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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP

July 11, 2019

Kyle Lowry

Stateline, Nevada

THE MODERATOR: We have Mr. Kyle Lowry in the interview room. Five-time NBA All-Star point guard for the Toronto Raptors, 14-year NBA veteran, Olympic gold medal winner in 2016. Did we fail to mention world champion Toronto?

Second appearance here at the American Century Championship. Last year was his first, tied for 64th. Kyle, they've got you listed at 1000-to-1 odds across the street at the casinos.

Q. Obviously, first time, can you talk about your golf game, where it is, and if you're feeling any internal pressure about playing in front of such crowds?
KYLE LOWRY: Second time. This isn't my profession, but to get an opportunity to come out here, play golf and do something that I actually love and to hang out with some great people and some friends of mine, is always one of them things you just enjoy every moment of it. But no internal pressure. You're just going to play well because, as a competitor, you look at yourself as a high-standard athlete.

Q. Take me back to those high school memories. What was one of your favorite memories playing with your Cardinals boys?
KYLE LOWRY: I don't know. Getting rid of them. Graduating. (Laughter). Just learning curve, just kind of growing as a group, growing as teen-aged kids, and just having fun and not having to worry, not worrying about bills or this or that and just being kids.

Q. What is the biggest piece of advice that you could give to athletes that want to be like you one day?
KYLE LOWRY: Just keep working. Never let anyone say you can't do something special, because they don't know who you are. They don't know the drive you have. And I think that's the one big thing you have to continue is never let someone tell you what you can or can't do.

Q. What's your thoughts on Tahoe, being up here, so far?
KYLE LOWRY: Love it. Second year being up here. I won't come up here in the winter. But summertime, you've got me anytime you want. Summertime. Winter, I'm going to leave that alone. Leave that alone.

Q. We know about your basketball game. What's your golf game?
KYLE LOWRY: It's okay. It's solid. I played well on the back. It's inconsistent as any basketball player mostly is because we don't get time to work on it as much in the winter, I don't because I'm living in snow and cold. But I just continue to get better and grow. And I have fun with it every single time.

Q. Heading into your second season in this tournament, were there any notes or anything you thought you did well in your first season?
KYLE LOWRY: I know I didn't putt well. That was the big key. I think that's always a big key here is putting well.

Q. Like you said fast-paced, unreadable greens. Once you get up there, it's hard to just put it in there.
KYLE LOWRY: And this year I hired a real caddie. So no disrespect to my high school coach who was caddying last year, but I got a great caddie now. Just putt better.

Q. Is this tournament a time for you to kick back, relax, keep a competitive mindset as you go forward?
KYLE LOWRY: Enjoy it. You definitely have the competitive mindset, but you get to enjoy it, get to be around other celebrities and athletes in general. And it's very fun.

Q. Anyone you're looking forward to seeing out here? Just a good time? We've got Charles Barkley and The Bus and Jerry Rice and --
KYLE LOWRY: Listen, those guys, those legends, just given the opportunity to shake their hands is lifetime moments for me. And I love all those guys and I respect them and what they've done for the generations before them. It's been amazing. And every time I see them I give them a great handshake and tell them that I appreciate them.

Q. Anytime you win a championship, you obviously unite a city. What was it like to unite a country behind one sport, one team, one group of guys?
KYLE LOWRY: Did you watch the parade? It was awesome. And that's the one thing about being in Toronto is you're not playing just for the city; you're playing for the country. Two million people. Five and a half hours. And that wasn't even half the people, not even probably one-tenth of the people of Canada.

Q. Tomorrow you are paired with Andre Iguodala and Vince Carter. I wonder what that conversation is going to be like going around the golf course.
KYLE LOWRY: It's going to be a lot of golf talk. No basketball. You get basketball players around each other, you don't ever talk about basketball. Never. Never.

Q. Philadelphia, Cardinal Doughtery High School, Villanova two years. What's the best cheesesteak in Philly?
KYLE LOWRY: Ishkabibble's. I don't do all that fancy Jim's and Gino's. I'm sorry. I'm straight from the gutter; I like Ishkabibble's.

Q. You tied Reggie Bush?
KYLE LOWRY: Great score. Unbelievable, thanks for the reminder. (Laughter).

Q. I like to do that, and everyone gives the same response.
KYLE LOWRY: Love it. Thank you. I appreciate it. Motivation.

Q. I haven't seen Reggie around, but if he's playing this year, are you going to have a little side bet to see who does better? It's legal in Nevada.
KYLE LOWRY: Is it? I might. Maybe. Reggie, he's a lot better than me. Maybe I can convince him to give me like five or six, maybe.

Q. To the month and the day, you won the title against a team only an hour drive away from here. Are you getting sensations or memories when you come back to the California state line or bad vibes?
KYLE LOWRY: Trick question? No, listen, I'm happy and excited about the things we did this year and accomplished. It's things that I look back on. But definitely, we're not even a month away or from it. And you still are just kind of living in that moment a little bit. And it took a long time and some hard work that went into it. And you just appreciate the journey that it took you on.

Q. If somebody asks you the number one memory from that night, what is it?
KYLE LOWRY: Being with my kids and my family for sure, the number one moment.

Q. What's more difficult playing the Warriors at Oracle and the NBA Finals or the 17th hole here?
KYLE LOWRY: You know that answer. (Laughter) 17 is unreal, man. Listen, 17 is unreal. I'm going to play it better this year. So I'm more excited about it. But I love it. This tournament is the best tournament there is for celebrities and athletes. And they do a great job, American Century does a great job of putting this on.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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