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PNC FATHER/SON CHALLENGEDecember 15, 2012Shaun O'MearaMark O'MearaORLANDO, FLORIDA DAVE SENKO: Mark and Shaun, 61, 11‑under to start. Maybe just some thoughts on your day. MARK O'MEARA: I think we played pretty well. We made a few putts, but Shaun drives the ball so well and drives it so far. It helps on the par‑5s that he got a lot of good drives out there today. For a guy that hasn't been playing a lot of golf, to be honest with you, I was pretty impressed. We missed a couple of putts maybe we could have made, but we made a nice putt there on 17 after Shaun hit a nice 5‑iron in there. SHAUN O'MEARA: 6‑iron. MARK O'MEARA: Sorry, 6‑iron. I hit 4, he hit 6, but that's not unusual. Seemed like we had a few holes we were on and a couple lulls there. Couple of pars. But that's going to happen in this format. We didn't make an eagle. We knew that we wanted to shoot somewhere around the 10‑under number to have a chance for tomorrow. Fortunately, we did that. A lot of the guys have been playing extremely well, and the sons and the daughters. The Langers shot 10‑under today, I believe, something like that, and that was pretty impressive. So we've got to go out there probably tomorrow and shoot at least that same score, if not better. SHAUN O'MEARA: The way that he putted today was unreal. We definitely left a few out there on the course, but just seeing him pour them in from five, six, ten, twenty even feet, it made me feel comfortable standing over the ball. Even though I didn't putt as well as I would've liked to, knowing that I had him putting right behind me just made it so much easier, you know. Q. You birdied five of the last six. Do you remember 17, 18? SHAUN O'MEARA: Yeah, 16 I hit a pretty good drive up the right side.  I was hitting it over the left in the Pro‑Am, so I wanted to keep it a little more to the right when we were in the rough. I think we had 105 or something and we both hit wedges. I hit it a little bit past the flag. I thought it was going to be a lot closer. Didn't spin as match as I would like. I think he almost hooped it. Looked like his pitch mark ‑‑ what would you say? Just right of the hole? MARK O'MEARA: Yeah, it was just right of it and it came back to about five inches, four inches. SHAUN O'MEARA: Yeah, so that was just a little kick‑in. And then 17 has been playing tough all week, even throughout the Pro‑Am. I just wanted to put something on the front right of the green so he could get a shot at it. Kind of hit it a little bit higher than I would like to but I hit it solid, so it got on there on the front and skipped up there probably 25 feet or so. MARK O'MEARA: Yep. SHAUN O'MEARA: Then this guy took care of business for me, because I left it short, which was no good in this format. Then on 18... MARK O'MEARA: Just kind of grinded out a birdie on 18. SHAUN O'MEARA: Yeah. Wasn't pretty but the score was nice, so. Q. (No microphone.) SHAUN O'MEARA: Yep, I played UCI, finished with school, and then moved back here to Orlando where I went to high school and grew up. I have a clothing company called Duvin Design that I started with my friends. We do like wholesale, retail locations and do online sales, like a surf lifestyle brand. So just been pushing that, which is a dream to me because it's been what I've wanted to do since I was real young. So I'm having a great time with it. Q. Mark, of all the big events you played in, is there any pressure at all on the first tee? MARK O'MEARA: Oh, yeah. There is always pressure, but not quite as much because of the way he drives the ball. I know if he hits a good one, to be honest with you, there is no point in me even hitting. One time today I didn't today because he just hammered it. Can't get within 40. On No. 11, he piped one and I just looked over at Bernie and he's like, Okay. I said, Go ahead. I don't need to hit. I'll save myself. Fortunately Shaun is a good driver of the ball. I thought today he hit some nice wedge shots too, which has not been sometimes his forte. He hit a really nice bunker so the shot at 18th when we kind of needed it and took some pressure off me. He made some putts early and probably didn't putt as well as he would like to, but he's going to go to the putting green now and work until dark tonight and work on his putting and forget about selling Duvin shirts right now, or hats. He needs to roll the rock a little bit better tomorrow and take some more pressure off the old man. But it's a great event. We're so glad and very thankful that PNC has stepped in. I know Mr.Palmer had a big impact in that. I know I talked to the guys there, and bringing this event back‑‑ because I know the guys playing with their sons and daughters and children, a family event like this at this stage of our careers, it's very special. I remember what it was like when I played with my father, so there is nothing better than this. Q. Pressure for you, Shaun? SHAUN O'MEARA: Honestly, I feel less pressure playing this tournament than a college tournament or a bigger amateur tournament just because instead of just going through the motions bu yourself, I have somebody I've