No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 396: Tommy Fleetwood

Episode Date: January 27, 2021

Tommy Fleetwood joins to chat about spending winter months in Dubai, the 2018 Ryder Cup, narrowly missing out on a US Open, reflecting on a weird 2020, and a lot more. Catch Tommy at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yes! That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the No Laying Up podcast. Solid here. I'm going to get to our interview here shortly with Tommy Fleetwood. I was going to apologize for it being on the shorter side of interviews, but we got

a lot of content out this week. I'm not going to apologize for it. Randy just recorded a great trap jaw with Jerry Foltz from the golf channel. We got a new Nest member podcast that came out. If you're curious about the Nest, go to nolingup.com forward slash join. It's our membership profile, our platform, I should say. A lot of great benefits are listed out there, one of which is a monthly podcast. There's actually two this month, maybe because we missed last December for various reasons. But we are going to get to our interview with Tommy here shortly. We got to give a shout out to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

They helped us arrange this. Made time available for Tommy. I had 30 minutes with him, squeeze as much out of him as I could. It's a lot of great stuff, but we really appreciate them making Tommy available. And they are also the sponsor of this episode, the 32nd edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, gonna take place this weekend, the 28th through the 31st. I don't know if you guys have ever seen pictures

of Emirates Golf Club. When it was in construction, it was the first 18th hole golf course in the Middle East. Just take a look and dig up these pictures of when it was being constructed. What Dubai actually looked like during that time, it's always one of my, it's just, it'll blow your mind. PGA champion in Omega ambassador, Colin Moore, Cala, going to make his debut at the tournament. Omega, a bass ambassador and 2017 champion, Sergio Garcia will be there.

Other major champions include Shane Lowry, Patrick Harrington, Hendrix Denson, many Ryder Cup heroes include Ian Polter, Paul Casey, and the recent race to divide champion, Lee Westwood. And of course, Tommy Fleetwood, who you will be hearing from shortly. You can catch all the live action from the tournament on social media by following at Omega Golf Dubai, as well as mainstream broadcast sports networks. Not any further delay. Let's get to Tommy Lod. So tell me about your off season.

I saw some videos of a very recognizable swing at West Lancashire. It looked a little chilly. You're out there with Vinno, but what's golf like in Northwest England at this time of year? Well, pretty much as you described it cold, it was funny really, because I mean, like normally I finished the year in Dubai,

and then we have like, I mean, that's like the end of November, so then you have a month, I mean, you have like loads of time in, so then you have a month, so I mean, you have loads of time in December where you can choose to do what you want. And then I've always started my season in the Middle East so far in my career, so then you have the first couple of weeks in January,

as well, so you have a nice bunch of time off, whereas this time, by the time we got home, I think we got home on 16th to 17th of December, then you've got the run up to Christmas, Frank East three this year, so it was like his first sort of Christmas where he, it was like, he knew what was going on. So I didn't have lots of time, so I got in a couple of games ago, where we actually live. I live more in the countryside now, so like 50 minutes outside of Southport,

and it was snow, like thick snow for a week and a half and if you drive 50 minutes to the coast on Southport there's not a drop so you can you can play golf there and it's you know I like it anytime I'm playing golf and it's not like in the tournament mode I could shoot 150 and just still love the game like I have no. I just I can just hit shots and just have a nice time with people and so yeah, whatever conditions and we're not really wants to shy away from conditions, but that particular day was actually very nice. Nothing is signifies the passage of time for me better than Frankie being three. I remember when you won Abu D Dobby and we're in the clubhouse afterwards upstairs.

It was a baby that I kept. Could I believe that was three years ago, but I know it's crazy. Really, it's funny doing the kid thing because of course, Frankie's my only experience of being dad. Like so many people, let's say to you know know made the most of every every minute it goes so quick And you're like, yeah, well, yeah, I'm sure whatever but in reality it really does go so quick and People say that like you can control time like they said that to me before my wedding like hey, it's gonna go quick Like okay, what can I do about that?

