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Celebrating 15 Years of the RSM Classic: Golfing Legends, Rising Stars, and Heartwarming Victories
PGA Tour legend Davis Love III joins us to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club. Discover the heartwarming journey of this beloved tournament, from its modest beginnings to becoming a cornerstone event on the PGA Tour, raising nearly $50 million for charity. Davis shares personal stories about the integral role his family plays in the event's success, with special mention of his granddaughter Eloise's contributions. We also discuss the excitement of this year's special guest, basketball star Caitlin Clark, adding a new layer of enthusiasm to the event's vibrant community atmosphere.
This episode dives into the shifting landscape of professional golf, highlighting the PGA Tour's strategic decision to reduce exempt players, aiming to nurture emerging talent and enrich the competitive field. Insightful perspectives from rising stars Sam Ryder and Rafael Campos illuminate the challenges and triumphs faced by golfers in this dynamic environment. We also share moving personal narratives of perseverance, from overcoming the swing yips to battling health issues, showcasing the resilience required to thrive in the sport.
Join us for a heartfelt celebration of Maverick McNeely's recent victory at the RSM Classic, where his journey epitomizes dedication and the joys of professional golf. We reflect on the supportive networks that fuel success, including Maverick's inspiring Team Mav, and the cherished moments with his biggest fan—his grandma. As the golf season winds down, we encourage listeners to embrace the off-season with gratitude, emphasizing the importance of family, friendships, and the pursuit of passion on and off the green.
This is PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN there. It is PGA TOUR COUNTDOWN for the RSM Classic Week, Sea Island Golf Club, the Seaside Course At one of my favorite places, actually where my parents used to live when they were on this earth, and that's St Simons Island, Georgia. Beautiful place, Fantastic venue, and Davis Love and the rest of the boys love it up there and they had a really good time. So we had a chance to hear from Davis Love early in the week and I want you to be able to listen to that. A replay of that interview in the Media Center as well, as we will give you the winner's interview. I'm not going to tell you who it is yet if you don't know, but we have the winner's interview live from the Media Center.
Speaker 3:So, that being said, let's get started with Davis Love. So, that being said, let's get started with Davis Love and tournament host of the RSM Classic, into the media center. Here, davis, we're celebrating the 15th anniversary of the RSM Classic when you guys launched this tournament in 2010,. Could you ever imagine that it would become what it is and the impact that it's made, both competitively and with charitable giving?
Speaker 2:No, we can't think that far ahead. I think it was close to 17 years ago when the idea came around and maybe 16 years ago when we were introduced to RSM who was McGladrey at the time? And last night they presented a very big check again. I don't know if I'm allowed to say how much until we go take the picture outside. Very big check again. I don't know if I'm allowed to say how much until we go take the picture outside, but this is going to push us close to $50 million in charity.
Speaker 2:When our friend and Commissioner, tim Fincham, told me I would lose money the first year and Robin didn't like that idea and we actually made some money and to see where it's gone is pretty incredible and I say it all the time. You know we're maybe the smallest market on tour. I don't know if bermuda counts lower than us or bigger than us, but we're right there and incredible partnerships with rsm and, you know, yamaha pro-am today and so many of our friends and um supporters and partners have made it possible. But no, we never envisioned it. You know we've changed a lot in the fall. The fall has changed a lot in 15 years. We've changed a lot, but now we've settled into a great date and a great time of year and a great story this week of guys, you know, trying to keep all kinds of playing opportunities going for next year. So you know it's amazing where we've come and how big it's gotten.
Speaker 3:And the RSM Classic truly is a family affair. You've got your entire family out here working. We're joined by your granddaughter, eloise, who I hear is overseeing a lot in the merchandise shop. I did go shopping earlier today. There's some great offerings. What can you tell us, eloise, about merchandise this year?
Speaker 4:It's good we're having a lot of sales. It's very fun to work there.
Speaker 2:I was just telling the guys from PGA Tour Productions that my mom and dad bought for the pro shop at Atlanta Country Club and the Atlanta Classic and the first players championship. So I was in the merch tent before it was called a merch tent the outdoor golf shop, I think is what it was called and to now have my daughter, lexi, in charge of that and my niece Lizzie, and Eloise thinks she runs the merch tent but before you guys got here and this was set up, this was where all the merchandise was. So Eloise might help out on Saturday and Sunday in there, but she was in here tagging all those clothes with all Lexi's friends a couple of nights, late nights the last couple of weeks. So it's fun, it's a family affair, like all my friends and family and 1,200 others volunteers make this term happen.
Speaker 3:Excellent. With that, we will open up to questions. If you have a question, please raise your hand and we'll get you a microphone. We'll start here.
Speaker 2:Give her your microphone.
Speaker 5:What do you think of the new changes that are going to take place on the PGA Tour, the reduction from 125 to 100 and all that?
Speaker 2:kind of thing. Well, I saw Ludwig said he didn't know what was going on, so I can't use that answer. No, you can't.
Speaker 2:Because I read it finally last night because I knew this would be coming. But I think it's like slow play. The size of the fields and the exempt number of players has been around on tour as long as I've been around. The question is, you know, how do we what number is the right number and how do we get a guy that gets his card enough tournaments to play? I think now I was a part of the board for a long time. I was part of the restructuring of the board and getting to the point where we are now and then they've let me go, which is great. So I really didn't know this was all coming.
Speaker 2:But field size and getting players into tournaments has been a big deal for a long time and I think now they've really solved that and to the average person who looks at what happened or what was announced, it solves a lot of problems for the younger guys and it gives them access. You don't want to get your tour card DP, world Tour, corn Fairy or however you get access and then only get in 12 or 14 tournaments. You want to be able to play and compete. So I think they've solved it. Obviously it's been a long time coming Literally my first time on the board. That was an issue back then. I'm excited about it. If I was a young player I'd be happy to know if I got a card I could get out there and play.
Speaker 7:Davis had just walked a few holes with Caitlin Clark. Pretty cool to have her show up here. I was just curious for your thoughts on that and whether or not you got to meet her at all.
