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SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN MEDIA DAYSeptember 4, 2013Gary DunwoodyRyan MooreAdam SperlingTHE MODERATOR: Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to media day for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open. We are delighted you could join us. A lot of exciting things to talk about for this year's tournament and a very popular champion that we're going to hear from in just a little bit. Let me tell you about the program today and then we'll get to it. We're going to hear from each of the gentlemen on the dais here, and to my far left is the chairman of the golf committee for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open, Mr.Gary Dunwoody; next to him is our tournament director, Adam Sperling; and the least introduction needed is our defending champion and Rebel golfer, Ryan Moore. We're going to hear from each of them. We'll have a few questions for Ryan to talk about last year and this year and this year's tournament, and then we'll open it up to some questions and answers. We are delighted to have him back again this year, the chairman of the golf committee for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open, Mr.Gary W. Dunwoody. GARY DUNWOODY: Thank you, thank you. I'll tell you what, I wish everybody in this room could experience the gratitude and excitement of having something on your bucket list accomplished. And you know, not many people have on their bucket list to have a FedEx trophy up here on this stage right now, but I can tell you it's been on my bucket list since I've been chairman out here, that Vegas, right here, this time of year, this location, become a FedEx tournament. We were so fortunate, and I say fortunate‑‑ you know, luck, my father defined luck as when somebody with ability is given an opportunity and they perform. You know, that's what happened out here. I mean, the city, the community, the club, our executive committee, and UNLV. All of them are so involved in this taking effect, and I can tell you, Steve is not here, but I can tell you right now I'd take that Cup right there and go out there, and I didn't have a chicken suit, but I'd tell you I'd roll over with it out there and tell you how happy I am that we have a FedExCup event here. And better than you could ever have, to have somebody like a Ryan Moore be your returning champion and be the first returning champion for the FedExCup here in Las Vegas, Nevada. I mean, it's just all the stars aligned right, but they didn't happen without a lot of people's support. It's going to get better. We've got it for five years. It's going to be good this year, but it'll be better next year, and it'll be better the next year, because we're here, it's going to happen, it is happening, it's a dream come true, and something this community and this area truly deserves because they now know from the Shriners standpoint we deserve it because we're going to get more awareness out of this than what it cost us to put this tournament on. I'm convinced of that, because of the support we're going to get out here. I want to say one quick thing about Shriners Hospitals because that's what it's all about, that's who foots the majority of the bill, that's what we do it for, and we're very fortunate that I don't know of another 501(c)3 that's the title and the host of a FedExCup tournament, which makes us very unique indeed. Not only can people sponsor and work with us here, but it's also, look what it's going to, it's going to a charity automatically, so they get two big dubs, if they can by with it with their accountant. So that's the way that operates. And Shriners, we're going through a change just like everybody is going through a change with investments or anything else. We're a system of 22 hospitals, 22 hospitals with over 1,150 beds, and guess what, we have an average of about 200 a night, so what does that tell you? It tells you you've got some facilities that you've got way overbedded because so many things are outpatient now, and it's that way with us. So we're forming affiliations with different medical centers. I know I was the liaison last for 20 cities. We just formed an affiliation with Mayo Clinic, and I'm the liaison this year ‑‑ liaison just means I'm a board member responsible to a particular hospital, but I have Boston and Springfield Mass this year. In Boston we just signed an affiliation agreement with UMass in Boston, and we're working on an affiliation agreement in Springfield with Boston Children, or another, Connecticut, to make it so we can stay in business and operate with less employees and do our job. Our budget this year is $840 million, so that's what our budget is. It's $752 for our operation budget and $92 for our construction budget. So that's a lot of money we have to raise, and we've got to have a lot of awareness, but we're still treating kids. We've treated over a million, and we're going to continue to treat them. But let's get back to the main event, and that's this golf tournament. It you can't get excited starting October the 14th about this golf tournament, you probably need to be viewed rather than seen because you just can't help but get involved in it. We're so fortunate, I named all the community and all, but what a staff