Yeah, yeah, I mean it's yeah, it's thanks for telling me but like not giving me any like useful advice here That can they can help me alter me, but not giving me any useful advice here, that can help me alter it. But, you know, he's honestly not far, there's the two, my two stepkids as well as Grimoire who, like I've been watching them grow up, and I mean, I'll, like, mad obsessed, mad keen with the game. And I actually, like, there was a moment, and it was not that long ago, it was like six months ago or something

but I'm like practicing and I'm playing with my own somewhere and he's gone. You just aimed a little bit left there and like it just looked like you pushed it to the target and then you just let it, like you just over did it and I turned around and I'm thinking, well what's happened here? Like, all of a sudden, my kids are like, he's giving me a lesson, all of a sudden. And yeah, it's just every, there's all, at like every stage that we're going to, it's just really, really funny,

but Oscar and Mo, now we're just at that point where, so keen on the game, and I can actually, I could hit a pot and say, what did you think of that Mo, and it'll give me an answer or ask a little of it. It's really I'm sure Frankie will be at that stage in about six months probably I was gonna say you're gonna be asking them for advice soon We're recording this a few weeks before it's gonna air so we're a couple weeks out from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, but you're already in Dubai. Is that a normal thing for you to do or is this a kind of COVID influence scheduling move

to be there, this early practicing and stuff? No, it's pretty regular. Actually, last year we were having worked on the house back in the UK, still live in the UK. And we decided to, I mean, we basically lived in Dubai for three or four months, which was great. It's just, it's one of those places, again, like I said, I've always started my year in the Middle East. I've always started it in Abu Dhabi, so coming out to Dubai, we spend the winter or the month of December, whatever it is

in cold conditions. Sometimes you just want to take the time off and you don't want to do anything, which is fine. But yeah, coming out here, the facility is great and yeah, like I say, like pretty much if you want to find a European top player, you might as well come to do pie this week and you just see guys dotted around, but basically everyone's here just getting ready for Aberdeen. And it does work out well. The conditions are amazing. I think today was the first time I've seen a cloud, I've been here for a week. And it was like the sun disappeared for a minute and we were sort of looking at each other. I'm not sure.

What's got, what's the, oh, there's a cloud there. It's just the sun's just coming around the cloud. But yeah, it's great and like the conditions of the courses are all great and everything. So it's just, it's like an easy transition into playing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and that. Well, for a lot of Americans, I think, Dubai and the Emirates are kind of a blind spot. When I went to Abu Dhabi a few years ago, I was just kind of surprised, I guess,

at the volume of X-Pats, I think that's kind of, you know, a thing that Europeans are no and are more familiar with, but you've been there for extended periods of time. What's your experience been like in places like Dubai? I would say Dubai is one of the easiest places on the planet to get around anywhere. It is very multicultural and there is a lot of expats. One of the biggest things is how poppy the golf is over here. I think in Dubai, there's seven or eight courses I guess. I'm not not gonna count them all off the top of my head,

but all of them are packed. Golf is really, really popular. Like, you know, I'm almost more likely to get recognized in Dubai for being a golfer than I am where I live at home. It's that kind of place, but it's great. It's always been great. And again, when you go somewhere so much,

you obviously feel more and more comfortable anyway. So this is 9th or 10th year on tour now. So I've been here a lot playing the events. There's so many of the other guys have. And it's just, I guess you just get really comfortable with it. And there is so many, so many experts. And then you just get used to seeing familiar faces and you know the cost and the facilities, you know, hotels and then you just get used to seeing family faces and you know the

cost and the facilities, you know hotels and restaurants and it just always stays, it's been kind of a very like stable atmosphere here as in terms of, there's always stuff going on but it never really changes that much, it always kind of remains busy and the weather's obviously always the same and it's just a yeah I think most people really enjoy coming in. It's kind of remains busy and the weather's obviously always the same. And it's just a, yeah, I think most people really enjoy coming in. It's kind of like a bubble almost, you know, it's really, you know, you're not that close to much, but it's this true international hub, you know, like you said, you can get anywhere from it, and it's just this perfect climate. And I know it gets hot there in the summer and whatnot, but this time of year, man, it's got to be, got to be pretty perfect. But you kind of, you know, you made some statements briefly, just kind of talking about,

you know, your disappointment and your finish and your race to Dubai and debriefed on 2020 with, you know, some disappointment in your year, you talked about some about marginal gains you can make to make yourself better. And I'm curious at your level, what are those marginal gains? How do you get better at your level without changing something, without tearing anything down? I'm wondering if you could kind of take us through kind of your thought process as we go into a new year.

