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PGA TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 28, 2010Troy MerrittMARK STEVENS: Thank you very much for joining us. Troy, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. I understand you are in Phoenix right now kind of taking a little break from golf after a few weeks of great playing. If you want to talk a little bit about what you've been doing the week off, and how you plan to get ready for the final event of the year where you are leading the Kodak Challenge by a stroke, and you're 121st on the Money List. You've got a lot going on coming up in two weeks. If you want to talk a little about that, and we'll take some questions TROY MERRITT: Absolutely. Well, I've actually had a first this week as a new home buyer or new homeowner. We got back and found out that our water heater had leaked and broke and got the dry wall all wet and we had mold everywhere. I've had that to take care of over last few days, and still in the process of cleaning up and that's been wonderful. And actually it's taken my mind off golf; that wasn't too big of a concern, anyway, coming home. I had not taken the clubs out of the travel bag and probably won't until sometime earlier next week and take out a few balls and work on the short game a little bit and maybe play once or twice before heading down to Disney, where, like you said, the Kodak Challenge is definitely on my mind, but first and foremost, I want to secure my card and as of right now, the odds are kind of in my favor, I'm sitting at 121st, I have a nice little cushion between myself and 126. It's not obviously locked in stone, and I definitely have to look at it that way, but I need to just go out and play some solid golf like I have the last month and let the pieces fall where they may. If I play well, I secure my card, and I'll be on the TOUR for 2011, which was my main goal at the beginning of the year, and it's always nice to accomplish your goals after you've set them. And then secondly, the Kodak Challenge would be awesome to win obviously. I've given myself a really good chance to win that and looking forward to seeing where the pieces fall with that challenge, as well. MARK STEVENS: Real quick, as the race has heated up, have you heard from other players, even since last week, have you heard from Rickie or any other players about the Kodak Challenge. TROY MERRITT: Yeah, Rickie and I kind of discussed it a little bit at fry's, just in regards to his schedule. We know he's over in Malaysia and then probably going to play Shanghai next week. I think he was planning on flying out to Disney if he we were tied. Now that I'm one up, he's contemplating maybe not being there, but he definitely has not ruled it out by any means. Obviously he's a winner just like everybody else and wants to take home that first place prize. So I wouldn't be surprised if he was at Disney, and I would welcome his competition, because if he makes a birdie, obviously I want to make a birdie to beat him. As far as Aaron Baddeley goes, I've heard that he might be over in Australia playing in the Aussie Masters in a few events over there. If he does, he does; if he doesn't, if he does go and play in Disney, that's fine as well, same thing as Rickie; he wants to win and take home that $1 million prize, and obviously I want to beat him. So I'd like to have both of them there, just to make it fun, make it interesting, making birdies, but at the same time, their travel commitments, they are what they are and if they can't make it, they can't make it. Q. If I would have told you a year ago that in 2010, you with are going to make more money than Coach Chris Petersen, what do you think you would have said? TROY MERRITT: I probably would have said, I'd take it, definitely. I mean, Coach Petersen I think works a lot harder than I do. But it's definitely good just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Coach Pete, even if it's salary-wise, it's kind of cool, because of all of the success he's had and where he's taken that program. Yeah, that would be interesting, if you had asked me that question back then, but yeah, it would be kind of nice. Q. You know, when you were here, we got some great shots of Boise State logo that you're sporting now on your TOUR bag. How many times before, during and after a round does the conversation switch to Boise State football being ranked third in the BCS, and you being as big of a Boise State football fan as you are? TROY MERRITT: I think even earlier in the season, and definitely once I got it on my bag in the spring sometime, the questions were always, every round, how good are they going to be, are they going to be highly-ranked, are they going to be able to bust the BCS again; and now that they are having the success that they had and the controversy that they are causing, the questions are still flying at me. I look at it like it's just a fun ride and it's up to them to play as well as they can and let the chips fall where they may. I don't have any control over it and I just sit back as a fan and still want the proverbial underdogs to do it as well as they can. So I'm enjoying it, and a lot of the guys out on TOUR are enjoying it, as well. Q. At what point did you actually realize that, hey, I'm actually in line to maybe win this $1 million Kodak thingy? And also, the second part of the question relates to keeping your TOUR card. Did you think when you shot an opening round 65 at the Sony that it would come down to the wire like it is? TROY MERRITT: Well, in regards to the Kodak question, you know, I've altered my schedule throughout the summer to add a few events just solely to play the Kodak