speaker 1: few steps ahead of you know, where I was at
Speaker 1: the time. So in some ways, I feel like I've
Speaker 1: almost skipped, um, some of the sort of um step
Speaker 1: by step processes of how people usually get to the Masters.
Speaker 1: So um, in that sense, it's sort of freeing to
Speaker 1: know I've just got a free run on it, really.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean that's that's a subtext for a
Speaker 1: lot of players and coming overwhelmed by the experience and
Speaker 1: they wear themselves out for the terment even begins, and
Speaker 1: they're just an awe of the place. Do you feel
Speaker 1: like you may be more equipped to compete out there
Speaker 1: than some of these people who have been dreaming about
Speaker 1: it as there little boys? Maybe? I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: as an amateur, there's there's not a really a whole
Speaker 1: lot of expected of you from an outside perspective, you know, Um,
Speaker 1: thankfully this isn't my first major as well. I've got
Speaker 1: to play in the Open last year. I think that
Speaker 1: was will be really useful, um in terms of conserving
Speaker 1: energy levels and just genuinely playing in front of bigger crowds. Um.
Speaker 1: But even even so, that wasn't that was in July.
Speaker 1: He kind of, Um, you know that that effect wears
Speaker 1: off after a while. And definitely felt more uncomfortable yesterday
Speaker 1: than I had done in a while. But again, turn
Speaker 1: up this morning, feel better. I'll feel better tomorrow and
Speaker 1: then by the time you get to Friday or Saturday,
Speaker 1: you won't even notice as anyone there. So um, really
Speaker 1: excited to have that adrenaline of having a big crowd
Speaker 1: and and and everything that comes with playing the Masters.
Speaker 1: So I feel like I do better in that situation,
Speaker 1: and maybe some people don't quite live up to or
Speaker 1: play as well as they can do because of that.
Speaker 1: So I mean, I trying to use that as an advantage.
Speaker 1: But you know, there is definitely an unknown of you
Speaker 1: don't know how you're going to react on that first
Speaker 1: first you on Thursday. You've just got trust in in
Speaker 1: your preparation and sort of believe in yourself really, So, Jeff,
Speaker 1: does listening to this, does this bring back memories of
Speaker 1: your first time playing the Masters or a yeah, first time,
Speaker 1: I mean I was different. I've been dreaming about it
Speaker 1: since day one probably, I mean we grew up. It
Speaker 1: comes on really early in the morning in Australia, like
Speaker 1: sort of five o'clock till sort of eight or nine
Speaker 1: the coverage and Norman was always a chance right through
Speaker 1: the eighties. That's when I was growing up, and we
Speaker 1: turn on every year, is there's gonna be Greg's year?
Speaker 1: Is this gonna be Greg year? Is this gonna be
Speaker 1: Greg's year? So, I mean it was just kind of
Speaker 1: an obsession for Australians in the eighties, especially in the
Speaker 1: early nineties. So I dreamed about I dreamt about it forever.
Speaker 1: Um and I've been playing well and I just missed
Speaker 1: out on the top fifty thing for a couple of
Speaker 1: years early two thousand's and finally got in somehow. I
Speaker 1: can't remember how I got in the first time. I
Speaker 1: don't know, but I knew I was in the whole
Speaker 1: year and it was one of those things. And like
Speaker 1: so we get the invite in the mail in January,
Speaker 1: which is pretty exciting, and I set it up with
Speaker 1: Scotty because he'd been going there for a couple of
Speaker 1: years before me. We went out of practice round I
Speaker 1: think two weeks before and came and got the whole,
Speaker 1: which I think is really important because it gets that
Speaker 1: whole Wow, Disneyland, I'm here, nervousness. You're not a fan,
Speaker 1: you're the first time becoming the Masters. You're a fan
Speaker 1: when you play, you know you're a Master's fan, and
Speaker 1: you just want to soak it all up and actually
Speaker 1: just visit the Master's. So to come to the course
Speaker 1: early before everyone was here, you kind of get that
Speaker 1: fan boy thing out of the way a little bit,
Speaker 1: you know, that makes sense. And so when I came
Speaker 1: back two weeks later, yeah, I was sort of prepared
Speaker 1: for what I was going to get. And I was
Speaker 1: playing really well at that point and thinking I was
Speaker 1: sort of a chance a little bit because I finished
Speaker 1: top I think like fifth at Sanandrews and six that
Speaker 1: bolts for all. I think the one Phil it was
Speaker 1: a ball roll two five or something. So I've been
Speaker 1: playing pretty well, um, so I kind of felt a
Speaker 1: bit of a chance. So I was a bit of
Speaker 1: a veteran rookie if you like. But I was still crazy,
Speaker 1: like crossing on the holding of Mom and Dad were
Speaker 1: over and the merchandise thing and merchandise town and all
Speaker 1: the souvenirs and just the way like Washington and like
Speaker 1: the town. It's just you cannot describe this tournament this
Speaker 1: week to somebody who hasn't been hit like inside or
Speaker 1: outside the golf course. You know, Um, that's pretty exciting time.
Speaker 1: It was really super exciting and I played really well actually,
Speaker 1: so I definitely think you can play well first time. Um. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's an unbelievable experience. It's the first time you come here.
Speaker 1: It's you just can't believe that you're here almost, you know,
Speaker 1: because of the way it's sold, and we only get well,
Speaker 1: we used to only get four hours a year, right,
Speaker 1: you'd get the back night on Saturday and Sunday. Basically.
Speaker 1: Now we get a whole lot more coverage, and it's
Speaker 1: of wall the wall during the week and then it
Speaker 1: sort of disappears. But it's so it's this it's disney
Speaker 1: Land for a golfer. You're never going to get there,
Speaker 1: Like it's just this fantasy thing. It's almost like a
Speaker 1: movie set somewhere that they make this Truman Show golf course,
Speaker 1: that this tournament, this is so different for anything else.
Speaker 1: But when you finally get here and you see that
Speaker 1: it's all real and it's it exceeds your expectations, and
Speaker 1: all the people who just float around the clubhouse all
Speaker 1: week and under the tree, and just the way the
Speaker 1: week works is so unique and so different and such
Speaker 1: an enjoyable experience that my motivation, I think went up
Speaker 1: every year on Sunday when I was leaving, saying I
Speaker 1: am back here next year and I'm going to win this.
Speaker 1: So I was more motivated when I left the Masters
Speaker 1: than when I got to the Masters every single time,
Speaker 1: because it's such a special week and it's just sad
Speaker 1: that it's over and you just can't wait for it
Speaker 1: to come back. What would you tell their day The
Speaker 1: course evolves a lot throughout the week, and ever it says,
Speaker 1: it's totally different golf course on Thursday morning than even
Speaker 1: it was the day before. Here we are it's bringing
Speaker 1: some rain on Tuesday afternoon, but it what veteran advice
Speaker 1: do you have for a rookie what to expect? And
Speaker 1: you actually you have a scorecard in your pocket. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Like it's the course definitely gets faster on Thursday morning.
Speaker 1: I mean where they're dependent. But they're very good at
Speaker 1: this course. They've got this thing wired to like every
Speaker 1: bladder grass, they've got where they want it. Um, they'll
Speaker 1: have pins decided what they're probably going to do, but
Speaker 1: they can move them around. They've got sort of fallback
Speaker 1: plans for different weather and how the scoring is going.