we have here, what a staff. What a staff on the grounds right here with our tournament director; it's PGA's loss but absolutely our gain to have this young man as our tournament director. If there's a sharper individual, I really don't know who it is. I know one thing; it's a pleasure to work with him and for him, because that's the way it is. It's not the opposite, I assure you, because this is the man with the knowledge and this is the man that makes it happen. He's got one terrific staff. And I always like to best describe‑‑ describe Adam like my tie right here. I can define him in three words: T for terrific; I for incredible; and E for extraordinary. So this is my tie right here beside me, and he does one terrific job. I want to thank all of you for supporting him and being there for Adam and for our team out here. And of course Lee Smith and the club here, and they make numerous changes here to make this a not necessarily more difficult course but certainly a fair course and one that's luscious, and it is that, and beautiful. Right out here in the middle of the desert, it's like a mecca. We've got it going, and I'm looking forward to it, and I'll tell you what, if you need anything from Shriners Hospital for Children, you call Gary W. Dunwoody and let me know and I'll do what I can, and thank you again for your support, and if you have any other questions‑‑ one other thing, and I can't pass without doing this, and I talked about the community and I talked about the sponsorship, but I want to mention, too, and that's Shift Forward, number one, and you can see that on our returning champion's shirt up there, Shift Forward. They've done such a good job of all you've got to do is give me a credit card and every time Ryan makes a birdie then you to pay a little bit. They take it right out of your credit card. They've done such a good job with this, with Shift Forward, and they've done‑‑ it's really taken hold. Shift Forward has really done terrific, and we're proud to have them as a member of our team here in sponsors. And of course MGM, what could we do without them. They committed another three years for sponsoring our pro‑am and working with us and being our host facility for the Shriners Hospitals and they've bellied up to the bar for the next three years, and we're most appreciative of that, too. That's just two of the many sponsors, but that's why we're here. That's why we're the FedExCup. It's because of people like that. And gee, and a very special thank you to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. We appreciate you and your group. We've got to get Ms.Goodman involved and get her aboard, too, and she does that and she met with Adam. I had the opportunity to meet her husband. I promise you, surely she's not like him, maybe so. But they're both good people and funny people and entertainers, I'm sure. That's what you've got to be here in Vegas, but thank you again for coming and participating and spreading the word about the FedExCup and about Shriners Hospital Open for Children. Thank you very much. THE MODERATOR: Gary, your passion for this community and this tournament has never waned, and we are all grateful and better off for it. You already took more adjectives to introduce Adam than I had written down, so we'll go right to our tournament director to talk about this year's tournament, here's Adam Sperling. ADAM SPERLING: This is the fifth year in a row that I've drawn the short straw and had to follow Gary. We've got a lot of stuff going on this year. We're very excited about the FedExCup obviously with last July's announcement that we'd be joining the regular season. Plans have been in place for over a year now for this special week in October. Very thankful for the community support over the five years prior with the hospital's involvement. The growth that we've seen from an attendance standpoint to sponsorship, it's been ‑‑ it can't be overstated, what that meant to the Shriners Hospital for Children when they were deciding to continue their support of this event and keep this event in Las Vegas. So we've got a lot that's going to go on this year, a number of events that have become pillars of our tournament week over the past couple years, and a number of new events, as well, enough that we had to put a Power Point together so I didn't forget anything. Once again this year we'll be kicking off tournament week in spectacular fashion with the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame and their induction ceremony on Saturday evening. Can't think of a better way to start a PGA TOUR event that's been in town for 30 years than with an event that recognizes those within the game of golf at all levels in Las Vegas and southern Nevada and what they've meant in various ways to the event and more specifically the community. So we thank the Hall of Fame for bringing the event back to TPC Summerlin, and we look forward to having them and quite a distinguished cast of inductees this year. Sunday we'll be having our fourth annual Goody Two Shoes Foundation Rockin' Walk. This event has seen over 2,500 participants in the previous three years. They've raised over $80,000 for the Goody Two Shoes Foundation in addition to 775 pairs of shoes. There's a nice synergy between the work that Nikki and Tony Berti and the