No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 286: Cam Smith

Episode Date: March 4, 2020

The winner of the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii joins to talk about the 2019 Presidents Cup, Royal Melbourne, Sungjae Im, figuring out how to hit the ball further, growing up in Australia, and (a teeny tiny bit on) Patrick Reed. We also chat Jacksonville Beach coffee shops, fishing, Augusta, and a lot more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Now let's roll into our podcast with Cam Smith. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the No-Langup podcast. Sawyer here, we are a tag team in this one. T.C. is in the house here tonight in the Killhouse. Hello, Sawyer. And first time guest, first time visitor in the Killhouse, Mr. Cam Smith, our neighbor, somewhat Jacksonville guy. What are you Jacksonville? I don't know if I've ever heard that story.

Bit of a, I mean, bit of a weird story. My caddy, Pina, he, he used to live in the area. He ruined with Jonas Blix. Yeah. So I just come back here. I decided not to go home back to Brisbane one time and come and hang out here and I liked it. And it was just like one of your first times in the States coming here and you coming hang out here and I liked it and it was this like one of your first times in the States coming here and you hung out in Jacksonville and liked it. No, this is probably my second year on tour. So I'd never been to Jacksonville before.

I just come out, hung out, went to the beaches, went to the beach bars. It was fun, so I decided to stay. What was, how did you get acclimated to the US, right? You termed pro when you were 19 years old? What was you get you moved to the States with no status if I understand right and just and just wing it? I didn't move to the States. I was traveling back and forth from Australia my first Con of time over here was getting sponsors exemptions through the PGA tour and Just decided to see how it went. Before we get too far in,

we're just gonna start right with the hardest one. We gotta ask, we gotta... That's why I'm gonna screws to him. It's why people are, they're gonna tune into this. What did you know about the Patrick Reed situation? We gotta ask, what can you tell us about that situation? Not much. The look on his face as soon as we asked.

No comment. I'm just here so I don't get fine. Yeah. Pretty much. Yeah, I can't really say much about it. Can you, can you say what the tour said to you about it? No. No, okay.

Can you say have you guys crossed paths since then and what's the kind of the interaction been like? He's made no too bad about it. We had a play meeting at Torrey Ponds at the start of the year and he congratulated me for my win and we shook hands and that was about it. Alright, yeah. So is it by guns? You're everything's good, you think, going forward? This is fair. You're not getting troubles for that. Yeah, I don't really know. I had to handle the situation to be honest. I've seen him around a truckload since then and

And you're just it's just being kind of awkward. So I've just I've just left it. I'm happy with where it's at So so stop asking questions about That looks as to be well, I do want to talk a lot about the president's cup and I want to know I have got like 50 questions about the president's cup but can we go ahead Can we actually save the president's cup stuff? Sure, go back because I want to talk to you Just like a little bit more about coming over here to the States. Was your first sponsor exemption on tour? That was the CIMB classic. Yeah, a couple corn fairy, right? I had a couple of corn fairy events That was when I first down pro

I think I maybe played one or two Sponsors exemptions and I tried to qualify and never managed to get through me. My old man were over here for probably about two months just hanging out, yeah, seeing what we could do and didn't quite go the way that I planned and I ended up going to Asian Q school the following year, got my card and then that's how I got my spot in the C-I-B because it was like top 10 on the Asian tour, money list or whatever got a spot in that field. Then you finished T5 there? T5, yeah.

And you were off to the races after that, right? Yeah, pretty much. That was my first one. I had my coach on my bag, obviously playing in Asia for that whole year, probably a little bit of an advantage, but I played really solid. And then, yeah, Top 10 got in the next week, which I think was Jackson, Mississippi. And I was bugging out, just remember being so tired that week from the jet lag.

But come back, got a few more sponsors exemptions. And yeah, from there on out, it was pretty solid. When you turned pro at 19, you remember reading about how you felt like you'd accomplished everything you needed to in the amateur game. What were your other options? Did you have options to play college golf in the States? Was that of no interest to you or were you just, why turned pro at 19?

Yeah, I didn't wanna do the whole college thing. My, my high school teacher actually told me that I was too smart for college. Really? I was like, I had just gone, I had just gone there. No, dead pan, I'm like, what is that again here? No, I just didn't want to go that route. I felt like I had all the resources, all the stuff I needed at home.

And you know, stuff was going well, so, so why change it? Yes, I stayed at home, worked at my uncle's barn, kept practicing golf. What is, I mean, were you at all apprehensive about what the leap was gonna be like from amateur golf to pro golf, or you just felt exactly confident about where your game was gonna be?

Because it's gotta be hard to do with no status. That's the part that, you know, I was, when guys have no status to strategy, I didn't even know about the Asian Q-school. Like the things that people will do to get starts though is are remarkable to me. Yeah it was definitely like it kind of helped me back a little bit. You know just a depth of field even in Asia. I felt like I had to play really good week and week out to make cuts and you know Asia ended up being probably one of the best things

I ever did with my golf. I gained a lot of confidence from there, played a lot of good golf, played on a lot of different surfaces, a lot of different conditions. How long did you play over there? I think it was just over a year. It wasn't really that long, but it was a really good stepping stone. Doing all the stuff that I had to do, travel, visas, all that crap. Were you doing all that stuff on your own? I had an agent helping me out, but... That makes a big difference.

It does make a big difference, yeah. Yeah, so they've been great as well, but yeah, it was great going over there. Were there any moments of what the hell did I get myself into in a random country and somewhere you weren't supposed to be or anything like that? Not really. It was all pretty supposed to be or anything like that. Not really. It was all pretty smooth to be honest. I've always enjoyed challenges whenever something pops up and it seems like it's too much of a leap.

