SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 1, 2024

Luke List

Country Club of Jackson

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome our Sanderson Farms Championship defending champion Luke List to the media center. Welcome back. Want to start off with what is it like to be back as the defending champion.

LUKE LIST: Yeah, I got a sneak peek a couple weeks ago coming back for the media day and the golf events. It is a special place to me here, and obviously for different reasons, but for last year, coming away with the trophy, it was something I'll remember forever. It's always good to be back here.

Q. Both your PGA TOUR wins have come in a playoff, but take us back, what was that like to win in a five-man playoff?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, there's not too many of those that occur, so I was feeling very fortunate just to make the playoff, so for me, I felt like it was a bonus whatever happened, and just to have the opportunity to try to win.

I just remember kind of walking off the tee just realizing I'm going to do whatever it takes to make a birdie on this hole and try to close it out. Sometimes a lot of luck is involved in that, but I definitely had a really good attitude and carried that with me all week, and it just kind of poured into trying to hit my line on that putt, and I was able to do that.

Q. Since the Wyndham Championship, what have you been up to, some family time, set the golf clubs aside?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, a lot of that. I kind of was dealing with a nagging injury a little bit this summer. I played through it, tried to rest a little and realized that wasn't going to help, so then I had spent the last three to six weeks trying to strengthen and kind of rehab that injury a little bit.

I come in here maybe not in good form, but I've rested mentally and hopefully stronger physically.

Q. What is the injury you've been battling?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, I have a herniated disc in my neck, and it's been nagging a little bit. It's nothing that's like a blown-out disc or anything, but it has affected my strength in my left side of my body, and it's just been a little bit of an issue the last year.

Most of us out here have some sort of injury or some sort of nagging thing that we're dealing with. It's never easy not being healthy, but in all sports we're not always 100 percent, so that's just something we have to kind of accept and move on from.

Q. This was obviously always on your calendar to come back, but probably came here a little bit sooner rather than later due to the recent storm, came here with your family. What was the plan of action coming here earlier?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, we originally were flying Monday morning out of Augusta and then obviously everyone has seen the news with all the flooding and the hurricane through all the southeast. On my level I feel for all the people in Florida and South Carolina and North Carolina but directly the people of the CSRA in Augusta where I live, it's pretty devastating really to not only see it but experience it, a place you call home. It's really sad.

It was a long weekend. We got out of town a little bit early just to keep the family safe, and there's still no power and water in a lot of areas.

My thoughts are directly with all the people I call friends and family at home and hoping everybody stays safe still.

I've seen just amazing neighborhood, neighbors kind of gather around each other and helping in any way possible, and it's just such a great community. This week we're going to be -- Henrik Norlander and I, we call that home there, we're going to be doing a Birdies for Augusta. We're going to donate $500 per birdie of our own golf to the Red Cross there, and hopefully we can get some more support locally and then from all over. I encourage anyone to donate to the Red Cross because the areas definitely need it.

Q. When and how did you guys decide to come together and make an impact?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, Henrik came over early, as well. He drove from Augusta to Jackson with his family. Obviously when you have young children, just keeping them safe and out of harm's way is the biggest priority, so we were kind of -- I think we were on the same page as far as we need to give back in any way we can. Obviously there's a lot of people that are in privileged positions to give back, and I feel like that's always kind of called upon in that, especially in hard times like that.

We had dinner last night with our families, and we just kind of came up with it together. I think it was something we both had in our hearts that we wanted to help support in Augusta, and this is the best way we know how right now.

Q. Was there anything specific you were trying to work on today during your practice round, and then being back on 18 hitting balls, did it bring back memories of last year?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, I was fortunate to have my swing coach and my short game coach here, and I haven't seen them in a long time, so it was nice just to get together with them a little bit the last two days.

It's been good. I love this golf course, so it's easy to kind of slip back into some good memories and good thoughts. Today was just more of working on the same things I've been working on swing-wise, and I do kind of different drills on the golf course with my caddie, and then I've got kind of my putting routine. I kind of have the same routine a lot, which is pretty boring, but it usually leads to some good results.

Q. Going with your win in the fall, how important is it to have these events and playing opportunities?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, I've spoken on this, how important the fall is. Obviously everyone watches the FedExCup Playoffs, and that's amazing for all the top guys, but for the majority of us out on TOUR having this opportunity to not only keep your card or to vie for a win to get in majors or try to get in those elevated events, it's just an opportunity to get some confidence and keep your career going. I think some of the best storylines have come from the fall, and I continue to believe that it's really important for the TOUR to have these events.

Q. What was it like a couple days without power?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, it was wild. Just keeping them safe through the storm, then waking up in the early hours and coming out when the sun was out, to see the devastation and the destruction directly on your own home and your neighbors' homes -- my neighbors and I cut five massive trees just so we could get out of the street. That's humbling in its own right, just tugging trees. My neighbor had a jeep, and we were pulling big logs from the trees off the road and just doing the best we could to band together and getting a tree off a neighbor's yard, and that's everybody. Everyone is dealing with that in their own right.

In a sense it was great to see everybody come together, but in a sense it almost felt like that's what you have to do in that moment.

We're very fortunate to have able to get out when we did. I think it came to the clear conclusion that we're not going to have power or water for a while, which they still don't, so just to get the family out and safe and comfortable was something I thought was important.

Q. Any special games or tricks to keep two kids entertained without power?

LUKE LIST: Yes fortunately had -- it wasn't that long. We tried to let them play a little bit, and fortunately the weather wasn't too hot, so they were pretty good behavior. Trying to keep them subject to obviously shielded from the devastation I think at a young age is important, too, so we were able to do that pretty well, and we were fortunate to be in that position.

Q. You constantly hear from players this is a favorite week of the year. What are those reasons and can you speak to that?

LUKE LIST: Yeah, it starts with Steve Jent and his staff. They do an amazing job, and they have done continuously, and it gets better and better. The golf course is fantastic. The people are amazing. The membership. It just trickles down from Steve and everything he does here. It's one of my favorite events, and I think that the guys recognize that and they see the community here and they see the people, and then like everything about the golf course, as well.

It's definitely something I hope continues over the course of the next decade at least, and I'm excited for this year, and hopefully it's not the last.