0:12

Good afternoon and welcome to our show. We're talking golf. My name is Douglas

0:14

Maida and I'm your host for this

0:18

show. Well, it has definitely been a

0:20

slow start to the golf season.

0:23

But now that we are officially

0:23

into springtime, things are

0:25

beginning to heat up. And that

0:25

can only mean one thing in the

0:29

golf world, the start of major

0:29

season. Of course, for many that

0:33

means the Masters where some of

0:33

gold small story traditions

0:36

began. For the LPGA however, it

0:36

is the ANA Inspiration, which is

0:42

the first major of the entire

0:42

golf season. So today's show

0:46

will focus on the ANA

0:46

Inspiration, which starts next

0:50

week. Joining me today will be

0:50

Sophie Walker, who has been a

0:54

regular guest on our show. In

0:54

our first segment, we'll be

0:58

reviewing some of the Gulf

0:58

action from this past weekend on

1:01

the PGA and European tours. And

1:01

then in our second segment, we

1:05

will focus on the LPGA and the

1:05

an inspiration. Or for many of

1:10

you who will recall what has

1:10

traditionally been known as the

1:13

dinosaur classic. Now before we

1:13

get to that, we have a message

1:17

from our sponsor.

1:19

Today's show is

1:19

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We are proud to announce that

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recognized as one of the top 40

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PGA and LPGA golf podcasts to

1:55

follow in 2021. Now, back to our

1:55

show. Here is your host, Douglas

2:01

maeder.

2:03

We're back. Thank

2:03

you for staying with us. I'd

2:06

like to take this time to thank

2:06

you, our listeners and followers

2:09

from around the world who listen

2:09

to our show on a regular basis.

2:13

Without you we would not be able

2:13

to bring you this show. So thank

2:16

you again for your continued

2:16

support. Now in the world of

2:20

golf this past weekend, the PGA

2:20

Tour continued with its Florida

2:24

swing, having played the Arnold

2:24

Palmer classic a few weeks ago,

2:27

and just this past weekend,

2:27

finished up the Honda classic in

2:31

Palm Beach at the PGA national,

2:31

where Matt Jones had broken

2:35

wings drought, with a

2:35

comfortable five shot margin of

2:39

victory. The European tour was

2:39

also an auction at the Kenya

2:43

open. And we'll discuss that in

2:43

a little bit with Sophie. Now

2:46

joining us on zoom from

2:46

Manchester England is Sophie

2:49

Walker. For our regular

2:49

listeners, you will know Sophie

2:52

as a former professional player

2:52

on the ladies European tour. And

2:56

now as an analyst with Sky

2:56

Sports in the UK. Welcome back

2:59

to the show. Sophie.

3:00

Hey, thanks for having me.

3:03

Our pleasure, her

3:03

pleasure. So you're getting a

3:07

little bit of the golf bug,

3:07

which I'm quite sure as you're a

3:10

lockdown situation in the UK is

3:10

coming to an end very quickly.

3:14

Probably not quickly enough.

3:15

Oh, lockdown is

3:15

nowhere near and then we're just

3:19

going to be allowed outside.

3:19

Yeah, lockdown doesn't end till

3:22

July. Maybe? Um, yeah. The Gulf

3:22

will be open in England as of

3:29

Monday the 29th. And, yeah, it's

3:29

more annoying that it's open in

3:34

Scotland or Wales already. So

3:34

you're seeing people on the golf

3:39

course. But yeah, you know, it's

3:39

it's one of those things it's we

3:43

can't do anything about it now.

3:43

When it when Boris announced

3:46

that in January, four months

3:46

seemed a long, long time away.

3:51

So what's a couple more days,

3:51

right?

3:53

Yeah, I saw I

3:53

can't remember where I saw it.

3:56

One website or somebody on

3:56

Instagram had both done they had

3:59

a countdown clock on till till

3:59

the courses opening in England.

4:04

So yeah, I thought that was

4:04

rather cute. So Sophie, you're

4:12

quite a busy person. Let's chat

4:12

a little bit about some of your

4:17

other activities. I know you're

4:17

doing some work with golf a lot.

4:20

You're doing some some work on

4:20

fantasy golf pools and things of

4:25

that nature.

4:26

Yeah. So fantasy

4:26

golf is with the European tour.

4:31

So they have a race to Dubai,

4:31

just like most all seem to have

4:36

now. So that's what theirs is

4:36

called. And they have a fantasy

4:40

race to Dubai as well. So

4:40

similar to the PGA Tour one,

4:44

it's maybe a little bit more

4:44

simpler. You just pick six

4:48

eligible players. So for

4:48

instance, when it's World Golf

4:52

Championships, everyone would

4:52

love to pick Dustin Johnson, but

4:55

he's not a member of the European tours. They have to pick members of the European

4:57

tour. So Myself and Kate

5:01

Alexander. Every week we do our

5:01

expert picks and do a YouTube

5:07

video and just talk through what

5:07

who would suggest why would

5:12

suggest them we kind of do all

5:12

the hard work for people and and

5:15

then you pick your six and you

5:15

don't have to pick. You don't

5:18

have like a transfer Kitty, you

5:18

can pick anyone.

5:22

So yeah, you can just pick the

5:22

best players on the world

5:26

ranking if you want or you can

5:26

pick your, you know, your

5:29

favorite ones. That's been good.

5:29

And then golf a lot is a review

5:33

channel. It's owned by how did I

5:33

do, which is a app over here

5:39

that you book your tee times on

5:39

basically, and they help run

5:44

golf courses in general, as in

5:44

the tills locker rooms. You

5:48

know, like when you have a card

5:48

that you put all your stuff on

5:52

the on the card. So yeah, that's

5:52

pretty cool golf that's really

5:56

taken off this last year. It's

5:56

nice that they've got me

6:00

involved. We're doing some

6:00

women's golf club reviews, which

6:03

I don't think enough companies

6:03

maybe do and especially now the

6:07

big manufacturers are actually

6:07

yeah, taking note, I suppose and

6:12

that the big manufacturers are

6:12

producing the kit. So it's up

6:17

for tours to kind of get it out

6:17

there.

6:20

So who would your

6:20

picks be at the WCG this week,

6:22

if you don't mind me asking?

6:24

Well,

6:24

interesting. Like, it wasn't

6:27

Justin Thomas. And that is a

6:27

good thing because he is getting

6:31

pretty badly beat right now. So

6:31

yeah, there's been a couple of

6:35

groups of death. So but I did

6:35

have Jon Rahm to bounce back. I

6:40

felt like Obviously, these not

6:40

potted very well, but everything

6:44

else has been pretty solid. So

6:44

yeah, Jon Rahm was one. You

6:50

can't pick Speith I don't think

6:50

but. And then, Bryson, you know,

6:55

what I like about Bryson is they

6:55

cares? Like it is. Sometimes we

7:00

match play, you can get that

7:00

down that you just kind of give

7:03

up. Or if you're missing a

7:03

court, you can just give up. But

7:06

I feel like that is a good thing

7:06

that Bryson has his mentality.