Always enjoy that challenge and try and live up to it. Would you say was always a goal for you to play PGA Tour? Like that was the top of the totem pole. Yeah. When you're playing the Australasia Tour, so was there like a realistic timeline of when you thought you would be transitioning to the Tour and was like living in Australia, was that holding you back in anyway?

No, I didn't think so. I was just happy with what I was doing. I was happy with the progress we were making within my team and probably happened to look quicker than I thought it would, but there was no real timeline, there was no real stress. I was just happy, you know, playing golf and making a living out of it. Someone that turned pro at a young age, what do you think of, and I'm not sure how close you've followed this, but somebody like Oxe Abatif, he turned pro at 17 as soon as he left

high school, didn't go to college. What is your kind of, and he hasn't had much success so far, he's obviously still incredible young. But what's kind of your reaction to someone that turned pro young? What kind of challenges did you face in that regard and what do you think of somebody like that? Yeah, I mean, if you're confident and you think you're ready to go, then why not? If you've got the right systems in place and you've got the right people around you,

there's no reason why it shouldn't work. You just got to, you know, sometimes it is tough. You just got to keep grinding away. And yeah, like I said, just trust the process. What did you work on? What was the biggest difference, you noticed from Asian tour to PGA tour just as far as your game? The biggest one was how far I had to hit driver.

I mean, I was getting real sick of hitting, you know, four irons and three irons lines into par fours out here. And so that was something we worked on pretty much straight away. He used to have a negative angle of attack with driver. So we switched that around a little bit with technique and then obviously some time in the gym as well. Was that evident to you just upon playing the golf courses that this, the type of golf in the States required you to hit it that much further. Yeah, I think so, but the trick is you got to hit it

long and straight. I mean, it's crazy. For the distance that I'm hitting it even now, I still have to be really straight off the tee to be competitive. Well, for those that, you know, the distances is a hot topic in golf, but for someone like you grew up playing in Australia, compare what it's like, what makes the golf course is

so different than what you were used to seeing to that point to playing at the top level of the PGA tour. And going back to like what, so you're from Brisbane, what's the golf like up there versus? Ravi Shure. It's quite funny actually, a lot of the Aussie guys that are on tour from Queensland, from Brisbane, we've probably got some of the worst golf courses in Australia. So not to say we don't have some good ones, but I mean like I grew up playing on some

pretty rubbish country tracks and playing off different lives that have different grass, you know, stuff like that. And I think that's maybe got something to do with why a few of the guys turn out pretty good is because, you know, from such a young age, they're just ready to play from whatever lie, whatever condition they have the shot. And some of that just because it's so hot up there, Brisbane, where it's just firm and baked out all the time. Yeah, hot and dry, it's pretty crazy. So does that contribute to when you're growing up not feeling like you needed a bomb at with the driver you think? Yeah, that's right. I thought it was pretty long when I was 15, 16 years.

Yeah, when it rolls 100 yards, it feels pretty long. You're rolling it, yeah, at least 40 meters, at least. Yeah, that's. And then so you come over to the tour and you see balls start to stick in the fairways and stuff. And guys are blowing it past you. So did you have any idea that you had like a negative attack angle or anything with Trackman, or when did you start getting it?

Yeah, we kind of did, but like I said said before we just didn't think that it was all going to happen so quickly it was kind of a step we had to make anyway but you know with getting my card you know so quickly it all had to happen a little bit quicker than what we anticipated. Poor guy that stuff. Well how did you get your card? So talk us through kind of what would you consider your big break and what was your path to actually getting your card? Yeah, so I think the big one still for me is that C-I-B,

the first one, first BGI Tour event, finishing fifth, obviously a massive confidence booster, playing against some, you know, a really good field. Did that help you get, help you continue to get starts that year? So I didn't have, I wasn't guaranteed starts before that event. I think May, COVID was going to give me a start and that was it. And then as soon as that happened, we had a few people knocking on the door, which is nice and, you know, willing to give up a spot for me, which is even better. Any doubts after you had four, four missed cuts in a row after C-A-M-B, any doubts creep

in after that or just stay the course? A little bit. Obviously Malaysia was a no-cut event, so there's no pressure, you just go out there and see what you can do and only against 77 other guys. So you double that and you're planning against 144 of the best plays in the world. It's pretty tough. It's amazing to me how much you guys will reference

no cut events and how free-dub you feel on even the best players. Like, oh, there's no cut this week. How much better that makes you feel? What makes a no-cut event that much better? I mean, I know guaranteed money is a very nice thing when you go to tee it up. But at a certain point, like last place money is a very nice thing when you go to tee it up, but at a certain point, like last place money is not great either, you know?

Yeah, that's right. And the point down, right, either. Right. Just less guys making birdies, all right? It's just less. Yeah, it's just a number of things. I guess it's like, if there's a cut, I think, and you've got a bit of, you've got a way

to a bit of a crappy start, maybe two or three hours, three nine holes, you feel like you can still blow out extremely, so you still kind of like, oh no, I won't do that. I'll just keep my game plan, keep going, middle of the greens, stuff like that. It will turn around. Whereas those no cut events, you get off to a crappy start and you're like, oh shit, I'm going for it. So yeah, just a little bit freer. I think God It's no wrong a reason I didn't think maybe just a little bit of a mental thing. Yeah, I just it blows my mind That even the even the top players that are making a lot of cuts just I feel so much more freed up on no cut weeks But so take us to 2015 US open first of all how'd you get into the US open?

