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THE HONDA CLASSICFebruary 23, 2016Daniel BergerOllie SchniederjansPatrick RodgersPalm Beach Gardens, Florida DOUG MILNE: We'll bring Ollie Schniederjans and Patrick Rogers, class of 2011 high school grads are going to join Daniel for a few minutes. Daniel, just a quick comment on the couple of guys sitting on either side of you and we'll open up and take a few questions. DANIEL BERGER: I feel like I was the worst amateur golfer in this room right now. Patrick was like No. 2 or three in the world. Ollie was No. 1. So they are definitely the better amateur junior golfers, but I like to think that I can compete with them now. DOUG MILNE: Guys, just a couple quick comments about being here this week and kind of the things you're looking forward to. PATRICK RODGERS: I'm really excited. I feel like now that I live down here, definitely feels like a home game for me. It's really nice after being on the West Coast for a month to sleep in your own bed and go to the same restaurants or cook a meal at home. I'm really excited. I feel like, as Daniel just said earlier, I feel like the conditions down here, I'm starting to get used to. They are starting to feel really comfortable. I love putting on bermudagreens, so I'm definitely excited about the prospects of playing well this week. OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: I'm really grateful just to get an invite to play this week. This is one of my favorite courses. I've always looked forward to hopefully playing this event some day. So to get to play it this year without any status is really cool for me to get to come out here and play with these guys. Any time I get to come play on the PGA TOUR this year is really neat for me. And this is one of my favorite venues, so very thrilled to get this opportunity. Q. A couple years ago, you played in the collegiate tournament, the Floridian, and you won it and that got you an exemption into your first PGA TOUR event, I believe. But just talk about what you meant about that week, and what that week did for you to be able to get on the PGA TOUR for the first time? OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: The week of the Valspar, the college event? Well, I played one of -- probably my favorite win I had in college. Really got me going to finish out my junior year. I had a great year and that kind of got me rolling. It was really neat to know eight months in advance I was going to get to play my first PGA TOUR event. That was very thrilling and exciting and I learned a lot from that. Love that course at the Floridian. Q. Daniel has made us sick of the word "expectations," but I'd be curious, when you know what you can do and you get your first taste of it at Quail Hollow last year, how do you remain patient when stuff like that doesn't happen as quickly as you want it to? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, I'd say I'm probably a little bit different than Daniel. I have really high expectations every week. The thing that I struggle with is just managing those expectations. DANIEL BERGER: (Nodding in agreement.) PATRICK RODGERS: I feel like I know that I can compete and I know that I can win out here. It doesn't make winning or being in contention any easier because you know that you can do it. So for me, it's more of a mental thing, just managing those expectations, breaking it down and just making it as simple as it can be. I know I play my best golf when I'm really relaxed and free. I play great a lot when I'm at home, just hanging out with the guys. So I think even though I have really high expectations, the more I can get in that relaxed, free, just having a good time out on the golf course mind-set, I know that's the better -- that's how I'm going to play my best. But I always feel like a great week or a win is just a week away. So I'm not really concerned so much about, it's taking a long time or I don't look so much at the course of the year. I just feel like I need to prepare well to play my best every week and every week could be the week that I breakthrough. Q. Anyone that wants to answer, when you're all fairly good as amateurs, really good as amateurs, is the more frequency of failure one of the hardest adjustments of turning pro? You don't miss a lot of cuts in college, I don't think, did you? DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I mean, I think what I've learned is that at the college level, there's probably, you know, ten kids every week that can win. At the Web.com Tour level, there's probably 50 guys every week that can win, and on the PGA TOUR, there's 150 guys every week that can win. So you're playing against the best in the world and if you want to win that week, then you have to play really well, and it's unrealistic to think that every single week you're going to play, you're going to play great. That's probably why golf is the toughest game in the world. When you get an opportunity, you just want to take advantage of it. PATRICK RODGERS: I would say I got to the point in college if I felt like I could -- you