Speaker 2:I'm surprised that it hadn't leaked out more that she was coming. Everybody did a good job of not, or it would have been a mad rush for her and Tom Brady and Matt Ryan and all the others out there. But pretty incredible what she's done in what, what she's done in her sport and what she's done for sport and what she's doing for golf. Um, I haven't played with her or seen her play, so hopefully, um, she continues to grow in her game. And you know, last night Matt Ryan was at our draw party and we've all accepted that Matt Ryan's a Sea Island golf guy. Now, you know, and that's what's so great about golf is, you know, Adam Wainwright that grew up here, or people that come here and play golf. You know, it's good for our sport. So, Caitlin, obviously, and great that she's here, and I think she's going to be with us in the putting contest, which is a highlight of our week, so inspiring a lot of golfers and basketball players and young girls. We're thrilled to have her.
Speaker 7:I had that same thought, that it was surprisingly low key. I'm covering the term, but I only heard yesterday Sounds like that was on purpose.
Speaker 2:It was 100% on purpose. I don't know whose rules they were, but we had to keep it really quiet. I know that there was a bunch of sales on footballs in Brunswick last night. I hate it for for Tom, but there might be a few footballs and Sharpies out there today, but that got out. But it's exciting. It makes our tournament bigger. You know, when you have Toby Keith or Darius Rucker or Cole Swindell or Jacob the people that come and support the tournament and support golf, having them around is exciting. I hope I get to get out there and get my dozen footballs signed. Thank you.
Speaker 3:Any other questions?
Speaker 8:You've seen a lot of golf over the years. What impressed you about Scotty's season and what do you think it?
Speaker 9:was that allowed him to separate himself the way he did.
Speaker 2:Well improved putting. Um, well improved putting, you know, um, I remember us at the 22 president's cup lining up our golf cart so he could put a little bit more in the dark because he was so mad about his putting. And um, it's hard when you have a, you know, a, 5, 10, 15 footer every hole for birdie and they don't all go in, you can get a little frustrated. I think once he gained some confidence with his putting then the ball striking even got better, which is hard to imagine. But statistically, tee to green for the last four or five years. It's just been incredible. And then I think putting and confidence is hard to beat. If a guy's making putts and he's really confident, it's incredible.
Speaker 2:And I go all the way back to pick in. I guess it was Stricker's Ryder Cup and everybody on the team said no, scotty Scheffler is getting ready to bust out. Just watch, love it for him. He's such a great kid and it's amazing how many great young men we have out on the PGA Tour and it's nice that Scotty's playing as well as a great young man that he is. I remember when he played here and donated a bunch of money to College Golf Fellowship and I've known him since he was a college player, so it's great to watch him and a bunch of the other young guys really playing well.
Speaker 8:Can we get a status update on your game?
Speaker 2:It was better today than it was Monday. I'm gradually getting better. I had surgery in April, so I've had a long comeback from a thumb surgery. Apparently, thumbs are more intricate than hips my hips I just bounce right back and I thought I'd do this with my thumb, and it's been a long process. But it was better today and I'm excited to be playing. This is only my fourth tournament of the year that I've showed up at and I feel better this one than the other three. I was not very good at Jim and Tabitha's tournament in Jacksonville, so I'm feeling better and hopefully can get in shape for next season. Justin Parsons always asks for one season where I'm not hurt and I haven't given him that quite yet, so hopefully I'm headed that direction question for both of you then what's a favorite item in the merch tent you want to go?
Speaker 4:first sure um, definitely the hats. I really like the hats because they sell out the most and they're really hard to get.
Speaker 2:You have to come the first day um, yeah, and I was trying on hats in there the other day when they were putting them in their little cubbyholes and I found a couple camo hats that I really like and Lexi said you better get it now. If you want to get one, that's well, maybe we'll just make a reorder, but um, would you like to tell your story of your RSM hat from last year?
Speaker 4:So I didn't wear hats last year and I decided I wanted to wear one. So my mom gave me hers and it had already sold out. It was a very popular one.
Speaker 2:Big RSM letter.
Speaker 4:And somebody asked me if they could buy it from me and I said yes, because why not buy it from me? And I said yes because why not?
Speaker 2:um, I don't, I don't know who it was, I kind of forgot, but somebody did, and my mom got really mad at me. Well I'll? She kept getting asked and we said well, why don't you just sell it right off your head, highest bidder? She came running in the next day $106. And Lexi said but that was my hat, it wasn't your hat. So yeah, hats are popular and I bet sweatshirts tomorrow morning will be very, very popular. It's going to be cool.
Speaker 10:One quick one about the FedEx Cup fall. I mean, as things change a little bit, you're in a unique position to talk about this because your tournament's part of this. What's your take on it? I mean, how has this been a success for the tour? Has it been something that has built the storylines that we all hoped it would, or is that not the case for you when you look at it?
Speaker 2:Well, it has changed a lot. You know, we've obviously been around 15 years and we've been all different kinds of tournaments. But the great thing is, when you get a partner like RSM, you get people that buy into the PGA Tour platform. They've been rolling with the punches Because what we have here obviously with Sea Island and obviously with his date and with a great sponsor and great golf courses, we have something special and the amateurs and the sponsors love it. Now do we get the the best field on tour? No, but we get a really good field and we get a consistent field every year and the community loves it. So we're in a unique position that, no matter what you throw at us, you know, I think we can adapt and make it work for what we're doing, which is raising money for charity. And you know, if I'm asked to come and make a presentation to the board, the only thing I would say is don't lose sight of the fact that this was built to donate money to charity. And, yes, we need playing opportunities, yes, we need investment, yes, we need bigger purses, better TV ratings, but it was built for charity and as long as we keep that, it doesn't have to be the number one thing, but as long as that's a big part of what we do, then the fall is important because, one, it gives playing opportunities and two, it drives charity dollars and three, it eliminates competition from somebody else. We just go away. Somebody will take the spot.