Goody Two Shoes Foundation do, providing socks and properly‑fitting footwear, and obviously the work the Shriners Hospitals for Children do within the field of orthopedics, and both are vital to bone and muscle development and helping young children grow as they should. On Monday Charley Hoffman and the foundation will be returning for his annual Charley Hoffman Las Vegas Pro‑Am. Consistently has supported five local charities, very deserving, and in the previous three years they've raised over $225,000 for these groups that in a time of economic challenges we've seen a lot of charities be impacted in a variety of ways, and I don't think that we can think Charley enough or Stacy and their foundation for the support that they brought to the valley. Also on Monday, this is a new event this year, we've got some sponsors that have been loyal supporters of our community events over the past, and in an effort to provide more valuable programming to a group of children, on Monday we'll be hosting our first annual Clark County School District Day. This is an event that will partner NV Energy, Wells Fargo, United Healthcare and the Discovery Children's Museum with a day worth of programming for 200 fourth and fifth graders from McWilliams Elementary. The course will also be closed to the public this year on Monday and Tuesday. Working for a children's charity, it's kind of a neat message to, in my mind, be telling the community that we're closed; it's kids only on Monday. Most of the time you need to be a certain height or a certain age to do things as a kid, and this year all you have to do is be a kid, so that'll be really special, and we're looking forward to that event. Tuesday, once again, we'll host our Kick Off Your Heels women's day luncheon. Over 32 tables sold already this year. Susan T. Spencer will be this year's speaker, a distinguished career as the first female general manager in the history of the NFL, and obviously since leaving the Philadelphia Eagles has gone on to do some pretty remarkable things, not only in business but in her philanthropic work here specifically in Las Vegas with the Rancho football team. Wednesday we're continuing the program that we kicked off last year of a team of Shriners Hospital For Children patients or previous patients to participate in the pro‑am as our Dream Team. I think in the four years that I've worked for the hospitals, we assume that we need to educate everybody about the work that the Shriners do, and you start to tell somebody what you do, and before you know it their uncle was a Shriner and their cousin was a patient in St.Louis or Spokane, and you just get an appreciation‑‑ Gary mentioned a million children served, but the reach of a million children over four or five generations and their family and their employers, there really are just millions and millions of people who have been impacted, and suffice it to say that they've gone on to do amazing things and to provide incredible value back to their communities and other organizations that they serve. This year we've got a group of individuals that really, they tell a variety of stories about themselves and their lives and what they've been able to accomplish with no small part to the support of the Shriners. Austin Brown, a 16 year old who qualified last year for the Washington State Amateur tournament; Jeff Skiba, who has won numerous gold and silver medals in the Paralympics in Athens, Beijing and London, and then Roe Skidmore, who in his first year of competing in the National Golf Association National Amputee Championship, he won, and the following two years he finished runner‑up. It's a pretty exciting team. Jeff now serves as a police officer in San Diego, protecting the citizens of San Diego and keeping the streets safe. Austin is still participating on his high school golf team. And Roe actually is passing up a trip to Japan to participate in an amputee golf tournament so he can come here because he says that playing in this pro‑am was a dream beyond any of his own ambitions in his own world of competitive golf. So we're looking forward to having them here for the pro‑am. New this year is the inaugural Hill Concert Series. We've upgraded and renovated the Hill interior, which we'll get to shortly with some visuals of that, but for the first time we will have after‑play entertainment on the Hill on Friday and Saturday evening immediately following play. Headlining both nights will be a band called the Dirty Guv'nahs, we call them the Dirty Guvs for short. They played Bonnaroo a couple times, and they've got a great sound. We think it's a really inclusive sound for everybody attending, a little Black Crowish. And then Jared Lee and the Jeremy Cornwell Project will be opening on both nights. With the entertainment we're also partnering with Rock & Roll Wines and our partners in Coors Light Miller‑Coors for a craft brew and wine tasting program. There will be 27 holes of white, red wines, and nine craft brews under the Miller‑Coors label that we think will provide a nice alternative for spectators and sponsors, possibly players for after‑play activity. I mentioned Coors Light. This will be the first year since I've been here that we'll have a retail activation to the extent that Coors Light and Hyundai and a number of official partners have