7:11

He never lets himself let

7:11

himself down if you know what I

7:16

mean. Yeah, for us, for his

7:16

britse. And Rory struggles,

7:22

quite difficult. But hey, you

7:22

know, as long as he wins the

7:26

Masters, we're all happy, right?

7:28

Yes, I'm sure that will be quite the celebration. That would be quite

7:29

the celebration for sure. What

7:35

about somebody like Patrick Reed? Is he still a member of the European tour?

7:39

Yeah, he's in my

7:39

team. And somebody that just is

7:43

born for match play. So I

7:43

actually picked Ryan Palmer as

7:47

well, just because he's played

7:47

really solid this year. Like,

7:51

he's a good player, Ryan Palmer,

7:51

and they just need guys that are

7:55

going to hang around like

7:55

consistent players. Because you

7:59

know, you're playing Wednesday

7:59

to Sunday. So that's wings. Got

8:01

it.

8:02

How does it work? If you don't mind me asking -- for a match play situation like

8:03

this? I mean, do you pick a

8:09

certain group and you accumulate

8:09

points? And then whoever?

8:13

No, no, it's just

8:13

straight. It's not it's just so

8:17

you. There's 8000 registered or

8:17

buy points available for this

8:20

week. So it's all just got a

8:20

race to the buy points. Perfect.

8:24

Yeah.

8:25

That's very

8:25

terrific. All right. Well, this

8:28

past week, we had a couple of

8:28

interesting events for the PGA

8:31

Tour. They were in Florida as

8:31

part of their Florida swing, the

8:35

Honda classic in Palm Beach,

8:35

Florida. And Matt Jones --

8:41

Australian player Matt Jones,

8:41

who's been on tour for a little

8:44

while broke his drought and won

8:44

by a comfortable five shots. Did

8:48

you catch any of it by chance?

8:48

Or any thoughts about that?

8:51

Yeah, I just

8:51

think it's hype when you talk

8:54

about a drought of year it's not

8:54

won for seven years, but I feel

8:58

like somebody like Matt Jones,

8:58

he just just hangs around the

9:03

whole time and it's a bit horses

9:03

for courses with him he's got to

9:07

find a course which suits him

9:07

and him the dead the green

9:10

started to bake it was windy.

9:10

And it really suited his game

9:16

and and it just shows that the

9:16

quality of the PGA Tour and how

9:19

deep it goes. So I don't like

9:19

the term journeyman and all that

9:24

type of thing but there's just

9:24

such a massive pool of players I

9:28

mean, the guy that came second

9:28

only got in on a Wednesday

9:30

right? So that there is certain

9:30

tournament's where it's just

9:37

like anybody can win and I feel

9:37

100 obviously didn't have the

9:41

greatest field because of where

9:41

its position those type of

9:45

events you get, you get guys

9:45

like a Matt Jones or even like

9:49

Corey Connors the other year

9:49

that they just come through and

9:52

and take it just because of how

9:52

how good the quality is. I mean,

9:57

those last four holes on the

9:57

They're tough and, you know, to

10:02

fist pump hitting it on the

10:02

green. Like, as soon as he did

10:05

that, and seven feet, it's like,

10:05

yeah, that's one there. So it's

10:09

a real battle hunger, especially

10:09

in the wind. And he handled it

10:12

really well and just didn't give

10:12

anyone else a chance.

10:15

That's true. So

10:15

with the Honda classic, and Matt

10:18

Jones playing well, he's earned

10:18

his ticket to the Masters. How

10:23

do you think, he's a bit of a

10:23

streaky player? Is he not? Or is

10:26

he too much of a horse for a

10:26

course type of situation?

10:32

I mean, he hits a good draw, which will suit Augusta? I don't know like, you

10:33

can't, you can't pick anybody

10:38

outside the top 30 in the world

10:38

for the Masters really. And you

10:44

look at the stats, if you're not

10:44

in the top 10 or 11 players

10:48

strokes gained or stroke

10:48

average. There's there's no

10:53

point. So sorry, that like if

10:53

you're not looking at those

10:58

types of, you know, the bookies

10:58

favorites, then they're the

11:03

Masters is one of those fields

11:03

that isn't open, isn't it?

11:06

There's only 84 playing it's

11:06

25%. And then you can disregard

11:11

because they're rookies amateurs

11:11

or ex champions. So yeah, that's

11:17

I think the Masters is one of

11:17

the easiest to pick who are

11:21

going to win as in just that,

11:21

that group of players. I don't

11:25

see I don't see a breakthrough

11:25

from anyone else.

11:28

Do you have

11:28

somebody you think who might be

11:31

peaking at the right time to

11:31

play and compete at the Masters?

11:36

Well, like those

11:36

type of stats, I mean, it's JT,

11:41

it's Dustin, I can't see Bryson

11:41

making the same mistakes as he

11:46

did last year, I think you'll

11:46

learn from them. But if you want

11:49

like a little bit of an

11:49

outsider, and when I say

11:52

outsider, it's only like 25 to

11:52

ones. They're my outsiders. It's

11:56

kind of Webb Simpson, Patrick

11:56

Cantlay. Those guys really fit

12:01

the mold. And the stats. Yeah, I

12:01

mean, I would love Rory, Spieth

12:08

or Westwood to win. But I mean,

12:08

I think that's probably

12:13

He's been on a really good roll.

12:15

Yeah. But yeah,

12:15

he has. We all know what the

12:21

oldest major winner has ever

12:21

been. And he's older than him.

12:24

So.

12:29

But you never know exactly. What's the beauty of it, you still have to play

12:30

it. So the European tour was in

12:36

Kenya this past weekend, staying

12:36

there, again, for another event.

12:41

Not the biggest draw on the

12:41

European tour, but important

12:44

that it's bringing golf to other

12:44

parts of the world as part of

12:48

its mandate. And I think that's

12:48

fantastic. Any thoughts about

12:51

that event? And are many players

12:51

using that who aren't in the WC

12:56

g as a prep for Augusta?

12:56

Hopefully, or?

13:01

No, you won't ...

13:01

yeah, if I mean, if you're in

13:03

the WCC, or in the gosta, there

13:03

won't be many there that are

13:08

that at all. So it's very much

13:08

the challenge tour and maybe

13:16

outside the top people that

13:16

don't play much Race to Dubai,

13:20

like get through to the finals.

13:20

But that equally that that's

13:22

important. Talking about people

13:22

haven't won for a while Justin

13:25

Harding won. And you can see how

13:25

much that means to him. So these

13:31

these events are vital to keep

13:31

the tours going and to keep

13:34

these players going. And they're

13:34

down there two weeks in a row in

13:38

Kenya, they'll be really well

13:38

looked after the place looks

13:41

great. And yeah, we you need the

13:41

140 550 players week in week out

13:49

to keep everything going, you

13:49

know, that that the WCG are

13:53

amazing, but like we were

13:53

talking before, there's a pool

13:56

of players that, you know, like

13:56

the likes of Kurt Kitayama, you

14:00

know, really changed his career

14:00

around my career back on coming

14:03

on to the European tour, sorry,

14:03

you know, lost his Korn ferry

14:06

tour card a couple of years ago,

14:06

came over to Europe never played

14:10

in Europe before. And then he's

14:10

won a couple of times. So it's

14:14

important. It can really, you

14:14

know, help Brookes Koepka out,

14:18

didn't it? And he's not done too bad.