have time to prepare for every event. I felt like I was always ready to go. The schedule was really easy for me, and I felt like if I even if I didn't play well, I'd finish fifth maybe. That's not the case on the PGA TOUR. In order to be up there in contention, you have to play really solid and you have to be really solid mentally. I definitely say one of the biggest challenges, especially for guys like us who have had a lot of success is just managing those failures for sure. OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: Yeah, I think definitely in college, you can get away with a lot. You're in school and you can't really prepare the best you can, but out here, everyone, this is their full-time job. This is what they have been doing. They have been doing it for years, playing these courses for years. It's just a whole other level, it really is. You can play really good and finish 50th out here. At first, coming out here, when you're missing a cut, it really hits you hard. You feel like, wow, because before, you felt like you played okay and you still would have been Top-10 in college and not really thought a whole lot of that week. It's a whole different challenge out here for sure. Q. For Patrick and Ollie, one of your class of 2011 peers had one of the most historic seasons on TOUR last year, Jordan. When you see a guy that you've played so much with growing up, have that kind of year so fast, what does it do for your motivation and your incentive, and then early in the year, guys like Emiliano Grillo and Smylie Kaufman getting wins, is it the same kind of motivation? PATRICK RODGERS: For me it's incredibly motivating. Seeing your friends have success or if you're playing in the same events, kick your butt, it's incredibly motivating. I've said it a million times: I feel like I can compete with those guys. So, yeah, it is incredibly motivating when I see those guys have success, and my friends have success. I mean, first off, I'm really happy for them because they are my friends, the guys that I hang out with off the course and I spend a lot of time with, whether it's on the road or down here in Jupiter. But those guys have always pushed me to be the best player that I can be, and so it's no different seeing them have success on the PGA TOUR. It's just a little bit bigger stage than it was in junior golf and in college golf. But also at the same time it didn't make having success any easier. It doesn't make the PGA TOUR any easier because young guys are having success. They are just playing really great golf. They drive me to work hard. But I know it's a tough road for sure. OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: It's really fun to watch those guys do what they are doing, and Justin winning and Grillo winning and Smylie and Jordan, what he did last year. It kind of makes it you -- can make you get a little eager to get out there and join them, and you know one week can change your whole career path. But you have to -- I think for me, I just have to know, it's a long career and we're going to be out here for hopefully 20, 30 years, whatever. If my year isn't the same year as Jordan Spieth's one year, I might have that year in a few years where he might be lower. It's how the ebbs and flows might golf it's a long year so kind of have to have that long-term focus. DANIEL BERGER: I just want to say, I don't want to be playing golf in 30 years (laughter). Q. The experience you had at the British Open last year, what did that do for you, and did that just sort of prove that you were ready to be out here? DANIEL BERGER: Well, that was about as fun as I've ever had playing. To be there on the final round of a major and after ten holes look at the leaderboard, I'm in fourth place, it just came way quicker than I thought I would ever see that happen. So an amazing experience that I'll always build on and how calm I felt and relaxed I felt, having all that going on, kind of gave me some confidence that I know that when I get in that situation, I can handle it. It will be something I always remember, to finish my amateur career there. Q. Your season, a lot of strong finishes began your rookie year, stalled -- was it the grind or lack of familiarity with courses or just the nature of the game? What were the factors? DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think part of it is each week you're playing a golf course that you've never played before, and you're competing against guys that have played those courses for 15 years. So they kind of know the ins and outs. If we go play my home course that I've played for the last ten years, I'm sure I'll be better than the first time I played it. Part of it is the familiarity. And the other part is my schedule. I didn't really know what I was going to get into, what I needed to play. So I was playing four, five weeks in a row, and mentally, it's just, it's a grind. You think that you can handle five weeks in a row, but it's draining, especially when you're playing well, it's even more draining because you're in contention and every shot matters, and you're grinding