kind of remember First of all, how did you get into the US Open? I can't even remember. I was playing up at Memorial, and then they have the US Open Qualifier straight after the event. So, this shuffle of course is, yeah. When out there the day after, we had a rain delay. It was maybe like three or four back, and then I had six or seven holes left, and I made I think four birdies in the last six. Yeah. To get into the US open to US open and then and

enough having a good week. Yeah, you finished time for four. That a good week. 70, 70, 69, 68. Got better as a week went along. I mean, when you saw that golf course Chambers Bay, was it was it one? Did it kind of remind you of some of the baked out styles of back home? It was baked out. Yeah. Yeah. It was pretty crazy. Because a lot of composing happened that week. Yeah. You weren't one of them. Or you weren't one of them. I was just happy to be there. Yeah. It was my first major. I thought it was the best place in the world. There was a lot of, I mean, it did remind me a little bit of Australia, probably a little bit more

undulation as far as up and down into greens, off the teas and stuff like that, but I thought it was a good golf course. Have you always relished playing a course, like playing the ball on the ground and knowing that, you know, half the field is already beat in their own heads because they don't like to do that, or they feel like it's unfair. Do you kind of look at that and be like, all right, cool. I'm already ahead of the game here. Yeah, I love that. I think that's a bit of an Australian thing. Growing up in those conditions, you learn pretty early to hit some different shots into going to see.

Well, let's take a quick break. We only need to take a break. We're going to do this live because if your watch or listening to this, episode six of season five of Taurus Sauce, the Carolina Spinerers number three has premiered on YouTube. The season is presented by our partner, original penguin, who also is a partner of yours. So what's it? Which is kind of coincidental.

I just saw Cam at the coffee shop. Yeah. You want to come on the bus. This is not scheduled, actually, this way. But, well, I want to hear, we've been talking a lot about what we've been rocking from original penguins How do you how do you come about with with your gear from original penguin? I love it. I think it's great. The guys at original penguin are always, you know, really nice to me. They're willing to do whatever they give you the mega logos. You got the big logo. We get the small. I think they call it like, um, uh, there's Pete the penguin. It's like a big penguin. I forget what they call it anyway, but you can see it from

The space station. Yeah, it's a good fit to Yeah, that's one fit. It's kind of cool that on the only gone tours. Well, that's weren't it? So I kind of feel a bit DJ tray hand popped up in it in the fall. I don't know if you know that yeah, yeah So I don't know if you are still the only guy the way I was going to put. That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. For sure.

Make sure you guys are going by our YouTube channel to see the latest episode of that and swing by originalpangwin.com. Go to originalpangwin.com slash NLU30 and you can get 30% off your first order with them. They'll send you an email with a code. A lot of people have been asking for the discount codes and they came through for us. Go out and support them.

If you were asking for the code, go use it. So without any further delay, let's get back to our podcast episode of the kids. That was great. So Kim, talking about just going back to Australia, when did you know, you won the Australian boys' amateur 2011 before that, where you in known quantity in Australia Or was that kind of a surprise and you you were you're like oh shit like I'm

Proper player there's a future in this Yeah, I don't know I was I think I was a pretty decent junior Yeah, I remember going there that week. I think it was at canoff and golf club in Sydney and Yeah, I wanted to win So I didn't think that there was any reason why I shouldn't win. Well, can we talk president's cup now because especially as related to Chambers Bay and turf conditions, I just want to know when you saw Role Melbourne that week, what was your, what was your reaction when you saw how

that was playing? I love the smile. This came over your face. So good right here. What was the first time you played Role Melbourne? First time I played Role Melbourne actually was the master of the Amateurs probably only seven years ago. Okay.

But I've played it a fair bit since then. I love the golf course. It was the first time I'm playing the real composite course, but it was proper pronunciation. Composite. Composite. We sound like assholes when we say composite. But yeah, it was proper pronunciation. Composite. We sound like assholes when we say composite. Yeah, it was so cool. It couldn't have been any better.

The course was just amazing. Let's do the old Reddit, explain like I'm five. Why that sets up really well for a player like you, those kind of conditions on that golf course. You just have to be nifty. That's why Tiger played so good there. It's a good way to just have to, you have to hit the right shot. There's, it seems like for, you know,

90% of the shots out there, there's one right shot. And then you can be like that guy that's just like, oh no, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna bail out and, but there's one perfect shot. And then if you're willing to hit it and you hit it good, I mean the reward is massive but if you if you don't, then you know you hit a bit of a bad shot. And that shot might be different.

It might be different day to day. Yeah that's right. Depending on where the hole is. Yeah depending on where the hole is, when I mean. So are you so are you very comfortable working the ball both ways? Yeah, not so much with driver, but pretty much everything else. You don't have to hit a lot of drivers around there, so it's nice. So walk us through just, we're not going to do for this for all 18 holes, although I think I could,

but walk us through, like that. The first hole was one of my favorite holes to watch. What kind of considerations go into that hole? Because we saw guys play it differently on a day-to-day basis based on where that pin is So kind of give us an insight as to how you're thinking about that first. Yeah, the first hole it was downwind all week Dog leg left if the pin is on the left hand side as you look from the approach You actually want to be further down you're hitting more up into the hill like in almost like back into the wind And if that pin stuck over the

bunker there on the ride or up the back, you generally try and lay back and see how you can go from there. Are there a lot of holes that you play on the PGA Tour on a week to week basis that you got to play them that differently on a day to day basis? No. What's your favorite hole out there? Yeah, that's definitely one of them. I like the second. That's good. You could just go along five and six really good. There's probably not a bad hole out there. I think the whole we played 10, I think they could change, you know, the fairways goes left to right and the slope is from right

to left quite severely. So it's a bit of a, and especially where the wind was, I think they could maybe do something with that just flatten out that left side a little bit just so you don't hit a good shot in it, you know, you get it with a bad kick and you're in the tea tree. So I think that's it. What was the tea tree? God, we need that word. I'm dying to go back to Melbourne. Yeah. Just talking about it got me excited about it. What was the preparation process for the international team

and the messaging for the coaches about strategy for that golf course? Was it something that they came in with kind of a suggested blueprint and gave to you guys or how did that work? Yeah, I think the captains did a really good job. They split Scotty, Lachenai up for the practice round. One in each group.