14:22

Right, well, and

14:22

that's where Brooks Koepka went

14:24

and played before he really,

14:24

really came back on onto the mat

14:29

came back made it onto the PGA

14:29

and that is success ever since.

14:34

We're going to take a short

14:34

commercial break at the moment

14:37

and when we come back, Sophie

14:37

and I will be discussing the ANA

14:40

inspiration, the first major of

14:40

the season in all of golf

14:44

season, and the first LPGA

14:44

major.

14:47

Did you know that

14:47

at the world of golf, we bring

14:49

you up to date coverage of the

14:49

LPGA major championships. With

14:54

the ANA Inspiration next week,

14:54

be sure to check out our

14:57

tournament coverage at

14:57

www.worldofgolf.org. That's

15:06

www.worldofgolf.org. You will

15:06

find a preview of the event and

15:11

stories from the media days,

15:11

there will be round summaries

15:15

and highlights. And we have

15:15

great little details like the

15:18

weather for Rancho Mirage along

15:18

with other tournament

15:21

information, so be sure to check

15:21

it out at the world of golf.

15:25

Now, back to our show.

15:28

Welcome back. Thank you for staying with us. Now. We're on to the ANA

15:29

Inspiration. As I said before

15:34

the break the first major of the

15:34

entire golf world, both Men's

15:38

and Women's Professional Golf.

15:38

And it's being held at Mission

15:42

Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage,

15:42

California. And like the Masters

15:45

Tournament, it is the only major

15:45

-- I shouldn't say that -- Now

15:49

with the inclusion of the Evian,

15:49

it is now one of two major

15:53

events on Women's Professional

15:53

Golf that is played at the same

15:56

course each and every year. So

15:56

Sophie, do you have any opening

16:01

thoughts about this year's any

16:01

inspiration, especially coming

16:04

off? Such a late playing last

16:04

year because the COVID break?

16:12

And then with KPMG in October in

16:12

the US Open in December?

16:17

Yeah. Well, we

16:17

all know the last 12 months has

16:21

been anything but normal. But

16:21

seeing the ANA back in this day

16:25

makes life feel a little bit

16:25

more normal fits in the schedule

16:30

nicely after the KIA and I know

16:30

it's an event that the players

16:35

really look forward to it's got

16:35

so much history behind it. And

16:39

yeah, we were saying it's like a

16:39

gusto in the sense that we all

16:42

know the golf course I've never

16:42

played Mission Hills, but I feel

16:46

like I know it. And and it's a

16:46

big deal, isn't it for these

16:49

players? And I definitely think

16:49

it's a big deal for the

16:52

Americans as well.

16:55

Yeah, there's a

16:55

lot of history there. It is the

16:58

oldest championship on the LPGA

16:58

well that and the the other two

17:05

(USWO & PGA Championship) but

17:05

its history is kind of rooted

17:09

very much in Dinah Shore and her

17:09

legacy and women's golf, and

17:13

Women's Professional Golf.

17:13

Always remember that event being

17:18

known as the Dinah Shore

17:18

Classic. And just the legacy

17:22

that Dinah Shore had with

17:22

women's golf. not too

17:25

dissimilar, I think from the

17:25

legacy that Bing Crosby had. And

17:31

Bob Hope had decades earlier

17:31

with helping men's professional

17:35

golf in America develop and

17:35

become a bit more of a stable

17:40

and recognizable force in in

17:40

sports and entertainment and

17:44

North America. So I've always

17:44

looked forward to it. I don't

17:48

know if Dinah Shore was as well

17:48

known offshore as she was here

17:51

in North America, but a

17:51

wonderful history. She was such

17:54

an entertainer, and it was

17:54

always a joy to watch,

17:57

particularly my memories of that

17:57

are in the 70s with all the

18:00

flashy clothing and all the

18:00

women's attire and kind of like

18:04

a heyday of golf, if you will,

18:04

at that time, or one of its

18:06

golden years in women's golf. So no "Blue Wall" this year.

18:08

Sophie, what do you think that's

18:12

gonna do? I'm silent some of the

18:12

critics from last year or

18:17

introduce a whole new element of

18:17

risk reward that hadn't been

18:20

there for years.

18:21

Yeah, I mean, is

18:21

there gonna be fans there? I'm

18:25

not too sure about the COVID

18:25

rules and stuff over there. But

18:29

it it didn't make sense last

18:29

year because there was no crowd

18:33

to sit around the back of it.

18:33

And it's basically like a big

18:37

sponsorship board. Which,

18:37

obviously, when, you know, we

18:42

saw the 18th hole and I know

18:42

that 18th hole for Karrie Webb

18:47

holding out from the fairway,

18:47

Lydia Ko, sticking it in close

18:50

just to beat England's Charlie

18:50

Hull. I don't want to know it as

18:54

all you remember when Brooke

18:54

Henderson hit it underneath

18:58

there or Mirim Lee ricocheted

18:58

off of the back, chipped in and

19:03

won the top like, you can't have

19:03

that on the 18th green. And I'm

19:08

like, it's one of those things

19:08

that I've never really

19:11

understood why it was there. And

19:11

thankfully, it's gone now. What

19:16

I would say is that I would like

19:16

to see that team moved up when

19:21

it is moved up. Because to come

19:21

in there with 5-woods, 3-woods,

19:26

it's not a green which will take

19:26

one of those it doesn't sit at

19:31

your that green, it's very flat.

19:31

And so it's quite easy to just

19:35

to skip over through the back.

19:35

So if it's a three shorter than

19:39

it's a three shot or when it

19:39

plays, what five over 550 yards,

19:43

I think normally, but when it

19:43

gets moved forward, it needs to

19:47

be able to take a hybrid or you

19:47

know, an Ann Van Damme with a

19:52

6-iron or a 5-iron, else

19:52

nobody's going to go for it. You

19:56

know, the only reason a lot of

19:56

these players do go for it is

19:59

because talks about backboard.

20:02

Right, right.

20:02

It's not as penalizing.

20:06

Well, no, it doesn't go in the water, so it's definitely not penalizing.

20:12

Okay, understatement. Yeah, I don't think there's

20:19

going to be fans at the ANA this

20:22

year. So I think it makes a

20:22

little bit more of a more sense

20:25

to take that wall, especially

20:25

when it started to become the

20:28

talking point last year after,

20:28

after the championship. How

20:33

would you find it? So if you if you were playing in

20:33

an event like that, and there's

20:35

no fans? Do you still have the

20:35

same sort of excitement as a

20:40

major? Does it still sort of

20:40

have that major feeling?

20:42

Do you think it

20:42

was never any fans watching me

20:45

so I'd be quite used to it.

20:49

Don't be so self-deprecating.

