Fairway Rollin' - Ep. 23: Tiger's Back! With Harold Varner III

Episode Date: December 6, 2016

Geoff Shackelford and Joe House grade Tiger’s return and discuss what that will mean for 2017. Then they welcome guest Harold Varner III, winner of last week’s Australian PGA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'm a Harold Varner III joining us later. So great time to be a golf fan. Great time to be alive, Jeff Shackleford. Yeah, it was kind of an energizing week, wasn't it? Like, it's been a long year. Everybody's a little beaten down. The fall was kind of drab, really, in a lot of ways, after the Ryder Cup buzz.

And then Tiger kind of really even made it a little bit worse when he pulled out of the Safeway two days after Enter. and, you know, I'll be honest, I didn't have a whole lot of expectations for last week. And the more I think about it, the more he just blew me away with when you know all the things that were going on. And I think everybody's hopefully kind of had some idea about that. So I don't know what your take was, but my overall impression was just, it just has totally changed my view going to next year, which is kind of, I think something we'll probably focus on a little bit today, just thinking about next year and what all this means now.

he's showing some signs of life. Well, one of the things that came to mind as I watched him over the weekend, I was reminded that you, Jeff Shackleford, back in April, after seeing a clip of him at the Junior Invitational that was down in South Carolina, the whole golf world watched him take some swings and work with the juniors, giving them some tips and so forth. You expressed the opinion that you hoped that he would. reenter competitive golf in something kind of small. You used, you were joking, but you talked about playing the four ball at medalist or, you know, a money game at Seminole.

I think you got your wish. I don't know. Well, there's no way for him to come back in anything quiet. And that was tough. I'll tell you what was really fascinating to watch on Golf Channel was that we kind of scrapped. I was on morning drive and we scrapped kind of the plan for design week. So we watched him warm up that first day. And it was like a major championship warm up. Everybody was doing their thing. But you know, they had him out of it. Like the corner of their eye, they were all watching him.

And everybody, I mean, can you imagine how it's what it's like to not play for 400 and some odd days and walk out to range and know everybody's watching every little move you make. And the contrast between that first day and the warm up the next day was staggering. He was, laughing, he was talking to everybody, they were coming up to him, he was twirling the club. I mean, the only thing he didn't do was like, you know, break out and dance. And you realized that first day, the pressure on him, the burden of that was brutal. And so once he got past that, then he goes out and shoot 65, no coincidence. But it just was, there was no way for him not to have that day to get that out of the way. And I'm just glad that he did. He, without

got any quack quaker T shots that just went off the planet. There was one duffed chip, which everybody who is a hater kind of turned into the, oh, he still got the yips. I mean, Brannel Chambly still think he has a yips. It's amazing to me. He's like, it's one bad chip on Bermuda that Chris DeMarco was sitting there in the studio telling us, that shot's really hard. So I was thrilled with all of that and just kind of, we don't, we didn't need another drama,

did we house? No, and I, we didn't. You just referenced this a couple times. you were in Orlando all of last week, and it was just by happenstance. You didn't make that trip with an idea that you were expecting to be there with all of the golf channel folks for Tiger's Return. What was the vibe like at the Golf Channel? Oh, it was really incredible.

There was one day in the newsroom, like the morning drive was on a little bit later, and Gary Williams looked at me and went, like, this is a real newsroom. And there were, you know, there were cheers when he'd make some birdies, and there were all sorts of reactions across that large newsroom they have. And it was really fun to see, because that's a group that's worked at a lot of events this year. And again, I think a lot of people, if you know the game, you had to have very low expectations for somebody who's gone through so much has looked so bad a couple times, has looked so lost.

And I think everybody was sort of on edge that, oh, we really don't want to see this. We want to see something positive to build on. And he did that. You know, I equated to a, I know people don't like probably a horse racing analogy, but it's a horse that's been off a long time. And, you know, you watch it. It comes back. It comes out of the gate, takes a lead, and, you know, just fades in the stretch.

And that's what he did, which that's a sign of real progress, that it wasn't like these rounds were mediocre. He came flying out, and he faded every day because he's not in golf shape. He's working all these events at that tournament. I mean, he works that event. Tiger may no show to a lot of things, but that event, he is working hard, and they have nightly events. He's got this hero CEO. He's got to keep happy.

So I wasn't shocked at all that he got tired, and that's something he can correct pretty easily, I think. Yeah, and he said so. He mentioned in the interviews with the NBC folks how he didn't really have his walking legs yet, which was kind of a revelation. He's been riding a cart around, I guess. Yeah, lose the cart, okay? Lose the cart, big guy. Come on.