holes, because I knew Rickie was not playing and it was giving me a few opportunities to make a few birdies and catch up. It really didn't sink in that I had a great chance to win until the eagle putt dropped on Sunday and walking off the green, I had the shakes and I kind of realized that I had just put myself in the position that I wanted to be in going into the last tournament to ultimately take home the top prize. And then in regards to the second question, that 65 at Sony was something else. You know, finishing Top-20 there and then tied for 15th at Torrey Pines a couple of weeks later, I definitely didn't think I would be fighting it down to the end to stay inside the Top-125. But as the season progressed and I missed all of those cuts and played poorly, I just wanted a shot to keep myself inside the Top-125 towards the end of the year, and I've been able to do that. There's only one week where I was sitting outside and I was at 126 going into Fry's, and I handled the adversity well, the pressure well with the nice finish at the Fry's and I put myself in a nice position to retain my card for 2011. Q. Do you have much conversation with Graham Delaet out there on TOUR? I spoke with him recently and I guess he was fighting a little bit of back pain towards the very, very end of the season. Are you fatigued at all like that? The length of the season is something that you guys aren't really used to? TROY MERRITT: Well, that's true. I grew up in southern Idaho and spent five years in Minneapolis where I was used to taking anywhere between four and five months off and not even touching a club. . So just playing through the wintertime is a challenge for me, because I'm so used to taking it off. And I think Q-School a few years ago was the first time I ever even played a round of golf in the month of December. So that was different. Yeah, Graham and I speak a little on the road. Not so much during the Fall Series, because like you said, his back's been bothering him and he isn't out there as much as he was throughout the season. I mean, he's one of the hardest-working guys throughout the week on the TOUR, and maybe that might attribute to his back issues. But he definitely worked hard and it's obviously paid off for him. He had four top 20 finishes and he's going to take a well-deserved break now I think until it the beginning of the season. So kudos to him for a great job this year. Yeah, we talk every now and then, and he's really excited with my possibility of winning the Kodak Challenge, and so he definitely stayed in touch in regards to that. Q. In the Twin Cities, not going to be playing much golf right now, I'll tell you that. TROY MERRITT: I heard there was snow yesterday morning a little bit. Q. Wanted to ask you about the $1 million Kodak Challenge on the line, and keeping your card; do you approach this next event with the feeling that you have a lot of pressure, or the possibility that this is one of your best tournaments with so much on the line? TROY MERRITT: My approach is to the entire Fall Series is just going back to the basics, putting the ball in play, get it on the fairway, get it on the green, give yourself as many 20-, 25-foot birdie putts as you can; and if you can't roll them in, just have tap-in pars. And if you can do that, 85, 90 percent of the time, you'll be just fine and that's kind of the way I've approached it all fall. I've put together pretty solid rounds. There's a lot of times where I haven't scored as well as I would like, where I just can't get the ball in the hole quite quick enough, but still 2-under par, 3-under par rounds, versus the 2-over par rounds that I was shooting throughout the summer. I think I'm going to have a lot of confidence going into Disney as far as where my game is. And as far as the Kodak Challenge goes, I'm not really thinking about the money, just because I've never seen that much money, I don't understand it. I don't know what it is. It's kind of a bunch of figures and basically the way I see it is that I've got a chance to win something, I'd love to win -- or I'd love to win and I've done it my whole life and that's my main goal is just to win and then I'll finally realize there's $1 million when the check is coming my way hopefully. Q. I think you've kind of answered this, but going into Disney, what do you think is going to weigh more heavily on your mind, where you are at on the Money List or the Kodak Challenge? TROY MERRITT: Well, I think being where I am on the Money List, just because I have some control over my result as far as that goes. I need to go out there and I need to play every single hole to get myself the best chance to stay inside the Top-125. As far as the Kodak goes, that depends on a few of the guys that are really close to me, whether or not they show up. If they don't show up, then the Kodak hole isn't going to weigh as much as on my mind; as opposed if they do show up there, I'm going to think about it a little bit more. I'm going in there, just going to try to play good golf and worry about the Money List, since that was my main goal at the start of the year, just to keep my card; and if I perform well on the Kodak hole when it comes, then that's just an added bonus. Q. I wanted to see, as this goes on, you do have the two subplots going on simultaneously. Would your approach or the way you think about things change when you actually get to No. 17 on the Magnolia Course, as compared to how you would play the other 17 holes because of the Money List versus Kodak? TROY MERRITT: I think so. Just because through out the last few months, I've always paid a little extra attention to the Kodak holes because it was always a goal of mine to get