20:52

I think a lot of

20:52

players enjoy walking down 18

20:56

and high fiving the fans as they

20:56

walk over the bridge on Poppy's

21:00

Pond, but because of how long

21:00

it's been going on, everybody's

21:05

used to it now. It's not

21:05

something we want to get used

21:08

to. But yeah, I think for the

21:08

players, especially the ones

21:13

that have been there for so many

21:13

years, I think it's just a shame

21:17

that the fans have actually

21:17

become friends, I suppose. So to

21:22

not be able to, to stay with who

21:22

you normally stay with, or to

21:27

have the family that have been

21:27

watching you for, you know, 10

21:30

years and stuff like that,

21:30

that's got to be difficult. And

21:33

then going on to win to it. It's

21:33

not an anticlimax by any means

21:39

for the person that wins it. But

21:39

just to look back at the end on

21:43

the photos, and the you know,

21:43

the jumping into poppies upon

21:47

without doing it in front of

21:47

everybody, all that type of

21:50

thing. But it's the world that

21:50

we live in right now. And it's

21:55

not like if you Google it in 20

21:55

years time, there's a little

21:59

mark next to it saying literally

21:59

one that hey, there was no fans.

22:03

So it's not as important. Like

22:03

this is not the case. It's it's

22:07

still coming down the stretch

22:07

players are still going to be

22:09

feeling it. And, but yeah, we

22:09

want fans back as quickly as

22:14

possible. But fortunately, not

22:14

yet.

22:17

That's very

22:17

important I think -- the point

22:20

you made about looking back in

22:20

history or something like that,

22:23

there's not going to be an

22:23

asterisk next to it about the

22:25

fans. Maybe it asterisk

22:25

explaining why it was played at

22:31

a different time of the year,

22:31

but I think that would be about

22:33

it. This week, the players are

22:33

in Carlsbad for the KIA Classic.

22:39

Who do you think you should be

22:39

looking for? To do well are kind

22:43

of prime themselves in

22:43

preparation for the ANA next

22:47

week.

22:47

There's only one player that I'll be watching this week at the key classic.

22:49

And that is Michelle Wie.

22:53

Because she moved the needle in

22:53

women's golf and she's come back

22:57

she's had a baby. I swing looks

22:57

so smooth. Like it's rhythmical.

23:02

It looks great. So yeah, I think

23:02

she will. We'll definitely take

23:07

more of the viewership. We want

23:07

to know how she gets on. I mean,

23:12

who knows? The week nobody

23:12

knows. But that I think that's

23:17

nice that she's come back. I

23:17

think she's teeing it up at ama

23:19

as well. And I suppose it

23:19

depends how you look at it. I

23:24

think some people might, you

23:24

know, might see this as a warm

23:29

up for next week. But I don't I

23:29

think it's a totally different

23:32

tournament. People are getting

23:32

into time difference now. So

23:35

the Europeans that are out

23:35

there, the Charlie Hulls have

23:38

flown out there. There, they

23:38

need to get on the right time

23:41

zone. And they want to play this

23:41

way in for the ANA. But if you

23:46

win the care classic, then yeah,

23:46

you're gonna you're gonna feel

23:50

pretty good. Aren't you going

23:50

into going into ANA so I was,

23:53

you know, usual suspects that

23:53

started well. The Korda sisters,

23:59

Danielle Kang just signed a deal

23:59

with Titleist, which is great. I

24:03

mean, they're obviously going

24:03

out with each other for best

24:06

part 12 years. And I've finally

24:06

decided to tie the knot for

24:09

whatever reason. So that's

24:09

pretty cool. And But yeah, I

24:12

think it's really early in the

24:12

season, isn't it right now. So

24:16

it's unusual to almost have a

24:16

major without that much golf

24:20

going on. So we could see a

24:20

surprise, I suppose.

24:26

Yeah, you're absolutely right. Because this year, again, being a little bit

24:27

different, we missed the

24:30

Australian swing, which would

24:30

have been an opportunity to see

24:35

some of the players and how well

24:35

they're starting to perform and

24:38

peak for the springtime. So my thoughts about the KIA

24:39

Classic, it's a pretty demanding

24:43

course. It's gonna place a bit

24:43

of a premium on shotmaking in

24:48

terms of getting off the tee

24:48

nicely, because the rough is

24:50

pretty penal in Carlsbad, at

24:50

least at this this time of the

24:55

year where you know, you have

24:55

your most moisture. I think it's

24:58

going to be a very interesting,

24:58

but you're right. I don't

25:00

think, I think the KIA Classic

25:00

in and of itself stands on its

25:03

own and doesn't necessarily --

25:03

it's not necessarily used as a

25:07

preparatory event into

25:07

something. I mean, obviously,

25:11

you want to play it because you

25:11

want to have some rounds under

25:14

your belt before you hit Rancho

25:14

Mirage. But I think it's of

25:18

significant stature that people

25:18

want to win this in their own

25:21

right and, and put that title in

25:21

their resume.

25:25

So what about, you mentioned

25:25

Charlie and Lydia a couple

25:31

moments ago. What are your

25:31

thoughts about Charlie? She

25:34

swinging the club pretty well,

25:34

she's at least some of the

25:37

videos I've seen of her in

25:37

practice looks like she's

25:40

getting really sharp and

25:40

sharpening up her game. Any

25:44

thoughts on her or any of the

25:44

other European contingent?

25:48

Yeah, Charlie, I mean, she looks like she's swinging a bit slow doesn't

25:50

change she needs to stop holding

25:53

back I think.

25:56

Well, yeah, yeah,

25:56

I was gonna say but it kind of

25:59

looks like she's . . .

25:59

I'm joking, she gives he rips it.

26:03

No, I know. She

26:03

was gonna say yeah, she's

26:06

looking a little smoother. I thought,

26:08

Ah, Charlie,

26:08

Charlie, like a personality. A

26:11

personality is a golf swing. A

26:11

golf swing. And I love that

26:15

about her. She's a fast talker.

26:15

She's a fast Walker and she

26:19

swings it fast. It's great. I

26:19

mean, this is by far her

26:24

favorite major to perform well

26:24

in we already spoke about that

26:28

the second to Lydia, Lydia Ko

26:28

when she's at a tide seventh

26:34

tide six as well in the past

26:34

qualified there as an amateur.

26:37

So this court really suits

26:37

Charlie because it is a bombers

26:42

track, isn't it really the ANA,

26:42

the rough will be grown up, I'm

26:46

sure that you need to hit the

26:46

ball well of the tee and the

26:50

greens bake out. So you need to

26:50

be able to hold them and she

26:53

hits it high enough with so much

26:53

spin, like the spin and the

26:58

launch that she generates on the

26:58

golf ball is is up there with. I

27:04

mean, it's like watching a guy

27:04

sometimes on the range is

27:07

really, really impressive. And

27:07

you know, she was 25 at the

27:11

weekend. So maybe a bit of a

27:11

late birthday present for that.

27:15

That she she's always the one

27:15

that you kind of look for out of

27:19

the Brits, I suppose at the ANA

27:19

just because she's got such a

27:23

good record.

27:25

What do you think

27:25

the keys will be for her to

27:27

perform well at the ANA?