over every 3-footer, every 4-footer, every chip shot. So that was part of it, and I felt like I lost a little energy in the middle of the season. Luckily I missed enough cuts and was ready to go for the playoffs (laughing). Q. You may have been asked about this before I walked in, but this finish, what did you take from it? DANIEL BERGER: I mean, one win really can change your life. Especially if, you know, your status isn't as good as some of the other guys out here. But I think making it to THE TOUR Championship last year and being fully exempt and getting into all the majors and WGCs takes a little bit of pressure off me because that's seven or eight events last year that I wouldn't have got into and I can pick my schedule a little bit better and be prepared and conserve some energy so that at the playoffs when they come around, I'll be ready to go. Q. Living in this area, obviously being on TOUR can be a little bit of a lonely experience. How much does it help just socially kind of being and living with Justin and being in an area with so many other pros? And as an aside from that, how often are you able to bum a ride on somebody's jet living down here? PATRICK RODGERS: Well, first of all, it's really nice living down here. This is basically paradise for a professional golfer. Obviously the weather is great. There are so many great courses down here, and all of my friends, especially a lot of the younger guys, are down here. Whether it's practicing and playing a game out at The Bear's Club where I play or just going out to dinner, just kicking it at somebody's place. It's a great spot for us, and I really enjoy all the time I get to spend down here. When I flew back this past weekend, it definitely felt like home. It was really nice to sleep in my own bed, cook meals at home. It did feel like coming home, which was really cool. I guess I don't have enough friends with private jets to bum rides off those guys yet (laughter) to answer that part of the question. But I love living down here. I definitely feel like a local. I'll never lose my Indiana ties or lose the feeling of being a Hoosier, but this is definitely a second home and I'm excited to feel a little bit like a local this week. Q. The Bear Trap and where it is on the round in the champion course, how difficult as a three-hole stretch -- do you mind just talking on that? OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: I finished on the Bear Trap at Q-School and I finished bogey, bogey, quad, par (laughter). But I've always had some good finishes, as well, on those holes. A lot can happen. You've got to hit some really good shots. It's definitely one of the best finishes of any big golf course I've ever played. Lots of water. Exciting for the fans, I'm sure, to watch 17 and guys coming in on 18, a reachable par 5. It's really cool. PATRICK RODGERS: For lack of a better term, you've just got to man up. You've got to hit great shots. You've got to stick your chest out and hit great shots when you need to. On most of those holes, there's no bail-out. You just have to hit the shot that's required. I'd say even on really challenging golf courses, that's pretty unique. For example, I don't think the bunker on 15 is a great ball-out. I don't think the bunker on 17 is a great ball-out. Especially when the wind is really tricky, you have to just hit some really great shots. That makes for a really exciting finish when you have guys who are nervous with the lead or being in contention. I'm excited to be in that position for sure. DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think if you're in contention and you can get through the Bear Trap at even par or 1-under, then you're going to have a great chance to win. Like last year, I mean, I wasn't even sniffing a chance and you get the last three groups coming through there and they are all playing over par and next thing you know, you have a chance to win. I think it's really important, but it really comes down to just hitting a good shot at the right time. I'd be lying to say that I was going to play that hole perfectly, all those three holes perfectly all week. But it's kind of just going in there and hitting a good shot when you need to. Q. Just talking about the Bear Trap, speaking to Pádraig about it last year, he was saying it's a good reminder that you can have a disaster near the end of a tournament and still win, having a double I think on the 71st hole. Just wondering what you learned from that experience playing against a major winner like him last year, and did he speak to you at all since then about that? DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think of Pádraig like a friend. I've been out to dinner with him probably ten or 15 times -- maybe not 15 times, but five or ten times since then. He doesn't let it go; he'll let me know every time that he won The Honda Classic (laughter). I would probably, too, remind him if I won. It's great to kind of pick the brain of a Major Champion. I've played with him a couple times since then. He's one of those guys, I think he's a true Hall of Famer and