You're a grown man. Walk. Well, look, I know it's Florida. There's a lot of swamps. Big drives from the green to the next team. But, man, get out. Come on, Tiger. Let's get those legs in shape.

I know we both want to contextualize this a little bit and also give him some grades. Let's start with the grades first. And I'm going to ask that we use the construct that his pal, Noda Begay came up with. Notice that here are the four areas that we want to pay attention to that Tigers are really focused on. And you're chuckling because they're... Well, I'm laughing because it was, you know, it was everything.

You realized how... When he went through it, we were sitting there a morning drive and he went through the four things that are really the focus. And it's like, oh, that's all he's got on his plate. Yeah, he hasn't got much on the burners there. Wow. I mean, he had a lot to deal with. The categories that are.

note I used were his body, Tiger's body, Tiger's new equipment, his swing, and then the mental game. And let's just go ahead and exchange grades here. So for the body, what did you observe physically of him? I know what grade I'm prepared to give him. What did you think? I'd give it a B-minus, but I think that's a pretty good grade. I watched him how and how he went to tee up the ball, how he picked the ball out of the hole, things like that. The back looked like it was giving him no trouble. I'm just, you know, a little surprise he wasn't in better shape, but I'd heard he hadn't been playing that much until right.

He kind of crammed it all in there at the end, and that showed. So I don't know. I just, I don't know what's going on inside him physically at this point, but gosh, from a visual point of view, you do see a comparison to his 2015 swing, and it isn't quite as athletic yet as the new swing. But this could also be that he simply, House, has finally done what a lot of people had hoped was,

kind of modify his swing for an older body and a different body that's been through these surgeries. So, yeah, maybe I'll make it a beat. Yeah, I'm going to give him an A plus on the body because I would say, you know, the things that you just identified in the way of, are we, does he, does he flinch any when he's bending over to pick up the ball? How does he look when he's going into and out of the bunkers, right? How does he look walking up 18? I didn't see anything that gave me concern. and those were the kind of verifying, validating observations that I wanted to make.

I didn't see anything that caused me concerned A plus for the body. Okay. So how about equipment? I guess, you know, the most noteworthy piece of equipment to me was obviously the Scotty Cameron Putter because that's the bad boy that's delivered the goods all the years. What do you think? Oh, boy. So that was a telling moment if people didn't catch it because it wasn't. too widely reported, but he admitted that he, the minute Nike got out of the equipment business,

it was like, you feel like he got off the phone and he went right down to the garage and just pulled the Nike out and stuck the Scotty right back in, which wasn't the greatest endorsement ever for the Nike. And it's going to make some writers, I suspect, over the next few weeks, go back and reflect on a few events that he might not have putted very well in and wonder if he would have won them. So I really don't care what he has in his bag, to be honest with the house. I'm more interested in what he does with it. I kind of feel like he's going to have a mixed bag for a while, which is a great luxury to have and good for him. But I give him an A for pulling that putter out and putting in the one that he won 13 to 14 majors with. Yeah, so you and I are in

lockstep here. I'm also giving him an A to A plus just for bringing the Scotty Cameron back out. he made some bombs, he gave some finger points. That's the only piece of equipment I care about as it relates to Tiger, so we're in agreement. A for the Scotty Cameron. All right, how about the swing? You mentioned it a little bit in terms of the body thing. I know folks were talking about him being a little more upright and getting through the right side a little more compact, maybe a little more efficiently. What did you see?

Yeah, I would give the swing a B-plus. Here's what I saw, and it was fun being down there at Golf Channel because you could listen to some of the analysis from people who are pretty good. And I did something with Tripp Eisenhower, and his analysis was interesting on Wednesday when you looked at those pro-am swings versus last year. But then when you got on the golf course, Gary Koch made the point on the telecast that this is the first time you felt like he was just playing golf, swinging the golf. the club and I thought that was huge progress. It didn't look mechanical to me. He wasn't doing

all that fidgeting trying to get in positions. And then I think Charlie Reimer on Morning Drive made a really, really great point that after the 65, he had that look like, well, the first two days he was driving about 70 down the highway and he hadn't gotten a ticket. Things were going well. And he went, you know what? I'm going to take this thing up to 85 and see what happens. And he swung a little harder on the weekend. He was going after it a little more aggressively. And he may, that may have also been fatigue a little bit. But in general, the swing looked like a golf swing, not a piece of, a series of pieces of mechanical positions that he was trying to be in. So for me, that's huge. Yeah. And I don't know anything about swing analysis. I'm a, you know, 13 handicap. But I'm going to