Speaker 2:I remember back in the old old days when the tour ended, we went and played two or three tournaments in Japan, you know, or the silly season that Freddie Couples dominated, you know. Why not give pga tour players opportunities to play really good golf tournaments? Um, in the fall. So I love, I love the fall. And um, obviously, rsm has found that they love the week before thanksgiving and cian loves week before thanksgiving. So it's, it's worked great and there are a lot of great stories here. You know, the tour will tell you all the reasons why. Um, this is an important week and it really is. Somebody popped up in the draw last night 122 on the FedEx list and Sam Ryder and he had played good last week and like oh, wow, this is a big week for Sam Ryder. So there's a lot of good stories like that. David, did you get a chance to meet the new father and first-time winner, rafael Campos, this week?
Speaker 9:and chat with him. He's walking around on cloud nine this week.
Speaker 2:If you know anything about his game. I know a little bit about his game just from watching on TV, but no, I haven't seen him yet. I've been running like crazy and I wasn't around much yesterday. So I will seek him out, though, and congratulate him. There's a bunch of guys like that that have won tournaments that I haven't seen this year because, as I said, my last PGA Tour event was this one last year. So I can walk out on the range and I need her to have a media guide. Help me a little bit. Make sure I'm talking to the right guy. I saw Francisco Molinari out there today. I was like holy cow, I didn't even know he was playing. I better check the field list.
Speaker 4:Any last questions for Davis?
Speaker 5:Are you going to play two different tours next year, or are you going to play one tour?
Speaker 3:Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:I hope so. I keep saying this year after year You're tired of hearing me. If I play about 12 or 14 more tournaments, I'll have the all-time most PGA Tour starts, but I keep getting hurt. The last 10 years I've probably played five of them, so I'm behind physically, but I still want to break that record of Mark Brooks' and I still want to play good on the Champions Tour, which I haven't done yet. So yes, I'll try to play some on both if I can get a little bit more ball speed and putts to go in, I see that your CJ Tour profile says you've got 790 events, yeah, and if Helen Ross was here she'd tell you that I've played more than that Because my British Opens didn't count.
Speaker 2:But there's a lot of other guys that their British Opens didn't count I actually and Jay Haas was at 799, and he went backwards to 798, and then he went back to 799. So he needs to play one more to get 800. But what did they take away A President's Cup. They counted mistakenly or something. So I would lobby for again, when I get to go talk to the board again Count all the president's cups, and then I can pass some guys.
Speaker 3:Alright, any last questions Alright?
Speaker 2:thank you all very much, thank you.
Speaker 4:Good job, Eloise.
Speaker 1:So there you have Davis Love, in his own words, live from the Media Center, st Simons Island, georgia. God, what a gorgeous place it is up there. We're going to get toward the winner's interview, but Brian Harmon had some things to say also that I think are of interest early in the week that you may want to listen to. So we're going to go to him, but what I want to do before we do that is I want to tell you about something that I'm involved in, that I do all the time. I'm having a blast with it. I'm having more fun making more money, believe it or not, and I'm not a big gambler, I really don't know how to do it. But PrizePix fabulous sponsor of Golf Talk America and PGA Tour Countdown well, it's the only real money daily fantasy platform with an injury insurance policy okay, injury insurance policy so your lineups stay in play even if one of your players gets injured. If your player leaves in the first half and doesn't return, prizepix keeps your lineup live. You got to sign up today and get $50 off instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed, guaranteed, okay. Prizepix is the best way to win real money.
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Speaker 11:Okay, we'd like to welcome Brian Harmon into the interview room here at the RCM Classic, making his first start on tour since being a member of the winning President's Cup team. Brian, welcome back. If we can get a little comment on the state of your game and what have you been up to lately?
Speaker 12:Yeah, just trying to enjoy some off-season stuff. Played a little bit, not really sure where the game is. It's like I said, it's off-season full-on for me, but I'm happy to be here and figure out what I got.
Speaker 11:Yeah, this will be your 13th start at this tournament. I know it means a lot to you, St Simons area, Sea Island. Just comment a little bit about this tournament.
Speaker 12:Yeah, davis Love is one of my favorite people on this planet and I couldn't imagine not playing in this golf tournament. I'm super stoked to be here. He's been an inspiration throughout my entire career and he's become a dear friend as I've gotten older. So this community and everything it stands for, this golf tournament means a lot, so happy to be a part of it.
Speaker 11:And I know you mentioned it's the offseason for you at this point. But let's talk about the season. If you can just recap it for us, it was your 13th straight season finishing in the top 100. I know not getting to Eastlake was tough on you, but just comment on the season if you can.
Speaker 12:Yeah, I had a couple chances to win. Felt like my game was in a good spot most of the year Offseason stuff just trying to figure out how to take the lid off and maybe have a couple more exceptional weeks. Not so many good weeks.
Speaker 11:We'll open it up to questions. Let's start with Rex.
Speaker 6:Did this feel like a true offseason, maybe for the first time, and kind of a two-part? What did you work on? Was there anything specific you wanted to clean up with your game?
Speaker 12:Yeah, last offseason and this one were the first two that I've really gotten to experience as, like you know, in a comfortable area where I could stop, pause, really examine where my game was and where I kind of wanted it to go and to be really intentional about my time. Yeah, for I guess 11 or 12 straight seasons. The fall was still a part of the FedEx Cup for me, and so not having that mental break in the fall and the winter was yeah. I mean you don't really realize how much it taxes you until it doesn't.
Speaker 6:And to go off of last night's news as far as the plan to cut field sizes starting in 2026, as someone that was kind of involved in this process, why did you think these changes were important?
Speaker 12:Well, it's presented to us as a PAC and we have, you know, I can't even begin to elaborate on how many discussions that we had and ideas going back and forth. You know, daylight's a big thing, can't finish. The tour's been expanding for the last I don't know how many years, and it just we're trying to come up with the best possible product for for television, for the players and to make sure that people have pathways to get in and and so it's so nuanced and it's so detailed that it's not like a short interview about it isn't going to do it justice. But we were in the room, we discussed every possible scenario and this is kind of what everyone came up with.