Yeah, I think it's you. I'm still learning a lot as I go, but I think, you know, as you keep improving as a player, and as you get to the certain levels, I think tiny amounts make a big difference whatever they might be. I think, and in these days we have unbelievable access to statistics and equipment for starters, like the things that you have access to that, you know, are there to try it equally. You can, I think, nowadays it's easy than ever to go down the wrong path as well. But there's so much access for information

for you to get better, whenever you play, I think you're always looking for what is gonna give me, you know, the biggest chance to get better really. And last year, yeah, 2020 was, for a season, I actually started out promising, I had a really good event in Abu Dhabi after a second Honda.

I talked about that, should have what a cutter or, you know, near misses, that's fine. But I, you know, I've started the year playing well, and then, and then COVID came in pretty much. I missed the cut of Bay El, and then COVID came in, spent the time at home, and then when you, when I came back out, I was kind of on a pretty normal trajectory, really played the first week at 3M, was a bit rusty, Mr. Coup, whatever, Memphis kind of wasn't playing great, but I had a good last round and then a PGA, you know, like little things you forget, I'm on the last goal, I need a birdie for a 63 and a major again, like, you know, that's good goal for now, I was playing really well and I was in the last group on Saturday, but then from there, I just kind of struggled

my approach play was nowhere near and I think I got into a couple of bad habits and felt a bit lost in kind of understanding, really, which is something that I've never struggled with in the past in like when I was out there, just swing not really where I think it is and I'm not quite understanding it well and struggle to play from there and I think there were some positives from last year, I put it really, really well, especially in the States on the PJ, so I put it really well and I just felt like there were certain areas in my game that I've seen as a strength in the past that weren't a strength really, but I think sometimes you feel more confident about those areas that you can work on them and get them back. And yeah, there's just small things like that.

It might be the way you practice. It might be that, you know, what I'm going to hit shots to a certain pin on the golf course in practice rounds or might be like, yeah, I'm going to try and not have coaches out at some events. So I I'm gonna try and not, I've coaches out at some event, so I'm gonna try and look at preparing in a different way. I think there's always things that everybody on tour is always looking for like something, like something as small as it may be, or as big, whatever, everybody just never stops looking.

And I can't, I think I thought, maybe a lot of people do. I thought when I was young and coming out, I would get to a stage where probably just going to keep doing the same thing for a long time. And maybe I'll grow a load of experience. And I'll have practiced a lot. And I'll get my game to a place where I'm just going to keep

practicing that and play well. And I think I might be figuring out that it might never be like that. Yeah, it's a never ending quest. Yeah. I think you were pretty careful there, not to make too many excuses for yourself there for 2020. But if I may say so, jump in here to say, you had it of all the professional golfers in the world, I think, people from in someone like in your circumstance might have had it

the worst in terms of how it would have reflected on your professional play. You have a young son at home in England and you have to try to balance now. If you're going to travel internationally between the two countries, having quarantined requirements and you basically, it seemed like your strategy was like, I'm going to be spending my time at home and I'm going to be coming back for this major swing, but I don't want to be away from my family for that long. Did I sum up that kind of internal discussion with yourself and family discussion you had with that and how that affected your whole season?

Yeah, I think definitely from months in the UK in the middle of the year, you sit there and we literally had a daily briefing from the government on what was happening and what the news was and you would sit there and you would watch it every day and you would see news from overseas and I think you, you definitely never get a clear picture from the news like you don't really know what's going on and when I, when I did go out to America, I knew straight away with the quarantine rules, the way everything was even though the season and golf had started again, I wasn't going to be coming out till later on that year because once I got out,

and I was planning on making it all the way through the FedEx and playing all the events, and that would be a long stretch, and I would keep going all the way through that so that I think I'd work out, I'd have nine weeks straight in America which yeah it's my job, it's a funny situation, that's absolutely fine, I'll grow through it but yeah it is different and I think one of the, I think the biggest thing I struggled with last year was, since I was 16, probably 17 years old, I've traveled a lot, like whether I was in amateur and I was playing amateur events, playing for England, playing challenge tour onto the European tour.