Speaker 1: And they just seem to be able to manage this
Speaker 1: tournament so well that it ends up finishing at sunset
Speaker 1: on Sunday somehow right at the right score, Like they've
Speaker 1: just got it worked out. So, I mean, I think
Speaker 1: what I would notice whenever I would go out there.
Speaker 1: You hit a lot of chip shots. You're playing from
Speaker 1: all these spots, hitting all these parts. As soon as
Speaker 1: you get out in the tournament on Thursday, it's just
Speaker 1: how do I get it under the whole? You start
Speaker 1: forget about all this little anti pitch shots and stuff
Speaker 1: you've been hitting. You start partner from off the green. Um,
Speaker 1: you play sort of I don't know, smart damage control
Speaker 1: golf a little bit, you know. I mean, the first
Speaker 1: hole might be the hardest green on the course. The
Speaker 1: first green you're just The first hole in the Master's
Speaker 1: on Thursday is a tough hole, you know, I don't
Speaker 1: want to hit it over the back. You don't need
Speaker 1: it left of the green. But you've worked better already,
Speaker 1: I'm sure on that, I'll know you don't need the
Speaker 1: middle of gin. Have a nice, easy to part the first,
Speaker 1: hopefully make a birdie or something on two, and then
Speaker 1: just sort of trying to just sneak you away in
Speaker 1: and just get used to the course as you go,
Speaker 1: because it will definitely be different on Thursday than you
Speaker 1: expect now, absolutely, but you'll get to It's it makes
Speaker 1: you nervous and it makes you scared this course, but
Speaker 1: the only way to play it well is to not
Speaker 1: be scared, you know, which is the ultimate tent, which
Speaker 1: is why it finds the best players, right, because it's
Speaker 1: it asks you to be brave and put brave swings
Speaker 1: on it, on shots that are so cavalier and so
Speaker 1: ridiculous in a normal week, like the second shot in fifteen,
Speaker 1: you wouldn't play that shot at any other tournament. You
Speaker 1: wouldn't go for that green. You would with a seven on,
Speaker 1: but not with a three on because it's like ridiculous.
Speaker 1: It's truck trying to hit under this table with the
Speaker 1: three with water short and long. But because you have
Speaker 1: to go for it, you have to go for it.
Speaker 1: So you're hitting a shot you don't want to hit.
Speaker 1: But the only way to hit it well is to
Speaker 1: buy into it, you know, and not be nervous about
Speaker 1: it and free swingers. My guys like Phil and Bubba
Speaker 1: and Tiger and these guys who play that way. Dustin
Speaker 1: is a perfect Master's headspace, you would have thought, because
Speaker 1: you just have to throw caution to the wind and
Speaker 1: just go. You know, this course makes you nervous, it
Speaker 1: makes you play conservative and hit to the front of
Speaker 1: the greens and play safe. But you'll make sixteen pass
Speaker 1: and two bogies doing that, you know, every single time.
Speaker 1: But you won't shoot any bad scores. But you'll never
Speaker 1: shoot a good score until you actually challenge. You have
Speaker 1: to take on stuff, you know, and that's the challenge,
Speaker 1: because you get nervous, and it's the Master's and there's
Speaker 1: a lot of trouble out there. So you've got to
Speaker 1: take on these challenges knowing that you know what, if
Speaker 1: it doesn't come it doesn't come off. But the only
Speaker 1: way to win this is to take this stuff off.
Speaker 1: That's genius, Like that discourse, Laird. You came here a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago, you had a couple of practice rounds.
Speaker 1: Did that take a little bit away from the r
Speaker 1: factor of showing up again this week? Was that obviously
Speaker 1: time well spent. Yeah, I definitely agree with what Jeff
Speaker 1: said that. Um, well, I came in January, late January, so,
Speaker 1: um it definitely got that out of the way. You know,
Speaker 1: my first time in the range didn't take a divot
Speaker 1: the whole name. It just was over place mentally, more
Speaker 1: nervous enough, probably was you know, any other point really
Speaker 1: bar maybe a few times, you know, and there's nothing
Speaker 1: on the line. Um So it's weird that that does.
Speaker 1: It does that to you because you know, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: say I'm a super fan of the Masters, but you know,
Speaker 1: just the place has a sort of aura about it,
Speaker 1: I suppose, So it was good to be there. You
Speaker 1: get comfortable with where you're going, you know, with these
Speaker 1: phones rule and everything like that, getting around and communicate
Speaker 1: with people sometimes gets difficult. So I think that was
Speaker 1: it was good to get all that out of the
Speaker 1: way so that when you do come on last this week.
Speaker 1: You you're just there to focus on, you know, adapting
Speaker 1: to what the conditions like. There. You know, you've been there.
Speaker 1: You know what shots you're you're gonna face. You've been
Speaker 1: practicing them, so you know, it's all about taking all
Speaker 1: those variables. I suppose out the equation. So when you
Speaker 1: get on the golf course, you're faced with a certain
Speaker 1: golf shot, you know exactly what you're doing. You're not
Speaker 1: making that decision really there, it's already been made made
Speaker 1: weeks in advance, I suppose. Um, So yeah, that was
Speaker 1: definitely a thing that helped me. So you know, because
Speaker 1: if you're turning up for the first time a master
Speaker 1: this week, there's that's just an extra layer of you know,
Speaker 1: it's not pressure, but just sort of mental baggage I
Speaker 1: supposed to deal with. So yeah, how do you feel
Speaker 1: your game translates to this golf course? Um? You know,
Speaker 1: if you're asking that question last year, probably not very well. Um,
Speaker 1: But knowing that I was going to play more in
Speaker 1: the States this year, UM, I've tried to make some
Speaker 1: some changes or tweaks. I suppose, being able to shape
Speaker 1: it right to left of the tea in my opinion
Speaker 1: here is pretty key. Like otherwise you've got awkward t
Speaker 1: shirts every single hole basically. Um, So we've worked on
Speaker 1: moving the right to left, worked on having a bit
Speaker 1: higher changed for a bit of a softer golf ball,
Speaker 1: and all those things seems to have helped a lot.