You know, there's obviously a few other guys that have been there a fair few times, just so he gives some like general knowledge, like that first-old, for example, like if you haven't played there a bunch of times, you don't know to hit it long and that's kind of something you figure out over time. So yeah, we did that, but from there on out, I mean, it was so cruzy.zy only had everything down part He he knew what he was going to do on Saturday on Monday So because it looked like to us that the international team had a strategy to play that course And it took until basically Saturday until you it looked like the US team had their strategy

It seemed like Ernie had been like basically said cool if you hit driver on one, like, I'm going to sit you in the after. I'd say, were there any teammates you had that maybe didn't listen very well to the captains? I can't say that. You're going to put me in a polish. No, no, no. No, I think it was a really good week. Even the older guys said that was one of the best

presidents cup weeks that they had. So it was good. As golfers, we don't get to play like that very often. the best presidents cup weeks that they had. So it was good, you know, as golfers, we don't get to play like that very often. And we bonded as a team really well. So was it tough to sit that first session? It was so, it was so good. Yeah, it was so hard. I remember going out and watching the first match

on the first tee and I just wanted to hit it. I just wanted to hit it. But it was good watching. So that might help you. It never nerves a little bit. Yeah. I've never- I've never- I've never enjoyed watching golf so much, especially around that golf course and that team of mine, it was so cool.

So that's where I think, in this, this is coming just from an American standpoint, but I almost enjoy watching the president's cut more than the radical, almost I said. I'm listening, because I'm not as tied to the result. I mean, for Americans, they've dominated for so long as a fan. I just, I don't have the same rooting interest,

but I'm curious as to, I mean, I just love watching team golf, but I want to know from you being from Australia and obviously you don't get to compete in the Ryder Cup and this is the team event that you would look forward to every two years, what the competition aspect of it means to you? It's kind of an open-ended question, but I have a feeling it means more than it probably does to a lot of American players. I guess so.

I think maybe there's a little bit of drive there from all the guys. I know for me, I grew up Washington, the international has lose. To have an opportunity to try and turn that around, I think was a massive goal, obviously. But I just love that team aspect. I grew up playing team sports, you know, cricket, footy stuff like that. So it was just so cool playing for someone else, not just worrying about yourself and your own life.

You worried about the three or four other matches that are out there and you're all, you know, you're barricading for them, you're looking at the later words, you know, for other people. So it's cool. Do you feel disadvantaged at all with how international the team is and how there's not like a sense of identity? Like Europe has this, US has this identity with the continent and the country obviously. The rest of the rest of the world.

Yeah. Minus Europe. It's a bit kind of wonky how they structure the teams. Do you feel that that is a disadvantage anyway? Well, I don't think so. I think only did a great thing in changing our emblem. Just so we had our national flag on the chest or on the bag. It was so, yeah, it gives you something to look at and, you know,

you're representing your country as well as the rest of the world. What did the stats say or all the analytics say that, because you play with it, SungJ twice. What particularly matched you guys, what did Ernie really key on there? I think you could pair SungJ with any person in the world and he would be fine. Tell us everything you can about SungJ.

Yeah, I really don't know. I just chose to kind of sit out and do as I was told, I was like the little school kid. My first time there, I didn't want to butt in you know say anything. But sunjay and I teamed up real good. He's such a good player. Quite amazing especially in the practice rounds when we were paired up in the practice rounds, maybe we'd paired up into practice rounds as well, and you'd be like, Sungjae, hit it at the blue crane or whatever. And it would like start at the blue crane and like fight against the wind to like land perfectly on the blue crane

and then like, it's just like, it's insane. Did you know him well before the Presidents cut? I'd seen him around, we obviously had team meetings and stuff like that. Yeah, he's a good kid as well. He doesn't speak a lot of English, so he's hard to talk to at times, but how does that work? Of course. Like telling him where to head at or post management. Yeah, he just he understands the, you know, the little things and he's just such a good player. You could, I mean, you could tell him to hit driver around that golf course, which you would never do and he'd

still shoot on the park. I mean, as you, I don't know around that golf course, which you would never do, and he'd still shoot under par. I mean, as you, I don't know what your world ranking is right now, but it's very high. But as one of the best players in the world, when you say he's such a good player, what impresses you about other players? One other guy can do certain things. What is it that really impresses you? I think ball striking impresses me a lot. I've never thought I've been particularly good at, you know, the longer irons and driving in Suffolat.

I see guys that are just strife and four and three irons in Suffolat. I'm like, I just can't do that. So that really impresses me. Those longer irons where they can work in both ways, hit them high. What would the PGA Tour look like as far as playing style and who would be at the top if golf courses look like Royal Melbourne every week? How different would it look do you think? I don't think it would look that different. I think we saw it in the Presidents Cup. The good players just sorted out. They would just figure it out as to what shot to to hit the course management would be better.

Do you think players with your types of skill sets would have more of a chance? I agree with you that I think the top like Keppka and Rory and all those guys are going to figure out how to be the best. Like they're going to get even better. Yeah. I don't have any doubt there, but do you feel like a player like yourself who self-admittedly doesn't stripe the long irons and the woods as well as a lot of players would be on a more level playing field.

I think it would be a little bit more level. I think we'd see a lot of schools start to bunch up a lot. It'd be really fun to watch, I think. What are your favorite tournaments of the year that you really look forward to? You feel like it's a proper test of your game. I've always liked Hawaii. tournaments of the year that you really look forward to. You feel like it's a proper test of your game. I've always liked Hawaii. Hmm.

Yeah, it was nice to obviously do that, but. But it's relatively firm. There's always some wind. Yeah, it was different this year, actually. What was different about it this year? First year. We can talk away now. You can tell other courses.