give the swing an A also to go along with the other A's I've been giving out here, just because of how aggressive. That swinging freely idea that you're mentioning there is really resonating. When he wanted to put the foot down on the pedal, he did it and he swung hard and he stood. The thing I like the best about this version of the swing, how balanced he was. He didn't see him swinging out of his shoes very much, but he was definitely hitting the ball far. He was right there with the guys. You know, the more I watch of modern players, the more I watch the follow-through, Mack O'Grady talked about this a lot for years with people that the follow-through is like the splash in the pool for the diver or the landing for the gymnast.

It tells you a lot about the athleticism of the motion, the act, and then kind of the balance of it, the timing, the confidence, a whole bunch of different elements kind of are revealed in the way the player finishes the shot. And Tiger has had some pretty weird rounds in the last couple of years with this back of weird finishes and inconsistent. And I think you're right. You just saw a lot of great follow-throughs and kind of nailing the landing kind of moments that were, again, very reassuring. All right, mental game. I'm just going to go ahead and give him round out my streak of straight A's. I'm giving him a plus on the mental game. My man shot 65 on Friday.

I don't need to see anything else. Sharp as attack, ready for all comers. Tiger Woods is back, baby, and I'm giving him an A plus on the mental game. Yeah, I would probably go with A minus or B plus-ish. I loved the stubbornness at times, the old stubbornness, which I think he needs that. He needs to have a little that cocky kind of, I'm one of the all-time greats and not really be vulnerable like another word he used. So I love the comments in most of the interviews. there were really a lot of signs that he has been humbled a little bit,

but mostly that he, I mean, that smile at the end of the round and kind of the interaction with Joe Lakava after the 65, to me was just a moment like I'm going to get this back. That's the first time I felt like he has put something together that you just know he's going to build on. The other thing is he looked like he was enjoying playing golf again, which I haven't really since for a while. And if he's enjoying himself, House, then he's going to play more, he's going to practice

more. And, I mean, he's always been a hard worker, but I definitely think he burned out. I think he hit a wall and this getting away from it was what he needed, and he needs to have a little bit of fire, and he seems to have it again. So that's the most encouraging thing for us, because that means we'll get to see him play more and tee it up more. And let's be honest. And we need to kind of think big picture here now. He's huge for the game. He moves the needle. I hate that phrase, but it's so true. I mean, look at the reaction in the world of sports. There was so much going on last weekend. And look at how he

still captivated people and got pretty big TV audiences up against a lot of competition. Yeah. So look, I want to talk about that a little bit more expansively. But let's go ahead and have a quick speed round right now. As everybody knows, Shackhouse is presented by Calloway Golf and the Chrome Soft Golf Ball. In the spirit of the holiday season, friends, Calloway is offering everyone free personalization on ChromeSoft golf balls through the end of the year. You could put something funny on there like Shackhouse, or you could put your sister's name on. it. Whatever you like. Let's be honest, everybody wants a ball that goes far and feels soft, especially one that's easy to control, and one that might have your name on it. Dual soft, fast,

core. Chromesoft is the ball that changed the ball. And with free personalization, it's the ball that changed the holidays. How about this, y'all? promo code house. When you get to the part where you're supposed to enter in a code, you get with that code free shipping, so order up a couple dozen balls. put whatever name you like on them and have them shipped to your house for free. Let's go ahead and tackle one thing that showed up on our radar that both of us, you know, raise an eyebrow at. And that is the odds for Tiger Woods to win the Masters Invitational Tournament in April of 2017. I believe you said it went from 40 to 1 down to 20 to 1. Is that right?

Yeah, I think he slipped up to 60 several months ago. And then going into the hero, it was down to 40. Just the idea that he would actually tee up and play, had some people betting. And then the minute he started showing signs of life that he really was capable of playing good golf again. He's down to about 20 to 1, yeah, which puts him ahead of Henrik Stenson, the Open champion. And arguably the best player of 2016 is at 25 to 1 as a 201. Jim Cunningham noted here in our show notes, which made me giggle. Yeah, so that is not a wager that I'll be making.

I will not be allocating any capital to Tiger at 20 to 1 to win the thing, although I will take a long look at what odds I can get for a top 10 finish. Depending on what we see and if he's healthy entering the tournament in April, top 10 feels like something I can definitely get behind really at any number. I mean, as long as it's 10 to 15 to 1, I'll jump. jump in there on a top 10 finish for El Tigre. All right, so let's get big picture here about next year. We feel like he's going to play some events.