Speaker 1: So now I don't have to stand there trying to
Speaker 1: hit it high, trying to stop it quickly, and I
Speaker 1: can do that pretty normally. I think, you know, the
Speaker 1: that's thing about when I used to go and play
Speaker 1: firm and golf courses, that one link style where you
Speaker 1: couldn't run in is that I'd be just They're constantly
Speaker 1: trying to manipulate shots to try and make them work,
Speaker 1: and this week could ever like I have to I've
Speaker 1: got I've got rights left off the teas. I don't
Speaker 1: need to try and do that. I've got high into
Speaker 1: the green, so they need to try and do that. So, um,
Speaker 1: I think definitely my game is trended into a place
Speaker 1: where it is much more suited to the challenge that
Speaker 1: we think we'll get this week. For me on the greens,
Speaker 1: it's just going to be the thing because we haven't
Speaker 1: really you know, back over in the UK, you just
Speaker 1: don't get surfaces at whatever they are, you know, fourteen
Speaker 1: let's say, and especially don't get the slopes. Um. So
Speaker 1: that's going to be the main thing that's that's going
Speaker 1: to be tested really, but um it's a good place
Speaker 1: to be in, you know, even if even if you fail,
Speaker 1: you're gonna learn so much from it. Um. So that's
Speaker 1: that's kind of like the comforting thought for me at
Speaker 1: the moment is that, you know, we're speaking about this
Speaker 1: with my coach there on the practice area, like it's
Speaker 1: never really going to get bigger than this, And I
Speaker 1: never really thought about that, you know, in terms of
Speaker 1: if you're not going to play in torment bigger than
Speaker 1: the Masters. So let's just go and see how we
Speaker 1: stack up and then you know, we'll know what we
Speaker 1: need to do after that. So that's quite a good
Speaker 1: way of looking at it. Yeah. Absolutely, I think all courses,
Speaker 1: I mean all golf in general, but this course especially,
Speaker 1: you learn from your mistakes because people can tell you
Speaker 1: all day that don't hit it over there, and don't
Speaker 1: hit the ball left one two or for tea or
Speaker 1: all the little bits that you've probably picked up everyone
Speaker 1: that don't do this, don't do this, don't do this,
Speaker 1: don't they You're going to do some of them, and
Speaker 1: you only do it once. You know, you only hit
Speaker 1: it left one on two once the rest of your life.
Speaker 1: If you miss it there, you're missing in the right
Speaker 1: trades because you can play from there, but you cannot
Speaker 1: play from left, you know, and you kind of have
Speaker 1: to do that a little bit. And that's what your
Speaker 1: first few years are all about, I think, is learning
Speaker 1: the the spots. You mean, you can miss the court,
Speaker 1: you can miss them all all over the place, so
Speaker 1: Augusta will still play it, but there's just certain spots
Speaker 1: that you can't miss it, you know. And there sometimes
Speaker 1: you just have to hit it there to know. You know,
Speaker 1: it's just you have to get burnt and make triple
Speaker 1: on the first one day, or you have to spend
Speaker 1: one off the slope twice on fifteen with the layup
Speaker 1: that everyone's done once or twice, you know, to work
Speaker 1: that wedge out um. And that's golf in general. In
Speaker 1: it like I think sometimes we get so tight, especially
Speaker 1: the way the world is and all the preparation and
Speaker 1: you doing interviews and all this stuff before every week,
Speaker 1: it's such a big deal. Everyone's so scared to make
Speaker 1: a mistake that they never actually like play how they
Speaker 1: can play, you know. So I absolutely think expect mistakes
Speaker 1: because you're going to make them. Everyone's going to make them.
Speaker 1: And that's where that's absolutely where all the gold is.
Speaker 1: I mean, the reason Freddie and Scotty and Langer and
Speaker 1: all these guys in the field who have played there
Speaker 1: so many times to know all that know this course
Speaker 1: so else because they've messed it up so many times.
Speaker 1: You know, they've messed up these holes they know, they
Speaker 1: don't they only do it once or twice, and they're
Speaker 1: never gonna do that again. And so then it's just
Speaker 1: in your makeup, you know. So if you win the
Speaker 1: Masters in five ten years time, that victory comes from
Speaker 1: this week and on. You know, you're learning those bits now,
Speaker 1: you know, targeted when his first two or three times,
Speaker 1: you know, Um, that's that's as I said that the
Speaker 1: genius of this course is it forces you to be conservative.
Speaker 1: But the really the only way you learn and really
Speaker 1: the only way you play it well, is to learn
Speaker 1: how to be intelligently aggressive out here, you know, And
Speaker 1: you're gonna you're gonna have to expect mistakes because you're
Speaker 1: gonna make them. Just hopefully they're not. They're buggies, are
Speaker 1: not the other ones? You know you love this golf course?
Speaker 1: I mean this is this is this is your This
Speaker 1: is like church to you, right, I mean between Roal Melbourne,
Speaker 1: Augusta National, Sypus Point Old Course, Old Course. Do you
Speaker 1: love this course? Laird? When you play Augusta National it
Speaker 1: is do you? Are you falling in love with this place? Um?
Speaker 1: I've never been a big golf course guy, but I
Speaker 1: remember a few conversations I've had with people after having
Speaker 1: played it in January really sort of started thinking about
Speaker 1: it and being like, this place is design really well?
Speaker 1: Like twelve, for example, is it's the perfect the perfect
Speaker 1: example because it's a nine nine or an eightion or
Speaker 1: a wedge, but you know the degree of whatever the
Speaker 1: degree is that the green is angled from the tea
Speaker 1: is perfect because for a right hander, if you miss
Speaker 1: one right, it's going to come up short. If you
Speaker 1: miss one left, it's going long. So so then you
Speaker 1: stood there going well, So I should I fade it
Speaker 1: and take the risk if I just push out there
Speaker 1: too much it's wet? Or do I draw one and
Speaker 1: if I pull it it's long and you know bunkers
Speaker 1: or whatever's behind the green. Um, So it just asks
Speaker 1: you the question there as well as the whole or
Speaker 1: around that whole. You know, you get on that tea
Speaker 1: and there is definitely a different feeling than six, for example.
Speaker 1: Either there's obviously no no trouble to really hit it
Speaker 1: into on six, but um, and even sixteen as well,
Speaker 1: it's asking you to hit this little drawer in there
Speaker 1: to feed it back to the left pins. Um. But
Speaker 1: you know, if you ever do it, then you're in trouble.
Speaker 1: And you know as well. You know, it's just so
Speaker 1: well designed. You look at the scorecard and I definitely
Speaker 1: I hope I don't pay for this this week, but
Speaker 1: I thought, how is this guy not burly you know,
Speaker 1: five yards yet out there? Right? Okay, I understand why
Speaker 1: every day, you know, it's that it's such an awkward
Speaker 1: the lies. I mean, that's a big thing as well,
Speaker 1: just the piece of the land they've got. And then
Speaker 1: they've obviously manifest actually in some places. But they've just
Speaker 1: done such a good job of asking the right questions.
