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SONY OPEN IN HAWAIIJanuary 14, 2012Jeff MaggertHONOLULU, HAWAII JOHN BUSH: Jeff Maggert joins us in the interview room at the Sony Open after a 6‑par under 64. If we can get some comments on your round. JEFF MAGGERT: Just a solid round today. I struggled a little bit Thursday, but kind of got my game back together yesterday and just felt really good going into today's round. Short game and putting have been good so combination of everything has produced a couple of good scores. JOHN BUSH: Talk about the expectations that you brought into this week and the comfort level. JEFF MAGGERT: Tried not to set any expectations this year. I had shoulder surgery back in June of last year and had a lot of time off and rehabilitated. So just kind of coming into the year just feeling healthy has been the best thing. The surgery went great. I'm just looking forward to being healthy and hopefully playing some good golf. Q. Inaudible. JEFF MAGGERT: I had a bone spur as they call it, the AC joint, which is right on top and I knew it was there since about March of 2010. I tried to play through it for a while, so I just kind of gave up on it last year and had it fixed. Right shoulder. Q. You hear that a lot, that guys get injured or have something and then they try and play through it. What drives you and everybody else? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, it wasn't that serious of an injury other than my shoulder was sore a lot. I felt like if I took a risk of having an operation, if things could get worse than they were, so that was probably the biggest concern of not doing the operation. But I had a great doctor and he assured me all along that if I wanted to do it that it was going to be a good outcome and he was right. First I hit balls, first day he let me hit balls, I knew in the first five minutes it was good to go. Q. What adjustment did you make from Thursday to Friday, and today you mentioned not too good Thursday? JEFF MAGGERT: I was just uncomfortable first tournament of the year, just, you know, a little anxious maybe. But I hung in there. I settled down a little bit on the back nine, putted better on the back nine and then yesterday just played solid most of the day and same as today. Q. Could you explain, could you have taken any time for medical this year? JEFF MAGGERT: I'm actually on a medical. I went to the TOUR School in the fall as kind of a backup plan and I'm actually on a major medical for the beginning part of the season. I think I had nine or ten tournaments to play on the medical exemption, and then obviously the TOUR School was a good week for me. It gave me a good backup for not knowing what was going to happen this year. Q. Hard to make? JEFF MAGGERT: That's a good question. I don't know what 125 on the Money List was last year. I think I won about a 100,000 plus or minus. So I've got to make‑‑ I don't know, I'm not worried about it. I'm just going to play and see what happens. Q. Have you ever lost an appreciation of being able to play out here for a living over the years? JEFF MAGGERT: I know how lucky I am because I've been doing‑‑ I've been on the TOUR 20 years and I've been a pro for 26, so to be out here at 47 and still be competing, you know, you forget about all of the little things that can happen to you along the way. When you're young, you don't think about anything. I broke a rib in January 2007 and that was kind of a struggle to get through that. That was kind of‑‑ I felt like that's kind of when my game started to go south a little bit. Just, you know, you get older, you've got family, a lot of distractions. It kind of changes your perspective. Like I say, I'm tickled to death to still be out here playing. Q. How did you break the rib? JEFF MAGGERT: Trying to snow ski. Actually it wasn't down the slope. It was afterwards coming out of the grocery store (laughter). True story: Tripped on the ice and fell and broke my rib on the curb. I had won a tournament in 2006 and I broke it two days before I was coming over for the Tournament of Champions in Maui. I actually flew over here without knowing the rib was broken and I had an x‑ray take every over on Maui, and the doctor just laughed and he said, "I know why your rib is hurting." And I said, "Why is that?" And he said, "Your rib is broken." That was a struggle and I tried to play a couple of weeks with it and it was painful. And I think I took eight or nine or ten weeks off to let that heal. I think technically my golf swing has not been what it was just because of the injuries here and there. I feel like it's a lot better than it has been. Q. Since 2006, the game has really become more of just, hit it far and kind of the bomb and gauge thing; have you ever had, since this has come on, fight the urge to change your game a little bit to play that? JEFF MAGGERT: I've never been the shortest hitter out here but I've never been the longest, either, obviously and I've always been in that mid‑range and technology has helped me like everyone else. So I would love to hit the ball 320, 350 yards like some of these guys do. But I've just got to be content with what I've got. I feel like my length is definitely in position to be competitive. Q. Somewhere between‑‑ inaudible ‑‑ and Gary Woodland? JEFF MAGGERT: Somewhere in between. Q. Can you go over your round? JEFF MAGGERT: Today was just solid. Made a good up‑and‑down on the first hole to save par and just hit a lot of fairways and greens. I birdied, hit a shot close on 4 and made birdie. Hit it pretty close on 9 and made about ten or 15‑footer for an eagle. And then on the back nine, just kept playing solid. I hit some shots close, missed a few putts that were makeable but I made a nice putt on 13. Hit it pretty close on 16 and 2‑putted on the last hole for birdie. Q. What did you hit off‑‑ JEFF MAGGERT: 5‑iron. Q. (Inaudible. JEFF MAGGERT: I was in