No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 533: Abe Ancer

Episode Date: March 17, 2022

Abe Ancer joins the pod as we detail his upbringing in Mexico and introduction to the game, his collegiate career at Oklahoma, progressing on tour, off course tequila business ventures, 2019 Presidents Cup singles against Tiger, the outlook for the 2021 Presidents Cup and more.  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. Sully here recorded this interview with Abraham Answer last week here at the players. Special thanks to our friends at Callaway that let us crash their shoot. Use some of their time with Abraham.

They just passed it right over to us to give you guys this content, which has greatly, greatly appreciated and wanted to have Ab on for a while hearing about his background. I was really surprised to hear how much time he spends as well on business ventures outside of golf, how much he's on the road outside of traveling to play golf tournaments. I think you're going to find that extremely interesting. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Cash App. You've heard us talk a lot about Cash App.

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So without any further delay, let's get to Abraham Answer. Do you walk around PGA Tour events with a different level of swagger now that you've won a WGC? Does it feel a little different walking around? No, I don't think it feels different. It's definitely nice to get that monkey off my back, you know, and and I always told myself that all right, it's I feel like I've played good enough to win a tournament, but it just didn't happen. I was like, I just keep telling myself that it was going to be a big one, so I was like, all right, just relax, it's going to happen when he has to happen. And yeah, definitely give me confidence, but man, this game is so humbling, like you can feel you can feel on the top of the world one day and then the next, you shoot 80.

So I tried to say pretty even, Keele. Well, it's weird. There's a few guys, and Scottie Schuffler has been in this group, but now he's one twice. But there's a few guys that you play really well. So you graduate into the biggest events, which are also end up being the hardest ones to win. And then you have a high-world ranking, yet you haven't

racked up a win yet. Did you start to feel any pressure internally or externally at any point? I mean, not myself, just people. They're like, I can't believe this guy. You haven't won, and how are you ranked? Whatever number in the world. And I'm like, I don't know.

I put a lot of importance of playing consistent and making a lot of cuts. And if you don't play your best, but still finish top 25, like I feel like that's pretty rewarding, like knowing that, you know, I didn't play very good and I still had a good tournament. So just figure out a way to grind it out. So I didn't really put that much pressure on myself. Like I said, I just kept telling me that it's just going to happen whenever it has to happen.

Well, let's go back to your background. I feel like I've heard bits and pieces, but you were born in Texas. You moved to Mexico. When did you move to Mexico? How long were you in Mexico? You of course play under the Mexican flag. Can I tell us a little bit about your background for those aren't familiar? Yeah, so my whole family is from Ragnosa, Mexico, which is a border town with Macallen and Mission, Texas. I was born in McCallan, so my mom's doctor, or family doctor, happened to be both in Raynosa and in McCallan, and then just decided to just be

in McCallan my mom was like, well, I'm not switching doctors. So I'm having Abraham and McCallan, and I don't care. Ended up working very nicely for immigration purposes. This is it. Yeah. So I have dual citizenship, and I don't have to do any visas I got on care. Ended up working very nicely for immigration purposes. This is it. Yeah. So I have dual citizenship, and I don't have to do any visas and all that.

So that's nice. But yeah, as soon as I literally was born, and then the next in two days, I was raised in Reykjaván so my whole family is from there. And my culture, I mean, first language, Spanish, everything. I grew up playing golf over there, up until I was 14, 15, and then I moved back to the US just because I really wanted to pursue golf and learn how to speak English properly and

kind of go to the college and just kind of get a head start. So I did high school. A little bit of actually middle school and high school in the US and then went on to college. Is it, you know, from where you're from? Is it a golf hotspot? Is it a hotbed? Is there a strong junior competition? How did you, there's some things that had to happen between that and getting out to the PGA tour.

I hope you can cover some of that. I mean, yeah, obviously golf in just Mexico in general is just not that popular. It's always football or I guess soccer, box and baseball. But that's about it. It's not really that much golf. And I was very lucky that very

no-stop had a country club there. And my dad took me to the golf course since I was in diapers. And there was this little kind of junior league in the northern part of Mexico. And wherever my dad could take me to tournaments, he'll take me and play. And I just got, I just fell in love with the game and just always just figured out how to get better or kind of make it to the next level.

And never in my life, I was like, I mean, it was just like a dream to get to the PJ Tour, right? So nobody from Reynauza has ever really made it to the PJGA tour I don't think. So, yeah, it always looked so far away, but it also made me pretty hungry too, to just kind of keep working at it. And obviously, I got very lucky just getting a scholarship to a desu-junary college, and then thankfully playing really good that year, and then getting a scholarship to go to the University of Oklahoma.

So, I was, it just, I worked my butt off, but also I felt like I got lucky to just be in the right place and play a good golf at the right time. What would you say, the makeup of the PGA tour has a background that's somewhat similar to yours versus, let's just call the opposite of that being the country club kids. Do you see what I'm getting at there?

Yeah. I feel like that's a beauty of golf. I mean, it's not just one recipe to make it out here. And there's some guys that you see in college that they're just absolute monsters. And they're so good. And then it doesn't work out. And they just happen to just fade away and not figure it out.

And there's some guys in college that you're like, wow, that guy has no chance. And they're being out here on the PGA Tour for 20, 30 years. So it's just, it's strange. Definitely, I mean, in Mexico, it's, you, I mean, you can say that you gotta have some sort of money to be able to play golf, because there's not a lot of public, there's not a lot of public golf courses.