Speaker 1: And I mean, it's just saying this, eliot, it's it
Speaker 1: tests every single part of your game, and not many
Speaker 1: golf courses really do that. Um. So that's what a
Speaker 1: good golf course and good design is that hits the sports. Jeff,
Speaker 1: I'm proud of you for not running out of the
Speaker 1: room when he said he's not a golf course guy,
Speaker 1: because we could have lost you there. But maybe there's
Speaker 1: something to that, right, Like you spend so much time
Speaker 1: thinking about these golf courses and and analyzing them and
Speaker 1: obsessing over them. Do you kind of wish you had
Speaker 1: that clarity where you could just play golf and not
Speaker 1: overthinking places like Augusta National. Oh, I think it's good
Speaker 1: and bad. I mean, I think ah August to take
Speaker 1: some brainpower if you want to, like scratch the surface
Speaker 1: a little bit, like it's the nuance nuance and the
Speaker 1: depth of the test is not them in thirteen is
Speaker 1: like almost the for golf hole, you know, um for
Speaker 1: stuff because of the ball above your feet. But it's
Speaker 1: a fad shot. And the better your T shot, the
Speaker 1: less the balls above your feet, and the less risk
Speaker 1: you take off the T the worst the balls above you.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's so many clever things about this cause
Speaker 1: I think it was to my detriment on what I
Speaker 1: what I thought were poor courses like Vanilla, boring, no strategy,
Speaker 1: no interest, just driving as far as you can and
Speaker 1: whole lots of parts and you'll do well. That doesn't
Speaker 1: it's not why I play golf, you know. I think
Speaker 1: there's more to golf than that. Um So, I think
Speaker 1: it's a disadvantage sometimes put an advantage when you come
Speaker 1: to a place like this or the old course or
Speaker 1: Romo and where you've got to if you do have
Speaker 1: a deep understanding I think of architecture and strategy and
Speaker 1: the old, great old courses, I think you have a
Speaker 1: better mind for accepting the way, the right way to
Speaker 1: play that or something I mean I think to these
Speaker 1: days is you just hit it as far as you
Speaker 1: can between the rough and then you just find out
Speaker 1: where the pin is and find out what clubb and
Speaker 1: you just hit straight out of here. It's like, well,
Speaker 1: you can do that if you're on. But there's a
Speaker 1: better way, you know, in the line of charm is
Speaker 1: not necessarily straight at the whole, and there there's a
Speaker 1: way around this way you can you'll you'll never make
Speaker 1: double bogies. You'll you'll always have more chance to make
Speaker 1: birdies from these areas in the fair way you can
Speaker 1: miss the second as long as you always missed to
Speaker 1: the right of the pin on the second, and stuff
Speaker 1: like that. You can get up down if you're left
Speaker 1: of it, you'll never get up and down little things.
Speaker 1: I think if you've got that understanding of architecture and
Speaker 1: how why the old course works how it does, and
Speaker 1: all the great courses, I think you can see a
Speaker 1: few more of those things a little bit easier. But
Speaker 1: as a general rule, I would have said it was
Speaker 1: to to my detriment around average golf course especial that's
Speaker 1: I was wondering. Well, as you said, Larri's probably already
Speaker 1: been bombarded with advice on how to do that, and
Speaker 1: do this and do that. But do you have any
Speaker 1: little nuggets you've squirreled away that may be less obvious
Speaker 1: that you could impart to a rookie. No, I think
Speaker 1: really like kind of what I was saying before. So
Speaker 1: you've got to you've got to find a way to
Speaker 1: swing it with no fear. These are shots that you
Speaker 1: never you just do not have a shot in professional
Speaker 1: golf like this. Can shot on ten for example, ball
Speaker 1: above your feet, extreme downslope to a target the slope. Seriously,
Speaker 1: you're gonna get me hit a five line off a
Speaker 1: downs up to that, Like, um, these are swings. These
Speaker 1: are scary swings. I mean, we don't have we don't
Speaker 1: make swings like this ever. Really with the consequence if
Speaker 1: I've a miss, you know they the miss here is
Speaker 1: so punished. If you're missing in the wrong spot, you're
Speaker 1: not just making boggy. If you miss it left on Dan,
Speaker 1: you're making double Like have fun with that. And you've
Speaker 1: got a shot that everything suggests you're going to hit
Speaker 1: it low right or long left, Like how do you
Speaker 1: do that? So you the only way you can hit
Speaker 1: a good shot is to be free and to sort
Speaker 1: of be cavalier a little bit like a bit like
Speaker 1: DJ where a little go wherever it goes. And that's
Speaker 1: the only way you actually can hit a good shot.
Speaker 1: So that the look you'll find all the infinite little
Speaker 1: bits of strategy and stuff and the good spots to
Speaker 1: hit on the holes and the bad spots hit on
Speaker 1: the holes. And like I said, you want to be
Speaker 1: right of the pin on two usually and like do
Speaker 1: you want to go for the third green most of
Speaker 1: the time, but then there certain pins you want to
Speaker 1: lay it up on top of the hill and you'll
Speaker 1: learn all stuff along the way. That's just golf, and
Speaker 1: that's your caddy and watching everyone else player you learn that.
Speaker 1: But as if, you've got to find a way to
Speaker 1: be able to put brave swings on it. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean? That that nervous is water on the rise.
Speaker 1: Whatever it is that this seventeenth makes it a nervous
Speaker 1: swing on it, right, Their swings out here all day
Speaker 1: like that, where the only way to hear a good
Speaker 1: shot is to be free and loose. But everything, every
Speaker 1: part of your instinct is certainly not to be you know,
Speaker 1: so you've got to fight that and find a way
Speaker 1: to just be free and loosen. If you play well,
Speaker 1: you play well. You look at the guys who win here, Tiger,
Speaker 1: Phil Baba, these guys they play loose, you know, they
Speaker 1: just attack the course and if it's there from that week,
Speaker 1: they win. If it's not, well, I'll win next year.
Speaker 1: You know. That's really you can't hang onto this like
Speaker 1: you can hang on a US Open or Open championship
Speaker 1: and just grind it out. It's not it's not about that.
Speaker 1: It's about you have to keep going. You have to
Speaker 1: keep because it's like twelve twelves the bravest swing wherever
Speaker 1: asked to put on it, Like it's a it's it's
Speaker 1: an easy shots. So that's an easier shot than six,
Speaker 1: but the consequence forms is so massive you've got to
Speaker 1: go hit it over the water again, you know. No,
Speaker 1: that's the hardest wage shot. That the hardest wage shot
Speaker 1: at Augusta is that drop on twelve by a long way.
Speaker 1: And you know that before you hit your tastes shot.
Speaker 1: So it's it's a night on to like we don't
Speaker 1: miss that ever, but you do if you're worried about
Speaker 1: missing it, you know. So that's really the key is
Speaker 1: to find a way to be loose, you know. I
Speaker 1: mean all that stuff interesting me a lot, Like how
Speaker 1: do you does your body feel different this week than
Speaker 1: any other tournament? And how do you kind of conquer that?
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's hard. It's hard to trick yourself
Speaker 1: when you've got fifty fans and you've got all the
Speaker 1: pageantry of the Masters, Like how do you get to
Speaker 1: that police where you can just let it go? It's
Speaker 1: not it isn't easy to do. And look, it's it's
Speaker 1: very easy to say, and it's very hard to do.
Speaker 1: I don't know, you just get trying to have fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's the same old advice just have a good time,
Speaker 1: like enjoy yourself. And it's true, like if you just
Speaker 1: you have a good time, you generally do it well.
Speaker 1: You know. And what's the worst that can happen? You know,
Speaker 1: you missed the cut, but you've played the Masters. You
Speaker 1: know you'll be back, Like what's what's what's the worst
Speaker 1: that can happen? You know, you make about you here,
Speaker 1: You make about you that you're still playing the Masters,
Speaker 1: you know. So it's very hard to do that in reality.
Speaker 1: But the reward for playing like that is it's the
Speaker 1: only way you can play well here. So you've got
Speaker 1: to find a way, you know, to be comfortable and
Speaker 1: comfortable around. Of course that it's job, and what it's
Speaker 1: really good at is making you uncomfortable. You know. You
Speaker 1: played today with Corey Connor's Mike Weir. Obviously value in
Speaker 1: playing with the past champion? What did you learn from
Speaker 1: them today just by watching or talking? And then what
Speaker 1: what would you ask you know, Jeff sitting here with him,
Speaker 1: a guy has played it a much, you know, Um,
Speaker 1: so playing with Mike and Corey and Mark. It was
Speaker 1: no surprises in terms of the strategy on each hole. UM.