His scheduling is going to be different. And I think that's something people are going to have to reconcile. There's two ways he can go. He can either kind of go, normal tiger. I'm a jet setter. I play in the Middle East, and I take a big check, and then I come over the West Coast. And he now has his foundation running the tournament of Riviera,

which we'll talk a little bit about with Harold Varner later on. So that's a new obligation. He has not come to Los Angeles and Riviera for a while. And then he also has no status in the World Golf Championship events. So those are out. Normally the places where he's cleaned up and made a lot of money. So the other way he can go, though, House, is he could kind of go the Ben Hogan route post a bust accident

and just play an extremely limited schedule and make each time an event he shows. up and play the bare minimum number of tournaments. I would love to see him do that as selfishly, even though it's better for everybody when he plays more. I just feel like that's his future. That's the way he prolongs his career if, in fact, he's really found his game again. So I'm interested in seeing, I want him to go international because I think it's good

for the game of golf. And I also very selfishly like the tournaments that I can watch at night. When the kids asleep, I can watch live golf, I can catch live Tiger in... It's all about you. It's all about you. In Abu Dhabi or where's the Omega? Where's that one? Dubai desert classic.

By the way, yeah, well, first we have to get past the he's a Rolex man and is he going to play the Omega? Is the Sheikh going to intervene and say, yeah, I want Tiger? I don't know. There's all that kind of stuff. That's Mark Steinberg's job to figure that out. But I do think it makes sense for him to go do something international and then to return stateside and play a handful of select events that are sort of appropriate for a player

of his achievement, which I think kind of fits what you're describing in the way of the Ben Hogan approach. The only one that I, this is a dream scenario, this is my dumb, wishful thinking. I admit it right up front. I want him to play in the Zurich two-man event, and I want his partner to be. Are you ready for it? Do I get guesses? I'll give you one guess.

Who do you think I would want Tiger to play with at the Zurich? Harold Varner, the third. Well, that's incredible. And now that, wow, now I feel like an ass for who I'm going to say. Because that's not who I had in mind. That would be great. That would be spectacular. That would be really incredible.

And talk about, you know, an event that would capture the entire sports world, those two guys at this kind of historical moment could be really, really interesting and compelling. Now I'm rooting for that. My second choice, what I had in mind was Tiger and Phil because what I was rooting for was the idea of the two old guys,

the two luminaries, the eminences of the game together taking on these two men teams consisting of kids, millennials, so forth. And by the way, I don't think, Harold Varner is going to be available, although I guess if Tiger asks, he's available. But HV. Well, no, Harold, Tiger would have to be asked by Harold because of world ranking status and moneyless status and all that stuff. Well, I think.

Excuse me, money. FedEx got points. Excuse me. I think Harold and Smiley Kaufman are already teamed up. Oh, okay, nice. That's a fun team, too. Yeah, the Phil thing would be great. Hey, you know, House, they would be able to reaffirm.

firm that they have bonded over the Ryder Cup and that they're buddies now and their experts on all the points and nonsense that goes into the analytics of selecting a Rider Cup player. That would be cool. Phil would have to pick Tiger, so that's Phil's job.

Okay, well, let's get on it. We know somebody who knows Phil, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think you brought up an interesting point and why we have enthusiasm regarding his return. And I think that a lot of people probably don't realize what they've been missing out on golf viewing

in the last few years due to various changes in the game and the money. But we have not had really in our last really two decades a situation where we get something like Cherry Hills in 1960 where you get young players, stars, maybe some new emerging young player, big stars, and then some old guy hanging on and still having that great, showing they can still play the game with cleverness and ingenuity. And I just love the way Phil's game is going. I'm really encouraged by Tiger. And wouldn't it be cool?

I think this is the thing we all want, is to see some events next year where Tiger gets to go face-to-face with a McElroy, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Speath, and then a Hideki Matsuyama and throw in, you know, Phil too, lurking in there. I mean, isn't that, I think that's the thing that golf has that other sports don't have, that ability to kind of have that clashing of generations. Yeah, and where the guys can compete. I mean, it's, you know, at the very highest level. We know that Tiger can compete because he just threw a 65 on him.

Not easy there. At some golf courses, he definitely, I'm still not ready to think that he's going to show up. at a place he doesn't like and play well. He seems to be very much a horse for a course. I mean, he can play well anywhere if he's healthy, obviously. But really, to play in major championship golf, obviously Augusta is a different beast for him. That's just a place.