Speaker 11:You have to go Ryan and then Sean, or either way, sean and then Ryan, so you described this full off season.
Speaker 8:What does that look like then? What have you been doing?
Speaker 12:well, I've spent a lot of time at my hunting place my farm got a lot of big plans for it trying to get my boat back up and going. It's a wreck. I don't know if anyone's owned a boat, but when one thing starts breaking, they kind of all start breaking. So trying to get that situated, my house was falling apart, getting all that. You know you spend all this time on the road. You don't get to do the stuff that you know you would normally do Taking care of your house, taking care of all your stuff, getting everything kind of in order. That's just been a big reorganization fall for me.
Speaker 8:How much work on the game has there been?
Speaker 12:Very little, but I still think about it all the time, even if I'm not physically doing it. I'm thinking about, like you know, my swing and my game and where it's at, it's never far off. I don't feel like, are you going through swing thoughts?
Speaker 8:while you're at work on the boat, or what are you?
Speaker 12:thinking no, it's it's. It's kind of how it's, it's how I disappear and become, you know, kind of alone, right? Um, it's where I do a lot of my thinking about what I want to do, how I want to approach that, because there's always something that's driving you crazy about your game, whether it's your tee game or coming into the greens or around the greens or putting. There's always something that's never all together. So there's always different ways to attack different areas, and that's where I do a lot of my good thinking. All right, ryan.
Speaker 13:Just to go back to the changes that were approved, if you're a golf fan, what do you think is the main benefit that they're going to see in the coming years?
Speaker 12:I just, you know, I think you'll see guys play a little bit more. In my opinion, I think when you reduce some of the field sizes, you'll get some more players. With the season being slightly more condensed, I don't feel like guys will take as big of breaks during the year, and so that particular part of the season is going to become more and more important and so I think you'll see guys kind of playing a lot more to build momentum and I don't know that's a good question. I have no idea. That would be my initial opinion, but I haven't given that a ton of thought.
Speaker 13:And I guess for you personally, it just seems from the outside like everything is getting less or there's fewer. If you're a team of members, one day qualifier, potentially tournaments, so on and so forth. For a player, what makes you most excited about what was approved yesterday?
Speaker 12:what makes you most excited about what was approved yesterday. So for me, the smaller fields, I feel as though when we get into some of these 156-man fields I mean you can look at the parking lot out here, there's nowhere to park. We'll go in this. There's two golf courses, thank goodness, but 156 on one golf course. I mean it's hard to navigate a practice round, it's hard to navigate where to get food. I mean, logistically it just makes it a lot tougher.
Speaker 14:So for me the experience of a 144 or 120 as opposed to 156 is better for a player. All right, ron. One of the reasons behind this, at least given to us, was pace of play not being able to finish. Is that just a whole separate discussion? How to fix the pace of play thing, that's a perpetual discussion.
Speaker 12:We play the hardest golf courses that you can imagine. Part of that's part of the pace of play problem too. Our rules officials were involved with our discussions about field size, and so a lot of it's just math. Like you know, starting on 10, turning into, there's only a certain amount of people that you can fit with daylight on each side of the golf course. And look, I'm not numb to the fact that you know we're cutting opportunities. It's not something that sits well with me and it doesn't sit well with anyone that was in any of those discussions, but all these decisions that get made, they're not all good or all bad. So we're looking at every single kind of pro and con to every piece that moves around and trying to figure out the most equitable, fairest way to have a great product while at the same time providing enough playing opportunities for everyone.
Speaker 11:Okay, back to Ryan.
Speaker 13:How's the sausage get made? I mean, how many you want to know how literal sausage gets made? No, I've got a general concept on that. Yeah, you do five parts lean meat one part casing yeah, of course I mean. How many hours would you guess that you're spending on this?
Speaker 12:I mean it felt like there, especially over the last eight months. I mean we've divided our pack into subcommittees so you've got four or five specific people that will just discuss one like a pathway, and so it's very intentional the way that all of it got discussed, and they're really hard conversations to have because I mean, for me, I've been on every side of that token I've been 100 to 125, right, I've been 70 to 100. I've been 1 to 20. So, like I understand how all those blocks feel and for me, like having to discuss how that stuff gets moved around is extremely, extremely difficult and it's not comfortable. But you look at all of the information that's presented and you do your best to make the best possible decision for the most amount of people.
Speaker 13:How would you characterize, I guess, the general mood? Would it be optimistic, anxious, somewhere in between?
Speaker 12:Yeah, I would think optimistic. I mean all the talks that we had have all been really positive and everything that we've been trying to do is it's all forward thinking. We're not just trying to. You know it's easy, as a person just want to maintain status quo, like, oh, we're comfortable here, we're doing pretty good. But you know, we're trying to push the envelope. We're trying to make changes that are beneficial for everyone. Now, I mean who knows? I mean who knows, I mean we have the data. We look at everything, you do your best and then you evaluate after time's passed. That's all you can do. Which one of the subcommittees were you on?
Speaker 12:Oh hell.
Speaker 11:Which one was I on?
Speaker 12:Competitions and regulations.
Speaker 6:And how would you gauge, not among the pack but among the players? Since this sort of became public about a month ago, what's been the reaction you've heard from the other players.
Speaker 12:Well, it's hard to separate. You've heard from the other players well, it's, it's, it's hard to separate. Yeah, if, if, if you're one of the guys that you feel like you're going to be affected by, you're very upset by it. I mean that's and, and I understand that I would feel the exact same way. Um, but there's, there's a there's a ton of different ways to look at it. You know, for the first half of my career, I finished top 50 two or three times right, two or three times out of four or five times.
Speaker 12:And what you were rewarded for that was essentially not much. You got to start your season the same time two weeks later at zero. You weren't in any world golf championships, you weren't in any majors. You weren't in any World Golf Championships. You weren't in any majors. You weren't in any bigger tournaments. And now, if you go out and you have a nice year on the PGA Tour, you finish in the top 50, you're in the elevated events. I mean you have an incredible opportunity and that opportunity is because you had a great year and for me I feel like that pathway. You've never been more rewarded for playing great golf right now, and I think that's a really cool place for the tour to be in. All right, a couple more, can we just?
