MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 5, 2021

Tyler Strafaci

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: It's my great honor to welcome Tyler Strafaci to Augusta for the first time. Tyler won the 2020 U.S. Amateur, and that's an achievement he shares with the founder of this club, Bobby Jones. And he also shares this achievement with other Georgia Tech golfers, which is rather remarkable, Matt Kuchar a good many years ago, but most recently with his teammate and close friend, Andy Ogletree. So we've had two Georgia Tech golfers win two years in a row the U.S. Amateur.

Tyler, there must be something special about the Georgia Tech golf program. Did Andy give you any advice?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so Andy was one of my close friends in college. Lived with him for three years. We had a great time during those years, and just being kids and having fun.

So when he qualified for the Masters a couple -- or last year, he had a great tournament, had a lot of fun, played with Tiger Woods, kind of our idols growing up. So it's a little different situation than I'm in this year, but I've still got the defending champion, Dustin Johnson, who is one of my idols. He's a great player.

But he just had a great week, had a lot of fun, enjoyed the moment. And he texted me last night pretty much saying just enjoy the week, this is a very special tournament. This will be my only time playing the Masters as an amateur, so I'm going to use every bit of it, and I'm just going to be 22 years old and just have a good time.

THE MODERATOR: Well, you've got another rather remarkable link to Augusta National and the Masters. Your grandfather played in at least two Masters in 1938 and 1950. This has to be very special for your family. Tell us about that history and your perspective on following in the footsteps of your grandfather.

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so I never got to meet my grandfather, but he's been a very integral part of my life. He was a huge part in how I was raised, how my father raised me.

My grandfather came from nothing. He came from Italy, his family did, and just came from nothing. And he built a great career, became a great amateur golfer. Played in two Masters, won the Pub Links, finished ninth in the U.S. Open.

So he had quite the unbelievable career coming from no money. He was very inspirational. So just being in the Masters and playing a tournament that he did, it's a dream come true. It brings me closer to him. I would have loved to meet him, but as my father says, he would have much rather me play in the Masters than him, and it just shows how great of a person he is because my father really believes that. It's really cool.

THE MODERATOR: A lot of young people, of course, are watching great golfers like you and making decisions about their own athletic career and also their lives. You not only won the U.S. Amateur, but you were an Academic All-American at Georgia Tech for two years, and I am told by your great golf coach that you won the Bobby Dodd Most Outstanding Student-Athlete in the whole school with all the athletes being measured, and you won that at Georgia Tech.

If you were giving advice to young people, and I must also add me because it took me 40 years to get a degree at Georgia Tech and it was honorary when I finally got it, so I need some advice on that, too, what do you advise young people in terms of the academic side, playing golf, spending all the time practicing and playing, and then also doing so well in school at a very tough school?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so it was tough. I was academically gifted in high school to where I really didn't have to work very hard to get decent grades, and I got by. And I'm competitive. I got pretty much straight A's in high school, and it was never a big deal for me to work harder because I got A's and I didn't really have to do anything much better to kind of fulfill my goals.

I came to college a freshman. Partied a little too hard, and I got 2.8, and I was really frustrated. I didn't want to go to college and just go through the motions, get B's and C's. I wanted to be the best academically I could.

Heppler sat me down in his office after my freshman year and said, "You have a great opportunity to do something special at Georgia Tech. You could be the Byron Nelson winner. You could win the Bobby Dodd Award. I feel that's the direction for you."

The next two years, I didn't make anything less than an A. I got into a great relationship with a girl who I'm still dating now and just got more structured.

To me, being Academic All-American is as important as any other golf accomplishment I had because I worked hard and changed my lifestyle to do that.

The advice I would give someone is it's going to be tough. You're going to go to college. You're going to have a lot of distractions. You're going to have to grow up, but there's no reason why you can't go out, work hard and get good grades. And that should be one of your main focuses in school because getting that degree and getting those good grades is going to set you up later in life.

Q. Your grandfather had an interesting debut. Can you tell us the details of that story and also your reaction when you first heard the details of that debut?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, that's a weird one. He qualified for the 1938 Masters from either winning the Pub Links or finishing ninth in the U.S. Open. He got invited to the Masters. He came. He played the first round. And in order for him to make the Walker Cup Team, he felt like he had to go and defend his title at the North South.

So he actually withdrew after the first or second round of the Masters and went to go play in the North South, which he won. And it just shows how different the tournament has changed over the years where my grandfather actually withdrew from the Masters to play in a tournament other than the Masters.

So if I did that, I don't think I would ever be invited back. So it's changed a lot. So it's cool to see how it's gone through history and just the prestige of the event. I was very shocked when I understood the reasoning why he withdrew.