That's the best chance he has at majors. And same with Phil. Because of his knowledge, because of his insight, his ability to take advantage of the strategy there and the nuances and all that good stuff. And on the greens. I mean, that was the thing last week that gives me maybe more encouragement than anything is how well he putted. Those greens house, and I think we need to touch on some of the hate, too, because there were a lot of haters.

And I just kept saying, yeah, but those greens are 13 and a half. Some of those putts are like 14 and a half down grain. They were wicked. And, yeah, there's not a lot of rough. The course was pretty wide. But it was windy. And those greens were slick. and he performed quite ably, and I think that is something that really is misunderstood.

A lot of people were kind of knocking him on the quality of the field or the quality of the golf course. And I just don't agree. Yeah, well, I took in terms of assessing the putting, I just looked at what the other guys were doing. And other guys were missing the same puts that he was missing. It wasn't like he was dramatic. And I didn't go to Shotlink and check out how he compared strokes gained putting. but it looked to my naked eye like he was putting just as well as anybody else. He was in line with what guys who've been playing all season were doing.

Yeah. All right. So the last thing we need to cover here, I think going into next year and Tiger is I have a feeling. And you're a big, big sports fan, that this comeback, if he is able to come back and play well, contend in majors, be respectable and really kind of return that aura that he had and that that impact he has on a leaderboard. I don't think there's been a more incredible, improbable comeback if that happens in all the sports. Given that he had the yips, he may have had stage fright issues. He's had multiple surgeries.

He's had a massive public humiliation. He has, he's really hit some. some very low points. And I, do you know, is there anything comparable? So the two guys that. Again, assuming this happened. Yeah, right, right. The two guys that came to mind, Mario Lemieux,

he was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of a season in 1993 and took some time. That's a good one. Took some time off, but then came back and kept playing. Then took a full season off, allegedly sort of attributable to his back. But you have to figure that his reaction to, you know, beating the cancer also had to have factored into it. He came back from a full year off and then won the scoring title the next two years and was like a first team all-NhL guy once again.

But really the only true comparison is to MJ and the time that MJ took off in between, you know, the stretch where he went off and played some baseball where he had to go find himself or he was on a suspension. Pardon me. Yeah, right. But, you know, MJ left at the kind of height of his powers and returned and sort of quickly resumed. Now, he was a different player with a different kind of skill set at that point in his career. But he wasn't, you know, dramatically different in terms of the force of will and his ability to impose his will on the game on the outcome of game.

So that's really to me the comparator. It's MJ's return after the baseball break. Yeah, and I guess I just, I keep thinking about how bad things got and how many different ways. And I'm feeling still like if he's able to come back and win again on the tour and win a major, it's going to be astounding. And I think a lot of athletes, I think we'll really see other athletes note this because they know the yips are in other sports as well. And they know what kind of things he's done. I just think that's something to really watch next year because the numbers backed it up last week. There's a different energy.

There's a different fascination with golf when he's around. And selfishly, a lot of us who work in golf enjoy that. We want that. It's a lot of fun to watch and a lot of fun to be a part of. And knowing that other people are interested in the sport, it's obviously makes our job a lot easier too. Well, and those of us that love to watch golf and love to wager on golf are so thrilled to have him back just because when he plays, it's an event. It's a return to golf as, you know, appointment television. And I, for one, am ready for it, Jeff Shackleford.

Yeah, well, we certainly had to call a Shackhouse podcast to do this because a lot of people have, and we said we'd have some pop-up. ups, right now. So we, we did. And we, we just felt like it had to be done because there's so many people who were intrigued and the social media reaction to him was, was mostly, was quite what you'd expect, excitement. But there were definitely some people who were, man, they just don't like him. And they can't separate their feelings for him from, from that, that dislike. And, you know, I dislike some things he's done. But my gosh, I just can't fathom how you as a fan can. can't be excited about the prospect of a one more run and him leaving on terms that are that are just make you feel good.

I mean, we know how hard the sport is. That's right. That's right. It would be really cool to see. So, all right. Enough about Tiger for the moment. We have somebody on the show today who is, well, Carl Robertson on Morning Drive calls him Tiger Babies.

And I think that Harold Varner III qualifies as one of those. He's a young, exciting talent, and he just won the Australian PGA, and we're very excited to have him, so let's talk to Harold. All right, friends, Shaq and I, extremely excited. We have a guest today, straight from a victory down under Australia. His first big tour, tour victory, Harold Varner III, what-up, HV-3. Nothing much, nothing much. Thanks for having me, guys.

