MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2022

Harry Higgs

Quick Quotes

Q. First competitive round here at Augusta National. Is it everything you thought it would be?

HARRY HIGGS: Yeah, I feel like it went by pretty quick. I did a good job of just trying to hit the shot that was in front of me, which when you do a good job like that, it usually goes by quick. I felt like I was ready for it. I knew where the golf ball was supposed to go. There's no secret out here. There's one place to miss, and one place to hit it, and it just falls on you to execute it.

It was quick, enjoyable. I made some birdies. To be the picky professional golfer and whine and moan about missing a few that I probably should have made as well, but it got difficult. I think I got a break for six, seven holes not playing in a ton of wind, and then, boy, that was difficult. It'd be fun to watch this afternoon trying to see if guys can control their ball around this place in this kind of wind.

Q. What was the most difficult part about the wind out there for you personally?

HARRY HIGGS: It just makes it difficult to get the golf ball -- as I said, there's one place to miss and one place to go, and it makes it difficult to get it into that spot, right? It's some guesswork. As a professional and with my brother on the bag, we've been doing this a long time. It's educated guesses, but...

And then it's difficult to putt in the wind. If it's a 7-iron, and you hit it hard enough that at least for a little bit it's not getting affected, but there were just a couple of putts I was off on because I thought the wind might help me out here and there, and you live with those. Oh, well. I think we're going to play in some wind again tomorrow, so I guess in a way it was probably nice to see what it's like in this kind of wind. Yeah, and just move forward. Take advantage of the holes that are down wind.

Q. What was the best piece of advice you got about playing the course?

HARRY HIGGS: Best piece of advice. I played Sunday afternoon and then Monday morning with Dustin Johnson, and kudos to him. He was a wealth of knowledge. Just every single time that -- he almost would come over and start talking to me when I would look confused. He could almost tell as if he was the same way when it was his first time around here.

But the best piece of advice is that this golf course is really hard. Four holes play under par year after year after year, and then the four par-fives, there's nothing wrong with making pars. Sure, as a professional golfer, you try to make a bunch of pars. Every now and again you'll sprinkle in some birdies, as I did today.

I think it's just kind of maybe not being too aggressive. Hit the ball in the fairway. Hit it on the green. Again, all the cliches work, but to hear that from somebody that's won this golf tournament and has been number one in the world and is world class in everything he does, then, okay, well, I better not play too aggressive.

Sure, you can pull it off every now and again, but this place is waiting for you to be aggressive and be a yard or two off, and then it's going to look like you don't know what you're doing. You're going to chip it off a green or putt it into a bunker. Lord knows. Or have a 12-footer that you putt 18 feet by. This place is waiting for you to do that, so trying my best to not let Augusta get me in that regard.

Q. On Thursday morning was a thrill to see your name up there on the board?

HARRY HIGGS: I haven't been around here enough to know when to look at them, and, again, I did a good enough job of saying, let's just hit the next shot.

Yeah, it was cool. I drove it in the fairway, and then I chopped it around after that, so I bogeyed the first. Then for a brief second there I was, like, well, wait a second. I want to make some birdies and get my name up on one of them things. I was fortunate enough to do that, and it looks like for a while there they didn't take it off.

That's obviously a thrill. I would love to be able to have that same thrill come late Sunday and then see if I can final. See if I can discern where I'm at as well. It's a little difficult.

Q. First-timer has finished runnerup. What do you attribute that success to?

HARRY HIGGS: Guys are really, really good. Who would it have been? Sungjae and Cam? Yeah. They're really, really good.

Look, I don't subscribe to the idea that there's a secret around here. Pretty much to every pin, like I said, there's a spot to hit it and there's a spot to miss it. Then also there's another one. You can go ahead and be aggressive to it, and you pick your spots to when that is.

I don't think it really takes more than three or four rounds around this place beforehand to come to that realization. Now there are some nuances as well just in kind of club selection, right?