Q. What does it mean to have your father out there and walk the whole course with you?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so my father ended up having an opportunity to play with me last week out here with one of the members, Michael Muir, and that was probably as cool of an experience as I'll ever have in my life, just that connection with my grandfather, walking the same grounds he did. It was cool for him because he heard stories growing up from my grandfather playing Augusta. So just being out there, and he's going to be my instructor for the week. He works on my swing and he was kind of my first golf coach.

But yeah, just having him out there, I needed support and need him there for me because it's going to be a nerve-wracking week just being in an uncomfortable situation, and I'm looking forward to it. And if he wasn't here, it would be a tough time for me. But I'm glad he's here to be by my side and we're going to have fun.

Q. Curious if your family has any artifacts or good luck charms from your grandfather's appearances at Augusta that may have inspired you along the way. And you alluded to it that your roommate played with Tiger and you're going to play with DJ; how do you prepare yourself for the Patrons, the roars? How do you prepare yourself for what that's going to be like?

TYLER STRAFACI: The first one, yeah, we have a very cool artifact from my grandfather. It's his contestant badge I think in 1950. It's this big bronze medal with the clubhouse and it says "Contestant" on it. It's very similar to the badge that members get that they have on their bags.

And that's been in my dad's office. He hasn't let me touch it pretty much my whole life, but I've gone there and touched it a few times. It's really cool just seeing that part of history in his office and where he came from. That just shows how important that golf tournament was to him.

But the second part, yeah, there's no preparing for that. I'm just going to go out, have fun, be a kid, go make some fist pumps, make some birdies and enjoy the moment. This has already been the coolest experience of my life, just leading up to this tournament. I don't know how it can get -- I'm sure it's going to get better, but it's going to be so fun. I'm just hoping to make contact with that ball on the first tee and then just go compete.

Yeah, I went up to DJ yesterday and just introduced myself. He was a very nice guy, very welcoming. And that was important for me to do so I get on the first tee and I kind of know him a little bit. I didn't want to. My dad was like, "You should probably go introduce yourself."

I was like, "Okay."

But yeah, it's going to be fun, a lot of people. I'm sure it's going to be a different environment than I've ever been in, but I feel like I'm going to do really well once I get past that first tee shot. I'm sure I'm going to hit it pretty good. But once I get past that first tee shot, I'm just going to go compete.

Q. I understand that basically last March you had kind of made the decision that you were going to probably turn pro after last college season before everything shut down like a week or so later. Can you think about just all the things that have now come your way in this year that you might not have gotten to do, had your normal plans gone ahead and happened without a pandemic?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so I remember very distinctly, it was -- I think it was right after the Las Vegas tournament in college, we found out our season was canceled. Immediately then it was heartbreaking for everyone on the team. We didn't know what the future held. We just had in our minds we were going to win the National Championship last year and really felt like we had a good shot.

After that, it kind of turned to do I turn pro, do I wait, do I come back for kind of the PGA TOUR and kind of use it that way. But kind of came to the conclusion that I was going to come back to school and kind of do stuff and had a really good summer and didn't kind of -- I didn't really expect to win that. In the back of my mind, I wanted to win the Am, but you can't really plan on that.

So once that kind of happened, it was a tough decision I had to make to not go back to school. I know Coach Heppler and Georgia Tech understand my decision because I needed to put myself in uncomfortable situations and just learn from the experiences and get better from it. So it was -- a lot's been thrown my way, but I know I made the right decision. I'm turning pro coming up.

Q. Two-part question. Talking to your dad, I don't know if I got the story exactly right, but coming out of high school before you got to Tech, did you have a chance to come over here, and you had to be kind of convinced to come? I think you were saying you didn't want to come until you actually played the place. Is that true?

TYLER STRAFACI: That is true. I never wanted to come to the Masters until I played in the golf tournament. So when I committed at Georgia Tech, I think it was the Tuesday before the Masters in my sophomore year in high school and I went to the dinner and I told Heppler I was going to come to Georgia Tech, and my dad mentioned that him and my brother were going to the Masters to go watch.

And Heppler asked, "Are you going to the Masters?"

I said, "No, I'm going to wait till I play in the golf tournament."

And Heppler pretty much said, "That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard because you're going to be playing it four times. Are you going to stay back and not play?"

I'm like, "I guess I'll go."

We had a very fun time after I committed, and that was my first trip to Augusta, because I went and got to see everything going on and knew what to expect. That was a very cool day being with him and my brother.

Q. What is your familiarity with this place, and because you've had some chance to play out here.

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so being a part of Georgia Tech, just that familiarity with Bobby Jones and Augusta and East Lake and all that stuff, so you know what Augusta National is like, just the history of it.

But we played -- I think I played two times in four years. I couldn't make a couple of the trips because I was back home playing a tournament. But being there and getting used to the place, it plays different in January when it's 35 degrees and raining. But just coming out, I think my first round was with Luke Schniederjans and Andy Ogletree, and we had a great time. We didn't care what we shot, just having fun, hitting shots. That was a pretty cool experience.