Welcome to the Shackhouse. Now look, before we get going, I have to give a shout out to our mutual pal, Chris Vernon. Chris Vernon, the host of the Ringer's NBA podcast. Harold, I know you and Chris played together last year. I know it was this year in the Pro-Am at the St. Jude's tour event. Be honest. Does Verno have any game? Not much, but he'll tell you.

That's what's a nice spot. That's the nice part. We had a good time, though, man. It was a blast. Yeah, Verno's a trip. That's one of the things we have lined up for 2017. Shackhouse is going to get down with Chris Vernon on a little bit of southern golf. See how they do it down there in Memphis.

I want to ask you to get going here, what is it about you in Australia? I don't know, but I love that place and that place. loves me, man. It's been a great two weeks in the last two years going down there. And, I mean, to get it done after playing to well last year. So what, tell us a little bit about your mindset. What made you go down there last year? So I had a teammate in college who was from Canberra. And he always would be like, dude, do you ever get the chance to go? You got to go. And I'd be like, all right, whatever. You know, never really thought much of it.

then when the opportunity came up, I was like, all right, let's go do it. And then went down there, played well. He came down, and we had a great week. And just, I loved it. So I obviously wanted to go back. And you got a sponsor's invite to return this year.

Is that right? Correct. And is it true that you came away last year with your caddy? Did you pick up a caddy last year? Yeah. So the guy that was supposed to Steve Allen in the Australian Open and he wasn't in the PGA yet

and then he ended up getting in so he couldn't caddy. So Ray was down there on vacation and Shane Joel who caddies for Peter Monotti was caddy and for Oliver Goss and he called Ray and Ray was like, well, I'll think about it.

So funny now that I know Ray I just know what he was thinking. I know he's like, I don't want a caddy, I'm on vacation. And he ended up cadding and, you know, kept him, you know, for the whole year. Or he kept me.

Harold, now, I read about the tournament. You had kind of an insane 2.30 wake-up call. What was that about? Was that really a five? Did you really restart play at 530? What was it, the third round? Second round. Second round, yeah, yeah.

Wow. Why so early? It gets light at 415. And it's hot. So it's not like it's full 15, it's cold outside, and it's light. That would, that would, no, that's been cool. But, yeah, it was just, you had to get up. I mean, I don't mind getting up to play golf.

Yeah, it was just, the whole week sounded kind of crazy, and then you were kind of caught off guard. It sounded like a little bit by all the obligations of a winner. Yeah, I didn't know that. I mean, all I wanted to do was just, you know, next day you know, I'm like, you know, getting carded around here, card around there. I can't wait to do it again. I mean, if that comes to the winning, I think I'll be all right. Let us kind of step back a little bit here to kind of, at least the first time I saw your game was here.

I'm in Los Angeles, and we saw you, you were the beneficiary of what they called the Northern Trust exemption. The first year it was the Sifford exemption, and then there was a political thing, and so it became the Northern Trust exemption. And you received that. You played, I still remember that, I believe it was Friday afternoon. You just played beautifully, and you made the cut. and it was really exciting for the tournament. Can you put into words what that week meant to kind of your career and where you're at now, which is a member of the PGA tour

and winning things like the Australian PGA? It just gave me experience against the best in the world. I'd never – I guess I played the U.S. Open, and then I wasn't ready for that. I can go and tell you I wasn't. and then to get there, have an idea what I need to do, like where, you know, didn't really know where to go, but I knew, hey, you know, practice rounds, a pro am, stuff like that.

I was kind of ready to go, and then, you know, just to be able to, you know, it's so weird, like making the cut was such a big deal. And now, you're, like, you make the cut and you finish 30th. You're like, what was it doing, man, I missed up. So it's just, man, that was an awesome. That was really cool. And I really, you know, I just love L.A. It's a sweet place.

I mean, I wish I could afford to live there, but it's just a great place to visit. So will you be visiting for the now what's going to be called the Genesis Open? It's still to us, the LA Open, but will you be, does your status, is that going to get you in there this year? Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Come on, man. I just told you how much I loved it. Okay, well, no, I just, okay, I know you finished, so you finished 75th in FedEx Cup points. You're in just outside the top, the 100 spot in the world.

can you can you kind of this time of year i think a lot of people who listen to this don't know what you guys go through in terms of status and reshuffles and all that stuff so you just had a really good rookie year you've got this good status from the the fedx cup and so uh did that give you the luxury to kind of sit down and actually map out a pretty good schedule whereas like last year i'm not sure if you would have gotten in a riviera as a rookie but but this year you you you i think you do so um is that that something you've kind of, is that a moment you've had after the season, kind of mapping things out? And what kind of doors is that your status opening you up to?