So, but I mean, like for myself in in Reinoza, it was like, you mean, you see the, I love that golf course, but I mean, it's in pretty rough shape all the time. And at the time it was like, this is the best place in the world. And when I go back, it still is, but it's definitely not one of those places that you see, you're like, wow, I mean that is a country club You know, it's just but for me that was just amazing and he gave me the perfect opportunity for me to start playing and just fall in love with the game and And also get ready for I don't know whether it's better the conditions no better. You got a bad lie I I know how to hit some shots from some bad lies for sure

So when does when does professional golf enter the picture for you? You know you said it felt really really far away when you're playing as a junior obviously that changes at some point. When did that become enter the picture as a reality? It was always like I said like a dream and it fell so far away and I never really like believed like man I have what it takes but I feel at the same time that that just helped me just push my myself to just be as good as I could be. And maybe if I didn't have that mentality, I probably would maybe not make it. So when I was at OU, well, before that, I played really good at Odessa. That gave me some options

to see where I was going in college. But OU was the first college that kind of recruited me. And I just fell in love with the coaches and the facilities. I mean, everything. I was like, normal. I thought it was the coolest play. So played pretty good the first year. I was like, I think all American, but just like, on a real mention, I don't think it was like first team or second team or anything like that. And I was like, okay, like, there's some guys here that are really legit. So I was like, I'm gonna give it a shot. Like I'm going to actually try to make it into the PGA tour. And first year after that, I qualified for the Corn Fairy.

I got through all the stages, not completely locked up in my car, but I had conditional and all that stuff. So I was like, OK, I mean, not that far away. And then from there, I was like, OK, I can hang, I can definitely make it and I haven't looked back. Yeah, what is, you know, when you got out there, did you feel like you were prepared for that? What did you learn right away? What are things? Maybe you know now that you didn't know where when you got out there. I don't think I was prepared. And man, I was like...

Is anyone really prepared? I just, I don't think you are. Yeah, it's part of figuring it all out. And there's some guys that maybe felt really prepared. And then when he's time to play, they might not have played that well. So, Q-School is scary, man. I mean, it's just, I mean, you gotta get through four stages if you're having to play the prequel of the first. And just knowing that if you just play one bad round, you're that bad round away from not having a job.

So definitely scary. But I kind of like that feeling of like you just got to perform. There's no other way around it. And thankfully, I figured out a way to come back the second day. You got through all the stages again and looked up my card and then after that I first year on the corn fairy, the full one, I got my card to the PGA tour and then played tear. What did you play tear? So bad.

I started, I've told, I think I've told you a story a couple of times, but I got to my first PGA tour event and I was seeing, I was was in the range Rory was next to me or he sets up rest next to me and then DJ behind me and It was cold a little bit of into the wind and Rory starts hitting these five irons like Straight up in the air carrying like two to five two ten into the wing cold and I'm like dude I have no chance like no I mean no chance of against these guys and I'm like, dude, I have no chance. Like, no chance against these guys. And I started trying to hit it harder and longer and higher, and that's just not my game. And I spiraled down changing equipment all the time,

and it was just rough. It was terrible, but now looking back, I think that was the best thing that probably could have happened, because I learned all of what not to do in short period of time. So I missed a lot of cuts in a row. I played really, really bad. And then at the end of the season, I figured I was like, hey, you just got to go back to

to what got you here in the first, in the first place. And then started working towards that. And then went back to the Cormherry, had a great season played, really, really solid, got back on tour and I just got in better every single year. So it's not, you know, your game didn't necessarily change from seeing that and saying, oh gosh, I have no shot. You just kind of went back to being yourself and that, because you said, I have no shot.

How am I going to compete out here? And you do that now. So what changed in that process? Just a true finding your, you're refinding your identity identity I guess? Yeah, just realizing that I just had to play golf the way I play golf and just get better at what I do. Which is what what is for people that aren't familiar and haven't watched you play golf. So what's your profile? Hate a lot of fairways, hate a lot of fairways. Hate a lot of greens and try to make some puts. Limit a big numbers and just keep

the ball in play. So that's kind of how I play. And then if I happen to have a week that I'm not hitting that grade, just figure out a way to make par. It doesn't matter if you look in your short-sighted or you feel like you're done, just always just figure out a way

like wheel the ball in to make par and grind it out. And I feel like I tend to do that sometimes pretty well. I stopped to do it obviously all the time. But yeah, just having that mentality of like I'll figure out a way to just shoot on the par. A quick break here to check in with our friends at Woop. You've heard a ton about the new Woop4.Og. I have a confession to make. I let mine die for a little longer than I'm actually comfortable doing so, but I've been working out a lot. I've been getting to sleep a lot better

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The all new waterproof device is free when you sign up for a WOOP 4.0 membership for any members. If you have six months left of membership on your account, you can upgrade now and get the 4.0 for free. And right now, WOOP is offering 15% off when you use code NLU15 at checkout, go to WOOP.com WHOOP.com, enter NLU 15 to save 15% at checkout. Let's get back to Abraham answer. So you're listed at 57155 yet your positive stroke scheme driving every year, your positive

stroke scheme approach, your a ball striker is, is height, is your height a disadvantage at all? Um, I would like to say no, I mean yeah do I want to hit another 20 yards farther of course and that would be making it easier yeah but also I don't know if I will be hitting the fairway that that much so I like to not even think about that I work I've worked on my body a lot especially to not get hurt and just maximize what I have. Those stats are actually, they're actually wrong. I weighed 145.