Leading up to the tournament, I think I played close to ten rounds of golf. The course changes every single time I come. It gets firmer and faster. It's kind of cool because I came the last four weekends before the tournament, so I've kind of acclimated myself a little bit, but the greens are kind of getting firmer. So I've got some more prep over the next few days to feel comfortable.

Q. So you said that you played here about a week ago or a couple weeks ago, you were here with your dad. Who else was on your mind as you were walking around the grounds?

TYLER STRAFACI: Just our family. I mean, it's pretty cool, kind of just the whole Strafaci family is an American dream. Just where my grandfather and my grandmother and even my parents on my mother's side, none of them were been in the U.S. So it was cool just to kind of be there and to see where we all came from and to have my father walking down the fairways, it was very emotional.

We were pretty much walking arm-in-arm the whole time just kind of sharing experiences, talking about what the week is going to be like. It an experience I hope I have with my son or daughter one day.

Q. With your grandfather and your dad and Andy and the Georgia Tech connection, how do you manage that and how much heavier is it coming here and playing with all the other things going on? It's one thing to be U.S. Amateur champ coming here and playing, but you have all these other side stories that make it a robust experience. Curious how that feels and how you manage that.

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, it's just a cool part of it. I don't think it's adding my pressure or any distractions. It's just cool to be -- just cool to be here. Again, I'm going to have fun. And all that stuff about my grandfather and Andy playing, it just makes the experience way cooler, and I'm glad they did. It's probably going to make my experience way easier here because I've learned so much about it through Andy and people that played in the past.

Q. Back to your grandfather, being the director of golf at Doral, can you share maybe a couple of the stories that have been passed down in your family about some of the folks he interacted with in that position? I know there's one about picking up Jack Nicklaus at the airport.

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, so my grandfather in Miami during the '50s through probably the middle '70s was a celebrity in Miami. Doral used to be a celebrity event. So he would kind of help all those guys out, help them get situated and all that stuff. But he was close -- one of the cool things, he was very close friends with Babe Zaharias. She's an icon in golf.

And some of the stories I've heard from my father passed down with their relationship, and he was friends with Arnold Palmer, just playing him in that match in the Amateur. Jack Nicklaus he knew very well. And also DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, there's pictures in my dad's office of him hugging and whatever with all those guys, holding my father when he was a little baby. It's always pretty cool going to my dad's office and seeing all these pictures.

THE MODERATOR: What advice have you received in preparation for this year's Masters besides Andy? Anything else come to mind?

TYLER STRAFACI: Go have fun. That's pretty much all it is. I'm not going to be -- I'm competing for the love of the game this week, which is great. I'm an amateur. That's a great thing about the Masters. Me, Joe Long and Ollie, we're going to have a great opportunity to just compete and have fun with nothing to lose. It's probably going to be the last time that's going to happen for quite some time other than the Walker Cup where it's just for the purity and love of the game.

So I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. You Tweeted something at Genesis at Riviera. How healthy are you now? And what are some other Amateur traditions that maybe you're looking forward to this week?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, during the first round of the Genesis, I hurt my -- I displaced a few ribs in my back, which I played through before, but the main injury was I sprained my SC joint, which is pretty much collarbone and sternum, right where they meet. It hurt a lot. I couldn't really extend probably more than a couple feet past the ball and I couldn't really hit the ball very far.

So right now, it feels good. I've been having kind of a pitch count. I've been hitting maybe 20, 30 balls a day for the last two or three weeks.

But I'm hitting it really good. I feel healthy. My mind is clear, and so there's no excuses for playing bad golf this week. I mean, I put all my work in. I fully expect to go out and compete. So there should be no injury concern this week at all.

Q. Any Amateur things like the Crow's Nest and stuff like that?

TYLER STRAFACI: So I'm staying in the Crow's Nest tonight. That's something I dreamt of since I was a little kid, just the whole appeal of being an amateur and staying there. I've had a picture of the Crow's Nest in my room since I was probably ten years old.

I won't sleep much tonight because I'm probably just going to be hanging out watching Masters reruns and enjoying the moment and being a kid. Hopefully have a few drinks tonight and just enjoy the moment.

Q. You're obviously playing here, your granddad did twice, and you're doing something he did not get the chance to do. How rewarding is it for you to be on the Walker Cup Team that he did not get a chance to play on?

TYLER STRAFACI: Yeah, that was one of my grandfather's goals and kind of his biggest letdowns of his life that he didn't make the Walker Cup Team. Whether he deserved it or not, that's in history.

But to have an opportunity to represent the United States in the Walker Cup is pretty cool -- unbelievably cool. It's not pretty cool; it's awesome. I'm looking forward to that. That will be a great send-off into professional golf and just have fun with the teams and get friendships and try to win that thing.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Go Jackets.