myself as high as I can to give myself a chance to win. A good example would be on 16 on Sunday, not having the greatest of days, 1-over par, really struggling on the greens and not putting very well. 16 came along, the focus narrowed in and I knew what I had to do; and I went ahead and got the job done and it's kind of been like that on the Kodak hole throughout the last few months. Once I hit 17, there might be a little bit of a different mind-set, especially, let's say, if Aaron and Rickie are there and they make a birdie to tie me, definitely I'll pay a bit more attention to it. And also, maybe if I'm not even playing that well, maybe going to miss the cut, then I'll do my very best since I'll only get one crack at it and to lock up the Kodak. My main goal is just to keep my card and play some solid golf. Q. And also, No. 17 at the Mag is going to be set up they tell me as a hole that could play any number of distances from a potentially drivable 295-yard par 4 to playing it all the way back at 480 yards. What type of excitement and variables do you think that brings to the plate if they have all of those options? TROY MERRITT: Well, any time you throw in a potentially drivable par 4, it's a cause for excitement, no matter which tournament or what hole it is. It would be a lot of fun if it was a drivable par 4. I know that's kind of what Kodak kind of wants and the tournament might kind of like that, too, throw in a few extra birdies and eagles maybe. I think it's an exciting hole from 295 yards. People kind of like to see pros struggle a little bit and struggle to make par and that's what that long par 4 is able to do. I think if it plays drivable or if it plays like a short par 5, I think you're going to see just as much excitement either way. Q. Out of curiosity, you said you readjusted or tweaked your schedule a little bit to get some Kodak holes in. Do you have any specific examples of tournaments you shuffled around or added to do that? TROY MERRITT: Absolutely. I wasn't planning on going out to play the Canadian Open, but I did put it on my schedule -- or I kept it on my schedule. I was going to drop out but I kept it on my schedule and I birdied the hole I think on the first day. Also, I wasn't going to go play Turning Stone up in New York. I was going to take those two weeks off but I decided to keep it on my schedule and give myself a chance and it worked out well. I chipped in for birdie in the final round on the par 3. They both worked out well for me and put me in a good spot and put me kind of to where I am going into Disney. Q. How often do you get back to Iowa, and whether you're just a casual Iowa Hawkeyes fan and do you follow with the intensity of Zach Johnson? TROY MERRITT: No, Zach follows them kind of religiously. I would be a casual fan in relation to him. .but I'm always excited about what they bring. I follow them throughout the spring and throughout the summer. I know their schedule. I know what kind of players they have. I know the injury reports. I follow them like a true fan, and I grew up an Iowa Hawkeyes fan and still love Iowa Hawkeye football. As far as getting back to Iowa, I'll actually be there for Thanksgiving, I still have a lot of family in the 'Buq, and we love to spend the holidays with the family. I made it back during the John Deere obviously. Usually about two or three times a year I find my way back to God's country. Q. Prior to last week's eagle, you had birdied about nine holes in a row, at what point do you start to feel like you have a chance to win the Kodak Challenge competition? TROY MERRITT: Well, I've worked throughout the last half of the year to put myself in great position to win, and I think the birdie at the McGladrey on the par 4 got me tied with Rickie at the time gave me the idea that, hey, maybe I can do this. And then obviously the eagle on Sunday at Vegas put me in an even better spot. Now I feel like I've got a really good shot to win. I'm in the driver's seat with one hole to play and I'm looking forward to getting to Disney. Q. Coming out of Q-School as well as you did last year, curious, what kind of expectations did you have, and has it been harder than you envisioned? Has the grind of a full year on TOUR been more difficult than you would have thought, or have the ups and downs been sort of what you might have expected? TROY MERRITT: That's a really interesting question. Coming out of Q-School, I had really no expectations about what the PGA TOUR was going to be like, just because it was a new situation and it was going to be a new experience, and I didn't really fully understand what the PGA TOUR was all about until I stepped under the practice putting green on Thursday at Sony and saw guys like David Toms, Davis Love, Retief Goosen and guys that I have watched for many years, and now it hit me, I realized that I have to play against these guys, these guys that I have watched on TV for ten, 15 years, now I have to play against them to make a living. It kind of hit me then and there that I was on the PGA TOUR. And I got off to a great start in Hawaii, and also played well at Torrey Pines and kind of got it in my head that it was kind of easy; if I just played well, it was easy. And then I rattled off seven missed cuts in a row and experienced some lows, definitely, in my game, and then came back with a third place finish in New Orleans. So the season has been -- it's gone from extreme highs to extreme lows, which I think a lot of TOUR players can say that they feel, as well, especially rookies. And as far as that goes, I didn't even think about that at the beginning of the year, where I was -- if I was going to play well in certain events or how poorly