I was gonna say, I said listed. Yeah, that was when I got on tour and I lost 20 pounds actually. I was like 165, didn't really go to the gym, terrible die hit, but yeah, Saturday and Sunday I was gassed. So I figured out that I needed to work on my body and make sure I squeeze everything out of this frame to get it out there and also to stay healthy and to be ready to go on Saturday or Sunday and back now and you want to be fresh. So I realized I need to get a better lot on that aspect

and I've been able to do that. So yeah, I weigh 145 now. I want to weigh like 145, but those 10 pounds, I don't want them to be fat. I want them to be muscle, right? So it's tough for me to gain that much weight and walking every single day and doing and going to gym and all that.

But how do you balance, you know, working on your body with both practice and competitive golf, right? You have four straight rounds, hopefully, on a competitive week of playing golf. Are you, what are gym routines look like through that? How do you make sure you're not getting sore, getting fatigued? I'm always fascinated with, anytime I try to get in shape, I'm like, well, I'm too sore to play golf right now. I can't, I can't figure out it. Anytime I try to get in shape, I'm like, well, I'm too sort of playing golf right now. I can't figure out how you guys maintain that balance

with the different temperatures you're playing at, different amounts you're sweating, weight loss, up, down, diets, all that stuff. How would you describe it? Yeah. Well, my trainer is amazing at what he does. He's been doing that for a long, long time. He's a trainer and PT as well, so we do a bunch of recovery. Recovery is pretty much as important as working out.

But yeah, Mondays, for example, they're usually travel days. I'm doing a lot of mobility when I get back to or when I get to the place I'm heading to and a bunch of stretching. Just make sure I'm not tight from that from that trip. And then Tuesdays where I usually lift if I'm lifting heavy, From that trip and then Tuesday is where you should usually lift if I'm lifting heavy That'll be on Tuesday and then Wednesday it will be another lift day, but maybe not as Not as heavy but just more mobility and explosiveness and to get kind of speed and then Thursday once we're getting started I'm doing a little workout before I play mainly stretching and just getting all the muscles primed to For the round everybody does it different. I mean, I've seen multiple guys lift heavy before and around. Everybody's got to figure

out what works for them. And that's kind of what I figured it really works for me. Just if I'm going heavy, I'm doing Tuesday, then Wednesday, still lifting, but doing six-close this stuff and just kind of get primed for the week and then after that I'm just priming my body for that. Now if I happen to miss a cut then I hammer the gym on Saturday. I thought you were going to say hammer the tequila because we're on that. That too trust me but no I mean definitely it's a good way to kind of if you're a little bit pissed off and you go to the gym and then

definitely you can go get after it and at least feel like you did something positive towards getting better. Is it hard to maintain a good diet when you're on the road, when you're traveling? Yeah, that part of me is me too. People that don't travel with cooks, I know some people have, you know, when they rent out houses and share them, they have cooks that come from time to time, but finding healthy meals, is that just a, are you just yelp? Google finding, how do you do that? Yeah, and I'm, look, I love food. I, I don't hold back. I, for my way, you think that I probably don't eat much, but I, I can throw down some food for sure. And, and I love it. And as far as traveling, I, I love going to places and figure out what, what the cool spots is, art to go. And not so as traveling, I love going to places and figure out what the cool spots are to go

and not so much chains, but just really hot spots that people, I asked around, where is the place to eat here? So, and I try to be a little conscious, you know, not that many cars and not that much sugar, but other than that, I hammer protein. I mean, I'm, yeah, steak, chicken, fish, I'm everything. I love sushi. I tacos is definitely my favorite food. I know sometimes I have too many tortillas and it's like,

it gets out of control, but I can do that every single day. Do you have a taco spot in Jacksonville? Are you starting to, are you been out on tour enough to know some restaurants you go back to? Yeah, I mean yesterday I went to, I went to Nana Blu just because I want to support my boy, McDowell, you know, I've never, I've never been. So I was like, you know what? I got to go check it out and it's a really cool spot. But yeah, I don't, I don't, I try not to do the same spot. I try to like, you know, hop around and find places that I haven't been before. But if you got a place for me to go let me know Taco Lou is the big one here in Jackson and then there's I've been there and yeah the place is amazing The people running it there are really really cool as well

I mean I got I got to talk to them. We got to get a glitch in there for sure Yes, I know they sell a lot of tequila so tell us about fl Fletcher. You have a couple of businesses from what I understand. How did you get into, first of all, I think it's like what everyone dreams of doing is starting their own spirit company. How long was that process? How did you get into that business? Yeah, so that has been a lot of work, but it's been awesome.

And that's been, I mean, I've been working on this for a long time. I'll start from the beginning. I met my partner in Fletcher, Aron, who is, he has my big brother right now, pretty much, or now. I met him in a program in Fort Worth in Colonial. And another Mexican guy, successful on an oil and gas business now.

He's still young. He's really young. He's still in the late 30s. I think it's about to be 40. And we just hit it off, man. And we started talking about the Kila on the second hole. And I was, I always had that dreams right after college. I really got into drinking the Kila. And that was really the only spirit that I had a drink.