27:30

I mean, it's a

27:30

consistency thing, really with

27:34

Charlie. I know she likes coming

27:34

home. But I do think bouncing

27:39

around can be it can be

27:39

difficult coming back and forth

27:42

to over to America. But she

27:42

seems to she seems to be getting

27:45

quite used to that now. So for

27:45

me, Charlie just needs to hole a

27:50

few putts. And just to kind of

27:50

limit limit the mistakes

27:55

sometimes that Charlie ... she,

27:55

she throws in a mistake out of

27:59

nowhere. So but I think with

27:59

maturity and this course, she

28:04

now played it so many times. Has

28:04

got to help, hasn't it? You're

28:08

gonna learn from your mistakes.

28:08

And I'm sure her and Adam will

28:11

do.

28:12

What do you think

28:12

about Jinyoung Ko -- previous

28:15

winner didn't play last year? I

28:15

mean, at the ANA, now she's

28:19

back. I mean, she was looking

28:19

pretty good when ...with the

28:22

events that she's been playing.

28:22

I mean, it just like she didn't

28:24

seem to miss a skip at all. Just

28:24

boom, back into it. And she's

28:28

writing contention all over again.

28:30

Yeah, I mean, she

28:30

was playing in Korea, so she

28:32

just didn't play LPGA she chose

28:32

to stay and play KLPGA wanna

28:38

share ton of money and then gave

28:38

it all to charity, which was

28:41

pretty nice of her. So yeah,

28:41

just because they're not playing

28:43

over on the LPGA doesn't mean

28:43

that they're not playing at all.

28:48

And so a few a few of the Korean

28:48

players decided to stay to stay

28:51

over there. But funnily enough,

28:51

they came back to the CME and

28:54

they didn't fancy missing that.

28:54

So yeah, Jinyoung Ko just she's

29:02

good at everything. I think

29:02

that's there isn't a standout.

29:05

You know, you look at Inbee Park

29:05

and you think oh, wow, she puts

29:08

good or Lexi think why she's a

29:08

mile. Jinyoung Ko is just is

29:14

just an frontload she's better

29:14

than good. She's brilliant at

29:18

every single aspect of her game.

29:18

Multiple major winner. And,

29:24

yeah, you've got to look for her

29:24

to be right at the top. I think

29:28

if you finish above her, you

29:28

could be jumping into Poppies

29:32

Pond.

29:33

Yeah, I think

29:33

you're quite right about that. I

29:35

agree wholeheartedly. She, like

29:35

she doesn't have a weakness in

29:39

her game. She's very strong at

29:39

just about every single aspect

29:41

of her game. I mean, I can't

29:41

think of one that she hasn't

29:44

really excelled. I mean, she

29:44

might not hit it the farthest.

29:47

But she's got enough distance

29:47

off the tee and she's always in

29:49

the fairway more or less so that

29:49

she's giving herself a chance

29:52

and her game seems to be not to

29:52

hurt herself, and, and then be

29:56

there to capitalize when the

29:56

opportunities arise. So somebody

30:00

Also just come back this year

30:00

for the first time in quite a

30:02

few months. I think it's 15

30:02

months is Hyo Joo Kim. Now, the

30:06

last we saw of her in 2019, I

30:06

believe it was she had one heck

30:09

of a year. Was it 2019 or 2018,

30:09

where we had that multiple

30:15

winners year with regards to

30:15

some of the trophies at the

30:18

season ending honors. And I

30:18

looked at some of her playing

30:22

record in Korea this past year,

30:22

and she's just been continuing

30:26

that form -- just blistering

30:26

along. So have you any thoughts

30:30

about how she might come back

30:30

and kind of just miss not miss a

30:33

beat and just keep on going as well?

30:36

Yeah, the Korean

30:36

contingent is so strong right

30:39

now. And they are fighting to

30:39

get into this Olympic team in

30:43

Tokyo, it means so much to them.

30:43

So I would expect them all to be

30:49

playing in as much as possible

30:49

with World Rankings available

30:54

and playing as well as possible

30:54

also,

30:57

Which leads us to

30:57

another one of the Korean

30:59

powerhouse players of the last

30:59

couple of years and Sei Young

31:01

Kim -- a second major perhaps in

31:01

the offing?

31:06

Oh, yeah, I mean,

31:06

this is a big time player isn't

31:09

it? I really, really enjoy

31:09

watching it up tell by the way,

31:14

my voice changes, just that you

31:14

know, like at CME, like you play

31:17

like this is like millions of

31:17

dollars that you're going for

31:20

here and it just doesn't seem to

31:20

faze her, she really enjoys

31:24

putting yourself under pressure

31:24

situations. Whereas I do think a

31:29

lot of players are less

31:29

comfortable in those situations

31:33

you look in the men's games

31:33

someone like Tony Finau. Now you

31:36

can see him almost he tightens

31:36

up and have the pressure of

31:41

winning and put even seen that I

31:41

think with Lydia Ko recently,

31:45

you know, she's got in in that

31:45

position, she can tighten up go

31:47

backwards. Whereas this player

31:47

is somebody that just almost

31:51

seems to get better, the more in

31:51

the fight that she is like, it's

31:56

like, get me there. And I'm even

31:56

more comfortable. And also, like

32:00

when you talk about not wanting

32:00

to make mistakes, I feel like

32:03

she's a little bit braver as

32:03

well, -- she will go for that

32:06

bit more and be a little bit

32:06

kind of carefree if it comes off

32:11

or not like she's sensible, and

32:11

in the most part of our game,

32:15

but if you need to pull off a

32:15

shot, when it counts, she will

32:19

go for it. Like if she needs to

32:19

hit it onto the 18th green in

32:24

two and she's in between, you

32:24

know, she's gonna step up and

32:27

take the shirt off. And the

32:27

chances are, she's probably

32:31

going to pull it off. And that

32:31

was kind of like about her,

32:34

Yeah, I'll never forget that when she was first on tour. That image of her is

32:35

just ingrained in my memory --

32:39

seeing her first of all, when

32:39

she chipped in on 18 to tie

32:46

Inbee Park and then they went to

32:46

a playoff and then from the

32:49

fairway -- she stuffed it from

32:49

the fairway and just the

32:52

personality she brings to the

32:52

course I just you know, it's

32:55

very infectious watching and you

32:55

just can't help but stand up and

32:59

cheer that player when she's up

32:59

there and just 'go, go go'. I

33:03

mean, I just love watching her

33:03

play. She's fearless in that

33:05

respect. Yeah,

33:06

She sure is.

33:08

Yeah. You

33:08

mentioned Danielle Kang, she's

33:12

had a little bit of a slow

33:12

start. Do you think her games

33:17

moving in the right direction?

