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PNC FATHER/SON CHALLENGEDecember 13, 2012Arnold PalmerWill WearsORLANDO, FLORIDA DAVE SENKO: Arnold, well thanks for joining us. You've played in this event before. Maybe talk about just how special it is to have the opportunity to play with‑‑ I think you played with Sam previously ‑‑ to have Will here with you this week. ARNOLD PALMER: Well, of course playing with Sam was a great pleasure and playing with Will is a greater pleasure. I'm looking forward to it. He's 18 years old. Sam was about the same age, a little younger, when we started. We had a lot of fun. It's something that just doesn't happen in life, you know, you have a couple young guys like these guys, Sam and now Will, and I'm looking forward to it. It'll be an exciting thing. To think that golf is the center of the whole thing makes it more exciting. DAVE SENKO: Will, how much golf have you played in your life and what is your sports background? I know you're in high school now. What's are you involved in? WILL WEARS: Besides golf I play basketball. I just finished my senior year of golf team, and I played all four years. Really have done that for a long time. Just started bagel basketball last year, so that's been fun, too, to change it up a little bit. But weather is not too nice this time of year, so it's good to have something else to do. This is so exciting. DAVE SENKO: How much have you played with your grandfather? WILL WEARS: My grandpa started helping me when I first started playing. All the golf I learned I learned from him. He's been great and he helps me a ton. DAVE SENKO: How old were you when you got started? WILL WEARS: When he started helping me? I can't remember. As soon as I started playing golf he was helping me. ARNOLD PALMER: Six, seven years old. WILL WEARS: He was the first one to start helping me, so it's been great. Q. Where do you go to school? WILL WEARS: Greater Latrobe. ARNOLD PALMER: Same place I went. Q. Arnold, when it comes to teaching your grandchildren and children, what's the important thing that you want to get across? ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I think the thing that I've always taught this guy and his cousin, Sam, was manners. I'd like to think I was very successful. His mother is my daughter and she's a pretty tough lady. She has also emphasized manners and being a gentlemen and knowing how to act. That's where we go. The golf certainly is very important. Like my father taught me, I've taught him much the same: Put his hands on the club and put the proper grip on him and let him go from there. He has played some really good golf in his days. Lately he's had a little wayward swing going. It hasn't been‑‑ I would say the ZIP code disappeared somewhere along the way. But he can hit it and he's got a beautiful golf swing. The swing and the basics are all very good. He's a little quick and he gets a little uptight from time to time, but he's a good golfer and he will be even better. As you can see, he's 6'5". Are you 6'5" now? WILL WEARS: Something like that. I'm not sure. ARNOLD PALMER: He can hit the golf ball a long way. Some of us it takes a little longer to get into the game and mature into the game, and that's maybe a little bit of what is happening. He played better golf a few years ago than he's playing right now really. But he's also playing basketball. There is no rush for him. He's going to be good. Just depends on what he wants to do from here. Certainly he's looking to go to a University somewhere and play golf and maybe basketball. So he's got a lot of time and a lot of life ahead of him to make it all happen. Q. Looking at any particular schools? WILL WEARS: Yeah. I got recruited by Loyola Maryland, UNC Greensboro, University of Michigan. So I have a couple places that I liked, and then I narrowed it down to where I could fit in academically and how I was playing in golf. So I took a couple official visits. So, I mean I haven't closed any options. I haven't signed anywhere, so... ARNOLD PALMER: Indiana may be interested. WILL WEARS: Indiana, yeah. Options are never bad. Definitely haven't closed any doors. Q. Will, have you had a chance to talk to Sam about the experience of playing this event and what he may have told you? WILL WEARS: I actually haven't seen Sam in a long time. I've texted him a little bit but haven't seen him in a while. He said, Have fun. It's a great experience that you'll never forget. Have fun and enjoy the time that you get with my grandpa. I'm really looking forward to that. Q. Arnold, your experience bringing this event back, is this something that you've always held in the back of your mind, that when the economy straightened out and a sponsor could be found that this was an event you really wanted to see back on the calendar? ARNOLD PALMER: I think it's great. I think it's a great event, and the answer is yes. Of course we've been talking about it, bringing it back, and my friend Jim Rohr and PNC Bank were very gracious and willing to come along and join the crowd and make this happen. That's a good one for us. And the fact that I knew that I could get Will, if his mother would let him. She argued a little bit but not too long. She didn't want him missing school too much. That's certainly a part of it. But he's working on that. We're hoping it'll all work out and we'll have some fun this week. That's what it's all about. Q. Will, talking about your grandfather's analysis of your swing and hitting it into another ZIP code, I'm sure he never told you he had that problem, did he? WILL WEARS: Well, he didn't have too many problems, so if he did they were pretty small. He was pretty good, so I can't really say anything. I can't speak to that. I can't really criticize him about a whole lot. Q. Stick around. Some of us that have been around a while will fill you in on that. (Laughter.) The other things, you saw Sam play with him in this event when you were younger and smaller. Did you say, Boy, I want to do that someday? WILL WEARS: Yeah. I always looked up to Sam and the way Sam played golf. Whenever I could play with him I always wanted to be around him. Yeah, soon as I found out about this I begged my mom and made sure that she would let me do it. Yeah, I was so excited. Q. How much begging did it take? WILL WEARS: You would be surprised. My mom is tough. Q. What is your handicap? WILL WEARS: During the summer or right now? (Laughter.) Q. At your best. WILL WEARS: I think I was a +1 this summer. Q. Arnold, could we get your reaction to the big news that Tom Watson was name American Ryder Cup captain? ARNOLD PALMER: Certainly it's a very wise choice and it's a great decision, because Tom Watson is what he is. He's got a fantastic record. I suppose that I thought about some other people. I didn't know Tom Watson was going to be selected, and I certainly gave them a bit of a nod from my perspective. But I certainly don't think it's a mistake to have Tom Watson as the Ryder Cup captain. It will work out I'm sure very well. He has been a great guy, a great player, and a tribute to the game. Q. Is the change in that past captains of late have been closer to the ages of the players, almost a peer. How do you think it'll be different with Tom being so much older and almost a legend? ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I suppose that my feelings are going to favor the older player as a captain, so I'm not against the fact that Watson is older. I think it'll work out and be a very interesting and good approach for Tom to be the captain. It's a great choice. What the hell. He's a great guy, a great player, and has been wonderful for the game. DAVE SENKO: Okay, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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