So, yeah, last year, you know, getting into the fall events is such a big deal for a rookie. You know, I feel like it just gives you a head start. And I played, I obviously finished, I was 25th, so I would have been 49th from the reshuffle going into the webbacom playoffs, played well on those, and moved up just enough to get into all the false use of that. and then I played well, finished fifth in Mexico. So, you know, I got into the waste management. I got into L.A., so it just set up a great year, but obviously you still had to be aware of the reshuffle.

And then this year I'll be able to play in all of them, obviously got to qualify for the WGCs and the majors. So one of the things that we took note of watching you this kind of fall season, you played in the Safeway event, and you, I don't know whether you call it luck or not, but you got to play with Steph Curry, who was supposed to play with Tiger, but Tiger had to back out.

I know, Tiger helped me out so much. I mean, when he couldn't play the PGA, I ended up getting into the PGA. So it's just a crazy thing. It's a crazy thing. And that was a cool experience. I mean, I played golf at the best shooting. in the league right now.

But I'm a huge to the bronze fan, so that's kind of weird. You didn't tell him that, did you? Yeah, I told him. What do you mean? I should have walked into the first hole

and been like, 3-1, dog, 3-1. Oh, dear. Oh. Well, look, you... No, it wasn't that bad. That's why we play sports.

Who cares? Yeah, that's right. We win some. Move on. Ain't nobody going to die up there. They all doing fine. Yeah, they are. The shot that you guys took,

was that on the first hole or was that at the end of the round where you took a basketball shot? Oh, that was at the end of the round. That was our 17th hole. That was pretty cool, obviously. I can't believe you didn't make it before me, though. What was the distance? It looked like a long three or maybe even half court. How far was it?

It was far because I shot the first one and I almost hit someone in the head. Like it was so short because I was like, oh, you know, it doesn't look that far. And then it came up so short. And then obviously I just started chucking it. And I can't believe it. You know, it had that soft backboard, so it was perfect. You know, just sling it, hit the backboard. It's not going to, like, you know, bounce real hard, dropped it in on him.

And then didn't he lob up an air ball? Or was it? It was a pretty bad miss, wasn't it? Yeah. For him? Or Steph? Yeah, he didn't do a good job. He might have let me win.

He didn't tell me that, but he might have. That's cool. What did you think of his game? He's really solid. I mean, he's no scratch, like everyone says. But he's really, he's pretty good. HV, one thing I wanted to ask you about, earlier this year, you participated in a symposium.

Here, I'm in the DMV, I'm in Washington, D.C. You participated in this thing at the University of Maryland. I think at the invitation of Scott Van Pelt, that was about race, social class, and golf. And you sat down for 45 minutes with Scott and went through some things. One of the topics that I saw come up that I thought was really interesting was this group of guys that you played golf with growing up called the parbusters. Can you talk a little bit about, just describe to folks, the par busters? So it's just like a group of guys who, you know, just play golf that obviously don't play at a country club.

But, you know, played all the local golf courses. You know, they do some trip. I think their big trip is in Tampa. So, yeah, when I was a kid, my dad was working at the dealership, and it was right off of 85. So a couple of the guys, you know, like if they were driving through and they're going to playoff, they'd just pick me up for my dad's job and, you know, we'd go play and then they had my dad's job. And, you know, it was just, you know, they've been such like, you know, it just gave me so much opportunity. Yesterday when I, I landed, I walked down to get my luggage and, like, just super excited.

They were way more. You know, it's just, they get into it more than I do. And that's why I thought it wasn't about Harold. Like I love when like shit than I am. Because I'm just doing it because I love doing it.

And it's a crew of guys that love the game all African-American and a whole variety of ages. Is that right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, if I had to guess from 35 to 70,

I was just a little kid that just tagged along. It was pretty cool. Yeah, that's awesome. But I'm sure, you know, I'm sure it's the same way at a country club. I mean, like, you know, that kid that's growing up, that's the best player. I mean, obviously, he's going to get taken care of, and, you know, the older guys are going to look after him.

