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THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 24, 2019

Geoff Nicholas

Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Q. When those watching the Open hear your story, they're going to be fascinated, and they'll be like, how did this happen. How much belief did you have that you could do this?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Good question. Actually I've come over 10 days ago to play in the European disabled tournament in Scotland. The top 10 in the world got a start from that, part of the European Tour and part of the initiative by the EDGA for golfers with disabilities golf rankings. So I thought, well, I'm over here, I might as well try for The Open, and a week later here I am, qualified on Monday.

Q. Some people may see this as a disability. What do you see it as?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, obviously a disability, but disability is only what you make of it. I just get around -- I think if you start thinking disability, that's when you're in trouble. I just get around as if I haven't got it. It's there, but I always feel like disability is what you sort of make of it, and I feel when I go out and play I haven't got one, and that's part of the deal, I think, to succeeding.

Q. Given that a lot of people that tune into us want to know your mechanics, how do you work with the swing with the disability?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, it's the right leg, so it's not too bad. I just still turn and -- most golfers that see me don't realise I've got one, so I can still play. I probably lose a little bit of distance, but I'm reasonably accurate, so I'm happy with that.

Q. What are your emotions rubbing elbows and playing golf alongside some of the best to ever play the game?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, it's brilliant. Just to qualify for an Open, a major is terrific. That's probably one of the dreams, and then to get in the other day, that was brilliant. This field is some of the old legends. It's just great to be here.

Q. You may or may not know this or like this, but you probably are inspiring a lot out there. Are you thinking about it?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, probably -- that's a good question. I have so. Other people with a disability, it gives them a goal that you can go out and do something and achieve something, and the level they can go to play with the best in the world. I like to feel I'm inspiring people, and there's a lot of people out there -- and golf is such a great game to do that. There's so many, whether in a wheelchair, so many avenues to succeed that way.

Q. What's a good week for you?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, it would be nice to get to Saturday, Sunday, and actually just to be here is great. But I'll go out this afternoon and have a practice, and I know it's a tough course, and we'll see how we go from there.

Q. Tell me about the playoff and how that went for you because that was not easy. Tell us even how you got in the playoff.
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, yeah, in regulation I think I sunk a 25-footer for birdie, and that got par for the round, so that got me into the playoff. And then the playoff there was five of us, two spots, two alternates, and five of us birdied the first, and then we all parred the second. Then the third, one guy dropped out, and all the other parred it. On the 18th one guy knocked it on for two, it's a par-5, and I hit an 8-iron in to about 15 feet, and the other two parred it and I bent in the 15-footer, so I was 2-under in the playoff, so that was nice.

Q. Did the playoff still go on after that or did you get literally the last spot?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: No, that was the last -- yeah, I got the last spot, and one guy had a 5, the other one had a 6, so they got the two alternate spots, so it finished there.

Q. Did you ever think you would be here?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Probably not. Well, I came over -- I got an invite from the European Tour. We played in the WADGA, which now has a World Ranking for golfers with a disability, and I'm ranked No. 9, so I got a start in the Scottish Open, and the course was close to this. I thought, I might as well try and pre qualify, I've come all that way, and here I am.

Q. For people that don't know your story, describe what you went through growing up.
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, it was pretty -- I lost my leg when I was 11, had thalidomide, which is -- mom took a morning sickness drug. And I was very sporty, so I couldn't play, and golf I started a year later, after 12, and just fell in love with the game. That was sort of my thing that really helped me get through life, I think. It was such a great game like that.

Then I got down to scratch, and then I went on to the PGA Tour in Australia for 10 years in the '90s, then now playing the seniors back home.

Q. For people who might wonder, how does he do that with the right leg --
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, I think it's like anything. You learn -- you can see some people without arms and legs can adapt to anything, it's the same. You just adapt to it, and the more you do it, it becomes just second nature then.

Q. Is there anything you have to do with your swing to --
GEOFF NICHOLAS: No, I don't think so. No, it just -- it's just swing -- I'd probably like to swing a bit better, but I think you've just got to adapt to what you've got. I've been doing it for a long time now.

Q. Are you able to hit with power and all that stuff?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: I'd like to be a little bit more powerful, but that's where I probably lose a little bit, the power. The short game is good and has to be. That makes up for it.

Q. What do you think you've maybe proven or shown people by your accomplishment here?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, I think it's something -- you can do anything you want. It happened for me, and not that -- it's great it happened, and if it didn't happen I wasn't still upset, but now I'm here and it's great. I think it's just something you can -- a lot of people -- the disabled -- golf is such a great game, and you can match up with the best in the world. It's probably the only sport where a disabled athlete can compete professionally against another professional. There's no other sport like that.