It was tough up PGA Tour of Wend. It was just so wet. I've never seen it like that. I mean, got like five that was my fifth one and we got five or six days in a row of good-sellered rain the course was I mean the course was a mess guys are walking off the back of greens You know how you get all in the same spot. It's like muddy ruts and stuff like that And there's just nothing they could do about it. It was just raining so much. It was windy. Does all that, this could be a very dumb question potentially. Does all of that elements are going on, you know, with the weather, the crowds are smaller, there's just a lot going on. Does that help at all

with the nerves coming down the stretch? Did it feel any smaller, or did you feel any more distracted by all those other things that were going on to that help you at all to win the tournament? Not really. I think I didn't really think that I could win until I won. Like I was too back with two to go. I mean, any other week it seems like it'd be over. Yeah, got a bit fortunate.

I really thought, you know, with three or four to play that I'd have to make three or four birdies and only made one. So yeah, things just fell into place and it was really weird. Like I've been in contention around the lead a few times now and it's, I've never felt like that. I've never felt like I'm done because I mean, lot that I've never felt like home-done because I mean, Steele was just stroking it. He was putting good. Yeah, and then it, I mean, he was just weird. So would that have helped you the feeling of like almost feeling like you're done? I guess so. It's like the no-cut event, man. There you go. There you go.

Did it feel, I mean, did it feel like your first PGA tour win being that your other PGA tour win was a team event? Did that feel that was there any kind of extra incentive to get your first solo win? Yeah, for sure. There was incentive there. I still, I still climb the other one. Oh, the account.

I'm just saying internally. Yeah. Was it kind of like a, okay, I need one of these. Yeah, I had, I mean, you just always got that voice in the back of your head, you know, he's saying, you have a one-on-one by yourself yet. I mean, that's just totally internal. I had no one telling me that, yeah, something that was always there and then to finally get it done. So huge relief. Your record of Sony is crazy. Like, just going through it. I mean, there's like two or three rounds and above 69.

Oh, really? Yeah, you're just always like 66, 67, 60. That's kind of like golf courses that I grew up on flat, firm, fast. Where have you played so far on tour that you would expect to have more success and you haven't yet? I mean, probably, I've always really liked Hilton Head and I've never really played well there. I think I may have had maybe one top 10 there, but I've always. That's like a good, like in 2015, you had, you were T15, that was your,

that was your made cut kind of before the US open, but that's, that's kind of always left a good taste in your mouth. Yeah. Yeah, it's just one of those golf courses that I feel like you have to work to ball both ways. It's not really a bomb as course, and you just need to, you know, ship and putt really well around there. So it's something that somewhere of always been like, you know,

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I'm like, I've got a good chance this week, and it's never kind of really always played kind of solid, but not, not being crazy. Something you said there about, about being in the back of your head, feeling like you needed that win. Did you catch what Paul, like Paul Azinger's comments on the telecasts past week about Tommy Fleetwood and how he had one on the PGA tour? No. Okay.

Well, he had just said that it's, just said that it sparked a little bit of controversy because Tommy Fleetwood's got five European tour wins and he was kind of, he was pretty much against better fields than the one with Ben Nahonda. I think three of them, but he was kind of a dick about it. Like you can win all you won on that Euro tour, but until you won on the PGA tour, you know, that's what really counts.

It was kind of the gist of it. Is there something to that? And the, I mean, you need to win on the PGA tour, you know, that's what really counts. It's kind of the gist of it. Is there something to that? I mean, you need to win on the PGA tour. Is that a feeling that you feel like a lot of guys have and that you've had? I guess, you know, the way I view it, it's the pinnacle. That's where you want to be and that's where you want to win. So, you know, no discredit to the European tour.

I've been over there. I think there's great players over there. There's great depth. Yeah, like you said, the strength of field. I mean, who really nice. Right. Did you feel like you came into this season with your game in better shape? Well, we've seen like four or five guys from your team,

the international team win since December. Did you feel like you guys all came into the season with in better shape because of the presence cup at all? Did it? I think it was just so light in the year that we had to keep playing and we had to keep grinding away at our games. Usually that time of year, I mean, was it like the second week of December that time of year?

I'm bowing it back a little bit. Yeah, I'm on the beach in Brisbane on the sunshine coast, drinking a couple beers. Yeah, what's your schedule? That's your schedule here? Like do you go back for extended stretch of time? Obviously you go back play Ozzy PGA and the open down there, but do you stay there for typically til Sony?

Or how does your schedule? Yeah, I usually go down, usually finishes the PGA, which usually finishes that first weekend in December, which is like, you know, second or third. I usually stay all the way through in Tulsani, but my misses now we have to swap Christmas as soon as I get the occasional trip back for Christmas. Are you practicing a lot while you're down there? Are you taking time off?

Usually there's about three weeks off and I probably take two weeks, good, like put the clubs away for good. And then, you know, even the week back is very slow. Does the how well you've played to start the year and the presents comes, is that change the way you would, with all the way to all the success he's got

in fact, you want to grind through this. Yeah, that's right. I don't even want to think of it because that's usually like the only time of the year that we get off. Right. So what would the perfect golf schedule look like to you? I mean, do you wish golf had an off season? It would be nice.

Yeah, I'm one of those guys that I just like to spend time at home. I miss Australia. I'd love to go back there more often, but I just can't. And I'm not complaining. I love what I do and I love it over here, but it's no place like him. What surprised you about America, either the first time you came or once you started living here, what's something that's been weird to adjust to in some way? The Mexican food over here is so much better.

Is that your go-to every tour stop? You go, you just go to Mexico. Yeah. It's so funny. I asked Rory that on this and he was like, yeah, everyone's obsession with guns. And you went and shake from Mexican. Yeah, there's a few things that are culturally different, but I accepted and I'm here with everyone else now. So what do you miss the most about Australia? I'll probably just family and beer. I think that beer is better down there. Oh yeah, your coffee is better too.