he finds a way to win. That's what I want to be remembered for. I want to be the guy that finds a way to win. Q. Just as a follow it up, did he play credit card roulette when you were out for dinner? DANIEL BERGER: No, he bought dinner and said thanks for the check that he got (laughter). Q. Having been at Stanford 20-odd years after Tiger left, what's his legacy there and what do you think of him having to miss time due to back injuries? PATRICK RODGERS: Yeah, obviously it's really cool for me just to be associated with all the great things that he accomplished when he was at Stanford. He's definitely the greatest player to go through Stanford golf. Obviously Tom Watson going there, he's accomplished some amazing things in the game, but it's hard to argue with Tiger's record, both in college and as a professional. When I was in college and kind of going through chasing Tiger's win record when he was in school, it was the coolest thing to be associated with everything that he has accomplished when he was in school there. He was definitely my inspiration when I was a kid to play golf. He made golf cool for me. He made me want to be a golfer. Every Sunday it seemed like he was on TV in contention doing some really cool stuff, and I wanted to be like him. It wasn't the reason that I went to Stanford, but once I was there, it was really cool to be associated with everything he accomplished. He's driven my whole life to be better at golf, so I definitely owe my career to Tiger Woods for sure. Q. Georgia Tech on your left, Stanford on your right. If you had to guess, who spent more time in the library? DANIEL BERGER: I'd have to say Ollie because he graduated (laughter). OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: Good answer. DANIEL BERGER: I think Georgia Tech is pretty tough. I know Stanford's hard, but Florida State's really hard, too. (Laughter) Florida State's really hard. Put that on the record. OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: For you. (Laughter). Q. In terms of the Web.com, you played a little bit last year while balancing your sponsor invites, and Ollie, you're I guess in that spot right now. Is there anything for you, having gone through that, what's the message you would give someone like Ollie? And Ollie, where do you see the Web.com Tour in your plans for this year? Daniel, I know you is played the full year, if you wanted to comment on how that helped your year, as well. PATRICK RODGERS: I think the Web.com Tour was a great kind of springboard for me last year. I know once -- obviously I got started, I played on sponsor exemptions on the TOUR and then I played on the Web.com finals and I was hurt and I didn't play as well as I would have liked. And I didn't earn my PGA TOUR card but going into that year, knowing that I had status on the Web.com Tour and that I started with the same playing field as everybody else, that was the first time that really happened for me in my pro career. That was a really good, refreshing feeling, and I started the year incredibly motivated to play on the Web.com Tour and it was an exciting thing for me. Getting off to a great start, I think I played two events and I won my second one, and I had looked at the Money List from last year and I had already made enough money to earn my TOUR card and obviously that's kind of the goal on that TOUR. So then I felt like I was really freed up to go and play as many tournaments on the PGA TOUR as I could get, and it gave me a great mind-set. And one of the first ones that I took was there at Wells Fargo that springboarded my whole year. I owe so much to the Web.com because it gave me that clean, fresh mind-set. It gave me experience playing, at least the start of a season. And I feel like I took that experience to have a great year last year, so I definitely owe a lot to the TOUR. OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS: It's very relieving knowing that you have a full schedule no matter what. I'd have to do something really great in this event or my seventh sponsor invite to get status out here before the end of the year. So knowing I have a full schedule out there and get to play a ton of golf this year no matter what, yeah, it's nice, like he was saying, to know you're starting out level with everybody at the beginning of the year on the Web.com Tour. Excited to go out there and try to win some tournaments. DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I mean, I would say that if Q-School was -- the year that I went to Q-School, if you could go straight to the PGA TOUR, which you couldn't, and I had gotten my PGA TOUR card, I would not have been prepared to play at the PGA TOUR level. I owe a lot to the Web.com to where I am today. A lot of learning curve in terms of traveling and eating and practicing and stuff that you need to get better at in order to be out here, and that's where I learned it on the Web.com Tour. DOUG MILNE: Ollie, Daniel, Patrick, we really appreciate your time and best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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