Speaker 13:get back and forth. I'm not trying to take you off your farm, but having now had a true offseason, would you be able to welcome in the future playing tournament golf again in the fall, particularly if it's overseas in Europe or other parts of the world?
Speaker 12:I made a trip I played in China five weeks ago. I certainly am not opposed to making trips in the fall. The mental thing. For me personally and this is completely my personal opinion it was really hard to get done with the second or third playoff event, tour championship and to have not won and then for the year to start two weeks later. For me that was extremely taxing because I had poured everything I had into the playoffs and then you get one week off and then it starts over again. For me, 10, 11 years of that, it was just like you literally never got more than a week of a mental break. I thought that was a lot.
Speaker 11:Good, All right before we close, Brian, now that we've talked about golf, I know that there's a personal family situation that you wanted to address that's been on your heart here recently.
Speaker 12:Yeah, so I'll try to make it through this as best I can. When I was in China, my son was, my wife took my kids and our family friend Kathy Dowdy down to Ponte Vedra for vacation. My son was involved. He was out boogie boarding with one of his really good friends Got ripped out to sea by just a rip current. We get them here. It's not something that's abnormal, but this was an abnormally bad one. Kathy Dowdy, who's been a family friend really we call them family friends, but they're family she went in the water. She went in the water after my son he's six Couldn't get to him. Another gentleman coming down the beach, crane Cantrell, jumped in. He makes it out fine.
Speaker 12:Kathy injured really badly in the water. She's been in a coma for going on six weeks now and so obviously our world down here was kind of turned on its head. And you know, I don't really know what I wanted to kind of say other than I wanted to use whatever platform I did to bring awareness to what kathy did, what crane did. Um, they disregarded their selves, went into the water, saved my son and son.
Speaker 12:And how you thank people like that, I don't know other than to just say what you think and I thank that bravery. And doing something like that for people who aren't your blood is just the most beautiful thing you can do in this life. So Kathy's still hurt real bad. She's up in Savannah and we're thinking about her. The outpouring of support we've gotten from the Glynn County and St Simons community has been another one of the just most touching things I've ever experienced and for all we've been through and for how terrible it's been for Mike and Christina and Nicole, you know they're family for us and we're with them to the end and I appreciate everybody that's helped us out through all this and you know prayers for Kathy Yep.
Speaker 11:Our prayers are with Kathy and we wish her a speedy recovery. Thanks, brian, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:So there you have, brian Harmon. Now guess what we're going to go to the winner, maverick McNeely finally became a winner in the last tournament of the season. During his fifth year on the PGA Tour, he hit a six iron to five feet for birdie on the 18th hole at Sea Island Golf Club. He shot a 268 and a one-shot victory in the RSM Classic Picked the right time to end nine holes, didn't he, without a birdie, even as so many others were making them, to create a four-way tie for the lead. Wow, great job. This victory was his 134th start as a pro, but it sends him to Maui this year at the Century, and to the Masters in April, where we will be the Golf Talk America crew, of course, at the Masters. So let's get to it. Congratulations to Maverick McNeely, and let's hear from him in his own words.
Speaker 11:Okay, congratulations to Maverick McNeely. We'd like to welcome our 2024 RSM Classic champion. Maverick, first PGA Tour win the 10th player to record their first at this event. What's going through your mind right now?
Speaker 8:Mine's going blank, honestly. It was an unbelievable adrenaline rush there, especially on 18, and starting to come down from it a little bit, um, but I it's. It was a moment I will never forget, getting to celebrate with my friends, my family, my wife, my team. Um, I'm bummed we don't get to uh see them next week and there's not a tournament next week, so we can all uh-five and enjoy it. I know they're all watching and I know they're all really, really happy and I'm so, so glad I could get one for them. And Mom and Dad they're watching at home. They're all excited. They were my first phone call. Maya knew her job is, if it went well today, to get them on the phone as soon as possible, walking off 18. So I'm the luckiest guy ever.
Speaker 11:You opened up the week with a career-low 62.
Speaker 8:Just comment about that and the entire week as a whole of what went so well this week. This was a week I wasn't really expecting to play well, to be honest, this is a golf course that I haven't had much success on. It's a golf course that requires really good iron play and it's a golf course with really slick, dormant Bermuda greens which, as a West Coast guy, is not my most comfortable putting surface. So I kind of came here with the attitude that I wanted to learn and figure out how to play here and, you know, played so well on Thursday. It kind of affirmed all the work that our team's been putting in and the changes we've made this year and made the weekend a lot more exciting.
Speaker 11:All right, we'll open it up to questions. We'll go to Brantley and then go to Dove.
Speaker 9:Mav, what did your dad say to you on the phone in that little bit?
Speaker 8:We were mostly just making fun of mom because she was crying, but I think we were all just kind of laughing and smiling and in general disbelief that it just happened. I mean, seven years of it's been eight years since I've won anything um golf wise and uh it's. I've had a couple really close calls um things not go the right way at the right time and um it felt like things were going that way a little bit on the back nine today, uh, but kept in it, kept executing the shot in front um scout, kept me really grounded, uh emotionally out there and uh realized on 18 that two good golf swings could, uh could be exactly what I I wanted, which is this thing yeah, I mean you've for seven or eight years you've kept a lot of things the same.
Speaker 9:You know same agent, same sponsors, same equipment for the most part. But two new pieces have kind of come into your life. Well, one into your life, one in a different role. But how have maya and scout like how did they, how did they prove themselves the missing piece to make you a pj tour champion?
Speaker 8:I would say that playing professional golf and trying to win a golf tournament late on Sunday is designed to make you as uncomfortable as you possibly can. The holes are challenging. The golf course plays about as hard as it does all week. In those conditions, you're hitting golf shots that potentially could change your life. Um, and that's the amazing thing about this tour is that you have a potential to change your life every given week. But having two people that ground me, um, believe in me more than I believe in myself sometimes, um and just you know, unconditionally in your corner is it made all the difference in the world.