33:17

And what do you think some of

33:21

the keys are going to be for her

33:21

going forward? As we prep for

33:24

ANA. I mean,

33:25

I mean, slow

33:25

start that she didn't win twice

33:28

on the comeback because I mean,

33:28

stroke average is 69. Putting

33:33

the lights out and -- 'Okay,

33:33

yeah, she's had only a top 10'

33:37

or something. Yeah, she's not

33:37

played that much like she's,

33:40

she's well up there on the race

33:40

to the CMA. So yeah. She stayed

33:48

hot coming back after the COVID,

33:48

obviously. But she's a big time

33:54

prior. And she will be she will

33:54

be up there that that is for

33:59

sure. And I was saying about how

33:59

much this means the players. It

34:03

means a lot to her majors. She

34:03

plays well in America majors,

34:07

her record everything. And the

34:07

British (Open) is shocking. It's

34:10

almost like don't bother coming

34:10

over Danielle, which I know

34:14

she's going to try and improve

34:14

but get her in America with the

34:19

history of the ANA. And I think

34:19

that she will, she will be up

34:24

there. She was up there last

34:24

year to go on all right record

34:26

at the ANA as well. But yeah, I

34:26

wouldn't say too slow of a

34:30

start. She's just not won.

34:32

Obviously in comparison to last year where she came blissed out of the

34:34

starting gates after the

34:37

restart. I guess that's a little

34:37

bit of a curse when you set the

34:42

bar so high that you start

34:42

getting measured to to those

34:46

standards or those new standards

34:46

that you set for yourself.

34:49

And also in the

34:49

women's game it's really easy to

34:51

be overtaken like there's not a

34:51

dominant force, you know,

34:56

especially with the Korean players going back to play on KLPGA, it's opened everything

34:59

up. But, you know, you've got

35:04

Nelly one week, Jess the next

35:04

like, it's it needs, it needs

35:08

one of these players to stand up

35:08

and kind of dominate. Because

35:14

look how easy it is just, I

35:14

mean, not forget, but like, you

35:18

know, forget I suppose. But the

35:18

more events that played, you

35:25

know, with him played a lot this

35:25

year, the more everybody will

35:27

just fit into his normal place.

35:27

But yeah, I think it's nice to

35:31

see a few of the American

35:31

players playing well, and

35:35

winning. But with all the Korean

35:35

players now and the Thai players

35:40

and the -- Well, basically the

35:40

Asian players coming back, I

35:43

think we're going to really see

35:43

the cream rise to the top. So

35:48

the American girls need to need

35:48

to really start stepping up as

35:51

to the Europeans because this is

35:51

going to be a massive year for

35:54

women's golf. We've got the

35:54

Solheim, got the Olympics, got

35:56

the five majors. And there is a

35:56

lot lot to play for

36:00

Very much. So one

36:00

of the players on the American

36:03

side that I've been watching

36:03

over the last couple of years,

36:06

in particular with her

36:06

progression has been Jennifer

36:09

Kupcho. Now, I don't know if

36:09

you've seen much of Jennifer

36:12

outside of the majors. But I've

36:12

just been impressed with how

36:17

well she has steadily improved

36:17

her play. And there's been a few

36:20

events where she's been

36:20

contending. She wasn't able to

36:24

get it done on the Sunday, per

36:24

se. But she started to put

36:28

herself in the conversation for

36:28

potentially winning an event.

36:31

And she did well at KPMG. She

36:31

did well at the Shoprite Classic

36:35

prior. I am I think she's very

36:35

motivated to make the Solheim

36:40

Cup team. And I think she's

36:40

going to be a little bit more of

36:45

a leader of the younger

36:45

generation of -- and when I say

36:47

younger, I'm only talking for

36:47

five years difference. But for

36:51

some reason on the LPGA it seems

36:51

like it's a little bit more of a

36:54

gap than it would be, say in the

36:54

men's men's age groups. But

36:59

yeah, I think she's a little bit

36:59

of the newer, quote unquote,

37:01

generation of the American

37:01

players coming up that I think,

37:04

keep an eye on. Is that

37:04

something you'd agree with? Or

37:08

do you think that I'm perhaps a

37:08

little over, over emphasizing it

37:12

or

37:13

I mean, like, the

37:13

way she carried herself at

37:16

Augusta, a couple years ago was

37:16

was incredible that back nine or

37:19

was something that I remember

37:19

for a long while a long, long

37:21

time. And also, you know, you

37:21

put against Maria fassi just

37:26

shows you doesn't it? There

37:26

wasn't much between them Augusta

37:28

and she really, really got to

37:28

grips with this LPGA and, and to

37:32

do it during a very uncertain

37:32

time. It must be very hard to be

37:38

a rookie out there at the

37:38

moment. You can't mix with

37:40

people, it's a lot harder to

37:40

travel, you've got a lot of

37:43

barriers. And it just shows you

37:43

how good a golfer she is to

37:49

handle all that and how settled

37:49

she is as a person. And you

37:55

know, like look at Matt Wolff.

37:55

He's really struggling with the

37:57

social aspect. I've spoken to a

37:57

few players as well that off the

38:00

record. They're really

38:00

struggling with it. So the fact

38:02

that she's adapted so well. And

38:02

yeah, I think she'd be she'd be

38:08

a good a good Solheim cup

38:08

player. Obviously, there's so

38:14

many of them, but it's always

38:14

nice to have a name, isn't it?

38:17

So? Yeah, I like her, I like the

38:17

way she plots the way around the

38:20

golf course. And as I say,

38:20

really enjoyed watching her at

38:24

Augusta.

38:26

You mentioned

38:26

about some of the challenges of

38:28

being on tour and a lot of the

38:28

difficulties that players have

38:32

encountered this past year with

38:32

the Coronavirus break and and

38:37

all the new protocols that are

38:37

in place on the various tours

38:39

and whatnot. It reminds me of

38:39

yesterday and the press

38:44

conference or the media day they

38:44

had at the KIA Classic in

38:47

Carlsbad. I sat in and attended

38:47

and part of what I saw was a

38:53

remarkable interview with Ingee

38:53

Chun. Now, you know, we all know

38:59

Ingee, who won at the US Open in

38:59

2015, and then she had that

39:02

record setting performance at

39:02

the Evian. She's also won the

39:06

Korean Women's Open. So she's

39:06

the only player in the world to

39:09

have won three, you know, two

39:09

majors on the LPGA and one the

39:12

Korean opening in her native

39:12

country. So she was talking

39:16

yesterday, very candidly about

39:16

struggling with depression and

39:20

the effect that it's had on her

39:20

for the last several years. And

39:23

just the effect that it's had on

39:23

in terms of being able to work

39:27

through it with her family and

39:27

with her coaches and whatnot.

39:31

And just what it meant to kind

39:31

of rob her of joy when she was

39:35

playing golf. And something that

39:35

I guess she's enjoyed while most

39:38

golfers enjoy their entire life

39:38

and it's a joy. So she kind of

39:43

shared a lot about that

39:43

yesterday and she was saying now

39:47

that she's in a happy place in a

39:47

good place. She's with the

39:50

support of her friends and her

39:50

coaches and her family. She's

39:53

back to being the 'normal InGee'

39:53

and the 'normal InGee' who

39:57

played so well in all those

39:57

majors and has started this

40:00

season three events three top

40:00

10, so 4th last week, or at the

40:04

last event, I mean, and so she's

40:04

playing very well. And she seems

40:08

to have her attitude and really

40:08

good focus on the game coming

40:12

back. But I don't know. Did you

40:12

happen to catch any of that

40:16

interview? or any of the stories

40:16

coming out of that? Or?

