	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DIAMOND RESORTS INVITATIONAL BENEFITING FLORIDA HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN

January 15, 2016

Mardy Fish

WINDERMERE, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: Great playing today. If you could just go ahead and talk about your day and how it was this morning with the rain and going out after the delay.
MARDY FISH: It was great. I started off with two birdies. So that's always nice to get a birdie, kind of to start your round. I think I ended up making five of them and one eagle, my first eagle in these competitions. In Tahoe, I never made an eagle, and obviously yesterday I never made an eagle. So 6 points is pretty big to get on one hole.
Overall, a good day.
THE MODERATOR: And what about the course? How were the conditions after the rain?
MARDY FISH: They were great. It was windy on the back nine, which, I think, was to my benefit just because I grew up in Florida and played a lot in these conditions, but once we got started, the rain obviously wasn't an issue at all. It was actually really nice out there.
THE MODERATOR: Can you talk a little bit about your golf game in general and how often you play.
MARDY FISH: Yeah, I try to play once a week or so at home. Sometimes, when I traveled, when I played‑‑ I didn't play at all when I traveled, but I would come home and try to play. If I had a week off or something, I'd try to play a few times.
I got to practice a little bit last week, visiting family in Vero Beach. So I'm used to these courses, growing up, close to home.

Q. How did you get so good at golf? Did you play a lot as a kid, tennis and golf?
MARDY FISH: Yeah.

Q. The two famous country club sports.
MARDY FISH: I played growing up, played since I was about 5. No real lessons or anything, just kind of playing, playing with friends.
Actually, Jake Owen is my best friend from home. We grew up together in Vero Beach. We used to play at a club called Sand Ridge. Our parents would drop us off in the afternoon about 3:00, and it would be a dollar plus tax, which was $1.07 at the time. We'd get nine holes and a hot dog and chips. So myself, him, and his twin brother, we'd play almost every day in the summer growing up, when we were 10, 11, 12, 13 kind of.

Q. Nine holes, chips, and what else?
MARDY FISH: And a hot dog. For $1.07. Well, for $1 plus tax.

Q. That's pretty good. Was Andy Roddick a high school classmate of yours too?
MARDY FISH: Yes.

Q. Was that Vero Beach too?
MARDY FISH: No, that was in Boca Raton when we were using the same coach. We had the same coach, so I lived with him when I was 16, 17.

Q. Rick Rhoden has one hole to go, but with him playing the last hole, I believe you were nine points ahead. Can you get your arms around that and make‑‑ is that a commanding lead?
MARDY FISH: Honestly, I have no idea. Nine points seems like quite a lot, but you kind of equate every two points to a dropped shot or a shot ahead, something like that.

Q. It's like three birdies.
MARDY FISH: So, yeah, that's not that far. But if I make a par on a hole and he makes a birdie, he's gaining two points. So it's going to be six shots ahead. I don't know.

Q. You're gaining two there.
MARDY FISH: But one hole here, a couple holes there. This is my third one of these. So I've never really been in that situation. I'll have to ask him. He's been in it quite a lot. Hey, is this a commanding lead?

Q. He'll know. He's won, what, eight American Centuries, second there like five times.
MARDY FISH: And they had that tour back then‑‑

Q. He won 50 of those.
MARDY FISH: Like literally 40‑some times. He's a fantastic player.

Q. So you retired after the US Open last year. What have you done‑‑ what does a tennis standout do in retirement?
MARDY FISH: I've been doing some coaching, helping some of the younger players, some of the younger pros, trying to give them my expertise a little bit.
I played a little bit of golf. We've got a young son that's almost 2. So trying to spend a lot of time with them. I spent the month of December, though, working with the USDA and some of the younger juniors and pros, trying to develop them.
A little bit of traveling and stuff. Not much. It's been nice.

Q. Five birdies in the first 12 holes today. I think yesterday you had maybe six birdies in the first 13, another good start. Seemed to be the key to the whole thing.
MARDY FISH: Yeah, it's always nice to get a birdie under your belt because you kind of feel like sometimes it may be one of those days where you make a bunch of pars, and out here you've got to make three‑pointers. So it's nice to get off to a quick start.
The greens were really, really soft. At times you could even hit one up, and they would stay‑‑ they would stick into the green. So you could go after the pin quite a lot. And then the course drives out really, really well. So you just have to be aware of the spin and stuff that some of your approach shots, some of your closer approach shots, your wedge shots can do. So I was taking a little more club and taking a little spin off, which seemed to help.

Q. Game plan tomorrow?
MARDY FISH: Same thing, try to pull out the driver almost every hole and try to hit it in the fairway and try to make some putts.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297