Speaker 8:And I felt that all year I played more golf than I have just about any other year, and I had way more fun because Maya was able to put her life on hold and travel with me all year, made five-week stretches, ending with a top six in Phoenix this year. It was one of those key moments where usually I'd be counting down days until I got to go home and instead I had a great week to finish there. We did five out of the last six, three of which were international, and we were having such a fun week here and then scouting on the bag the moment that it really came full circle to me was on 17 on the green. I had 10-something feet for birdie and things weren't going so well at back nine and he cracked a joke and made me laugh and that settled me down and said you know what? Just play my game and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 11:Let's go Doug and then Cam.
Speaker 14:It's not safe for work. What was it? What did he say?
Speaker 8:It's not safe for work. What was it? What did he say? It's not safe for work. There's two kinds of jokes. There's jokes that you can share and there's funny ones.
Speaker 14:so I'm sorry, that's okay. Maverick, what else in life has made your mind go blank?
Speaker 8:Seeing Maya walk up the hill when we were about to get married, that was a moment Now. Um, yeah, those two really, I'm sure, when you know if we have first kid, that would be a life changing moment. Um, but, yeah, I mean we're. You know, family for us means everything. Uh, my parents have always treated me and my three brothers like a team and, uh, you know, everything that I remember is is family related. Um, you know, I miss playing college golf and playing on a team and, uh, I felt like I had more of a team with me this year than at any point in my my golf career and that, I think, has been a huge difference maker for me.
Speaker 14:And lastly, would you mind just going over the six iron on on 18? What you, what you saw, what you wanted, all that good stuff yeah, six iron.
Speaker 8:Um the last three weeks I've hit six irons that have gone 120 yards and six irons that have gone 240 yards, based on the crazy condition. So it was different for me and Scout. When the wind started to die down we were actually trying to hit specific numbers and then it warmed up, ball started flying far, so it was 185. 185 is usually a perfect seven iron but it was in off the left. 185 is usually a perfect 7-iron but it was in off the left. I knew that pin was slightly on the backside of a grain change and knew that putting from long of that pin was great.
Speaker 8:I've been working on hitting cuts and I just thought with a little I told Scout 195, 6-iron. 6-iron is like 200 clubs. I didn't need to kill it but I just knew to hit a good, solid one. And he told me compress it, just smash down, take a divot. Scotty Hamm's coaching has been pretty simple lately. He says swing left and take a divot. So I just swung left, took a divot. All came out right on line, dead center of the club face, and it couldn't have been a better time for it, cam.
Speaker 5:Two, and it couldn't have been a better time for it. Cam Two questions. One, are you playing a new version of the Pro V1 this week and I wanted to sort of hear what you saw in testing or whatever that caused you or enticed you to change. And then also was, having won that many times in college and coming out to be a professional golfer, was there sort of an unspoken expectation that you were just going to keep doing that at this level and did that kind of get in your way?
Speaker 8:Uh, first question on the pro V1. Um, I, uh, I'm an equipment free agent and I think the best part about that is there is zero pressure to change or switch any equipment. You don't have to play the new model if something comes out, and really just the peace of mind from knowing that I can play whatever I want is something that my agent, peter, and I have talked about wanting this year, is something that my agent, peter, and I have talked about wanting this year, and at Shriners, the range ball we practice with switched from the 23 to the 25 Pro V1. So I'd seen it fly. It had really done not much different than what I was used to seeing, except it was maybe slightly closer to the 2021 ball, which was probably my favorite ball through the air from Titleist. But I said once I locked up top 60, I would switch balls and obviously Bermuda we didn't have the ball shipped over there so I didn't have access to them. I said I'll play it at Sea Island, see how it does under the gun, and then, in the wind on Thursday, it performed unbelievably well. I was really excited. Every ball came out exactly how I wanted to held the wind, went through the wind and that gave me a ton of confidence.
Speaker 8:Second question about expectations coming out of college. Yeah, there were a lot of expectations. I really feel like my college career was. I made my entire college career in like a 15-month stretch. I won 7 out of 12 tournaments in 2015. And that was I blacked out for a year, year and a half, and then I didn't really play as well Finishing out my college career. I didn't hit it well enough and I feel like at every point at some point throughout my career, every part of my game has been elite. Lately it's been driving 2023, I was number one strokes gained putting. I'm one of the, I think, top ten in strokes gained around the green this year and in college it was my iron play that separated, so I knew all the pieces were there. They just hadn't fit together and the exciting part for me is that the iron play has been trending very strongly the last four to six weeks especially, but really the last couple months, and that was, for sure, the missing piece that was holding me back from winning.
Speaker 15:Maverick, I spoke to you and Scout in Memphis. I think that was pretty early on, when you had him in the bag, and you mentioned, when you guys were speaking, that it was going to be through the end of the year, but if you were to get it a win, you better stick around through Augusta. Is that still the plans for you and Scout, and what's it look like going forward after this?
Speaker 8:So actually when we were in Japan, I offered Scout the job. I said if you want the job indefinitely, it's yours. And he said if you want the job indefinitely, it's yours. And he said I'll get back to you. I was like, well, that's a little rude, but he got back to me on the range in Mexico on Wednesday at Worldwide and it's been really cool. We've invested a lot in not just playing well in the given week but moving my golf game in the right direction and we're having some of the most fun ever. We played with Camillo last week in Bermuda and he talked about the times with his brother on the bag were just some of his most fun memories ever and he's learned a lot about me. I'm learning a lot about him, and all four of us shared a room growing up, so we're as tight as can be with all four brothers, so it's a pretty awesome McNeely team we've got.
Speaker 9:Brentley and then Adam. There's a lot of people, I think that would argue. The valleys make the peaks that much sweeter. What's the valley that you look back on that makes today so special?