Really pretty much everything. So I maybe have one or two beers, and then I just go straight to the Kila. Beer before thequila, that seems like a recipe for disaster. No, I mean, if you just do one or two, it's fine. But now I just go straight to the Kila. I don't even mess with beer or anything else, really. And I just fell in love with the whole process. It's just incredible having to wait six to eight years for the agave to be ready to be harvested and then I mean, I just loved it and when I met Aaron I told I was we're talking about it and he was pretty much the same way And I was just like well, I just didn't have the time or the

Or at the time the money to start a company like that, right? So he was like, you know what? Let's let's. Like, let's, let's make it happen. And we'll go full out. We're not going to hold back. And we're going to give it a give it a good shot. And thankfully, I had some really good friends in Calisco, where we, where we make artiquilla. And they're amazing. They're like my, my family, where we, where we make it. And they're the third or second or third oldest family to ever make Tequila so it's they know they know what they're doing and I told them and Aaron everybody's like hey we're gonna do it we're gonna do it right because I feel like there's a lot of of brands out there coming out and which is good you know we want Tequila to grow but we want to do it the right way we

don't want to just take advantage of the culture or that it's hot right now, just to sail. We want to have something out there that is legit, that is traditional. We're not putting any additives or anything like that. So definitely we're really proud about that project. So are you involved in a lot of the day-to-day stuff? And as far as getting it in place, you've led with,

we've got to get it fletched inco Lou, like, is that part of your job or how does that, which is real? Yeah, so, I mean, since that, again, this was like, when we started doing this, this was five years ago. Really? So, and like I said, it takes time for the whole process to do that, and then your aged tequila's take time, like a reposal of six months, or aniejo, it's 18 months, or extra aniejo is three years, extra in the year with three years

So we have to wait that time to to launch so we launched it's gonna be two years in next month So yeah, that's crazy. So I mean we've been working on five years and we launched two years ago and now Seeing it in because we want when we started like okay, let's go to Texas and see how it goes. And now we're in a lot more states. And we're probably going to be, looks like nationwide by the end of the summer. So we're really, really excited. Mark Wahlberg came into the project. We just, we announced it in January,

but we've been chatting about it for a long time. He went down to Mexico with us. And he was like, this is the sickest thing. Is there any room? Is like, yeah, we'll figure something out. He's awesome, man. He's awesome. Loves golf as well.

So I think we got a great team. So I was just watching a video of a golf.com video. You did that you were hitting balls on a driving range there. Is that your driving range? In San Antonio. Yeah. Yeah.

So another friend of mine who actually introduced me to the family in Calisco, great golfer from Salteo, Mexico is all there is 50. He's 50 years old. He's a really, really, he's like my uncle, or like my second dad over there in San Antonio lives in the same city I do. Always is a great golfer, scratch golfer, never termed pro, but always

always been involved in either building clubs, fittings and all that. And that range just went up for sale. And he was like, what do you think about getting this place and making it like a really cool spot in San Antonio to get fitted to just come hit balls. And that range has been a staple there for a long, long time. So I was like, yeah, absolutely. Let me let's do it. I don't spend that much time inside Antonio, unfortunately, but every time that I'm there, I definitely go hang out and practice. And I mean, it's got all the cool stuff for you to get better and to get fitted.

So yeah. So same Antonio is where you live full time and you say you don't spend that much time, is it you just mean for traveling for tournaments? Yeah, tournaments. And then I mean, I stay really busy in my weeks off tournaments. I'm not really that off. And I mean, Fletcher keeps me really busy and Blackwell clothing line. And then we're coming out with another company as well.

So I stay really busy. And I like it. I like it a lot. I felt like before golf, it was just everything, right? And I felt like putting me too much pressure just, that was all I thought about. So now that I got so many things thinking about outside the golf course, when I get to the golf course, I am pumped to be there. And I'm just like thinking about golf, not thinking about flitcha or anything else. And I think it's, it's helped me in a way. Although it hurts a little bit in my kind of personal time

or family time or whatever, but I do enjoy doing all those stunts because I'm really passionate about. And why stay in Antonio? That's not a lot of top professionals that live there if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, growing up, that was like the closest big city from Raid Nose and I just just I don't know for some reason I always liked it

I liked it a lot and the food the people were great. There's a lot of cool golf courses there It's close to to home if I need to drive or if I need to to get back to to my family and It just made sense for me. I always felt like if I wanted to live there for some reason and And it just made sense for me. I always felt like if I wanted to live there for some reason. And I love it. I feel like it's home now for sure. I've been there for seven years now. Wow.

So I want to talk about the president's cup, 2019 Presidents Cup that you played at Royal Melbourne. First of all, what was your reaction when you saw the conditions of that golf course when you guys showed up that week? And you've played down Australia, you've won the Australian Open the Year before. But that's not conditions you normally see in normal PGA Tour events. What was your reaction when you saw that?

I was pumped. That's the kind of golf they just get me super excited. I love missing a green and having like four options of like kind of the shots you want to hit. You can bump it, you can put it, you can hit it off a hill or whatever. And I just like that. And the greens are absolutely perfect. I mean, I've never seen greens just that good throughout the whole week. And it's tough. I mean, super windy, super firm.

You can't even look at the pins. You have to use the slopes to get closer to the spots where you need to be. I was like, man, this is the coolest place ever. It's so good for any style of golf, but match play especially too. I think anything that makes you guys aim a little bit away from pins, I think is it shows your creativity a little bit, your ability to use the slopes. That was some of the best, the best viewing and it looked like some of the most fun golf to play.