D.J. on 16 when that flag gets over there middle right just over the bunker, he said if you have a great number, you be aggressive to it. Just into that bunker is fine. But if you don't have a great number, maybe play it short and left. Basically allow it to roll down the hill and be whole high. The putt, that 35-, 40-footer is way easier from whole high and left than if you were to be aggressive, pull it a hair and rolls down the slope, and then you have that 35-, 40-footer from past the hole.

Little things like that, that takes some time to learn, right? But, man, there's no secret to it. You have to hit good golf shots sun up to sun down. Guys are really good, and most of the young guys, I don't think they really pay attention to the moment. They get lost in what they're trying to do. They trust their ability. They're super confident in it, and a lot of guys just want to show off. They want to prove to themselves and everybody else that they're capable of winning these things.

Q. (Off microphone)

HARRY HIGGS: This was a December purchase, but it has been traveling with me a lot. I don't wear it a ton, but I figured if there was any day that would have been appropriate, maybe Thursday at the Masters.

Q. (Off microphone)

HARRY HIGGS: So they scripted me, which is a first, but I got two different scripts from Grayson, so I just kind of made it up myself, which I'm sure they're not shocked about that. Kind of very fitting for me.

I have another Augusta belt, and then a trinity forest belt from back home. Honestly, I'll figure it out in the morning. We'll see. Yeah, maybe I give another belt a go, and if it doesn't work, then we'll keep this one on for the rest of the week.

Q. You went to Dick's and got a net for the back porch?

HARRY HIGGS: I didn't. My coach and my caddie did. And, yeah, what was that -- I'm losing track of days. Maybe Monday? Was it Monday? No, Monday was nice all day. Tuesday. Right before play was canceled for the day, I had a nice feeling, and I had hit some good shots, and it just turned into, okay, let's keep feeling that.

It's one thing to feel that just holding a club and making air swings, let's say, and it's another to hit a golf ball and hit it into a net. So we made a makeshift net, covered it with some sheets and towels to make sure that it didn't hit off the little bull's-eye and come flying back at us. Yeah, it was fun. Everybody in the house just sat around and basically watched me hit balls.

Q. Harry, how have you handled the notoriety that has come not just to you but your brother since the Ocean Course experience? How did that stage help you today?

HARRY HIGGS: It's such a big stage, and you know that you are not going to have any success if you get out of your bubble. If you start thinking about what could be or, wow, there's a lot of people around, anything like that.

Honestly, I don't know that I've handled the notoriety that well. I would much prefer just to walk and not hear anybody scream my name and just take care of my business quietly, but it is a treat. It's nice to be myself and to have people recognize and kind of enjoy -- again, I can't believe the words are going to come out of my mouth, but enjoy watching me play golf. I never thought that would be the case.

There are times where it's nice. It's a moment of appreciation, right, that, wow, I've worked so hard for all this, and I've had some success. You're kind of here now on these bigger stages, so you just look out and appreciate it. You appreciate people sometimes screaming and yelling some ridiculous things at you, but mostly just all very positive things. Yeah, it's a little give and take.

Sometimes I just want it to be quiet, and I want to go about my business, but I don't think that I'm going to have that that often in my career.

Q. Harry, there's not many professional golfers that have Camden, New Jersey, as their --

HARRY HIGGS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just born there. That's where the hospital was. That was the hospital. I filled out my bio eight years ago, 2014. Birthplace, hometown, resides in. The hospital was in Camden. We lived just across the river just outside of Philadelphia. Hometown, we spend more time in Kansas City, so I put Overland Park, Kansas, and then I live in Dallas.

I figured, I live in Dallas, they would have said Dallas, Texas, right? Sure enough, the darn thing says Camden, New Jersey. I get that every now and again. Some guys are just so wildly disappointed if I take a second to like, no, man, it was just where the hospital was.

Q. Do Jersey people claim you, though?

HARRY HIGGS: I got tons of friends and family in Jersey and the Philadelphia area, so, yes, absolutely. I miss Wawa. I miss the hoagies and cheesesteaks. You can't get great pizza in Dallas, or really Kansas City for that matter. No, they can claim me all they want, but Camden was strictly the hospital. Strictly the hospital.