looked up to my whole life and is also my father. So he's there for me. Any decisions I need make on the course or any questions, it's nice to be able to tap into his database of knowledge, which is pretty solid, I would say, when it comes to golf. MARK O'MEARA: I love you, man. SHAUN O'MEARA: Love you, man. DAVE SENKO: Anything else, guys? Q. What's the sort of inspiration behind the name Duvin? SHAUN O'MEARA: One of my partners, it started with me. His last name is Duvall, Austin Duvall. When we were doing ideas for our name, there are four partners. Were we were going to do acronyms and try to do some kind of thing with all of our names. We thought to ourselves, and we were like, We want to have a word that nobody has any attachments to, something you haven't heard before, so that our clothing, the images we put out, the videos, the people we sponsor, can kind of build a brand image around it. So then Duvin is just one thing instead of something has meaning to it and then all of a sudden they see our clothes and it's a different meaning. Q. Mark are you going to wear the... MARK O'MEARA: I'm just waiting for some free stuff. Shaun says that I gotta pay. SHAUN O'MEARA: It costs me money to make. MARK O'MEARA: I've paid a lot over the last 20 years. I think a hat here or there, you know... Obviously I'm very proud of Shaun and his sister, Michelle. This is a dream, like he said, when he got out of school. I told him there is no wrong chasing a dream, but two years. You know, two years. You've got some financing and he's got some go‑get in him, but in the long short of it, you have to make living. It's a tough market, but I've seen their website. It's really nice. I know Shaun has been really dedicated on going to different events and promoting his brand. He's on it. So I told him, In life you get out of it what you put into it. Even then sometimes it's not fair and you may not make it. But you'll look back, no matter what happens, and if you get out there and work really, really hard and get a couple good breaks, you can make it. Nobody can stop you. Only yourself. Q. So with all the work you're doing in the clothing industry, how often do you get to go out and play golf? SHAUN O'MEARA: Unfortunately, yeah, I don't get as much golf as I played when I was growing up and in college. I would say in the past year and a half since I left school, I've probably played a total of 20 rounds maybe. Whenever I go visit him I go play. Yeah, I don't even know. It's unreal. The expectations are less, too, which is nice. So I just get to go out and it just kind of frees up my swing. Yeah, when you own your own business and you're your own boss, I feel like if you don't get it done, no one is going to do it. So at all times there is something that I can do that makes the business better. I try to cut down on the extracurricular activities. Q. Working with anybody to get your clothing line out somewhere on a TOUR player? SHAUN O'MEARA: You know, right now we just do like shirts, hats, tank tops, hoodies, board shorts, and we're looking at kind of bringing in a small niche golf line. I feel like there are a few brands out there that are pretty style‑y, but I feel like some are almost over the top and the colors are too in your face. I feel like someone can make something real comfortable that you can wear whether you're golfing or just hanging out at the house or cruising the beach. So I feel like there is a market to be had there, but right now our focus now is in what sells and what our customers look for. That's probably going to be come springtime or summer we'll probably come with a little golf line. DAVE SENKO: Is it all Internet sales now? SHAUN O'MEARA: Yeah. We do online sales. It's duvindesign.com. We wholesale to retail locations. We're in about 10 stores here in Florida and one in Puerto Rico, and then with this new line we got we've been picking up accounts pretty fast. It's more or less kind of trying to balance online sales and the retail sales so our margins are good. MARK O'MEARA: He made a good point. One time I asked him, Are you getting in any stores? He was like, Well, we are, but I just don't want to sell to the store and the store put it in the back somewhere just because they want to buy some of our stuff. It's better for us to make sure they get it out front. Visibility. SHAUN O'MEARA: For sure. Once you ship them a box of clothes the work has just started. They've already paid for them, but you want the clothes to move. So it's stuff like point of purchase, meeting all the store employees so they can get an idea where ‑‑ I don't work for this company. Like this is my brain child with my friends. A lot of the kids working at the store are my age or a little bit older, so I feel like they see that and respect it and want to push the brand because not only are they selling the product, but the they're also selling the person that's selling the product. MARK O'MEARA: Maybe Christmas I'll get a free hat. SHAUN O'MEARA: Maybe. I'll give it to you at wholesale price. DAVE SENKO: Thanks, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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