I could play in certain events. It's definitely been a learning curve all year, and it's really helped me look at my overall game and determine what I need to do to be successful and basically what I came up with is that I just need to play the game like I always have. You know, just put the ball in play, play solid golf, don't take a whole lot of risks when I don't have to, and just go out and get the job done and then let the chips fall where they may and count up all of the finishes at the end of the year. Q. One quick thing, you obviously didn't qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, and so you've got this sort of forced break before the Fall Series. Just curious how awkward that was, if it was a blessing, or if that's a tough thing to have to deal with, to sort of still have your future at stake but you have to putt the club as way and you can't play? TROY MERRITT: Yeah, I was a little disappointed. I was inside the Top-125 on the FedExCup rankings all the way up to the last three or four tournaments before the final decision was made and the Top-125 got in Barclays. I was a little disappointed, being 138th on the FedExCup and being 117th on the Money List, but I made do. It was actually a little bit of a blessing having a little bit of a break after having such a hectic spring and summer and I got a chance to unwind a little bit and casually go out and play around maybe every second or third day and just kind of have fun with it. Just kind of recuperate and get that itch back, and get ready for the Fall Series. Q. Obviously you come from a non-traditional area for professional golf, mostly northern area; how difficult is it for someone from the colder climate states to make a run at pro golf and become a professional? TROY MERRITT: Well, the odds are definitely against you. But it also helps you to manage your time I guess a little bit better as far as golf goes. You value the time you have when you're on the golf course and when you're able to get outside and hit the golf ball, where maybe some guys from the south, they don't take advantage of maybe year round conditions where they can play the game. So coming from southern Idaho and also the Minneapolis area, I definitely valued my time out on the golf course, but I also valued my downtime throughout the winter; just to kind of set it aside for a while. And I always loved when I got the itch back in January and February and wanted to get back out. And I think it was the perfect time to do it. I think a lot of northerners can say that same thing; that they love getting that itch; they love getting back out in the spring, even when it's 35, 40 degrees, the wind is howling and maybe the rain and snow is coming down. But the course is open and they are going to be out there. That's why I've developed into a little bit of a mudder; he we played in the springtime and even later in the fall. We just played for the love of the game up north. I mean, I absolutely loved where I grew up and it gave me -- like I said, not the advantages that others had, but it gave me a chance to be successful still and then I've been able to take it to the next level and I'm very proud of myself for doing that. Q. Were there any other sports you played growing up that maybe helped you with your golf? TROY MERRITT: You know what, when I grew up, I played all the sports, just like everybody else. But growing up playing baseball, my team, even though we thought we were pretty about, we lost a lot. So I learned how to lose at a young age. And I think that was very important. I mean, yeah, you have to be able to learn how to win; but you also have to learn how to lose and how to handle losses as a professional. I learned that at a young age, and I wasn't the biggest of kids growing up; I don't think I hit five feet tall until almost ninth grade. So I was always kind of used to being that little guy and always having to prove myself and I've had to do that my whole life. And I've had to do it out here on the PGA TOUR; and I definitely don't get the special treatment and I don't want it. I want to be able to work for what I earn, and I think that's a great way to approach it. I think playing those sports growing up like baseball, football, basketball, even those sports taught me what I know today on the golf course. Q. How much do you unwind when you get back to Dubuque to visit your grandparents? TROY MERRITT: I love going back to Dubuque. I know that when I go there, yeah, maybe some of my family want to go out and golf, but they understand that it's kind of a vacation for me and a time to unwind. And I usually don't even take my clubs when I go. I just love spending time with my family, hearing their side of the story of how they follow me and how much they love to do so, and also getting to hear about their lives, what they are up to. Hey, I value my time when I go back to Dubuque. It's going back to family and I love doing it. Q. You talk about talking to other guys, do you ever talk to Kevin Streelman, maybe the pressures of trying to win the Kodak Challenge? TROY MERRITT: No, I just kind of casually speak to Streels every now and then. But the subject of the Kodak Challenge never really came up. I think I kind of want to do it my way and he wanted to do it his way, and yeah, I kind of always want to do things how I want to do them. I didn't really get too much advice for him or his take on the situation when he won. MARK STEVENS: Appreciate everybody's time today. Good luck at Disney in two weeks. TROY MERRITT: Thanks a lot, guys, I really appreciate it and thanks again, Mark, for setting this all up. End of FastScripts |
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