Speaker 8:I look at. Well, there's a couple moments that come to mind. The first is, I would say the lowest of the low was when I had the full swing yips at the end of 2018, right before the Corn Fairy Finals, and I couldn't make it through nine holes without going through a dozen golf balls at tpc summerlin. So that was the lowest of the low. Um, I called my caddy travis and said, trav, um, I don't think I can go to columbus next week. And, uh, this is one of the most pivotal phone calls in my life. He told me get your butt on the plane, we'll figure it out. This is one of the most pivotal phone calls in my life. He told me get your butt on the plane, we'll figure it out. And we went there. I hit it 50 yards right off the first tee and we somehow made the cut. So that was the bottom-out point.
Speaker 8:I had changed a lot with my equipment, my golf swing, but that was the low point. But I think what really is validating about this win is that in college I had no expectations on me and everything seemed to happen by accident. It came really easily and kind of caught me off guard. To be honest, I just blacked out for a year and a half and won more than half of the tournaments and uh, and then, when things aren't going as well, kind of building everything back up step by step, and I feel like I'm way more experienced, a way better player, and I feel like my golf games foundation is so much better now than it was even in 2015.
Speaker 11:Okay, over to Adam.
Speaker 10:Congrats, thank you. Did you think it was going to take you this long, though, to get a win?
Speaker 8:um, in some ways, I was prepared for it to take 10-15 years. I didn't know. Um, the cool thing about professional golf is that you have the chance to change your life any given week and it doesn't matter what happens the week before, two weeks, before. You know, rafa compost is an amazing example of that where, uh one, you know, it takes all year to have a bad year and it takes one week to have a great year and, um, you know, I thought it could have happened my rookie year. I thought it might take 10, 15 years, I don't know. Maya was uh chatting with me when I was maybe a little, a little bit being a little bit dramatic, but a little bit frustrated, and she said well, if you were going to, if you knew you were going to win, like in six weeks, would you do anything different? I said, probably not. So six weeks, I did get my win. So, no, I wouldn't have done anything different.
Speaker 10:If she didn't like the milk and cookies here so much do you think you would have played this week?
Speaker 8:I probably would have. I mean, we don't have kids, we're traveling around the world, living the dream I'm playing on a PGA Tour there. That's what I said. They're handing out a trophy this week and I get to play professional golf. That's what I said. They're handing out a trophy this week and I get to play professional golf. I read the biography of Rafa Nadal and he talks about playing every week like it could be your last. You never know what's going to happen. You never know how your game is going to be. I had an opportunity to play on the PGA Tour this week, which is something that people would give anything for. I mean, yeah, I, people would give anything for, and, um, I mean yeah, I'm so glad I came when you were injured last year, were you concerned that this day might never happen.
Speaker 8:I never lost faith that I would be back better than ever and in a lot of ways the break last year helped me reset and make some changes golf swing wise that I needed to make.
Speaker 8:It's really hard to make changes throughout the week when you're competing, because and this was actually a huge breakthrough I think over the last couple of weeks that allowed me to play the way I have is that when you're in competition, the competitor in you will do anything necessary to make that ball go at the hole, even if that means overriding all of the things you're working on in your golf swing.
Speaker 8:You will make a bad golf swing to make that ball go at the hole. So Scout had me overdoing all of the things I was working on in my golf swing Monday through Wednesday so that by the time I got to Thursday I would kind of regress right back to where I wanted to be. And I don't know I would kind of regress right back to where I wanted to be, um, and I don't know if I would have been able to make the big swing change. I moved mountains in terms of swinging right to swinging left, uh, during my time off, and I don't know if I would have been able to make those changes if I was competing through that whole time.
Speaker 11:All right, let's go to. Let's go to Doug and then Kevin.
Speaker 14:I need a memory refresher Pulled out after one round in Zozo. What was the reason there?
Speaker 8:So that was crazy. I went to bed feeling jet lagged but completely normal on Thursday night, woke up Friday morning and if I moved my head this much, the world spun and I started just completely nauseous throwing up. It ended up being a viral infection of my inner ear, like a 1 in 100,000 thing called labyrinthitis. So my left ear was anytime my head moved, my left ear told me that it was upside down and my right ear told me it was right side up, and I had to carry me to the bathroom at 5 in the morning because I couldn't walk. I was so dizzy. So I'm really bummed that it happened at that time, because that's one of my favorite tournaments Long way home. I'm glad it wasn't anything chronic, yeah.
Speaker 14:Kevin, I'm just looking at a bigger picture. What do you think next year is going to be? There's so much speculation on schedules. Who's playing? What's at stake to your exemption? You've never had a problem keeping your card anyway, but how do you see next year going?
Speaker 8:Well to your exemption. That's kind of cool. I was joking with Scout that now that I've got top 60 locked up, it felt like I was playing with house money the last two weeks I was like man, this must be what it feels like to tee up on a winner's exemption. It's kind of nice winner's exemption. It's kind of nice Playing signature events next year.
Speaker 8:I'm not sure what I get into. Three of them, Three to start with. Do I get in majors Masters? That's pretty cool, That'll be fun. And the PGA, Nice. Yeah, I don't really know what comes with winning, but I do know that next year is going to be a challenging year, playing for 100 cards and I guess I don't have to you know the pressure's kind of off in that regard and that I'll still have my card the year following. But it'll be fun to go out there feeling a little bit more free and playing to win. That was a big realization of mine starting my sophomore year of college, that it's more fun to play to win than playing to not screw up, and I think I'll have a lot more freedom to go out there and try and win a few more of these.
Speaker 11:All right, let's go. Kevin and Cameron, did you switch? Irons to start the fall.
Speaker 8:I did. I switched to TaylorMade PMC 7. I actually don't know what they are, but they go straight so I like them. What was the genesis of that?
Speaker 8:change Globally in my golf swing. My swing direction was way right and so everything was a big draw. I couldn't hit any flighted shots, cause if you hit down creates more path to the right. So then it was just a mess. So I realized I had to swing left and hit more down. And those irons, compared to the blades I was using, they have more bounce and, um, they kind of if if I swung the way I was swinging before I'd hit them all thin. So I had to feel like I was smacking down on them. And Mike Taylor, who built all my irons through college, he says that the tools train the player, and so this was kind of a preemptive tweak to have my equipment help me make the changes that I wanted to make with my golf swing.