I've always traveled, so I've never spent tons of time at home. And the time that we did spend at home, that summer, I had such an amazing time, you know, literally spending every minute of the day with Frankie or the kids or Claire, whatever it was. And we, at the time, I didn't want to, when people say, you know, how's it going for you and everything, I didn't really want to say, I'm having an amazing time. I don't want to say that to people, I don't want to say I'm not, I want to be that person that sounds really positive about such a tough time, but the fact was, we were, we had a great time, we're lucky that we have a nice home that

we live in, we're all really happy and we just loved that time together, like that summer. And the initial thing I struggled with was all of a sudden I went away and I was like, this is weird, I've never felt like this before And I kind of had such a good time at home, like going away and that great anymore. And I guess I had to get used to that again and how that was. And that was probably something that maybe affected me more than I would let on, because yeah,

don't like making excuse. So in a day, clubs don't know any different boards, they don't know any different and you play in a golf course and you play golf for your life. Sometimes you just see that you're in bad shots or swinging it bad, but there are other things that go into it. But yeah, that was something different really, something that I never felt before.

You've just set so set in what you do, that when you come out of it and go back in, things are a bit different. Yeah, that's very well said. Well, I got a couple. A lot's happens. It's the last time you were on the podcast and a couple, we're not going to be able to sum it all up, but I want to go to the writer cup. I'm going to go to France. I think, you know, just go into the Wikipedia page. Got me, like, I started hearing the chance all over again and it was giving me some sort of PTSD, you know, as I'm going through it, which I'm not enjoying. But Frankie Bonare was on the podcast

last March and he told the story of how the video came together of you two in bed after winning the Ryder Cup that was published on the European tour. I just want to know, do you want to refute any parts of that story? Do you want to tell your side of that story? I don't know what his side of the story was, but I can tell it. Let's just say he bared it all, if you will. He told us the story. Yeah, it was, I mean, the actual, like, the amount of takes that we actually tried to do that video was the funniest part

because I mean Gibbo would decided that this video, we were gonna do this, that great idea. You know, whatever time I couldn't even put a time on it anymore, I don't know, it was one a.m. 2 a.m. midnight, whatever it was. And yeah, when we were off to the room and everyone gave us room and he's like, okay, you guys getting the bed this short we're gonna do. and get everyone give us room and he's like, okay, you guys getting the bed is what we're gonna do. Franz like, okay, turns around to get in the bed and I just like, took everything off. And I'm like, but as soon as Franz,

like, so it was just just a really, really funny time. So we got the giggles at that and then once we were in, Franz after his had a, is so funny. And all it took was like to just look at each other and we just couldn't stop laughing. And it started to talk so long to do. And they came out really good. But Fran's very, Fran's very, very funny when he said a drink. He lit up telling that story.

Everyone had at least like to the outside world. He's kind of, you know, even the golf channel teases him for being kind of robotic, but he got the chance to tell that story. I saw a side of him that I'd never really seen before. Oh, good, good. He's got like, he's got a really English sense of humor as well. And that people probably don't don't see, but he's got like a very high level of sarcasm to him. Well, you know, that week was obviously incredible for you two. You guys went four and a half together. You went up, but you played Tiger three times. Is that sound right in the match, but in the team portion of it?

You know, you've played plenty of times with Tiger in, you know, you know, regular stroke play events. Yeah. What's it like to go up against him in a rider cup? I think we were lucky that he wasn't at his best for starters But he still always pulls out like the other shot that he like come on Tiger Like that's that's not even fair. The Ryder Cup was amazing. I think I still remember getting the draw on in the opening ceremony when the jaw come out and we were playing Tiger and patch it read But yeah, that whole week I actually found,

like I write stuff sometimes, and I found the other day rooting through a jaw that was like a piece of paper and it was, it was from that rider cup. And it was, on the, sorry, it was literally just from Friday and that particular Friday was Frankie's first birthday. So it was a special day anyway. Then I, you know, I'm playing with Fran, he's a really close friend. It's my first ride of Cup. It's in France.

And I'd wrote down like a couple of things from the day. I said it was my son's first birthday. I played in the ride of Cup. My first ride of Cup. I went to an O and I actually that day we be. So there was Tiger, Jordan and JT who had all been well number one at the time and then there's Patrick really, he's Captain America and I was like, yeah, we like, we went to an hog as these people, like that's really cool.