They're going to help them out if they can, and it was the same way. And then when I started working out at the country club, those guys took care of me. So it's just awesome to see, like, you know, or to be able to, for them to see me play well. Like, I mean, if I was 70-something years old, there's no way I would have. state of it watched. I mean, I can barely stay up past 11 right now. Oh, come on. Late night Australia golf feelings the best.

So, Harold, like, what do these guys say, or what are you maybe reflecting on where you've improved? What is the thing that's made you go from being, you know, just a good player to somebody who's now really made a career of this

and has a tour card and is winning prestigious tile? What's the thing that's been, that's taking you to the next level? I just think my sometimes, but to put good all the time is a different animal. And just working at it, knowing what works for Harold. And I think that's key in anything in life. Like if you want to be good at something, you know, you always don't

do it. Everyone, you can watch them, but you just don't do it their way. It may not work for you. So just trusting what I'm doing is working and that that's going to get me to where I believe I can be. So you were a little busy down there in Australia, but, and I'm the hours didn't sync up, but I'm sure you have some awareness of Tiger and his comeback. We kind of spent the first part of the show talking about that. Did you get to read up anything or see any highlights or get any – do you have any reaction to kind of where he's at and what he did down at his tournament?

I obviously saw it on Twitter. I didn't get to see much of the golf, but, I mean, he moves the needle. it's quite clear I mean that guy is he's the best He overshadowed your win Yeah Say what

He overshadowed your win Yeah I mean No big deal I mean he should He's the best player I've ever seen play And I'm just I'm just so excited to see him play

Four rounds Be healthy You know It's just You can't really like Put that in the words I mean he hasn't played in so long There's no telling what he was like

Battling I don't really want to ever have to experience that, but you're always pulling for a guy that, like, you know, is just fighting to be better. But you could tell, I saw one interview he had after one of his round. I saw, where he was just, you know, seemed like he was so open and, like, all he wanted to do is just play golf, you know, like a kid, you know, like, hey, like, I just want to play, I want to compete. That's it. Like, and that's pretty cool to see. I know I just can't wait to see him. I don't know if we'll play in the same events, but the ones that we do, I look forward to seeing

them out there. you met him? Yes, I met him in D.C. last year. He kind of scared me. I was getting some snacks. And I turned around, he was like right in front of me. He's like, I'm Tiger. I was like, I'm Harold. Well, that's really cool. His foundation, you know, is running the tournament

at Riviera next year. So I think you'll play, hopefully. Yeah, yeah. I think it might be his first start. Yeah, and it could be Tori, but I think it may be there. And they're going to continue the exemption. that you got there, which I think was really good news, because, you know, when these things turn over, sponsors and all that,

weird stuff happens. So I hope you maybe even get to play with him there. That would be pretty cool. House, you got anything else you want to grow them about? No, I just want to make sure that, well, first I want to thank you, thank him for the time today, HV, thank you so much for joining us. But the only thing I ask, let's make sure that if you and Verno reconnected, down there in Memphis this year at the program. Keep Verno honest. I don't want to hear about

any 300-yard bombs coming from Chris Vernon. No, I didn't see any of those. So we'll get some tapes and we'll post them. That's about as honest as we can be. We just have visual. That works. That works. Awesome. All right. Thanks, you. We really appreciate the time. And where will we see at the beginning of 2017? What's your first start? I'm going to play Sony. I'll play the first four. Beautiful. You can't get any better on. Oh, four or all?

Yeah, come on, man. I know what I did. I play golf for a little. Great. Well, we really look forward to watching you, and we'll see you here in L.A. too. So we thank you for your time today. No, no, you got it. Thanks for having me.

All right, take care. It's been fun to talk to you. Good to hear from you and catch up on this and on a positive note, kind of end a long year in this way. Yeah, I'm thrilled. Maybe we'll have to compare notes afterwards. We might have to do a little end of the year. summary. Let's see if we have... A quickie. Yeah, just a short one. Give out some awards. I know I have a...

Oh, awards. You know, I kind of have an award I'd like to give out for my favorite bet of the year. I know that's one that I'd like to get out there. So let's compare notes. Maybe it'll be one more short pop-up shack house before the end of the year. Something folks could listen to over the Christmas break, maybe. All right. Well, thanks everybody for checking in, and maybe we'll be back soon. We thank Calloway again for sponsoring the show. You know, one of the biggest perks of being a tour pro, So shit Calloway Tour Pro is having unlimited access to personalized and customized equipment. Nothing screams Tor sauce like custom wedges. That's why Calloway Golf has released its new Calloway Customs Program.

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