Speaker 7:And you mentioned Travis. I know he was with Caddy for you for seven years and not on the bag anymore, but what has he meant to you in your journey in kind of helping you?
Speaker 8:get to this point. Well, for one, trav suggested I use these irons. He ordered them for me from TaylorMade without even telling me, and I just got home and saw them at the door. So I owe him an assist on that. But he worked. He took a chance on me too.
Speaker 8:A lot of people did right when I turned pro and we grounded out for two years on the Corn Fairy Tour saw you there a bunch and had five amazing years on the bag. He worked day and night hard. Even in his off weeks he was thinking about how he could help me play better golf and, uh, I would not be here without him. Uh, I would not be. Uh, you know, like I said, the one of the most important phone calls, if not the most important phone call of, uh, my entire career, was when he told me to get on that plane to Columbus, when I thought, man, if I show up at this tournament, I'm just going to embarrass myself. And he got me there and we got through 72 holes and that was a turning point for which I'm forever grateful. So we did have a bet, though it was a thousand dollars to the charity of our choice for whoever got a win first. So, trav, I'm going to be holding you to donate to Birdies for Education.
Speaker 11:All right time for a couple more Cameron.
Speaker 5:I'm told that your grandma was too nervous to watch. I assume that means to watch the final, but have you had a chance to talk to her, to Grammy, yet, and what would be your message to her?
Speaker 8:I haven't gotten to talk to her yet. I've had a deal since my days on the Corn Fairy Tour where if I make $50,000 in a given week I had to send her flowers, and she doesn't seem to mind that that happens a lot more with PGA Tour purses than on the Corn Fairy Tour. It's kind of her bragging rights around the retirement home and then top 10 she gets chocolates as well, and my grandma's a witch, she, you know. If I forget to send her flowers, weird stuff happens food poisoning, clubs snap, balls crack it's the weirdest stuff ever. Um, so I gotta stay on that. But uh, I should probably get her something a little extra special for for winning. But she's my biggest fan. I know that her watching my golf in a lot of ways keeps her going, gives her something to look forward to and to the point where she won't let people talk to her when she's watching me play, and it's pretty special.
Speaker 11:All right, anything else Okay, yep, we'll finish with Brentley here, or Doug on the way to Brentley.
Speaker 5:Doug.
Speaker 9:I've got to Brentley, doug. What do you think your grandmother would think is special? What do you think?
Speaker 8:she'd like. I think she'd like this on her mantelpiece, to be honest. But yeah, she loves and uh, and we love her and um, there is, there's nobody that watches my shots more closely than she does and then you know, obviously this is the last tournament of the season.
Speaker 9:How do you keep the momentum going? What do you do to to use this victory moving forward?
Speaker 8:um, honestly, I think I'm going to have one of the biggest adrenaline crashes in my life the next couple weeks. Uh, we're going to go celebrate with our family for thanksgiving, then we're going to host a big group for our wedding celebration. We got re-eloped on december 6th and we are having a friends and family wedding kind of renewal of vows in front of everybody and a big party on December 6th this year and then we're escaping everything to go to Hawaii for five days. So acclimating for a couple weeks to start the year, I guess. But once I get back mid-December I'll put my head together with the team, get the game tuned up. I think I've got a really clear roadmap of where to go with my golf swing, keep swinging left, keep taking divots and keep working on my putting speed. But I think first order of business has been a long year, a lot of golf and a ton of adrenaline here at the end Relax, enjoy, celebrate with friends and family, and then I can't wait for the next season to start.
Speaker 14:Doug, you may not have been listening. Have you been to Augusta?
Speaker 8:I've played it twice, but never been there for the tournament. When did you play? I played my senior year of college, actually, with all my brothers, and my dad, mr Roberts, flew us out there for one of the coolest two-day boys trips of all time.
Speaker 14:This is a really lame way to end. I apologize, but you keep talking about Team Mav. Can you just kind of run through quickly who it is? Team Mav, you have a dog at home, that doesn't count, no.
Speaker 8:I mean that's, you know, my, my, my business is team maverick. Um, everything is, is all about being on the team. Um, if I try and name everybody, uh, I'll forget, but um, you know it's, it's all the people that work for me. You've got team nav performance, so swing coach stats guy. You've got team of performance, so swing coach stats guy. You've got caddy trainer, physio, that kind of thing. And then you've got team of business, so my agent, all of my partners, sponsors, who've invested in me.
Speaker 8:You've got an accountant. You've got Karen who manages travel and logistics and lost luggage and reminding me to send Grammy flowers, stuff like that, the important stuff. And then my family is a huge, huge part of my team, my wife, my centerpiece. And then I've just got an unbelievable group of friends and family that are always rooting and cheering me on. So it really does take a village to win a PGA Tour event. What does that village sound like? About 30? There's so many people that have their hands on this thing, but in terms of people that are on the payroll, 15. I don't know, I'm probably going to buy them a few nice dinners this offseason.
Speaker 11:Maverick have a great Thanksgiving. We couldn't be happier. Congratulations, Thank you.
Speaker 1:So there you go. You've heard from Maverick McNeely, brian Harmon and Davis Love III the last tournament of the year from St Simons Island, georgia, well, let's get on with it, let's have some fun. Enjoyons Island, georgia, well, let's get on with it, let's have some fun. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everybody it's going to be a great time and share it with friends and family. And please, god, don't talk politics at the table. Just have some fun and enjoy it for what it is a Thanksgiving. Okay, for the Golf Talk America Network and PGA Tour Countdown which resides on that network, and all of our other shows, like those Weekend Golf Guys and the Approach Shot, to name a couple. Check them all out. But please check out Prize Picks. Okay, it's fun stuff. Hey, for the whole team, I'm Frank Bassett, saying Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Hug a loved one, thank you.