Speaker 1: I think that I think part shounds are difficult because
Speaker 1: then you're not you're not really playing to pin on
Speaker 1: the green. So UM that that determines on some holes
Speaker 1: quite a lot of what what you're doing. UM. In
Speaker 1: terms of around the greens, watching Mike especially obviously he's
Speaker 1: been here a lot, so he knows, he knows what
Speaker 1: he's doing is one UM watching him how he plays
Speaker 1: the shots, Um, it was interesting. Um for example goes
Speaker 1: back to like what what what what Jeff say? As
Speaker 1: well in terms of even the shots around the greens,
Speaker 1: there's shots you'll never really have a lot apart from
Speaker 1: this week, I assume on tour of him. I'm not
Speaker 1: I've not been on tour, but you know, just the
Speaker 1: chip from the back of fifteen back towards the water,
Speaker 1: for example, Mike was hitting one to to a left
Speaker 1: pen and he's flying it onto the green and for me,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, you've not got a lot of space and
Speaker 1: the greens of firm and he's just he's flying it
Speaker 1: straight on the green, no no worries and the only
Speaker 1: way you can hit that shot is if you're not
Speaker 1: bothered about whether you hit it, you missing it, you
Speaker 1: hit it in the water. You know that definitely you
Speaker 1: can can see that, you know, with the longer shots
Speaker 1: you have, but also around the greens, um, you know.
Speaker 1: I find it interesting actually at the short game area today,
Speaker 1: you don't see a lot of guys practicing shots that.
Speaker 1: In my mind, you're going to have a lot of
Speaker 1: which is a lot of times you are going to
Speaker 1: be bumping it and then it really so onto the
Speaker 1: green in some situations. But no one didn't see one
Speaker 1: person hit hit shot the land in the fringe and roll,
Speaker 1: you know. Um. At the same time, you know you're
Speaker 1: going to get those two or three shots each day
Speaker 1: where you're just gonna have to stop up there and
Speaker 1: just hit a good golf shot. And I think on
Speaker 1: a normal, normal golf course there might be one or
Speaker 1: two times we have to do that. And to be fair,
Speaker 1: you could probably get away with not hitting a shot
Speaker 1: like that if you if you sort of work your
Speaker 1: way around the golf course. Well, but there's literally there's
Speaker 1: no escaping, like you have to play the fifteen toll.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's some stage you're gonna have to get
Speaker 1: across that pond, so you know, you might as well
Speaker 1: do it with the second shot. Like that's but that's crazy,
Speaker 1: that's literally I mean for me, you know, that's that's
Speaker 1: not nuanced at all. And in that respect, like you
Speaker 1: don't want you know, just get over the water as
Speaker 1: soon as possible in fifteen um, because you don't want
Speaker 1: that wed shot in UM. So you know, it's definitely
Speaker 1: you know, it can definitely see that that you've just
Speaker 1: got to stand up there and hit a golf shot,
Speaker 1: you know, and not you know, no point worrying about
Speaker 1: what could happen because if you hit a bad shot,
Speaker 1: it's going to be pushed, so you can't worry about
Speaker 1: doing it. You know, you can't hit a bad shot
Speaker 1: and get away with it sometimes. So UM. But in
Speaker 1: terms of you know, the more nitty gritty of stuff
Speaker 1: that you learned, I think you learn that more from
Speaker 1: just watching. Um. It's very hard as a rookie to
Speaker 1: go and ask a good question because you don't know
Speaker 1: what you want to hear, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: So you just you just watching and try and absorb
Speaker 1: as much as possible. But at the same time, I
Speaker 1: think you've got to make your own mistakes, but also
Speaker 1: not you can't rely on on good advice. You know,
Speaker 1: You've got to be able to try and work it
Speaker 1: out for yourself because under the gun, you know, am
Speaker 1: I going to trust what Mike told me three days ago?
Speaker 1: Or am I going to trust what I feel like
Speaker 1: I need to do? And I think you've also got
Speaker 1: to have some mix of that. I think, um, you've
Speaker 1: got to trust your instinct. So yeah, I love all
Speaker 1: the golf talk, but I'm curious if you had any
Speaker 1: like starstruck moments or has there been anything that stood
Speaker 1: out away from the preparation. Maybe it's amateur dinner. We
Speaker 1: hear all about the champions dinner, but not much about
Speaker 1: the amateur dinner. Can you take us into that room
Speaker 1: and describe the scene a little bit? Yeah, that was intimidating.
Speaker 1: I'm not like socially you know, that was That was
Speaker 1: a tough one for me. I thought there was only
Speaker 1: gonna be six people there, and then we walked into
Speaker 1: the room and there's actually every single but what I
Speaker 1: felt like, every single member of Augusta Nationale in the room.
Speaker 1: And I was like, well, I don't know, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be talking to but I'll be shuffling somewhere quietly. Um So,
Speaker 1: but yeah, that was that was really cool. Surgoy was
Speaker 1: given the little pep talk to the amateurs and we
Speaker 1: came out with some stat that of amateurs that playing
Speaker 1: the Masters go on to win it. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: that number is decreasing it every it goes. But um,
Speaker 1: that's kind of what's kind of cool to hear, you know, Um,
Speaker 1: once you've been here, once, you know, I'd love to
Speaker 1: come back here and play for a bit of money.
Speaker 1: So or maybe you see if I still think that
Speaker 1: on Sunday, but you know, I can imagine it's it's
Speaker 1: a lot of fun. So do they see all the
Speaker 1: amateurs together? Do they mix you up throughout the room.
Speaker 1: And remember, if you know, I thought I'll be next
Speaker 1: to James. I've played the Georgia Cup against James Pyett
Speaker 1: and us Sam Champ. I thought, well, I know themselves'll
Speaker 1: be fine. I'm just sitting next to him. I'd see
Speaker 1: him for the whole night. But it was it was true.
Speaker 1: You know you're speaking to Surgery came out to me,
Speaker 1: con Lucy Rice and say came up to me. Number
Speaker 1: of you know, massive names and cool people, you know
Speaker 1: that you'd never get a chance to meet outside of
Speaker 1: being here this week. So yeah, and in terms of starstruck,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say, well, I would say Tiger. This morning
Speaker 1: he walked onto the range and I sort of caught
Speaker 1: myself because on the parting green, I heard some commotion
Speaker 1: going on, turned around and sort of what was that Tiger?
Speaker 1: And I was like, fucking playing cool? Would you asked me?
Speaker 1: I just didn't. I didn't look at him. I just
Speaker 1: was was doing what I was doing. But I can
Speaker 1: tell you I was not thinking about the part I
Speaker 1: was hitting. I was just thinking that Tigle is behind me.
Speaker 1: That's been crazy to see, you know this the jeweler
Speaker 1: guy has um It's pretty cool. Yeah, obviously that's one
Speaker 1: of the reasons that the progralfers have so much reverence
Speaker 1: for a guest the National because it's rare for them
Speaker 1: to be the poorest person in the room. But that's
Speaker 1: an area you walking into all these green jackets, like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm not at the top of the food chain like
Speaker 1: I thought it was. U. What do you think of
Speaker 1: your draw for the first two rounds? Perfect? It's almost
Speaker 1: like someone had asked me who would like to play with.