And it seemed like, what is, how do you describe that, guess, the international team atmosphere? Right? I mean, we talk about this a lot, of course, of, you know, you don't have a common bond among all the teammates, you know, it's all not, you know, not even everyone speaks the same language. What's it? What's it like trying to build team camaraderie because you guys had, obviously, had a great run there at Real Melbourne. We're so close to winning. But how did the, you know, Ernie L's come about, you know, putting that together and how to do, you guys a team come together? Yeah, before they were really making the team, Inie L's come about, you know, putting that together and how to do as a team come together? Yeah, before they were really making the team, I didn't really thought about that, but

I was like, man, I can't believe it's like international as we have in one or having one, the presence cup in a long, long time. And what you think about it is just so many guys from all over the world that just have to come together as a team for a week that most of the time they don't hang with each other and it's a different language so you're trying to become a team just that week and it's tough. And I thought Ernie did an amazing job of like hey guys this thing is coming up I don't know who's going to be in the team but you get to go out there and just hang with each other play practice rounds go to dinner whatever it. Try to make an effort. And I thought a lot of us really bought into that and we started doing that.

And now I feel like we have a way better bond or a great bond between each other. And some of the guys are playing an amazing golf right now actually. So I'm really, really good golf, which is really exciting. But that week, Ernie is like, wow, it just actually feels like a team. Because two years before that, they were like trying to figure out how to even speak to each other or what pairings are going to work.

And you get paired with somebody. You don't even know how to say, hey, he did left. You know what I mean? So stuff like that. That's crazy. Yeah. I mean, for a team, especially if you're going to be literally on the same team in a four ball

or four sums, like communications, it's pretty important. Exactly. How did your pairing, your matchups come about? You played with Louis Ustaz and you played with Mark Leishman, played with Sungjae as well. How did you guys end up figuring that out? Ernie had a system, if I'm not mistaken, and he was just trying to figure out what games

matched and he was pretty much kind of how he did things and thought he did a great job. I mean, it was awesome. It was definitely a super exciting week. I've heard it from a lot of people and say, hey, that was one of the coolest tournaments to look on TV. I mean, to view on TV. It was a lot of fun. We were gut it on Sunday, man. He was man. He was rough. Yeah. It wasn't seen like afterward. Man. I mean, we were we were all down like really really down. Obviously we wanted it so bad. And then we just came together and he's like, Hey, guys, we gave it all. I mean, didn't didn't go our way. And then we started playing Australian football, which was pretty cool. And forget about it and then we were just hammering some beers.

But I mean, it was that's understand. Yeah, we were, yeah, we were definitely gutted, man. What, so president's cup is not a, if those that aren't familiar, it's not a blind draw. It's not a submit the singles line up and see who you get matched up against. I forget the order of operations here because you go out first and you play Tiger Woods. Did you? so one of you guys picked the other one, who picked who? I don't remember. So Ernie had to pick first, who wants to go out first. So he picked me to go out first and then Tiger picked himself.

I think he wanted to pick himself so he could get done and then like obviously be a captain right. So it just happened to work that way. I think he wanted to pick himself so he could get done and then like obviously be a captain, right? So it just happened to work that way. So did you have a feeling you were going to get Tiger in that first spot? Did he ask if you wanted it or anything like that? No, no, no. He didn't ask. He was, Ernie, you were slay.

You could be going first. I think you're going to go first. Like, I'm ready to go wherever you want me to put me. It doesn't, doesn't matter. But it was like going up against Tiger Woods at Role Mumber. It's got to be a incredible golf memory. It was, yeah, I mean, definitely playing against my hero. I mean, obviously, you know, all the, like, the media stuff that went down that

week, that part of us kind of rough. Just like, I, I had to turn my phone off. Remind people for that, that aren't familiar with what you're referring to. I've talked about this so much. But so a month before the president's cup I was playing in Mexico and Mayacoba for the PGA Tour event and they asked me, yeah, you're excited about the president's cup. I was like, are you kidding me? Yes, I'm static to go and play.

He was like, and they were asking me fast forward to all the questions. They're like, so who would you like to play against in the singles? And Sunday I was like, well, I mean, no disrespect to all the guys on the team, on the other team, but I will, I mean, imagine playing on a huge stage against your hero. I would love to play against Tiger Woods. I mean, that would be a dream come true. And then the next day, I saw like Abraham answer

your own quotations. I want Tiger. I was like, oh my God. I was like, well, that got twisted pretty bad, but whatever I mean, it's like, oh my god. I was like, well, that got twisted pretty bad, but whatever I mean is like, and then I got hammered on like social media. Like, who do you think this guy is? Well, I was like, okay, whatever.

But then fast forward to the press conference and all that and I'm playing Goat that Week. It's been a lot of fun and then I get, boom, I get paired with Tiger Woods. I'm like, oh boy, this is gonna be bad. I mean, as soon as that thing, he had now and said, all right, I'm going up first. So it's me against Tiger.

I mean, my phone just exploded. And I mean, the social media was just like, I don't know. I mean, it was bad. It's like, this guy said that he wanted to take down Tiger blah blah. I might have made the same joke. So I was like, yeah, so I was like, all right, I'm turning my phone off.

And I was like, man, I couldn't sleep. I was like, yeah, so I was like, all right, I'm turning my phone off and I was like, man, I couldn't sleep. I was like, man, this sucks. But I was like, forget about it. I mean, not a lot of people can say that you play it against your hero. I guess Tiger was argued with the best player in the world on a president's cup.

And a golf course that I just love. I was like, just figure out a way and then try to beat this guy, but it's just enjoy it. And then he beat me. We both like, it was a way and then try to beat this guy, but it's just enjoy it. And then he beat me. We both like the event. It was a great match. You made seven birdies or something in 16 holes. Yeah, I've been, I, I, I feel like I played really well.