There's certain things that I think, yeah, you go through in your career or every new play and then you just, you do actually just move on from the really, you like, you don't like live it out and I'm definitely not going to live on the back of yeah I had a great time at the Radikut but there are special moments in your career that you do need to appreciate you need to make sure that you remember. And yeah those couple of days like playing that Radikut was so good and I got a lucky experience that for my first Radikut it was at home it was on a course that I'd played a bunch of times. You know, I was playing with, you know, Fran was next to me as a really close friend.

I, the first t-shirt, which is people's, people describe as like, don't know how they make contact with the ball. You know, you get, I like to actually don't like that first t-shirt, but look at the eye, just like at the time I had that blue Nike 5, or that I just couldn't miss with. Like there was a lot of things that went in my favor that week.

That I was really, really lucky. I've been at all, you know, we called having such a great experience. Plus the team play amazing. You're on a winning round of Cook team. Like it's it's very, very special. That first t-shirt was cruel for all the people that they put around there and gave you a hole that was not driver. I don't know how you guys were finding the club face though. I mean, it's one thing to just step up and pound a driver, but that was not an option on that one. But I was like, it was like, and Fran in his, so, you know, Fran set clubs at the time. I remember on, there was one of the days it was like the Tuesday the rider company's test in his three or that he's topped on the ninth in the practice round. So we played that

morning in four balls. He's got a two-in. He was like, yeah, I don't know why this club's in my bag. Like I'd very rarely a good shot with this club. And I think he might have it into like the 17th when he won the open or something in a great shot. So I was like, I'm sure you have a good shot. So at the time he's going to do this club, I don't like it at all. So in the four seasons, I'm friday afternoon. We get on to the first tea. We have, I mean, we literally have like a 20 minute turn around, get on to the first tea and france it in the first tea shots. So I'm just still on the first tea. Anyway, I've got nothing to do. Well, I just stand there and I'm fine.

Anyways, discuss with this caddy, payo takes club out. I was back turns to me, shows me the number two and just gives me this like look with his eyebrows as if I'm meeting this off the first, like moments that people don't see, you can't believe that yeah, like friends, you know, he's got this two eye and that he hates it, he's hit enough, firstly at the radical, but it's hard enough as it is, but that was funny. Did he hit the fairway? More than likely, he hits most sunny. So I know you can't speak necessarily to the American

process for how you know, pairings come together and whatnot, but I'm wondering I believe there's quite a contrast in how you know, how we end up kind of setting our team out versus how the European team does. And I'm sure you don't want to divulge too many secrets, but how did that how did that work in terms of, you know, does Captain, your captain was Thomas Bjorn, does he come up to you guys and say like, hey, the formulas are spitting out that you two

should play together or, hey, I believe your guys games are compatible. I'd like you two to play together. Did you go to him, say we want to play together? How did, you know, there was a lot of things that worked great on that European team. And I know there's some statistic analysis that kind of is involved

in that, but you guys seem so much more receptive to that information and captency than we do on the US side. And I'm just wondering how you could, if you could speak to how all of that came together. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the, you know, made, you know, biggest differences really. I think, yeah, there was definitely steps involved these days, which, you know, clearly played a big part, and I think what Thomas did well, and again, I played one rider cup, so it's my only experience. He was asking questions two years in advance, which I'm sure everybody does, you know, who you like. There's never really anybody

that, you know, you're playing the rider cup, there's not really anybody that's going to say, yeah, I don't want to play with him him but it might happen. It's always asking questions and I think after the first day in particular I guess pairings might come easy I don't know where they come easy I guess they do I think me and me and Fran for instance we're on a holiday together in the Albany in the Bahamas before the Northern Trust the first FedEx event, and we basically discussed that we wanted to play together then. That was simply set, and I think there's definitely certain parents that stand out. The certain players that, you know, say John Rahm, for instance, I think he was paired perfectly with Justin Rose. I think there's things that

you know, that seem to match nicely. And then I guess after that there has to be a bit of like putting Pulse and Rory together is like there's something about that pairing that you think yeah it's got a lot of passion to it, a lot of talent, they match up so so well. And I think maybe you after work out a particular situation or what the team might need at that time or I don't know. It's a really, it seems it does seem a tough job. But at the same time, you think, you know, you're looking at 12 best players in Europe and the 12 best players in America, you'd think, right, that's just, you know, well, just anybody can go with anyone, just go and play and it's