Coffee is better. Do you want to get your bowl bean shot in here? Well, yeah, I always see Cam at bowl bean. So within NLU there's a big coffee rivalry between all the coffee shops here in town. I contend that Borgbeen is really the only proper coffee shop, at least out here at the beaches in the public. He knows what he's talking about. I've been like five times and I've had a bad experience. I can't even get a seat in there. That's because it's so good.

No, because it's a terrible space. Every time I'm in there, I see Cam, Jack, Jonas. You guys are all hogging up the seats. You don't leave any space for anybody else. I see some furniture in there in all the space. I do agree the space could be different. I think they could have a bigger space, but I mean, the coffee is unbelievable.

It's fine. That's pretty damn into your case. It's a coffee. It's a coffee drink. Well, coffee's a drink. I just drink dark black coffee. That's what I drink. What do you drink, Cam?

I'm a pour over. I'll have anything. I really like my pouros. Have you tried a pour over from the half? I've had a pour over. Come on. It's good. It's totally good.

It's not going to blow you. Who are your other coffee guys on tour? I know Hank Lebiota and then Curtis. He's down the cornferrey this year, but yeah, there's a fair few guys that get around. Do you look up coffee spots for wherever you go? I'm soldered now. Yeah, you got every spot on tour.

Avalor asking me about again. Yeah, and what do you tell him? What's what are your what are your must hits on the on the tour schedule? I can't remember the one. You can't you can't flex and say you're sorted and then not know the name. The one in San Diego is lofty. Lofty coffee.

That's in, I forget where it is. The one in, there's next Phoenix. Yeah. Phoenix is press. L.A. I'm just curious to hear all the names of coffee places. L.A. is blue bottle. Yeah, blue bottle and red and Santa Monica there.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's good. I don't know where I go to next. Just like probably here. Just the best of the year. Like Matt, Matt he always swears by Columbus. The one up there at Montreal. Because he stays downtown.

One line, that's called One Line Coffee. It's all like you've been there there from Columbus? I have not. I'm sorry. It's on the main street. Whatever the main street is in Columbus. Yeah. It's bigger up in the burbs. Come on.

I don't know. I'm right down the street from, yeah, but it's from your field. Yeah. If you're ever in a PGA to us for this hit me up. Okay. That's good to know. We're going to send everyone on Twitter to ask you for the best places. I've still got a few more presidents cup questions.

If, you know, being especially from the international side, if you could make changes to the president's cup, what changes would you like to see made? None. I think it's pretty good. I had a really good experience. So I've gotten I complained. I've just heard some rumblings from you know that you know Ernie L's wanted more control over course setup and I know there's been a lot of changes to how

many guys play and stuff like that. Is there anything that you kind of say like hey we kind of need this we would like this. Yeah I haven't been in a position to to really know you know really what's going on. I'm just there doing this I'm told like is it before? What did you think of when you when you drew JT? How did that come about? Was that something that you would ask for? What was your after-bed order was for the single? That was a big spot. I mean you were what like third or fourth to last guy? Third last guy, yeah. That's kind of a crucial sign. Who went for it? Did was JT put on the board and you were then you were put up or how did that go? Was it the other way around? Do you remember? I can't remember. I got a feeling it was him first and then

and then I come on second. Yeah. Was that someone you told Ernie that you wanted or how did that I was just like I was just waiting for my name. I think it was a bit of luck at the draw and he obviously had these analytics everything that he was involved in. And for whatever reason, I was to go third last. That just kind of fell into place. What's your lasting memory of that week? I don't know, probably that first T on the first day was something I'd never forget even though I wasn't playing, just been around. I think Tiger was the first group out.

I think it was leash and I can't remember. But yeah, it was pretty cool to have Tiger at an event and, you know, Leish and forget who it was. Anyway. And the crowd was just chanting for Leish. On the first day on Thursday, it was Le's and walking Neiman. That's that's right Yeah, I mean the crowd was going not to fill a station the internationals and to have targets and in there not getting much at all It's pretty cool. I mean because every week. I mean we see it waking wake up You guys got off to a fiery start there on Thursday was what was the team room like?

After after Thursday? Yeah, we dominated that session. I think the US guys were still trying to figure out the course a little bit. Probably jet lag too, right? Yeah, probably jet lags. Yeah, we had a few positives on our side, especially starting, you know, starting the week. Back to back Aussie, PGA wins. How much of those mean to you and how big on your priority list is getting Aussie open? Yeah, the Aussie open, I won that one so bad. After that first PGA, I think the following year, I was so determined and so eager to get my hands on the Aussie Open trophy. I think I maybe went a little bit over the top. I was a little bit too anxious, almost overconfident, I guess. That's one that I want.

I mean, really bad. The PGA, the two PGA is down the coast. I mean, that's only 45 minutes away from where I grew up. So, the club where I grew up, you know, little country club, the whole family is down there. It's such a cool week and yet to win two in a row down there was, it was sick. As far as, so the 2016 Aussie Open, U versus Speed,

the National Hall and a playoff. What were you thinking in that playoff at first T, where you just, Well, I think Jordan was maybe the best player in the world. I was probably thinking, I can't even remember that. I remember I pulled my T-shirt. Who was the third? Sorry? Ashley Hall? Ashley Hall. He's also Australian.

He's Australian. I think he did a bit of cool and furry stuff over here as well. Really good player, but it was pretty cool. I mean, I, I can't even remember, I remember Jordan to sit two perfect shots to like 15 feet. And then he, you know, Jordan's been from 15 feet. You never think he's going to miss. What do you think of what he's kind of battled for the last couple of years? Is that very, very surprising to you? And do you think, have you played with him at all,

do you have a relationship with speed at all? Yeah, I've got to know a fair bit, only on the golf course in dining room, stuff like that. But yeah, he's struggling a bit at the moment. I played with him in Mexico, actually, any couple weeks ago and he wasn't hidden at that great. But I mean, he's putting still the area, he's short game still the area,

he just needs to get those longer clubs sorted out. It seems like, you know, nine through the wedges is still really good. It's just those, you know, off the tee, wasn't worth in that flash. If you're making a, like a buddy's trip through Australia to play golf, what courses are headlining that trip?