Speaker 1: To be fair, um, I played a pract round with
Speaker 1: with Bob Market at the open Um. It's Caddies good
Speaker 1: friends with Mike Caddy. Um, so that's gonna be really comfortable.
Speaker 1: So that's that's good. Um. You know we overlapp for
Speaker 1: about a year playing amid stuff. But it would be
Speaker 1: good to have a familiar face. And then obviously you know,
Speaker 1: Charles is the past winner. I mean, as I said
Speaker 1: when I was asked who I wanted to play with,
Speaker 1: if I really don't mind, you know, everyone's pretty good
Speaker 1: at goal. That's playing the masters, you know, and everyone's
Speaker 1: going to have have Everyone's gonna be interesting to watch
Speaker 1: and learn from. Um, so you know, put me with whoever.
Speaker 1: But yeah, really happy with the group of got so
Speaker 1: it would be a little of fun. Part three, you
Speaker 1: said you might play with Shane, Larry and Rory. Yeah
Speaker 1: that's been ESPN has put a stop to that apparently. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I think we have Bryson now, which yeah that's
Speaker 1: uh yeah, I mean definitely learns something there. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well it's funny my Tom Baby he's a he's a
Speaker 1: big Bryson fan, So maybe try and get him to
Speaker 1: sign something. He's a Bryson fan boy, but now I'll
Speaker 1: be It would be fun. I mean, you know, at
Speaker 1: the end of the days, he's a guy that plays golf,
Speaker 1: so we have that in common. So maybe all you
Speaker 1: have in common? Maybe tell us where ESPN like nix
Speaker 1: the pairings, Like what do you mean by that? Well, so,
Speaker 1: so I when I arrived on Saturday, obviously registered and
Speaker 1: noticed that m Rory and Shane, who were down on
Speaker 1: the par three list, had not registered yet, and I
Speaker 1: thought it was a bit odd, but there was a
Speaker 1: space next to them, so I thought, well, I'm only
Speaker 1: going to get this chance once, so much as I
Speaker 1: put my name down. But apparently they planned well I
Speaker 1: don't know. I don't really know the story, but the
Speaker 1: guy from the Masters came over to me on the
Speaker 1: practice so I thought I was getting told off for something.
Speaker 1: Thankfully that wasn't the case. But yeah, he just said
Speaker 1: there's been a mix up and when you change it
Speaker 1: so and I'm not going to put up a fuss
Speaker 1: about it. So that's fun with me. Yeah, this is ridiculous.
Speaker 1: It was all good with me. Well, I think we'll
Speaker 1: try and play with them tomorrow. They said, so in
Speaker 1: the morning. Yeah, yeah, well we'll see obviously the weather
Speaker 1: whole time, but yeah, that will be to be fair,
Speaker 1: I'll be probably more valuable than BO three when my
Speaker 1: girlfriend was going to carry for me at the part
Speaker 1: three and she was upset at the change. So yeah,
Speaker 1: who are your people that you have this week as
Speaker 1: far as family and friends? So my mom and dad, Um,
Speaker 1: my girlfriend's here, my girlfriend's mom's here. Um. I've got
Speaker 1: a friend who who car from at the Open and
Speaker 1: he's here. My friend Andrew who's carding for me, um,
Speaker 1: and then a few how many friends. My stepbrother has
Speaker 1: been here for a few days. He's probably gonna head
Speaker 1: out tomorrow. M Yeah. And then just been a few
Speaker 1: a few people we've picked up at the Golf Club
Speaker 1: of Georgia. They came yesterday. You know, people just love it.
Speaker 1: And I say the best part about um, I suppose,
Speaker 1: in my position and qualifying to play the Masters, has
Speaker 1: been able to share with family and people who want
Speaker 1: to be there and giving them an opportunity to come
Speaker 1: experience it. I mean the coach I've got with me
Speaker 1: this week, Alex, he he's never been and you know,
Speaker 1: you can just tell people are excited about it. Um,
Speaker 1: And that's you know, that's that's been one of the
Speaker 1: coolest things about being given all these opportunities because, um,
Speaker 1: you know, you can't you can't do professional goal for
Speaker 1: although I'm not pro yet, but I'm to go for
Speaker 1: the golf on your own. Um. So it's fun to
Speaker 1: have everyone there and support. And so you should sound
Speaker 1: like you're in a great place. Your preparation, your mindset,
Speaker 1: your self belief, you're you know, your your practice rounds
Speaker 1: that you did in January and here you know, it
Speaker 1: sounds like you're sure. It sounds like to me you've
Speaker 1: got a great a great You're in a great place.
Speaker 1: I mean, is that is that your sense to Jep?
Speaker 1: I mean is this is he does it look like
Speaker 1: he's even more prepared than maybe you could have been
Speaker 1: on your first I mean it's it's pretty polished. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's signing all the right things. Don't You've done all
Speaker 1: the right things. You've been here early. Yeah, absolutely, that's
Speaker 1: a hog way. You don't know how you're gonna be right,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't sleep on the path right. The path three
Speaker 1: is really good preparation because all of a suddenly, I
Speaker 1: mean you are parting on these grains. Now you've got
Speaker 1: for the first time, you've got three six footers that actually,
Speaker 1: like those people watching like, it's preparas proper prep right,
Speaker 1: it's not like putting on the putting grain where it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter if you miss. And I was watching, I
Speaker 1: thought the path three for me my first year was
Speaker 1: really valuable at like making me realize what it's going
Speaker 1: to feel like to hit these because the parts that
Speaker 1: I mean you probably did you go there and you
Speaker 1: have you been out on the path. It's great fun.
Speaker 1: It's I mean they are ringing. I mean they are
Speaker 1: standing two or three meters from where you're landing your
Speaker 1: eight on. Its like it's full pressure, like it's close,
Speaker 1: it's tied out there, and it's super fun. But I
Speaker 1: just feel like you're hitting pictures, hitting chips, you're hitting
Speaker 1: a little breaking six footers and stuff with no pressure
Speaker 1: really but you'll feel it and there's people there, and
Speaker 1: I just think it's it's a nice little free tournament.
Speaker 1: All right, this is what it's going to be like,
Speaker 1: you know, like I think, um, but yeah you don't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just you're doing all the right things. Absolutely, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: have been ras and haven't there no chance I would
Speaker 1: have been this prepared? No chance. It makes me think
Speaker 1: that make tastes in quote though, everyone has a plan
Speaker 1: that they get punched in the mouth. So it's like
Speaker 1: you gotta you gotta know it's it's coming. At some point,
Speaker 1: there'll be some adversity, so it's just about getting through it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I feel like, um, one thing I've may have been
Speaker 1: quite good at is pretending I'm okay with everything. Um,
Speaker 1: you walk around the place, You'll see there's so many
Speaker 1: people around your player, everyone's looking at your time. You
Speaker 1: feel like you're a man, and so that kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, ego wise, you feel like you're on top
Speaker 1: of the world, you know. Um, and then you sort of,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe carry yourself in a way that exudes confidence.