He just, he didn't, he did not miss. He was very, I thought he was pretty vintage, kind of tiger how he played. It was, he was really impressive. He was locked in and you can see that how different he is like in match play. I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, this guy wanted to kill someone. I was like, oh my God, I was like, okay, I knew on the first tee I was, it was gonna be, it was like, all right. But yeah, he needed me, he did his jobs, and yeah, it was really, really cool. Did you see, well, I don't know how long the deleting of your social, you know, last day, but did you see the fake highlight that was put together of?

No, I'm never seen that a million times. I figured it I figured as much. Yeah. Absolutely. Every single meme or everything, every, I mean, every golf social media thing platform. I mean send it to me directly. So there's people out there that I think still think that actually happened. It's circular. It kind of felt that way when he made that, but no, guys, it's fake, right? It's amazing. I was like, look at back. You went three, one, and one, and you played really, really a golf in the presence cup.

That was the last image of it. I'm sure you got it. What the hell? It was, I mean, I was really gutted. Because just imagine, you're saying something to kind of about your hero, right? Like, I realized this guy growing up. And then all that happens, he was like the other way around. And then you lose, and then you lose the cup.

So I was really down for a little bit. I was like, man, that felt brutal. And he sucked. Maybe if he would have still won, he would have been a little bit better, but still is like, man, that was not the message I was kind and he sucked. Maybe if he would have still won, it would have been a little bit better, but still it's like, man, that was not the message I was kind of getting across, you know? So I kind of, I didn't like that at all, obviously, but sometimes it kind of goes,

I'm like, you gotta be careful with, I guess what do you say? Even if you're saying something good. Oh, it's good to say. It's like a lot of the way a lot of those things go is if you heard, if somebody heard you say it, it would hear the context and all that stuff. But if you, if you take a quote, somewhat out of context or make whatever you

want out of it, it's a, it's hard because you want to be, you know, you want to show us a personality and talk and tell stories and things like that. Yeah. It's 100. It's a tough game. You guys have to balance. Yeah. I feel like now everybody now is like whenever they're like on interviews,

they have to really think of like what they're saying like it's kind of crazy But it's just the world we live now and yeah, everybody's like just kind of scared of what oh Maybe I should have not said that you know, it's like yeah, it doesn't feel as free as it just like you do You want to say what you want really do you end it with like I'm really glad I said that almost always yeah you want. Rarely do you end it with like I'm really glad I said that almost always. Yeah, he's like, I'm surprised you didn't have done that. That was that was maybe a bit of a mistake. But what was it? So you said play a matigar, you know, in stroke player and events, he's chatty and whatnot. What is what do you chat with him about? What is the what's he what's he open up about? Well, I mean, he just ran them stuff. We played in Mexico. That was a really cool experience

for me. That was the first time I played with him. And he was a WC event. I was the only Mexican playing it in Mexico. I mean, everybody was there. I mean, all of Mexico felt like it was there. And I was so nervous. I was like, I've never been this nervous in my life. It's crazy. On the first team. And then thankfully, he took off first, and I'm there. I'm my hands are sweating. I was like holy shit I was really nervous and I mean I can just I I just looked and I was looking around like why are you looking around all these people And then the announced tiger and it's a short par for kind of very dribble you hit like three wood on the green and he snap hooks it OB And I was like, okay, you cannot be that bad then I like if you did that I'm like, okay, it's gonna be good then, I was like, if you do that, I was like, okay, it's gonna be good then. I happened to hit a decent shot, make par, whatever.

So I was like, okay, that kind of made me like relax a little bit, but I was really, really nervous. And I can't, I mean, I can't remember anything really specific. I remember going on the, and it was like whole seven, walking down to the green and Tiger had his, his putter probably one of the most popular club in golf and really in history or the most valuable. And my caddy's like, hey, yeah, Tiger, can I see your putters? Just like that was like, oh God. And I was like, he grabbed it like nice. Like, yeah, he grabbed it.

He's like, man, this is a little beat up in it. And he was like, yeah, I was like, no, just please give it back. I was like, I don't want you to do anything. So he's like, oh, it's a lot lighter than I thought. He's like, no, just please give it back. I was like, I don't want you to do anything stupid. He said, I want it's a lot lighter than I thought. I was like, he just grabbed nothing. I was like, man, what are you doing? But he was super cool about anything. And yeah, he was, like I said, he was very, very cool to play with and super, super nice.

And then match play is definitely a little different story. With the Swiss. That didn't surprise me. I missed that tournament, man. That was such a fun tournament to watch on TV. WGC Mexico. I mean, that was, is it, so it sounds like it is way different for you,

you know, playing in Mexico. Is it, are you, where, where is, what kind of star power do you have? I don't know how to ask that in Mexico. Are you a big deal in Mexico, more so than in the States? I mean, maybe like in the golf world, I mean, if you, I can go anywhere,

and I won't, I mean, golf, like I say, is very small. But yeah, I mean, it's, I think me and Carlos right now on the PJ tour, it's helping grow the game over there, which is really exciting. So with the kids, you start noticing a difference now when you go somewhere. There's a lot of kids that are pumped up about golf. That's what gets me really, really excited. That's where I've noticed the most difference. And I love that. I really like to inspire kissing and grow the game down there. And a lot of families are putting a lot of money into it to, for example, the Salinas family starting the first team in Mexico.