the rough and I had 235 in the front and I had a decent lie. It wasn't a great lie but it was good enough where I can hit a 3‑wood and get a little bit of a jumper, so it landed short and ran into the green. Q. On Thursday where you got up‑and‑down for birdie, you made like a 23‑footer‑‑ how did that change your attitude, because it seemed like you were struggling a lot on Thursday. JEFF MAGGERT: It felt good. I made a nice birdie putt on‑‑ I finished on the ninth hole Thursday and I made a nice birdie putt on 8. I was thinking 9, easy birdie hole and I drove it in the rough. I was just kind of slapping it around and didn't hit a good wedge shot, and 25 feet, however far I was, I wasn't really thinking of making it. Just tried to lag it up there, it was a downhill putt and I made that. So all of a sudden, I'm sitting on the 8th tee 1‑over and I'm walking off with a 1‑under score two holes later, so that was a good little momentum change for me, and that kind of I guess set me up for a good round yesterday. Q. Do you remember the year you came here‑‑ and why you've become so consistent? JEFF MAGGERT: The first time I came here to Monday qualify, I think in 1990, I was playing in Australia. I just came up here. I had a week off in Australia and tried to Monday qualify but didn't make it. '91 was my first exempt year on TOUR and that would have been my first Sony Open. I have played most of them but I haven't played all of them. But probably out of 22 years out here, I've probably played 18 probably. Q. Hypothetical, but if you had gotten into a spot where you finished out of the 125 at your stage in life, how would you feel about the Nationwide/Q‑School/three‑tournament combo series, or getting into Q‑School to get your Nationwide card? JEFF MAGGERT: I haven't followed that scenario that close, but you have to have a system. My personal opinion is I think it may be a little bit backwards from what we have now. But I understand the dynamics of television and The Fall Finish and how does that all work. The hard part like you say is if you're a veteran player and you've played the TOUR for 15 or 20 years, and all of a sudden you finished 126th on the Money List, you kind of have to wait a whole 'nother year to get back on to the TOUR. At least that's my understanding of it and I think that's kind of harsh for a guy that's put 20 years out here and you know, you're telling him that he's got‑‑ there's no other way for him to get back on the TOUR unless he goes back and plays the Nationwide Tour. Q. Would it help at all in your status, for example, if that all failed to at least try and rely on a 14 spot through the conditional? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, I've got age on my side because I'm going to be 50 probably when all this new stuff comes through. (Laughter). I don't know. We talked about it I think a year and a half ago in New Orleans, and there wasn't a lot of players really in favor of this idea. In fact, I would say, 95 percent of them at that meeting voiced their opinion and thought it was a bad idea. So obviously what 95 percent of the players think doesn't really matter. Q. You sound like it's going to get done regardless. JEFF MAGGERT: I don't know if it will. I don't know the status of it. At the time I thought it might kind of be dead in the water after that meeting, but I think some of it is television‑driven on how we create a Fall Finish for the TOUR and I think there was probably a lot of support at that meeting for starting the TOUR in October, or the FedEx points season would start in the fall instead of in January. So the TOUR would end with the Playoffs, and then the TOUR would start up right away. The European Tour, I think their official Money List gets going‑‑ you guys might know, November/December, they start their official Money List. Q. January. JEFF MAGGERT: Did they change it? So I don't see any problem with starting the FedExCup points as soon as the Playoffs are over. If you're going to have TOUR events, they all ought to be part of the FedExCup. Q. (Inaudible.) JEFF MAGGERT: This course suits me very well. If you're a big hitter, you can take advantage of it, but also a player like myself can compete very well just keeping the ball in the fairway. When the wind is gusty here, the golf course is challenging. Q. What do you think of Every's game and his putter specifically. JEFF MAGGERT: I don't think I've ever played with him other than maybe seeing him hit a few balls on the range. That's part of the dilemma I'm in being I'm 47, the kids coming out, I don't know much about them. Obviously he's a good player. But I can't really say that I know a lot about his game. But obviously he's a good player or he wouldn't be out here. Q. Have you seen his putter? JEFF MAGGERT: No. I might see it tomorrow. Q. The Champions Tour obviously you're going towards that direction, what do you see these last three years on the PGA TOUR for you with that coming, with that out there? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, I'll be 48 in February, so I've got pretty much two more seasons out here. As long as I'm exempt for this tour, I'll keep playing. The money differential is big, and if I'm competitive to finish in the 125 on the Money List on this tour, competitive to maybe have a chance of still winning tournaments out here. I think a guy like Tom Pernice, I don't know how old Tom is, but he's trying to play out here, 54. So you know, it can be done because guys don't quit playing anymore. It used to be you get to be 40, 45, and you took a few years off. But now guys just keep on going. When you're 46, 47, 48, just keep chugging along. Staying healthy is a key, too. When you get older, you have to go to the gym and take care of your body. JOHN BUSH: Appreciate your time. Play well tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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