Speaker 1: But as you said, you know, everyone's got up on
Speaker 1: until they get punched in the mouth. So you know, thursdays,
Speaker 1: you know, when it really matters. It's quite easy to
Speaker 1: walk around feeling like the nuts when you can just
Speaker 1: pick up out the trees and toss in the fur way.
Speaker 1: So yeah, you know, and you know that's the beauty
Speaker 1: of sport. You just don't alone, how are you going
Speaker 1: to handle it and we'll see. But you have it.
Speaker 1: You have a track record. We've talked about this before,
Speaker 1: but you have you like despot like you like the opportunity.
Speaker 1: You thrive in pressure situations. Obviously you almost perform your
Speaker 1: best when you're up against it, seems like, so you
Speaker 1: can rely on that a little bit too. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: that's definitely a comfort thing to know that. Um I'm
Speaker 1: okay with all that, and you know, it usually brings
Speaker 1: out some of my best stuff. It's funny going from like,
Speaker 1: for example, playing the Open and I played a few
Speaker 1: European Tour events after that it was feeling of almost
Speaker 1: being a bit flat because there was no one following
Speaker 1: you know, I'm watching you. Um So for me, I
Speaker 1: find that's a positive an event like this, like you're
Speaker 1: going to have a bit of juice. You know, you're
Speaker 1: going to feel it, and so that's going to be useful.
Speaker 1: Um it's useful until until you know, you may be
Speaker 1: gotten a bad run and then you've got you've got
Speaker 1: to stay calm and stay in this you know, not
Speaker 1: not fake, but stay in this sort of persona that
Speaker 1: you need to try and exude. You know. I think
Speaker 1: that's gonna be the biggest thing because you're to make mistakes. Um,
Speaker 1: so how you respond to those is obviously pretty key.
Speaker 1: Um And you just got to try and find a
Speaker 1: way of acting like you four under even if you're not.
Speaker 1: So Yeah, just just just make just just burn do
Speaker 1: this stir all your fires up. Jeff, just hearing this
Speaker 1: talking about this being here, does this make you want
Speaker 1: to just like next I just want to play the
Speaker 1: golf tournament. I'm never not gonna want to. Yeah, only
Speaker 1: be nuts to come back and play like it's such
Speaker 1: a treat to play this tournament. Like, as I said,
Speaker 1: I every single Sunday I ever left was the most
Speaker 1: motivated I was for the year. I was driving down
Speaker 1: Magnalia at the end of the week because no, this
Speaker 1: is me. Next year, I'm doing however close I've got.
Speaker 1: I was never really that close to contention a few times,
Speaker 1: you know, wherever I left it's like I'm doing that.
Speaker 1: I'm not. I'm doing better next year. I just cannot
Speaker 1: wait to get back. It's a special week, man. Special.
Speaker 1: They just get everything right from a play as perspective. Everything,
Speaker 1: you know, it's straight, it's nice. You know, it's like
Speaker 1: it's a reward for doing what you do, like hit
Speaker 1: balls in the rhine when you're a kid practicing until
Speaker 1: dark and well, this is this is what you're doing for.
Speaker 1: We were just with Laird in Scotland and St Andrew's.
Speaker 1: He's practicing at Duke's. They had a snow snow flurry
Speaker 1: come through. We meet him on the range. He's putting
Speaker 1: coins in the ring, can't get balls out of the range.
Speaker 1: He's picking his own balls off the snow covered range,
Speaker 1: hitting in thirty five degree weather. And I looked at him.
Speaker 1: I was like, you know, he's putting in the work
Speaker 1: for this ticket to go to Augustin and now here
Speaker 1: he is. I mean, this is like you said, it's
Speaker 1: what you do. That's what it's not work. That's what
Speaker 1: people don't understand. And that's the fun part. That's the
Speaker 1: fun part, you know. I think anyway, and anyone who
Speaker 1: usually makes it, we'll pretend like we work, but like
Speaker 1: really we play golf, you know what I mean. Who
Speaker 1: doesn't want to go do that? And there's parts of
Speaker 1: it that you don't want to do every day, but
Speaker 1: like it's all just we get to play golf, you know,
Speaker 1: and then you get rewarded with stuff like this at
Speaker 1: the end of it. You know, it's certainly certainly not work.
Speaker 1: It's just fun. It's a grind, but it's a fun
Speaker 1: It's the fun that's the grinding is the fun part. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: I love it. I mean, you know, Laird Laird was
Speaker 1: nearly out of the game a little over a year
Speaker 1: and a half, you know, just about a year and
Speaker 1: a half ago, it was nearly at a point where
Speaker 1: he couldn't play, and now he's playing the Masters. I
Speaker 1: feel like that's helpful for me in terms of perspective.
Speaker 1: You know, Um, I wouldn't I wouldn't be the same
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have the same mindset I do sitting here
Speaker 1: now if I hadn't gone through that Bose set of circumstances. So, um,
Speaker 1: you know, because I was, I was looking at life
Speaker 1: from a perspective of not having golf for a career
Speaker 1: in golf as the as the thing. Um, and that's
Speaker 1: pretty freeing as well. Um, you know, I'd come to
Speaker 1: terms of it most So you know, it's really hard
Speaker 1: hard to say how different things affects you. But um, yeah,
Speaker 1: and as you said about the practice thing, you know,
Speaker 1: everyone everyone's doing that, you know in my mind, and
Speaker 1: I'm just a lucky one that actually gets a reward
Speaker 1: from it. There's plenty of people who, you know, are
Speaker 1: you paying advance for hopefully something they get down the line,
Speaker 1: and some people never get to withdraw, you know. But
Speaker 1: I've been fortunate enough to you know, my success has
Speaker 1: happened at the right time, and I've I've been lucky
Speaker 1: enough to get the golden ticket sort of thing. Um,
Speaker 1: so I hope it keeps happening. But I saw money Scousle,
Speaker 1: the guy you beat in the m Championship who he
Speaker 1: doesn't get to go, you win in a playoff, get
Speaker 1: to go, and he was wishing you luck. You know,
Speaker 1: I saw a little social exchange where he basically he
Speaker 1: says good Like. I was like, you know, how cool
Speaker 1: is that? I mean he he has pure class on
Speaker 1: his part obviously. Yeah, yeah, I mean that that's who
Speaker 1: he is as a person, you know, that great guy
Speaker 1: that sport as well. It's um, you know, for me,
Speaker 1: it was the coolest part probably looking back at about
Speaker 1: the British and Final is that you know, if you win,
Speaker 1: you get everything, if you lose you get nothing, And
Speaker 1: then to be able to then perform in that situation.
Speaker 1: Is is something that you know, will I'll always be
Speaker 1: able to fall back on. UM. So, you know, to
Speaker 1: have had the opportunity to go through that. Although I
Speaker 1: would love to have gone blow him out six and
Speaker 1: five and not have the stress, it's been much more
Speaker 1: valuable to have had had the way it happened and
Speaker 1: to learn from it and had the opportunity to hit
Speaker 1: five ft parts with three majors in the line. You know,
Speaker 1: when does anyone really get to do that? Usually UM,
Speaker 1: but you know his golf as we have short memories,
Speaker 1: so you've we'll keep reminding yourself that you can do
Speaker 1: so you can do it. Hopefully that's a good ending spot.
Speaker 1: I think you can do it from the Tesco call
Speaker 1: center too, I guess the Nashville. It's a pretty incredible journey.