put together 20 local regional and national chains are participating at over 500 local locations in a drive to retail campaign that has two benefits: Qualifying purchases of Miller Coors products will come with a free ticket to the golf tournament, and where Hyundai comes into play is on Friday and Saturday evening during the concert series, we'll have the Shot At Glory. Many of you remember Jonathan Byrd's historic hole‑in‑one to win on 17 a couple years ago. Well, Friday and Saturday night 10 people will be chosen at random, we'll light up the 17th hole, and a hole‑in‑one will win a new Hyundai vehicle. We'll have prizes for closest to the pin. But it should provide some nice entertainment, some nice engagement for the community, and hopefully a new car for somebody, although a hole‑in‑one in the dark has got to be a challenge. I mentioned the new interior of the Hill. We've completely rebranded the Hill and built custom interiors. In the past, televisions, while bountiful, were just hung on tent legs. Now we've got an interior that's branded with iconic images of past tournaments. A larger service wall is all tournament tickets now provide access to the Hill. It's no longer an upgrade required, so we anticipate stronger crowds in there, I think a more conducive center bar for service, and just a better viewing experience around the entire venue. Locking forward to the response and obviously the next five years with an upgraded interior. Still over 35 flat screen televisions, so plenty of football to watch, and you won't miss any holes on the golf course, either. New this year we'll developing a new hospitality product behind the 16th and 17th green. These will be called the Summerlin Suites. It's a double‑decker product, similar to the double‑decker that you'll see down in Phoenix on the famous par‑3, although just not as many. I think it may take another five‑year contract from the Shriners to get that type of infrastructure built but we'll work towards it, but I think it's a unique entertaining opportunity for some of our local corporate sponsors and national, as well, and it's a great area to view golf from and we hope it grows for years to come. Gary mentioned the course changes that TPC Summerlin has made over the past 12 months, not the first year that they've made changes to the course in the off‑season. We've blown up some larger images around the perimeter and we have some handouts for those in the media to take with them, but significant changes on the 7th, 12th, 13th and 18th holes. With ShotLink and the technology that they've provided over the years, you can look at from every round to weather to years, and every variable you want to and see where guys, they're missing the fairway on 12 left, where are they missing it, what club are they hitting with, and how can you change the way that these holes play. If you're now in a bunker instead of rough that might have gone dormant, that changes things. If fairways are pinched in or bunkers are put in locations like on the 7th hole that they haven't traditionally been, it will change the way the holes play and the thought process that goes into what you're hitting off the tee in some cases. Very appreciative of TPC Summerlin and the PGA TOUR's commitment to continue refining this golf course every year in advance of the tournament. Gary mentioned but just an update on the Birdies for Shriners campaign. It's the second year of existence, and we've already gone over $150,000 cumulative over the two years, surpassed last year's $57,000, and not only is Shift Forward the sponsor and developer and executer of this wonderful program, but a majority of the funding comes from Shift Forward's employees and their dedication and commitment to the Shriners Hospitals For Children as a charitable organization. We can't thank them enough, and Ryan, as well, for the number of birdies that you make, and eagles, too. I think eagles cost double, so that's great. But it's been a great program. It's great to follow Ryan and Scott every week out on TOUR and keep an eye on the dollars that are being raised for such a wonderful charity. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Adam. Lots of great things in store for this year's tournament. Let's get to our defending champion. Last year about now in a month, the chants of "Rebels" filled these fairways as Ryan came down. Our defending champion, Ryan Moore. Let's start with last year. Are there some significant‑‑ you get off to a fast start last year, you shoot 61. Do you have a feeling at this point that I might have something going during the tournament? RYAN MOORE: Yeah. I mean, it was‑‑ I had been playing some good golf coming into this week last year, and got off to a great start, started on the back side, and I was 7‑under through eight holes, which that doesn't happen very often. I obviously felt pretty good about the round, and then actually I pretty much holed out on 18. I bounced out of the hole and bounced back to about 40 feet, so it like went in and out, hit the pin, and that would have been a first for me, because I would have been 9‑under for nine holes, and I've never done that. And obviously just kind of continued on to the back side, and it was a great day, a great way to start out this week, and gave me some great momentum. THE MODERATOR: You get off to a fast start, you continue to play well second and third round, and still you come to 16 tee on the final day and you're tied. Are you thinking at that point what's it going to take to win this tournament? RYAN MOORE: A little bit. I mean, I tell guys, young guys, all the time, trying to get out on TOUR, and it's like, man, guys are just good out here.  