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THE AMERICAN EXPRESS

January 19, 2020

Andrew Landry

La Quinta, California

THE MODERATOR: I would like to welcome in the 2020, The American Express champion, Andrew Landry. That was quite the dramatic finish you had on the back nine. I'm sure you wanted to get it done in an easier fashion, but how does it feel to be the winner?

ANDREW LANDRY: It feels great. This is, winning out here is hard. So yeah, I played some good golf throughout the week, and my golf swing just did not feel super comfortable today. It started out all right and got a little loosey goosey there. But, yeah, just kind of made a small adjustment there on the 14th tee and hit a really, really nice tee shot and -- or I'm sorry, the 15th tee -- and just kind of gave me some good swing thoughts coming down the stretch. So just to be able to get the job done, man, it means a lot to be able to be a winner again.

THE MODERATOR: You came close a couple years ago, losing in a playoff. What allowed you to kind of finish it out this time around?

ANDREW LANDRY: I mean, we all build, every TOUR player will build on past experiences. So losing in a playoff, after missing a 6-footer down the hill was not something that you want to do, but it helped me to where I could go and win Valero, and all those experiences help. So I learned how to control my emotions. I learned how to control my pace, all these things helped me become successful. So being able to just put myself in that situation and control my pace today and that's the only thing I'm thinking about, it kind of takes your mind off of golf. It's hard when you have a big lead, because then you kind of start playing a little defensive and instead of playing defensive you need to be playing more aggressive and just keep hitting the shots that you need to hit. And that little hole, that little stretch there with three bogeys in a row, that was me being way too defensive. So I'm fortunate that it worked out the way that it did and I wouldn't have been very, very happy if it didn't work out way.

THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions, please.

Q. Have you ever experienced a round that seemed so certain after No. 12, and then became so shaky after 15? What was that roller coaster like?
ANDREW LANDRY: I've seen them, but I haven't been a part of them. I don't like being a part of them either. I just tried -- I just kept telling Terry -- I told Terry on number 15, I said, Let's go get this job done, like, quit messing around. And, yeah, I don't want to be a part of something like that ever again.

Q. On 17 how difficult was it to just sort of steel yourself and hit that shot?
ANDREW LANDRY: That's a tough shot, especially with the number that we had today. I knew that it was a touch into the wind and it was 159 yards down the hill, and I knew 9-iron was just not going to -- I would have to flush one to get it to the front edge. And so having to chip something down, and when there's water completely around the whole entire green, is a tough shot and especially in that moment. So, but I just held on and hit a great golf shot there and then had an absolute perfect number on the last hole to throw a wedge in there.

Q. You said earlier in the week that this season has been about inconsistency on your part. 64, 65, 66, 67 seems pretty consistent for you. What was it that changed from, I mean, obviously, you're healthier from Sony, but --
ANDREW LANDRY: Yeah, no, I don't know, I mean, honestly, I played some good golf in the off-season and I practiced really hard, and like I told you the other day, I got sick the week before Hawaii and I just was not, not really ready to start the season yet. And I went out to Hawaii and we caught some pretty bad winds and some rain and just wasn't the greatest of conditions to be able to play as your first week back, when you get some nerves, because it is your first week back, and that. But we flew over here, we stayed in Hawaii for a couple extra days and flew over here on Monday and just got some good work in. I mean, this place is easy to get a lot of good work in. It's absolutely perfect conditions and there's no wind and perfect weather. And so just being able to come out here and really try to work really, really hard, just got some swing thoughts going and they worked all week.

Q. You mentioned earlier or yesterday about working with Elkington. What kind of stuff have you done with him and how did that help you, especially coming down the stretch today?
ANDREW LANDRY: I mean, we don't like really work together or anything, but he, what he did for me at Valero was he told me, he just told me how, like, what to expect. Coming from a guy like that, you listen. I mean, he is a top player and was a top player in his era. And those are moments where, I even kind of mentioned something to Terry about like, Hey, look, we have been here, we know what's going to happen with media or camera guys or just anyone, really, fans. I mean, the fans are going to be towards, for Rickie and it happened the same way with Dustin Johnson at Oakmont, like, it's, same thing with Valero. The fans are going to be against you and you've just got to let it all go and just play your own game and play your own way, and you can't steer from your game plan. And so he just kind of helped with things like that. It sounds kind of stupid, but it really does help. It helped me and, I mean, it helped me to win Valero and it helped me to win today.

Q. You talked about Valero and the success on the final day, and you sort of mentioned Oakmont. How do all those experiences build up over time where you get to situations and you kind of know what to expect because you've been there, you've experienced it? And how is it not to have experienced those things and then be in like a final-day situation?
ANDREW LANDRY: Yeah, it's tough, because you look at the top players in the world and they have got a lot of experience being up there and a lot of experience being in the final group and a lot of experience winning. And so every single time that you take this day and you just build from it. You go think back on what you did and what you should have done differently and that all goes into just an arsenal in the back of your mind that, how to win. I struggled really, really bad in college golf with winning. And I broke a school record at Arkansas, I think for most top-10 finishes, and it was like, that's not a good stat to have, like, I wanted to win. And so I think going to the Korn Ferry TOUR really helped me learn how to win. And when you're playing on the Korn Ferry TOUR, you learn how to win out there, that's going to be helpful to learning how to win out here. Look at a guy like Scottie Scheffler, you know, he didn't have his best game today, but he knew he needed to finish it off and he did a great job trying to finish this thing off. And the Korn Ferry TOUR really teaches you a lot as a player on how to travel and really how to win. And if you can't win out there, there's been, it's been done, but if you can't win out there, it's going to be tough to win out here because it's, this is a very, very hard place to win and all those experiences just help you.

Q. Everyone seems to describe you as tough. That's always one of the first words that comes --
ANDREW LANDRY: As what?

Q. Tough. Where does that come from?
ANDREW LANDRY: I don't know, probably because I'm 5'-7", 150 pounds (laughing) and I'm playing up against a lot of 6'2" guys. No, I don't know. I was kind of tough in my younger days at junior golf. My mom would just kind of, You don't want it bad enough. It would make me want to go out and show her and prove to her. And so she still does that to this day and it really pisses me off, so (laughing).

Q. And before the off-season you missed six of seven cuts. Was there any part of you that was nervous about the state of your game?
ANDREW LANDRY: Absolutely. John Deere last year really helped me because it was a year that was very similar to 2016 for me where I just was not playing good. And go out at John Deere and I got outplayed and finished third and barely snuck in at Wyndham to make it to the playoffs. And so having that third there, it made me just think, Hey, look, you know what, we're going to be in contention one to three times a year. So just wait for those, be patient, and whenever you're there, you know what to do, try to go capitalize on it. And so those were, those are key moments. John Deere was a huge moment for my year last year. And so I just, those are the things that you look back on and it helped me today.

Q. You mentioned at the presentation that, coming in on 18, the last 18, you did feel some nerves there for awhile. How do you recoup, what goes through you at the time, are you aware of what you're feeling and do you go through a process to recoup?
ANDREW LANDRY: Absolutely. If you have nerves, that's a good thing, that means you're doing something right. So, yeah, just embracing them, knowing that they're there. My golf ball was going a lot further today, we have been pretty much, honestly, playing a percentage out here, two, three percent because of the cool weather and the air. But, yeah, just -- and I never had to play any kind of percentage today. So I was aware that the golf ball was going a lot further and just embracing it and just saying, Hey, you know what, like that's a good thing, that's a great thing to be able to have some nerves and that means you're doing something right.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you for your time and congratulations again.

ANDREW LANDRY: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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