Speaker 1: And so good lucky Laard Well, and I know we're
Speaker 1: all rude for you. Thanks very much. Yeah, I have
Speaker 1: a great week, and uh, I know we'll be catching
Speaker 1: up to do throughout the week for the Grind episode,
Speaker 1: which which we're excited to share at some point this year.
Speaker 1: But yeah, nothing but positive thoughts and vibes coming from
Speaker 1: the fire pit. That's for sure. Yeah, thanks for having
Speaker 1: me on. It's been a little fun than Thanks for
Speaker 1: sharing a bit of knowledge, Like it's not of thing
Speaker 1: you get to hear, you know, some of my self
Speaker 1: share stuff like that, and yeah, you know heavy just
Speaker 1: the stuff you shared. Obviously, the main thing with meats
Speaker 1: with the free swinging, but is yeah, just I'll be
Speaker 1: I'll be keeping that in mind for sure. Thank you.
Speaker 1: You'll have a good time, be fun. Thank you. That
Speaker 1: little pep talk about freeing yourself up and playing the game,
Speaker 1: which we're just saying, you know, would be good advice,
Speaker 1: not only for Laird but basically everybody. Right at some point,
Speaker 1: everybody's got a free up. And if I learned anything
Speaker 1: playing this tournament was that was when I had the
Speaker 1: first few years I've played an ultra conservative and kind
Speaker 1: of did all right, but I was never gonna win.
Speaker 1: You can kind of chip away and make the cut
Speaker 1: if you like by avoiding damage, but you're never gonna
Speaker 1: do any good. The ones that do good are the
Speaker 1: ones who just caution to the wind. You just gotta go,
Speaker 1: you know, like that's your awake up. It's not sort
Speaker 1: of thing, and it's more likely to be you're awake.
Speaker 1: If you're free, you know, than if you're taught. And
Speaker 1: it's even like some of the guys who have come
Speaker 1: from behind, like the Schwartzels or the guy you know,
Speaker 1: make late runs, you know, Bubba the first time around you.
Speaker 1: But when they free themselves up, when they almost don't
Speaker 1: know that they're even in intention, and they get in
Speaker 1: and then they end up winning, it's like, oh my
Speaker 1: god at once, so because they've freed up and didn't
Speaker 1: even think that they might have a chance or it
Speaker 1: had to free themselves up to try to go. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the skill. And I mean the other tournaments at
Speaker 1: the US Open and stuff that forces you to play
Speaker 1: conservative because you have to. But this one pushes you
Speaker 1: that conservative direction. But you have to fight that. You
Speaker 1: have to fight that the whole time because you want
Speaker 1: to play safe because your whole Brian is a professional
Speaker 1: golfers to damage control and minimize mistakes, and that doesn't
Speaker 1: work around here. The way to minimize mistakes is to
Speaker 1: actually embrace the fact that you will make him, so
Speaker 1: don't worry about him. Almost you said you talk to
Speaker 1: Roy this morning. Did you get into any of this
Speaker 1: stuff a little bit? I just tell yeah, I just yeah,
Speaker 1: I said, how you feel and how you're playing, and
Speaker 1: he feels he seems like he's up and about. Um.
Speaker 1: I don't have any advice for Rory reck We once
Speaker 1: he canna listen to me for but yeah, I just said,
Speaker 1: be free and be loosened to have a good time,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean just imagine you're sitting there when
Speaker 1: you're fifty, you've got four of these things, would you
Speaker 1: be nervous about two version? No? You know, just go
Speaker 1: play right? Yeah, I mean I'm sure he knows, he knows.
Speaker 1: What's it been eight nine years that he's been sort
Speaker 1: of this has been the career Grand Slam sort of
Speaker 1: start for him. Um, it's amazing. Since fourteen, it's amazing. Um,
Speaker 1: you never would have picked that, especially at the beginning
Speaker 1: of his career. This was the one he was going
Speaker 1: to win right first, you know. I mean, he's got
Speaker 1: a game that's just so built for this place. I
Speaker 1: finally we'll get it done, and he'll get it done.
Speaker 1: Final comments on lair Just as we wrap up sort
Speaker 1: of episode two here at the fire Drive, you're sort
Speaker 1: of takeaway from here listening to him, Yeah, growing up kid,
Speaker 1: um saying all the right things interesting, Like you said,
Speaker 1: here's the story is so he's two years ago he
Speaker 1: was never going to play golf at all anymore, you know,
Speaker 1: and so this is like he's getting a free swing
Speaker 1: at everything, you know. I mean, what a feeling it's
Speaker 1: got to be. How liberating it is to all of
Speaker 1: a sudden have a body that works and good things
Speaker 1: happened straight away and you want the tournament. Now you're
Speaker 1: in the Masters. Yeah, as I said, a year or
Speaker 1: two after not ever maybe ever playing golf again. It's like, um,
Speaker 1: he's living the aim at the moment, which is not
Speaker 1: not for him. I remember that sort of wakes It's, uh,
Speaker 1: I'll have a good time. And he's signed all the
Speaker 1: rot things, and he like he's he sounds he sounds
Speaker 1: like he's pretty mature about the whole thing and keeping
Speaker 1: it in perspective, which is very hard to do when
Speaker 1: you come here for the first time. What do you
Speaker 1: think I will listen? I mean you you're just getting
Speaker 1: to know Layard. Obviously we've talked to him a bunch,
Speaker 1: But what's your what's your impression? Well? Supermature, uh and polished.
Speaker 1: I wish I could have seen Jeff's thought bubbles a
Speaker 1: few times, you know, when Laard was talking, because I
Speaker 1: almost had this sense like, okay, kid, you know you
Speaker 1: don't really know what's coming. I like what you're saying,
Speaker 1: but just wait. You know, there's like, you know, there's
Speaker 1: sort of a dragon on the side of the drawbridge,
Speaker 1: you know, waiting for him on Thursday. But um, you know,
Speaker 1: he's well, we'll see how his game actually translates. But
Speaker 1: I mean it's encouraging. It seems like he's really prepared,
Speaker 1: and he's he's and he's ready. He looks good. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know, it's a it's a big gas for
Speaker 1: any amateur to come here and the play really well.
Speaker 1: But he seems to be as equipped as anybody could do.
Speaker 1: I was really I was really impressed with you know,
Speaker 1: he's grateful and appreciative of the either the advice or
Speaker 1: the thoughts or the commentary. But at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, he does know that he's going to need
Speaker 1: to execute. I thought that was a little cocky, said
Speaker 1: you need I think I don't think that was works
Speaker 1: in his favor. Like, thanks, Mike, we were I'll handle
Speaker 1: it from here. You know, well, I like that Mike
Speaker 1: we're not gonna be outher to hold his hands like that.
Speaker 1: That's probably a good attitude. I don't know. He and
Speaker 1: he admits I'm gonna make mistakes, and Jeff says, you
Speaker 1: know you're going to learn from those, and so I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have to go do that. I mean, that's the deal. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you gotta try to. You gotta let yourself mike mistakes,
Speaker 1: otherwise you'll never know wrong. Yeah, all right, the fire
Speaker 1: is out. On episode two, put another log on the fire.
Speaker 1: Were here is getting time