40:19

No, I mean, no, I

40:19

didn't I didn't catch it. Time

40:22

differences is not ideal over

40:22

here. But I think it's, it's

40:26

just so much more acceptable,

40:26

isn't it to talk about your

40:30

mental health, like physical

40:30

health is just a given. Everyone

40:34

talks about it, in fact, in all

40:34

boasts about it, don't they? If

40:36

you I mean, if you go to the

40:36

gym, you better put it on

40:39

Instagram or that it doesn't

40:39

exist. But mental health, I

40:43

think it's something that people

40:43

need to speak more about

40:46

fairplay to her to do it in

40:46

front of the world. I don't

40:49

think I'm coming from a player's

40:49

point of view. Golf is your

40:54

hobby, it's your passion. And

40:54

then you decide to do it as a

40:58

job. And then it's still, it's

40:58

still, you've still got bring

41:03

the cash in all that likely,

41:03

you've got no escapism, because

41:06

your escapism was your hobby.

41:06

And now you've not got a hobby.

41:09

And it's really easy for you, we

41:09

saw it with Yani Tseng didn't

41:14

we? Like if she didn't win the

41:14

press back in our home country,

41:19

it was like what's wrong with

41:19

her, you know, and it really

41:22

beat her up. And I can imagine

41:22

it can be quite similar, like

41:25

you've just spoke about how

41:25

successful she was. And the

41:28

pressure that she then puts

41:28

herself under the press put her

41:31

on the family might put her on

41:31

there. And it can all get a bit

41:35

too much. And she will not be

41:35

the first and it's just can you

41:39

get yourself out of it. And you

41:39

know, the grind of trying to get

41:44

better on the range is is

41:44

enjoyable. It's good fun. But if

41:46

you're not seeing it in a

41:46

performance, it's almost like

41:51

what what else can I do so

41:51

interesting that it was just

41:57

like her mind, it wasn't any

41:57

part of her swing, but and how

42:01

she's coping with it. But she

42:01

needs to stay on top of it.

42:04

Because like a swing fault,

42:04

this, this or this could easily

42:07

creep back. And so it's great to

42:07

see a back up there on the

42:11

leaderboard. And let's just hope

42:11

that playing good golf doesn't

42:17

equal happiness. Like you need

42:17

to be happy in playing good golf

42:21

or bad golf. But it is hard to

42:21

do because it's your job. And if

42:25

you're not doing your job, well,

42:25

it does affect you.

42:28

For sure. One of

42:28

the other things she credited is

42:30

that she's got a little more

42:30

stability. Now. I guess in the

42:32

offseason, she bought a house in

42:32

the Dallas area. So she's now

42:36

got a home base. She's very

42:36

close to Sei Young Kim, and

42:40

they're very much friends. She

42:40

was speaking in the interview

42:43

yesterday about the two of them

42:43

having some social events even

42:46

and being able to enjoy some

42:46

things off the course, in that

42:50

way sort of being able to

42:50

nourish the soul, if you will.

42:53

And she talked about the joy of

42:53

being able to have a nice that

42:56

Sei Young Kim organized a nice

42:56

house warming party for her. So

43:01

Yeah,there's that little things.

43:02

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

43:02

it is very much. So. One of the

43:06

names that I've conspicuously

43:06

missed and haven't chatted about

43:10

yet --- Brooke Henderson. She

43:10

hasn't had the strongest start

43:15

to the season. But she played

43:15

well the last time at the ANA.

43:22

For her and Nelly it's almost

43:22

the same story. A little bit of

43:24

unfinished business for the one

43:24

of those two or for both of

43:27

them.

43:27

Yeah, I think

43:27

Brooke she's probably at that

43:32

stage in her career where she's

43:32

gonna define herself by majors.

43:37

So I wouldn't look too much into

43:37

it the fact that she's maybe not

43:41

started as well. Like we said

43:41

before, there hasn't been that

43:44

many events. But also she's

43:44

she's a major player that's

43:48

that's kind of where she is in

43:48

her career right now and that's

43:51

what she wants to do so I would

43:51

always put her to compete; she

43:55

plays well on tough golf courses

43:55

and majors are normally tough

43:58

sells. And yeah, Nelly's

43:58

obviously one this year so's her

44:03

sister. Sister's got a great

44:03

record at ANA actually so yeah

44:08

unfinished business but I think

44:08

it's going to be better than the

44:11

walls not there because it's all

44:11

it's like it doesn't remind you

44:15

you can almost put it down so

44:15

you can say 'I didn't win last

44:20

year because that wall - that

44:20

walls gone so I'm gonna I'm

44:23

gonna win this year.' I mean actually, if Nelly had

44:23

hit the fairway down at she

44:27

probably would have won but

44:27

there is a way of trying to

44:30

psychologically getting your

44:30

head around it by saying that

44:34

walls gone that could that was

44:34

the reason I lost that won't

44:37

happen again we're actually

44:37

watching it you know Brooke

44:40

missed a short one then she and

44:40

the playoff hole and Nelly

44:43

didn't hit the fairways. But of

44:43

course we've got so much course

44:47

history it's quite, it's easier

44:47

to pick out who's going to do

44:51

well there and you do see the

44:51

usual suspects you know Brittany

44:54

Lincecomb with a good record

44:54

around there, hasn't she? So I

44:58

would expect all the players did

44:58

well last year to maybe feature

45:03

again this year. It's only been.

45:03

And was it September? Was it

45:06

last year? So? Yeah. Six months,

45:06

seven months? I'd expect the

45:12

usual suspects.

45:13

Yeah. Still very

45:13

fresh memories. So going

45:20

forward, any thoughts about what

45:20

to watch for maybe in the KIA

45:24

Cassic or, and who might be

45:24

potentially coming out of that?

45:28

Like, I mean, let's talk about

45:28

some of the European plays. I

45:30

mean, Charlie's a favorite

45:30

obviously. Do you see an Emily

45:33

Kristine Peterson or Sophia

45:33

Popov or anything like that?

45:38

Being able to strike again,

45:38

coming up this weekend. Next.

45:43

Yeah. Let's Anne

45:43

van Dam, some great work with

45:46

Sean Foley. And it's, you know,

45:46

like, she puts a swing video up,

45:52

everybody loves it. And then the

45:52

next comment is how she hasn't

45:55

won more. So that's, that's,

45:55

that'll get in his head. And

45:58

it's a big, big year for a being

45:58

a Solheim Cup year. So she needs

46:02

to start turning that swing into

46:02

performances. And I think she's

46:05

actually accepted that and she's

46:05

going to take that on. But I was

46:11

pleased to see Bronte Law

46:11

playing better. I really was --

46:14

tough year for her last year.

46:14

And so you know, you can write

46:19

it off didn't count as such, I

46:19

suppose on money lists and

46:23

rankings and stuff like that.

46:23

But it was really I'm really

46:27

pleased to see kind of Bronte

46:27

back back in there. And this

46:32

these type of courses and

46:32

Carlota Ciganda. I mean, this

46:38

girl is so good. I mean that you

46:38

will not see anyone hit a golf

46:42

or better than she will. It's

46:42

amazing. how well she hits the

46:47

golf ball. Terry Mack on the

46:47

bag, Annika's ex-caddy will

46:52

know, Carlsbad well, he'll

46:52

certainly know Mission Hills

46:59

like the back of his hand. So

46:59

I'm expecting Carlota to really

47:03

kind of step up this year. And I

47:03

can see a winner. If she's gonna

47:08

win a major, I can see it being

47:08

the ANA.