funny. I like it still just doesn't work out that way. I mean, you would think it's so, you would think it's quite an easy thing to do. Like, and if the guys play well, great. If they don't, then there's nothing you can do. But I do think there's definitely an art to being able to pick a great partnership. And there's players that are gonna wanna play with each other and,

there's players equally, there's players that are gonna wanna play with each other. But you guys probably aren't gonna play that well together or you guys don't, you know, you games don't match up for this course. It's got to be something in it. It's a really funny one. And I've probably not answered your question at all. No, I'm not confused at all. That's perfect.

I feel confused listening to my answer. So I mean, I'm not ready to be a radical captain at the moment. Well, I just, I, we had Paul McGinley on the podcast earlier last year or late last year. And, you know, he just kind of laid out like 12 minute, a 12 minute part. It's just like, here's what Sam Torrance did with me. Here's what I did with Victor Dubuisson, what I did with Grammack Dowl. Told him to go. Yeah, you should ask, you should ask about, you should ask Paul McGinley all those people about parents, not, not me.

Your job is to play and you do pull them again. The other people about parents, not me. Your job is the play. You do that just fine. So, well, changing gears here, and I know I gotta let you go here shortly, but you finished second at Rowe Port Rush, and Shane Lowry goes out and wins that by six. So I wanna know, what does a finish like that mean to you? It's not gonna be etched in people's memories, but I'm curious to pick the brain of a competitor in this situation and say, does it mean to you. It's not, it's not going to be etched in people's memories, but I'm curious to pick the brain

of a competitor in this situation and say, does it matter to you if you finish two or six shots back of first, if you beat everyone else in the field, if I mentioned Port Rush, is that good, happy memories for you are kind of bitterness that you played great and didn't get a win. Both. I think there's a couple of sides to it. There's, well for starters, yeah, Shane won by six.

Shane was the best player that week by a long way. I feel like it was closer on that Sunday than six shots at times. I felt on that Sunday the momentum clearly early on, meant a lot and I had two great shots into one and missed the port. He had the same length of put for Bogey. I mean, there was a massive swing that could have happened there.

It turned into a shot and a couple of puts in definitely in the first four holes, five holes that you know, you, like I look back and I had to make them. If I was going to have any chance I had to make them, but equally on that bat night all of a sudden, you know, it's nothing's ever over and I started

Playing well in some tough conditions and Shane still got to go and do it and to be fair to him He did an absolutely amazing job Any wins by six so it kind of looks like I was no idea felt a bit closer than that and the other part of that whole week was I've said it a bunch of times and I'll say it all my life, the open is if I could pick one event, the open is the one for me, like I, you know, I want to win the open more than any other tournament. It's definitely my biggest dream. And so, it's a very special event to a lot of people. And I think driving home any major really, so you start out Thursday and everybody has a chance.

If you have a good round Thursday, yeah, you've got a great chance. If you have a good round Friday, chances are getting even better. If you have a good round Saturday, I draw, we draw on Saturday. I've got one day and I'm actually, I mean, second place, 28 years old, I'm not that old,

but like I've been playing golf a long time and I'm driving on thinking I'm a day away from potentially achieving my biggest dream here. This is like, this is big. Yeah, like it's huge in so many ways and I was really, really, I was deflated after that. It hurt more than any other event, even not being that close to shame, but finishing second hurt a lot.

It was just something that, you know, you have to deal with and it probably makes it better that it wasn't by a shot. Like I didn't have a chance to get into a playoff or win the tournament. I didn't have two puts to win and three put it. I didn't, you know, he didn't burden us to beat me. It wasn't like that. It was a long way behind. I finished second and got the closest I've ever got to have winning that

tournament. So I guess it, right, was definitely better that way, but at the same time, it still hurts when you've been very, very close to achieving something that you've wanted your whole life. Well, I wasn't going to mention this one, but something you said there makes me want to ask about wing around, sorry, about Shinnecock then. You have a final round 63. So if I mention Shinnecock, does your mind go first to the happy memories of a final round 63 or the frustration of a putt for 62 that missed on the low side and you end up missing out on a playoff by one. It probably goes to the last three goals that day of the Sunday. Like I had a really good chance on 16, but you know, I get to that point. And you as open greens are so quick and treacherous and that Sunday,

they're a bit softer and a bit slower. Maybe Saturday has something to do with it. But it was definitely set up a little bit softer and slower, and I had a really good chance for birdie on 16 and left it short for my 10-12 feet, but again, you have us opening greens quick, you're not going to keep yourself in the stomach for it. And you pour some putts into that point. I'm not sure what some putts into it. Yeah, we don't remember those ones though. And then 17, a great iron shot straight down the pin.