That was huge, which is the same family that kind of brought the WC to Mexico. So all of that, I mean, it's been tremendous what they've done. And so many, so many guys that are putting in an effort and me and Carlos having some solid years out here and they're getting us a little bit more on TV and starting to get recognized. I mean, they're starting to realize that golf is pretty cool and it's growing. So yeah, I'm really, really excited about that. There's maybe an obvious question,

but I don't know how it fits with your schedule, bro. Are you playing the Mexico championship this year? The new tournament on the PGA tour? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I figured as much. I'll be there. It would be pretty bad if there's two guys on the PGA tour and we didn't go play the tournament.

I figured as well. We got a support. And yeah, I'm always, every time that I get a chance to play in my home country, it's amazing. How did that tournament come about? Or do you know anything about it? Or the course that it's going to be at? I don't think a lot of people know that's a new tournament on the schedule this year.

Yeah, a new tournament. So, it's same family that WGC just made more sense to have it as a normal event. I think just sponsorship-wise, whatever it is, but we definitely... We get the Gru of Salinas commercials back Exactly improving Mexico's image in front of the world. There you go but also It's cool that it's gonna be the mix that makes it makes it open. So that's that's really really neat I feel like I mean you get hopefully I think we're gonna have a really good a really good field

That turn the the course I actually never played it before. I know it's just outside Porto Vallarta. It's gonna be, I think it's gonna be great. Vidanta, it's a really good resort. They do it right, so I'm sure it's gonna be a blast, man. So back on the president's cup, what's the dynamic been like this year with Captain Trevor, our moment of you guys?

At team meetings along the year, what's the camaraderie and the outlook for this year with Captain Trevor, I'm a man of you guys at team meetings along the year. What's what's the camaraderie and the the outlook for this year's team looking like? Yeah, like I said, I think Ernie set the pace of like, what it should be like to to make it more of a team. And I think Trevor is just following those steps really, really well. I got to know him really, really good that I felt like

that week I got close to Trevor. He was he was walking with me on that, on that Sunday, in other rounds as well. So yeah, he's been, he's been awesome, super approachable. He, I mean, obviously he's a great, great player himself and just knows now he kind of seen with, with Royal Melbourne what he needs to, what he needs to do. And yeah, we're having some dinners and just hanging out. I mean, just getting to know each other and feel more like a team, I think, is just the biggest thing. And I feel like it's been working now. I mean, I've made some great friends that we come in. The Aussies, they're super good.

I mean, they're amazing to hang out with and play golf with, obviously, all the Latinos. We have a great bond. But the South Africans, I mean, Louis, it just now, it feels like we are good friends, you know, and we like to play with it against each other. And yeah, just go hang out, really. Yeah, I'm excited for this year.

I hope I think Ro Melbourne helped make a great competition. I think it made the two teams, it just made it a lot more less of a driving contest, which I think is very good for golf. Yeah, absolutely. No quail hollow is going to be more of a driving contest, but I do hope it is a good competition. How well would you, how well versed are you would you say in all of the current ongoing,

on the periphery of the PGA tour life, threatening leagues, all the news that has been going around recent weeks and months, how involved are you in any of those conversations? I mean, not really involved at all. I just like I said, I was like, man, I just like to play golf and I like I said, I stayed really busy in my off weeks and I just want to play against the best plays in the world and you just try to win some tournaments. So I don't like to really get involved in like politics or anything like that. So I don't like drama. Are there things that you see on the PGA tour from your eyes or for many ones eyes that you think,

all right, these are my kind of top things that I think the tour needs to improve on? That's a really good question. I feel like maybe there's a lot of guys that I play in, let's say this week or next week or whatever, that are playing really good and You don't really see him on TV. I feel like it doesn't matter who you are It just you should be if you're playing good. You should be you should be up there, right?

So maybe a little bit I mean for that I think for sure that needs to get that needs to get better But other than that, I mean, there's a lot of perks that are amazing to get better. But other than that, I mean, there's a lot of perks that are amazing. And just like the history of you want to definitely like break some records or win some tournaments that you're kind of, you feel like you have a bond with or you're like, man, I really want to win that tournament, you know, just a history. But yeah, top of my head, probably that one would be the one that I'd be like, yeah, they need to show more guys that are in the, in the hunt that they maybe are not maybe as popular but I mean people want to see that right now we love to complain about television you can come on anytime

I talk to this not that but so you put you put yourself in the content category as far as how the tours run and things like that and for the most part yeah for the most part I Yeah, for the most part, I feel like, I mean, you can, I don't know, I'm not, I don't really like to think really much about negative stuff and like, I'm trying to think right now, but I don't want to waste your time here. Me thinking of like, yeah, but on top of my head, that's definitely the up there for sure. So Masters is around the corner. You've played in it twice. You played the 2020 and 2021.

What's the learning process been like for that golf course? And then you played in two very different Masters, I would say, just a few months apart from each other. But what is it like to try to, you know, what is it like to try to learn how to compete on that golf course? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I played that first time and he was a completely different golf course that I played in April. I mean, remember hitting five or aiming three was in five woods right at the pin and the April you didn't sniff looking at the pin so it was completely different. I played really really good that first time I was in the final group and I was like

holy smokes I mean that was not expecting that but you just I like to just go even though if it's a master's or the US opener whatever just there's a golf course you just got to figure it out it doesn't matter you play against these guys all the time. So it's just not, you need to put more pressure on yourself. It's just a golf course. I don't like to, even though it is one of the coolest places on Earth, right? But you don't want to, I don't want to be like, oh my god, this is like scary.

No, I just, just figure it out. You just have to play some golf. And yeah, it takes, it's definitely golf course that the more you play, the more you feel comfortable with, and it understands where to hit it, and where not to hit it. And I feel like every year you go, or every time you figure something out that might help you the next year. But like I said, that first year I had some success, and then I played better than my second time around.