47:12

And why is that

47:12

just because of -- its of

47:14

course she's familiar with she

47:14

knows her caddy knows they can

47:17

just be that much more prepared.

47:19

And I would say

47:19

it's not there's less variables,

47:23

British Open's got variables.

47:23

Evian -- the course is variable.

47:28

weather?

47:29

Yeah. And it's

47:29

with maybe KPMG is another one

47:33

up there as well. It's like a

47:33

ball strikers course. And you

47:37

don't necessarily have to have

47:37

to be the best putter in the

47:40

world. If you look at the list

47:40

of winners, they've had a good

47:44

put in week, but they're you

47:44

wouldn't say that they were the

47:46

best putters in the world. And

47:46

so yeah, I think this is the

47:51

one. This is the one that

47:51

Carlota can do. can do well in

47:54

and she's more of a streaky

47:54

putter, I would say. Fabulous

47:58

short game, actually, the more I

47:58

speak about and the more I can't

48:00

believe that she's not one more

48:00

maybe. So I'm talking her up so

48:04

yes, come on, Carlota. I can

48:04

see. I want, I want her to do

48:09

well, I think a lot of Europeans

48:09

would like to do well also.

48:13

Well, you know, over the last couple of years, she's put herself in contention

48:14

for a Sunday. And then just

48:18

hasn't quite been able to finish

48:18

it off.

48:20

I think she gets

48:20

nervous. I think he's a bit

48:23

she's a very sensitive soul.

48:23

She's very, she's very caring

48:28

girl. And I think the nerves get

48:28

to her. And so yeah, if she can

48:34

get over that, then she would

48:34

have definitely won more.

48:38

Did you have much opportunity to playing with her on the European tour?

48:40

Carlota's has been beating me since she was 13. So yeah, I think.

48:44

Well, I

48:44

appreciate your sense of humour.

48:52

Yeah.

48:54

Yeah, yeah. So

48:54

you've gotten to see her and

48:56

play with her and learn a lot

48:56

about her just from inside the

48:59

ropes alone.

49:00

Yeah, just just

49:00

hits ... the flight that she

49:04

gets on our driver. I mean, she

49:04

went you played at the "Golf

49:09

Sixes" which is the pair's event

49:09

and she played with the men. I

49:13

mean, she she played when she

49:13

played with, I think it was

49:16

Eddie Pepperall. And I can't

49:16

think of the other English guy

49:20

was she was up there with Eddie.

49:20

She hit it as long as him. So

49:25

yeah, she's she's just very

49:25

good. Hits par fives in two

49:28

(shots), or this is where I

49:28

think with it, where we were

49:30

talking about course design. I

49:30

think if the courses do become a

49:34

little bit shorter and the par

49:34

fives become reachable. I would

49:37

expect Carlota to win more.

49:37

Because when I played with her

49:41

on the LET she's hitting all

49:41

four par fives in 2 (shots)

49:45

comfortably so she's picking up

49:45

four shots is a given, because

49:49

she's so good to agree. And so I

49:49

think that will that'll

49:53

definitely help her.

49:55

It's kind of like

49:55

Rory when and some of the better

49:57

players when they say that they

49:57

had good weeks or they have

50:00

winning weeks, it's usually

50:00

because they played those par

50:03

fives under par. Nearly every

50:03

round so.

50:07

Oh, and the rest

50:07

life? Yeah, you've got to be

50:10

you've got to be better than for

50:10

them they're sometimes to really

50:13

make an affect.

50:15

Okay, well that's

50:15

a pretty good review of the ANA

50:19

preview of the ANA. So if you

50:19

had a fantasy picks, who would

50:24

you pick your three? Let's go

50:24

with three seeing as it's just

50:28

you and I today on the show.

50:32

Kim, Ko and

50:38

i picked Carlota up so I'm gonna

50:38

go for Carlota. You can have

50:42

your Americans and Canadians I

50:42

let you have them.

50:46

And a player to

50:46

-- an a potential. I don't wanna

50:48

say "Dark Horse" but a potential

50:48

long shot if you will or not.

50:54

Not quite the favorite but somebody you think could possibly do well?

50:58

Rose Zhang, the

50:58

the one that was an am

51:01

Oh Rose Zhang

51:01

Yeah, sure. Yeah.

51:03

last week?

51:04

No, no, she did

51:04

well there last year. Like she's

51:08

got it. She did well there as an

51:08

amateur one year. Last year, the

51:12

year before. Yeah, she's done.

51:12

Well, there is an amateur. She

51:15

was there last year, but

51:15

obviously played decent. She

51:18

playing? I don't know she's

51:18

playing. But I'll be honest, I

51:22

am working on the ANA next week.

51:22

And I will be doing far more

51:26

research for it. But yeah, I've

51:26

only I've only got a small

51:31

brain. I can't put too much into

51:31

it too short now.

51:35

Well, Sophie, thank you so much. It's always a pleasure having you on as a

51:36

guest. You're fantastic. And

51:41

despite your self deprecation.

51:41

You're very, very well versed

51:44

and always on top of things and

51:44

terrific insight to share with

51:49

not just myself, but all the

51:49

listeners that we have. So thank

51:52

you so much for that. And let me

51:52

ask you, what's up next for you?

51:57

And I,

51:59

you've got the ANA that you're getting ready for.

52:01

Yeah, short term,

52:01

it'll be kind of back to Golf in

52:04

England. So plenty of golf

52:04

lessons. Yes, that doing the ANA

52:09

coverage, the Le T is not

52:09

looking like starting till maybe

52:13

June time, May, June. So I

52:13

wouldn't be back on the telly

52:17

for that until then. So in the

52:17

meantime, just trying to keep

52:21

myself out of trouble, not catch

52:21

COVID. And yeah, trying to get

52:27

everybody back, not only to

52:27

where they were, but hopefully

52:31

to improve their golf for the

52:31

season.

52:34

Well, you know, working with you, I'm sure that's gonna be a much more

52:36

easier task than if they weren't

52:40

Oh I tell them how it is. Don't worry.

52:44

Well, there you

52:44

go. Sometimes you really need

52:46

that coach. Well, thank you,

52:46

Sophie. And we look forward to

52:52

chatting with you again soon.

52:54

Thank you.

52:57

And that Ladies and gentlemen, concludes our show for today. Thank you very

52:58

much for listening in. And may

53:02

you have a wonderful couple of

53:02

weeks till our next podcast and

53:06

we meet up with you again. So in

53:06

the meantime, remember if you're

53:09

out playing golf, you want to

53:09

keep that ball in the short

53:12

grass. On behalf of Sophia,

53:12

myself and our producers, thank

53:17

you and have a great day.

53:20

You are listening

53:20

to "We're Talking Golf" produced

53:22

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53:22

episode was recorded on March 24

53:27

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