He would probably be a 400-meter runner and he’d be kicking [Olympic gold medalist] Michael Johnson’s ass. If you think his swing is pretty, you ought to see him run.
No chance. This week [anyone] teeing up can win. That’s how deep the field is. Before, no more than 15 guys could win.
There is no comprehension by anyone on the impact this kid is going to have, not only on the game of golf, but on the world itself.
These guys are one of a kind. I just want to do my part, trying to help out as much as I can. As long as I can touch one person, I feel I’ve done my job. But I’m definitely going to try to do a whole lot more than that.
He’d rather golf than eat, and he’s a professional eater. He’d rather golf than sleep, and he’s a professional sleeper.
It’s like a drug. If I don’t have it, I go crazy. It’s gone beyond love and hate. I always tell people I’m addicted. I got to keep playing.
I said this: ““I want you to finish school because Jack Nicklaus did not finish school, Arnold Palmer did not finish school. Curtis Strange did not finish school.’’ He said, ““I promise you, Pop.''
The first time I actually started thinking about turning pro was after the Arnold Palmer decision was passed by the [National Collegiate Athletic Association]. That’s when I had dinner with Palmer and they ruled me ineligible to play golf because he picked up the tab.
I’ve been working on this for 20 years. I’ve been preparing him to be his own boss. I’m not like a mother. I prepare my son to leave. Mothers prepare their sons to stay home.
It came down to the point where he was reading the greens so good. They were perfect reads. I just couldn’t hit my putts. You take it out on the caddie sometimes. I got angry and I just fired my dad.
A metamorphosis took place. Everything clicked in – the things that I had been trying to tell him about the approach to the game: to absolutely abhor getting a bogey, distance is not a factor unless strategically used… It’s like dancing. You’re doing the mechanics, and then the music starts and it flows.
