	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

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

March 15, 2016

Maverick McNealy

Orlando, Florida

AMANDA HERRINGTON: I'd like to welcome Maverick McNealy to the Interview Room here at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

You come to us as the first invitee winner of the Arnold Palmer Cup exemption. Take us through that event and the experience you had and why you were chosen by your peers to be here.

MAVERICK MCNEALY: Yeah, it was my first Palmer Cup played at Rich Harvest Farms. My caddy Zach was there. It was such a fun event. Kind of a precursor to some of the team events I played that summer.

Playing for Team USA and your country is an incredible experience. Lucky to come out on top. All the guys I played with are great friends now.

The way it kind of worked, everyone voted for someone who they thought other than themselves that embodied the values and legacy of Arnold Palmer and the winning team -- we didn't really know who that was until they announced the winning team that representative -- that was a long explanation.

Winning team's representation was me. Team USA won. It was a surprise and a great honor and I think one of the bigger compliments I ever received in the golfing world to be voted by my peers for something that meaningful and I was really appreciative and it was a very humbling honor for sure.

Q. How has your experience at Bay Hill been so far?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: It's a great course, in incredible condition. I got to play with some pretty cool guys so far. I had fun in the Pro-Am yesterday. I'm playing with an old teammate of mine, Patrick Rodgers this afternoon. Excited to tee it up. It's a learning experience every time I come out here. I'm excited to see what we can do.

AMANDA HERRINGTON: We're coming off a week where we saw Georgia golfer Lee McCoy finished 4th at the Valspar Championship.

When you're watching a fellow collegiant athlete perform so well on the Tour, what's going through your mind?

MAVERICK MCNEALY: He's a great guy. I played with him at our college tournament. He was striping the ball. I was playing two rounds. I wasn't really that surprised.

Give you an idea of how good of a guy Lee is, why I'm so happy that he's playing so well and finally getting some recognition for his great play, for the Haskins Award Ceremony on the Golf Channel right before it went on the air he said, "Maverick, I voted for you. I hope you win."

That's just the kind of guy Lee is. I couldn't have been rooting harder for him this week.

Q. What types of things can you learn in pro events that you can't in an elite amateur tournament?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: It's just everything these guys are doing. Obviously it's a different course set-up. You have to play those differently. I was just out playing 9 holes with a couple guys, Ryan Palmer and Will McGirth and watching how they go about the practice rounds, what shots they work on, how they play, practicing shots they want to leave themselves and kind of -- their interactions with their caddies and interactions with whoever the coaches they have there and just -- it's just fun to see how these guys operate.

Just like I was the freshman I copied everything Patrick and Cameron did. I'm kind of the newbie out here copying everything the pros are doing.

Q. Have you gotten an opportunity to meet Mr. Palmer yet?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: I met him twice.

Q. What's the first time?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: The first time at the Palmer Cup. I actually had the honor of addressing him on behalf of Team USA, the opening banquet and basically the message there was thank you for the legacy you left for the game and how that is, in a lot of ways, more impressive than the legacy left on the golf course and it's our job as the next generation of golfers to pay that forward and embody body that.

And then the second time was with the Walker Cup practice session, our Captain was good friends with him. We got to spend a weekend with him in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Q. Your first encounter with Arnold Palmer you had to make a speech for him.
MAVERICK MCNEALY: I did.

Q. How nervous is that compared to being on the first tee of a big golf tournament?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: I didn't want to mess that one up. On behalf of the teammates, ran it by them and made sure what I was saying was something we all wanted to address him and talk to him about and I think he really liked it, too and John Raum did the same for the European side.

It's a different kind of nerves and pressure. They were both great experiences.

Q. What was his reaction to you?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: He just gave us a big thumbs up and smiled in typical Arnold Palmer fashion.

Q. Finally, do you recall how old you were when you first became aware of Arnold and what he accomplished in golf?
MAVERICK MCNEALY: I was -- I played golf since as long as I can remember but Arnold Palmer is just a household name. I don't think I really gained an appreciation for what he's done on the golf course and off, just not having been able to watch him growing up, until the last year or so getting to meet him and learning more about it and it's really incredible.

It's something that we can all strive for whether we play that well or not.

Q. You mentioned you have your caddy from the Palmer Cup this week. You've had your dad caddy for you in the past.
How is this experience different and how much are you looking forward to having the same caddy from that tournament?

MAVERICK MCNEALY: He's sitting right behind you, Zach Urwiler. At the Palmer Cup we drew names out of the hat and that was our caddy for the week.

I think the only person that was more excited than me to have him was him to have me. I don't know but it was cool. We've had so much fun and a little fact about Zach, he's five-eight and he can dunk a basketball. His vertical jump is a whooping foot and a half higher than mine.

No, it's great. We've had a lot of fun throughout and we're both just soaking it in this week. I'm really happy to have him here. I guess as far as that goes, relative to having my dad, it's a little -- I feel a bit like an older brother I can say as opposed to a son.

People have asked if he's my brother or my teammate but we're just good friends and out here having fun together and obviously my dad knows me a lot better than Zach does. I fell like at the end of the this week Zach and I will know each other in a way lot of people won't know other people.

MARK WILLIAMS: Thank you for joining us today. Good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297