I don't know, to be honest. I just, I enjoy just going out with my buddies and just going to a crappy course, getting on the carts, getting on the beers and having a good time. Are you excited for Ozzy Openet? It's at Kingston Heath next year, correct? You got that one circled on your,

oh yeah, I guess this year now, yeah. You got that one circled on your, oh yeah, I guess this year now. Yeah. Yeah. You got that one circled on your calendar. Yeah, I can't wait for that one. That, that will be, I mean, all those courses in that San Bernard area, I mean, you could put a, obviously open, you could put a president's cup, you could put a WGC, you could put whatever you want on any one of the golf courses tomorrow. They'd be ready to go. I mean, they're just so good. Can we start a campaign officially for a WGC in the San Belton? How great would that be?

Have we not started that? I'm just like, can we get you on board? Will you sign our petition? Is what I'm good in that? I think Metro had maybe a match play or something down there. You played the World Cup of golf, was it a match or a rant? Yeah, but I think Metro had a...

They did one in early 2000s before or something and nobody showed up for it. So I think they got scared they and they never went back. That should be I mean I've been beaten on this drum incessantly but that should be a the month of December should just be cool. It's like Aussie golf season. Yeah, what would be wicked? There's an issue that I mean how big of an issue is it, I guess, the tax rate like in Australia? I know that's people like, it's a real thing, right? Yeah. If as far as earnings and stuff on courses are, you get hit super hard there, no? Yeah. I think it's pretty high. That's how I got you before. Is it worth? I don't know. Is it worth coming to play,

traveling so far and then coming to play a really good golf course, a really good event and then get it taken away. I mean, I've never been in that boat, so I can't really, I'm just happy to be in Australia. It's like, it's smaller purse, higher tax rate, longer travel, all that. I get it. Yeah, the golf is good. I think if we had, if we had, like John said, if we had like four or five weeks in a row where, you know, guys could play four out of the five weeks, take the family somewhere for a week,

and we had some genuinely high-persus, I think then we would start to see some golf events maybe. Did you play the Aussie Masters before it went away? Yeah. So, it was Aussie Masters, Aussie PGA, and then Aussie Open. Yeah. Like, those three right in a row. Yeah. What was the kind of story on the Aussie Masters?

Like, who ran that one? What was, and why did that one go by the wayside versus the rest of them? I really don't know. That was a really good event. I only got to play it once, and it was that Kingston Heath, actually. Okay. Yeah, but it was a shame that it went away. Actually, I've played it twice.

I've played one at Huntingdale as well. It was nice having three events. It was more opportunity to play a great golf course. Yeah, it's a shame that it went away for me. Tell us about your caddy. You guys, he's I was gonna say we got to get to Penna. Yeah, yeah. I'm afraid I pinna pinna. I don't know how you guys say it because you're access. I know. I don't know. I was afraid to say it. Because you're accents, you're saying, I don't know, I was afraid to say it. Not he always says, pinna. Pinna. Yeah. Yeah, it's, he's good. We met at a New Zealand Open. He's a New Zealander.

So he had a bit of visa trouble back when I first turned pro. He needed to re-apply for his US visa. He was home at the time. He was actually caddy for Michael Sim in the New Zealand Open. I was just using a local guy. Simmy ended up missing the cut. I didn't know what a professional caddy was all about. I asked Simmy if I could borrow his caddy basically for the weekend. He said no worries.

The next day At the Hills golf club. I think in New Zealand. We went out and we hit 18 cranes So that was a good good start and then as soon as I got my card over here I asked him and he was raring to do it. It's good That was impressive the we hit 18 greens. You say it's an eye for good things and a we when things go poorly But that's was the convo with the local guy tough? Like what position were you in going into the weekend? Yeah, it was a tough conversation. He was such a nice guy.

It was a hard conversation to have because he was just a local guy. He was cutting in the New Zealand open. He was a local golfer. He thought it was the best thing ever. And then I had to tell him to have the weekend off, which was, it was hard, but in hindsight it was probably one of the best things that I ever did. What's your play slash practice routine when you're in Jacksonville?

Where do you play? Where do you practice? How much do you practice in stuff in your home? We've seen you at the Jacksonville Jacks Beach Thursday game once before. Yeah, I try to get a little bit in. I probably spend more time in the gym to be honest, than at the golf club today. For example, I went fishing for like five hours

and then I went to the gym and didn't have time for golf. So that was the priority list. What kind of fishing? Shore fishing or insurer? We went out, Mayport, up and down the Jettys. We got a Jetski. Oh, okay. Yeah, so we're fishing off a Jetski,

which is good fun. I can't wait for something big to jump on. We'll go redfish or sheep's head or... We didn't catch any longer. That was on me. It was a depressing day. It was good fun though, but... So you're more relaxed mo when you're home than you are.

Probably heading into the weekend like Friday Saturday Sunday or I'll start to hit some balls again. I usually I generally just go out to TPC and just do some short game stuff. Just keep the hand moving and keep the field good. Anybody crash with you for the players next week? I got my trainer coming in. Nobody's hitting you up. No, it's actually quite nice. Last year I think I had two caddies in the house, which was a bit of a surprise for the girlfriend. I heard a lot of stuff that she didn't have before with two caddies in the house. How different does sawgrass play with the overseed this time of year versus say in the past.