It's unbelievable. I think it was 24‑under I shot last year, and I won by one shot. It's amazing. It's some of the best golf I can possibly play, and I still only win by one shot. Yeah, coming into 16, obviously Brandon had been playing well, as well, and kind of been shot for shot really the whole week. I think I had played with him the last two days. You know, I was just trying to keep my head down and just play the holes how I wanted to play them. 16 is obviously a hole you can make a birdie, but you've got to hit a good tee shot. You've got to put it in the right place and give yourself that opportunity. So in that moment, that's all I'm trying to do is just get it in the fairway, give ourselves a decent shot to get it on the green or around the green and give us a really good chance to make birdie and at least make him have to keep making birdies. I was able to do that there, and closed out with a couple of solid pars. THE MODERATOR: Brendon DeJonge, our runner‑up. Is it difficult to feel in that situation like you're not playing match play? RYAN MOORE: A little bit. THE MODERATOR: Or are you playing match play? Are you waiting for him to crack as much as try to do something good? RYAN MOORE: Well, you're hoping at some point maybe they'll make a bogey or something, but that wasn't happening, and he had been hitting it great. At that point, it was like, all right, it's kind of in my hands now. I've got to do something to kind of force his hand a little bit, and like I said, I was able to hit a couple good shots there and make a birdie, and he didn't make a birdie. And then of course he striped it the next hole and hits it to 15 feet, and it's like, man, he's just going to keep topping me. But he missed it there, and I almost made a birdie there. But yeah, I mean, it's hard. Especially at that point with three holes to go, and there's one guy close to you, yeah, it's match play at that point. Q. You said afterwards you had played this course a lot getting ready for this tournament and obviously have some familiarity of it from UNLV. How much of a factor was that? RYAN MOORE: I mean, it's huge, but it doesn't always mean you're going to play good, just because it's a course you play often and a course you're comfortable with. That's what we kind of talked about earlier is last year is the first time I kind of approached this tournament and this golf course like I would approach any other tournament golf course. I actually really looked at it, it's easy sometimes to kind of get lazy and a little complacent on a golf course that you're comfortable with and you're not used to hitting shots. But when I'm out here playing with my buddies or playing out here with Piercy or any of those guys, like you're not approaching it like you would normally approach it. I'm hitting drivers on holes I wouldn't hit drivers on. I'm trying to attack greens and pins that I normally wouldn't, and sometimes it's hard to not carry that through when you go play a tournament. You just kind of play it like you're used to playing it. So for me last year I made myself step back and look at each hole and really think it through, like if I had never played this golf course before and I was going to come play a tournament here, what would I want to do on this hole, what spots on this course can lead to a double bogey, where do you really need to avoid. That kind of made it able for me to approach it maybe a little bit more comfortably and kind of think through my shots a little bit better. I made a lot less bogeys here last year than I have in the past, and I think that kind of keeps your momentum alive, especially in a tournament where you need to make a lot of birdies. So I think it was just that mental approach and just kind of, like I said, approaching it like I would any other golf course and not getting too lazy on it just because I'm comfortable with it. THE MODERATOR: You shoot two 60s, set the tournament record, win the title. It was your second PGA TOUR victory. You talked a little bit about how important it was to be a multiple winner. What makes that so special? RYAN MOORE: I mean, I guess if you've won one tournament, at some point in your career maybe you got lucky and got a little hot. Maybe you just kind of had that perfect week where you got everything going. But to win again, you're proving that it's not a fluke. It's not just something that is just going to happen because you had a good week. You're proving that you're capable of doing it over and over again, and obviously I'd love to have a few more wins at this point in time in my career, but at least to have won twice, that's huge. It was big for my confidence last year. This year has been a little bit of a rebuilding year for me, just kind of working on some new things, but I'm really excited. In the middle of the FedExCup right now, I'm already kind of excited for this tournament to come around here and‑‑ is it five weeks from