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FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 8, 2016

Lee McCoy

Memphis, Tennessee

AMANDA HERRINGTON: We'd like to welcome Lee McCoy to the interview room here at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, making your professional start this week, four previous starts on the PGA TOUR, caught a lot of new fans earlier this year at the Valspar Championship. Go ahead and tell us what it's been like with the decision to turn pro last season of college and getting to this point.

LEE McCOY: Yeah, I mean, it's been -- it's really been a fun road. I thought about turning pro after last season, decided it wasn't really the right thing to do. I got out and mixed it up with those guys a little bit. I played at Chambers Bay last summer and played the John Deere and the Travelers and kind of realized that I wasn't quite ready. I felt like I played pretty well at the Travelers and missed the cut, and then I played really well at the John Deere and made the cut on the number and ended up in like 69th, and I'm sitting here thinking to myself, if that's good golf, then that's not going to do it. Getting 69th every week isn't going to get me anywhere if that's what playing well feels like.

So I came back to school and got a little bit more work in, and it seemed to be a good decision. I feel much more ready to be out here.

Q. What do you think the biggest hurdle is when you turn pro? Is it a concern? Is it something you have to improve?
LEE McCOY: You know, I had to fix some technical stuff. I started working with a new instructor Adam Porzak the middle of this past school year, just tightened my golf swing up a lot. I'm able to hit the ball a lot higher now. I think I picked up a pretty good amount of distance, just picked up some new shots, and I feel like my swing is much more consistent now than it used to be. It's not as much timing, and it seems to travel better week to week.

I think the biggest hurdle would be getting used to the bigger stage. I think playing down in Tampa and getting into the mix and playing with Jordan was a huge asset for me, just getting to be used to that crowd and just getting to see what that was like just one time before I got out here playing for money was -- it was a really big help. Just kind of makes me a little bit more comfortable, I think.

Q. What's it mean to you to finally get to this point and make your professional debut, and what are your expectations and mindset going into this week?
LEE McCOY: It's been a long road to get here. You know, I really enjoyed all four years at Georgia. It's an incredible place to go to school. But I'm certainly ready to be out here. I've been excited about it for a while. You know, after Tampa, I expect to contend. I feel like I'm playing good golf, and if I play the way I know I can, I can certainly be in the mix on Sunday. I'm going to have several chances to get in contention this summer. I've got a really exciting schedule lined up, so I'm just going to play as well as I can and try to get in the mix on a couple of back nines on Sunday.

Q. Was it those pro starts last year that made you say, I need to change things technically and get better, and then did you find Adam from Beau?
LEE McCOY: Yeah, I think the turning point was the John Deere when I got up-and-down for par on the last hole and made the cut on the number at 4-under, and I felt like I was putting well, I was hitting it well. Everything seemed to be going right. I was hitting a lot of fairways, and I'm making it on the number, and that's not good enough out here to make a living.

I met Adam at the Walker Cup last year. He was out there with Beau, and actually I met him at the U.S. Am last summer I think a little bit later, and we started talking about some little things, and he was able to just get me dialed in really quickly, and I certainly took notice of that and started to pick his brain about what he would change, and long-term what would really help me be more consistent and what would make me hit it higher and a little bit further.

We got through some of that stuff pretty quickly. He made a couple trips down to Athens, and we got in some good work over a couple two, three-day stretches, and it seemed to pay off. We really got it to about where we wanted it to be starting maybe a week before the Valspar. We had one long session down in Athens. I felt really good going into that week. We just had it right where we wanted it, and sure enough, I had all the shots I needed that week. I was a few good drives away from I think winning that golf tournament. I hit maybe 40 percent of my fairways I think that week. I really didn't drive it well at all, and it was about hitting good iron shots and putting well.

It was definitely a good move to make, and I feel like I have a much better chance now than I did last summer.

Q. How much did you really consider turning pro right after Valspar?
LEE McCOY: I considered it, definitely. You know, it was very tempting. I was just riding on so much confidence, I felt like I could just go out the next week and just go win. I felt like my game was that strong, and the more I thought about it, I just realized that I was so close, and to be honest with you, if we wouldn't have had such a good team at Georgia, I might have left. But we had a really great team. It was the best team that we had in my four years at Georgia. I thought that maybe I could take as well as I was playing and go help our team win a national championship. Obviously it didn't work out that way. We did win the SEC Championship this year, which is something that I'm really proud of, getting that with those guys was really special, and it's something that I'll remember forever.

So leaving school with a ring was definitely worth staying for, and I definitely wouldn't change that decision. I'm very glad I stayed.

Q. Best piece of advice you've received about this week?
LEE McCOY: You know, just -- I've been talking to Pepsi, my caddie, a lot this week, and we're just trying to take everything one shot at a time, keep the ball in front much you, just all the clichÃ©s really. You can't look too far ahead out here. You've got to stay in the moment and you've got to stay in the present. You can't think about cuts or paychecks or anything like that, which is a little bit different than what I'm used to. There's no cuts at college tournaments, and there's certainly no paychecks. I'm just trying to stay in the present, and if I hit every shot that I've got in front of me the best I can, I'm going to get the result I deserve, and hopefully it's a good one.

Q. What does your schedule look like the next couple weeks?
LEE McCOY: Busy. I've got a trip to Europe pretty soon. I think the only tournaments that have announced that I'm coming are the Barracuda and the John Deere. There are some more. I think right now I'm one away from filling my schedule as far as PGA TOUR events. I don't want to jump the gun and announce where those are before the tournaments do. They can announce that whenever they want. But it's going to be a really eventful and busy summer, and I'm very excited about it, needless to say.

Q. Europe for vacation or Europe to play an event?
LEE McCOY: To play an event.

Q. How do you describe how deep this class is of players that did decide to -- that either are at eligibility or decided to turn pro this year?
LEE McCOY: I mean, I can't remember a class this strong. It's really incredible. I feel bad for a lot of guys that are turning this year. It's just so hard to get starts right now. Without the Valspar, I wouldn't be -- I probably wouldn't be sitting here. I wouldn't have -- I certainly wouldn't have anywhere near a full schedule. So that was incredible timing and I'm very grateful to those guys for letting me in that week.

There's a lot of guys that deserve a lot of starts and aren't getting them all, and it's just no fun, but everybody just seemed to be the same age this year. It is what it is. Some guys are turning early, and some of them are -- some of it can be a little bit questionable, but if those guys know they're ready and they want to give it a shot, then that's their call, and I wish them all the best.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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