And then how often do you actually play the course versus just bang involves on the range? Try to get at least one to week and play nine around there. I don't, I feel as though when you get too used to a course you almost know it like too well and you start to see things for what they aren't. You start to see some more trouble and like obviously being around the course a lot, you hit a lot more bad shots so you're in some areas where you're like, it's like you're building unnecessary scar tissue.

Yeah, basically. So I've tried to play it only nine holes one to week. When I first moved here, I was probably playing three or four times a week. I like getting out in the course. I like that type of practice rather than just standing on the range. And then as far as the conditions go, is it right up to different this time of year versus say in the fall or how it used to be in the spring before they were really overseeding?

It has played different, especially you know this year we'll play quite selfs again. We've had a lot of rain in Jacksonville. I think we're forecasted for a little bit more at the end of the week. So they're trying to drive out as much as they can, but this time of year in in Jackson's as you guys know, so unpredictable. And I'm sure one one year we'll get it firm and fast and everyone will love it. With that North wind, when you that North wind blow to. Yeah. We haven't talked any Augusta at all here.

You were to tie for fifth at the 2018 Masters. That was your second Masters, is that right? Yeah. How different was it playing for the second time compared to the first time? Yeah, the first time around there. I mean, it's like you've dreamed. I dreamed about playing around there my whole life. So I've hit every shot like two million times around that goal, of course.

I just remember absolutely shooting myself on like 95% of the shots, you know, because you've seen it happen before on TV. There's always so much, it's always so much drama. It seems like it a gust of those last, you know, nine holes, especially. It's so much drama. It seems like it Augusta those last, you know, non-holes, especially. It's so much can happen. And yeah, the second time the nerves settle down, you get used to the atmosphere and you display away. Well, it's gonna say that it's always fun

when you shoot 30 on the back. I was gonna say, you turn it three under par. Birdie 10, Birdie 12, Birdie 13, Birdie 14, Birdie 15, Birdie 17 to finish, Typhur 5th, birdie 14, birdie 15, birdie 17, to finish tie for fifth. Pretty decent. Yeah. That was good fun. I actually had like a six footer on 18 as well

for a birdie and I missed it. And it's still like the most gut-wrenching thing has ever happened to me. I so badly wanted to shoot 29 around there, but. Just a bad reader or just. Yeah, just a bad reader. He did a really good putt. I probably blame Pina for it.

And it was awesome. What shot scares you the most there, Augusta? Probably that shot on 12. It's just like, It's unlike anything else. It just goes to show that you don't need a par three to be 300 yards for it to be hard. It's like a to nine on. And it's so hard. What makes it so hard?

It's just like the positioning. You don't get a good sense of the win because like 11 comes down and it looks like when you're on the tee on 12, it looks like 11 is like more away from you where it's like actually like kind of into you a little bit. When it's just for a right-hander, a right miss is probably not going to travel as far in that miss water and a left miss goes long and it's just like a night. Yeah, that green goes, yeah. Left to right and up.

You'd rather be a lefty hitting a shot into that green. Yeah, yeah. It's not that big of a secret why lefties have had such great success on that course. Yeah, and then the next T-shirt as well. Yeah, and that's a perfect lefty T-shirt. This I'm right and cut it as much as you can. What shot suits you, Ryan, the most?

That you just look forward to, you're like, man, I love it. I love 16 to those lower pins. Yeah, I mean, it genuinely genuinely feels like you can hold it. Yeah, but did you make a hole in one there? No, no. But are you in a group of somebody that made a hole in one? I feel like I see you saw you celebrate that could be wrong. It might have been celebrating. I should be back 930 on Sunday. That may be my memory, but yeah, it like, compare putting those greens to like a normal week on tour? What's different about the greens at Augusta?

They've just got so much slope in them and they're fast. Do they pin those greens differently though than what you would see on the PGA tour? I mean, I've heard that they're going to put pins on bigger slopes there than they would on a normal PGA tour. I mean, I've heard that they're gonna put pens on bigger slopes there than they would on a normal PGA tour. Yeah, maybe a little bit. Like if it's a windy day or something like that, they'll still be pretty cautious. And because the greens are so fast that you can't be going,

you know, too crazy. I mean, there's some holes where like nine, if you put that pin too close to the front, I mean, a group could be there for an album. They never take it too far. That's the amazing part. What do your goals look like year to year? I think you made what? Seven or eight cuts in majors in a row.

Is that always a goal to make all four cuts in the majors that year? Or is it, you know, finishing the top? A lot of guys say guys say all right my first and foremost goals to get to Eastlake like what do your goals look like? Yeah, I'd say that one's always that's always Right at the top of the list. I'd like to get into this top 20 in the world. I haven't quite got there I've got close a few times and then slipped away, but That one Eastlake, I mean that's that's really few times and then slipped away, but That one He's like, I mean, that's that's really about it and then when it's president's cup here, I want to be on that team Now can we get every president's cup at role Melbourne, please that would be that would be my request

I think they should they should just go foreign. They should not come back to us. I'm with you on that too Every two years, they just go to a different you know international site international site. I doubt the US, the US base PGA tour will do that. Make that decision, but that would be sweet. But it's to drum up for it. It's drum up interest internationally, right? Yeah. Last question I have. What's your any crazy stories from your Asian tour year?

Probably none that I can say on the, yeah. We're now in no one's listening anymore. You can bury any stories you have here. Yeah, we had a couple I never felt like I was unsafe for anything but yeah, we had a couple pretty weird not to bet it. All right, we're gonna let you get out of here man thanks for coming by the the kill house you're always welcome anytime we're we're talking golf or watching golf but we got to make this happen more often we need to see you back at the jacks beach Thursday game that's what we really need to see yeah alright thanks for coming back I'm not coming at this week actually I'm not gonna be gone

come on yeah we're ahead now to take the guys so cheers man thank you Be the right club today. That's better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most. Expect anything different.