Q. Can you believe you're going to be rubbing elbows with Tom Watson and Fred Couples and all those guys?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, well, that's something special. Yeah, it's great to be in that company. Back in the '96 Australian Open I was in the same tournament as Tiger Woods, so that was special, and actually beat him the first round. He didn't have a good one and I had a reasonable one, so I've always got that on me. But yeah, it's great. A lot of the legends of golf it's great to be around, too.

Q. What are your expectations here for the week?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, just sort of go out and try to play well and see what happens. I'm 1000/1 in the bookies, but I'll just go out and play hole by hole. I think that's the way to do it.

Q. Lastly, what kind of response have you gotten from your family and just others?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, respect from Australia, it's been terrific. We've had a lot of -- the Australian PGA Tour have congratulated me, and EDGA, the European Disabled Golf Association, who run a lot of the disabled golf, and yeah, the family and friends have been very supportive.

Q. I read your story about everything you went through growing up, bullied and all that stuff. You've overcome a lot. How did you get through all that?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, I think when you are -- I think it toughens you up as you get older, and that's the thing. I mean, you can take it two ways. You can sort of sit back and take it, but obviously I didn't do that, and I sort of -- probably made me a bit stronger as I grew up, having been bullied. But a lot of people get bullied, and you've just got to -- yeah.

Q. What's next for you?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, after this I go back home. We've got a few events -- there's one in Dubai, the race to the top eight from the disabled are playing there, and also the Australian Open again. And I'll probably play a few senior events back home. So I'm probably playing more golf now than I was when I was younger.

Q. Any aspirations of maybe playing on the regular Tour in the States?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Probably -- it's a little hard because I've got a three-year-old, so that's sort of keeping me -- yeah. And I probably need a bit more length. I would have loved to because I'm 58 now. But if I get a start here or there, it would be lovely.

Q. Seems like your game is just as good as it's ever been just by what you've been doing.
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, it's good. Probably, as I say, a little bit more distance -- I've been working a little bit more on my stretching because when you get a little bit older the back is not quite as supple and all that. Probably a little bit more distance because my short game is very good. Even the other day when I played the course, I only had 11 putts for the nine holes, so that was -- that did help, put me to 2-under.

Q. What's the reaction from other players when you're out there playing?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, most of them are sort of -- well, they don't know what to expect, and sort of they don't realise, and when you wear long pants and you walk reasonable, they don't know. But I think when we play in these events, the disabled group, then they realise, and that's been well received. But yeah, the players are all -- most of the players back home, they all know, and it's just -- I feel it's just another thing you don't sort of think too much of it.

Q. I read, though, that you felt a lot of pressure to try to qualify for this event, that you had the weight on your shoulders. Why is that?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Well, I think, yeah, there's probably a thought, well, I was trying to -- maybe more for the disabled side of it, yeah, I'd like to try and get that a little bit more exposure, which has happened now, so that's good. And how I go, it's good just to get in and I'm happy to get in. But I think that's sort of been one of the players that play in that top 10, this is great exposure for that. That's the only -- wasn't a personal thing, it was more for the disabled side, yeah.

Q. What do you want to say to the person out there that is disabled maybe and just had something like that happen to them?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Oh, yeah, well, there's a few guys that I've been playing with, Mike Browne from England, he lost his leg and now he's No. 2 in the world, and only four years ago, and he didn't play golf beforehand. So I think it's a game where -- there's a lot of clinics they give out, even seeing people in wheelchairs get out there. It's such a great sport like that, it gets you outside and gets you motivated. I think that's the big word is the motivation. That's what I -- you've got to be motivated. Once you start doing things like that, that helps a lot.

Q. Do you feel like you've already won this week, whatever happens?
GEOFF NICHOLAS: Yeah, that's probably a little bit of the -- I felt that when I played the Tour back home. I felt just qualifying on the Tour, that felt great, but I've probably got to sort of knuckle down and say, well, that's only the first step, you've got to keep going. That's the thing. You can qualify, but then your next stage is to try and win, too. That happened when I was in Australia a little bit. I was just happy to get in the tournaments and play because I was winning all the -- I won the U.S. Amputee title 12 times, 12 years in a row, and that's when I was at my best. I felt like I was the king of that, and I'd come to the Tour and you're just one of the regular guys then. But I was just happy to be there, and a lot of guys -- just to play out on the Tour, it felt great.

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