now? Is that about right? Five or six weeks. I'm trying to stay focused and continue to focus on Chicago and get myself to the TOUR Championship, but I'm already really looking forward to this event. THE MODERATOR: Part of that is not only to defend your title but also because of the big trophy that sits between us here, Shriners Hospital for Children Open this year, the second tournament in the newly calibrated FedEx. What does that mean to you, for the TOUR and for your competitors out there? RYAN MOORE: Well, I think you're going to see these fall tournaments change. It might not be this year. It won't take as drastic of a change maybe because a lot of guys are pretty set in their schedule. They kind of play the tournaments they want to play, take the time off they want to take off. But I think you're going to see guys get a great head start now in the fall and be able to kind of get ahead a little bit if you have some great weeks. So when you're starting January you're not kind of starting behind, you're actually starting ahead or at least kind of even. I know for me, if the tournament had counted last year, I'm close to the top 30 going into the FedExCup instead of being 68th. I mean, that's an unbelievable difference. I'd be in a position to go play some solid golf and get myself right into the TOUR Championship instead of it not counting, and I'm scrambling to try and get into it. I think it's a little more real for me just because I can see that. I can see the difference the impact would have made winning this tournament and having it count. I'm taking this all very, very seriously, and I'm going to play four or five events and really get my season kick‑started. THE MODERATOR: Hasn't been a bad 12 months for Rebel golfers: Yourself, Adam Scott. Can you talk about some of the things maybe you and some of the players that have gone through that program took from that program that carried you into your pro careers? RYAN MOORE: Oh, yeah. I mean, it was a great opportunity for me, coming from the Pacific Northwest, to be able to come down to a great city like this and the facilities and the weather and just get an opportunity to play against some of the best programs in the country and some of the best events. You know, for me it kind of a little bit taught me how to be a professional golfer. You play a lot more and you see the system and you get to be around other guys from‑‑ Chad Campbell would come around and Chris Riley would come around or Bill Lunde or Charley Hoffman and you'd get to sit and talk to these guys and pick their brains, and I think that's huge. It's been a great program for a long time, and you see that by just how many guys we have up there. THE MODERATOR: Both Gary and Adam mentioned Shift Forward, one of your sponsors in the program, and it just so happens it's the tournament you win and it's the tournament they benefit. It was a pretty special week. RYAN MOORE: Yeah, it was, to be able to hand out that check, I think it was on maybe Tuesday we did it last year, and just see directly some of the people it was going to be impacting, it's a great thing that they've got going, and it's exciting, we're already above the numbers right now that we had set last year, and obviously with Scott Piercy on board, too, he makes a lot of birdies. You know, that definitely helps, but it's been fun. I think about it sometimes. I'm like, I think about it if I make an eagle, like oh, that cost people a lot of money. It's kind of in the back of my mind. It is funny, I almost made a double eagle last week. I don't think that's one of the categories, but it should count for a hole‑in‑one category, just for future reference. That should be thrown in there, I think. But it's been fun to be involved with it and to have‑‑ to see my play actually directly impact people, it's a great thing to be involved in. THE MODERATOR: It was a great fall in another way. 12 days later you become a father, and I understand we need a birthday cake ready this Saturday of the tournament. RYAN MOORE: Yeah, it was a really crazy October. My wife and I's anniversary is October 14th, so that's going to be the Monday of the tournament this year. My son's birthday is October 19th, so that's the Saturday of the tournament. And obviously celebrating defending a title. It was amazing last year, just the timing and everything, and a way to kind of finish out my year and win a tournament and win at home, a home crowd, and the first UNLV guy to ever win this tournament, and my entire family was here and my wife's entire family was here. It was just an incredible week, and then we had our son seven days later. Obviously that week will be a very special week in my mind forever. I don't think there's anything that can quite match it. THE MODERATOR: And you told me that they're all coming back because it worked last year, so everybody was here last year so you're going to have another big houseful of guests. RYAN MOORE: Yeah, absolutely. I told them they have to come, they have no choice. Fortunately it's pretty easy for my wife's family. They all live in Southern California, so they're going to head on out and my family is going to be here, and it's just going to be a fun week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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