So it's just, like I said, you just got to be on your A game and you just got to you can miss. What was it like watching watching DJ blow blow the field away like that on that Sunday? Yeah, I mean, it was I mean, it was ridiculous. So it was it was so soft and he was just bombing it and just hitting it on a, I mean, a frozen rope all day, putting well as well. So I mean, yeah, I mean, like I said, if I get to a golf course where it's soft and a guy like DJ is hitting it straight and his wedges are dialed and I mean, and he's putting good, then there's not a lot

really you can do, right? So I definitely need the fairways to be firm and you can roll out and the stuff and you got to do more than that. You say that you were in the final group of the masters. You did pretty well. I was I was striping my four and five iron like my in my five wood. But and I was I was I was putting well. But if I if my four iron and five iron were dead on, then I would have not even been close.

You know what I mean? So yeah, like I said, it definitely will help to be longer. But if I mean, I feel comfortable with my long arms too. So. Do you sleep all right the night before playing in the final final group of the masters? I actually slept pretty God. I thought it was like, there's no chance.

It helped probably that there was no people that year. So it has that big of an effect on just energy, and pressure, and whatnot. Yeah, you can go both ways, because sometimes you feed off like the crowd, you make a puddle, you feed off like the crowd you make a puddle you get pumped up. Here you make a puddle you're like, you're like, try to pump yourself up, you know? But yeah, definitely when you get to like 11, 12, 13, maybe on 12, you're a little calmer

still really nerve-wracking but you definitely, probably will definitely feel the difference of like when you have a thousand people right behind you to like have nobody there. Have you made any trips to Augusta this year? I have not actually. No, like I say, my week's off. I know, you're busy, man. It's a stay.

Part time golf or full time entrepreneur, it sounds like. Yeah. It's been, yeah, this past couple of years are being really crazy, but I like it, man. I enjoy it. Yeah. What will you make any trips to Augusta ahead of? I'm going to try to make it at least once, yeah. Is it, I mean, how different is the course tournament week versus outside of tournament week?

I think it's, well, in November, that was just weird. It was just the grass was really long and they're trying to get the grass healthy. And it was like half bent or half overseas and half Bermuda, so it was strange. It was super slow and it's still beautiful, but it was very different. And then in April, it was kind of more where it's supposed to be,

but it's definitely softer and not as fast. Tournament week on that Monday, I mean, the Greens were purple. I was like, it's Monday, like, they were like this table. were purple. I was like it's Monday like there were like this table rock solid. I was like this is going to be insane. But they have the ability to they actually got softer. I thought as the yeah like on the weekend, I thought it was softer than on Monday. It was crazy. If you were to look around on the entire tour and you could trade out any one of your skills for any one skill that someone else has on tour. What would you choose? No one ever knows

that answer this question. No, no, no, I kind of like this kind of questions here. Well, like if I have to switch my whole game or have to make a... I want to put like so and so. I want to drive like so and so. I can, you know, you're swapping out one one area of game that of yours for another players. What would be the most beneficial? Man, I feel like I've rolled it pretty decent in a couple of years, but you can always make more putts, right? Brennan Todd seems to be the most consistent stat wise on on putting. He rolls it every time that I play with him. He's wedge a game and

putting is always really good. So yeah, anybody like that will be great to switch budding But like I said, you want to stay confident and I'm sure I'm confident with my putting as well Maybe I'll go like I said with the driving somebody that just pounds and hits the fairway out there a lot Rory probably the way you were describing DJ's driving to it was like, yeah, that's probably pretty good It's a DJ and then Rory maybe have a maybe a little less fairways, but I mean, gaining 20 to 30 is not bad. Yeah. What was, tell me about the Olympics this past year, is that, you know, I feel like it's been a weird kind of ride for golf fans getting into it and understanding

the importance of it. Where does the importance of that event rank for you? It was, it was a lot cooler than I I I thought it was going to be really cool but it was awesome. I was like man I cannot wait to to try and make the team for the next time and I think it's in Paris if I'm not mistaken. It was it was awesome just playing you were not you're not playing for money you're just playing to win a medal for your country you've I felt I mean all I feel like all of Mexico was right there. It was beautiful. It was awesome.

I got messages non-stop. I mean, it was really, really neat. The golf course was amazing. It was beautiful. It was in perfect shape. It was a little bit weird, not. We were unable to leave because of COVID and all that stuff. So we had to be, I love the Olympic village.

It was a really cool experience being with the best athletes in the world, from the whole, I mean, from the whole world in the same spot. Yes, I was one of the shortest guys there. Everybody was just absolutely ripped and just super tall. As like, man, this is just really cool, man. And there's some guys that, for example,

some guys from like, friends, I ran this in the football team, they'd play in Mexico and I was just really cool, man. And there's some guys that, for example, some guys from like, friends that are in the football team, that play in Mexico. And now it's just really, that was really cool, because I grew up watching this guy play. It's pretty neat. What what will have to improve for if from here through the end of the season, if you do blank, you're going to have a very successful season. How would you answer that question?

Just make more puts. Just make more puts comes out of that. It'll be a good season. Yeah. Awesome. That's it. We'll get you out of here. We're recording this year during players weeks. So I'll say best of luck in the players championship is coming weekend. I love dude again sometime. Absolutely. Bro, thanks for having me. You bet. Get a right club. Be the right club today. Be the right club today. Yeah. That is better than most.

How about in? That is better than most. Better than most. Expect anything different.