It was really hard to get close to the 18. Played the whole great and it had good put and miss. And I think I would look at those three holes and then I'm in the sat there, you know, in the afternoon, and just watching for whatever reason, as soon as I walked off that golf course, I thought that's one short, like it's gonna be one behind that. And Brooks was stood on the 10th,

Brooks was on the 10th or is on the 11th to take. And you know, what Brooks did keep doing was kind of giving me a sniff. He like hit over the back on 11, looks like he's gonna make double hits it long on 12, gets up and down, I'm like, this bastard. He keeps like, like making me feel like I've got a chance. I just, something about me told me it was like one short,

but again, I sat there for two hours, watching that back nine, thinking, from like when the US opening. And it is an amazing feeling. It really is. I really do wanna know what it feels like to win a major, but there's a lot of people that never get the chance to feel what it's like to even come close to a major and actually having that possibility.

And that US Open actually had more chance to win in for a while than I did it in the open. So that was kind of a closer call that came from, it would have been a back door win, but I don't think people would see it that way. It probably always been much that, Tommy Fleet would shut 63 and won the US Open, but again, I think the one thing I can look at

is the performances of the guys that did win. I've never really given it away. Brooks is arguably the greatest major champion of our era at the moment and Shane, it was 100% his week. You know, that's absolutely fine by me. I can live with it. Have you watched the the put on 18 because I just saw I was just in prep and for this probably a few thousand times? Well, did I saw a different angle and it hit something on the way. I get hit something and it might have already been low, but it definitely hits something on the way to the hole.

Have you seen that? Well, yeah, it does have a little bubble, like a lot of puts do. It was under red, I think. But, you know, the 18th green's pretty hard. It's steep green on the planet. And, yeah, I mean, I, of course, I would love to with it again, but I actually, you know, hit the pot. Where I wanted it to go pretty much in.

It was just, it was an underreading. Yeah, that green's so easy to do that on. Whether it misses high, low, short, long, makes no difference. But I've watched that put a lot. And to be honest, it's not the greatest for you to watch it because it was a put that missed, which was potentially history making putt. But at the same time, whenever I watch that,

there's certain feelings that come back from such a great round of golf, like as good as a round of golf that I've ever played on a Sunday of a major. So it's still, yeah, it hurts a bit. Don't particularly watching it, but it does bring some good feelings back. Well, we will change subjects here and I'll let you out here on this. What's got you excited for for 2021? I think restarting again. What I really want to happen is life gets back to some kind of normality. And I think, yeah, we get to play golf, we get to do our job

and we get to play for a lot of cash, by the way, while people are struggling in the world. So we're extremely, extremely lucky. But I would still love the atmosphere of golf to come back. I still want to see people come to watch. I still want to hold puts, being contentian for tournaments, have those moments that thousands of people watching

get to be a part of and feel that. But yeah, at the same time, I love the game. I love playing. Max, I look great things are going on, and I'm just looking forward to getting out golf course and playing really, doing my love. Well, we look forward to seeing it. So best of luck.

As this airs this week in Dubai, and with the whole start of the season in the Emirates, and we look forward to hopefully being able to gather and watch in person some golf back stateside once you want your make your way this way as well. So thanks a thanks to every time. No, thank you very much. It's nice to have the opportunity to come back on again. You know, I'd like to be asked more, but that's fine. That's fine. You guys picking Tuesday. You want I'm happy to be brought on with the list. It's okay. That's not how it works at all. I try to give you a little bit of time to make sure I'm not too needy But if you want me to blow. Yeah, I'll ask we'll have you on every month, but

That's a lot of personal. Thank you very much. No, I'll have yeah, I love it. Thank you very much. Be the right club today. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That's better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Expect anything different.