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MISSISSIPPI GULF RESORT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY C SPIREMarch 20, 2014Jeff MaggertBILOXI, MISSISSIPPI PHIL STAMBAUGH: We welcome three‑time PGA TOUR winner Jeff Maggert into the media center here at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. Just making his debut on the Champions Tour this week. Just a couple of thoughts. You had a chance to get around Fallen Oak yesterday. A couple thoughts about finally turning 50 and getting over and playing on the Champions Tour. JEFF MAGGERT: Well, the golf course, for one, is fantastic. Played the pro am yesterday and a practice round Tuesday. So the golf course is fantastic. Very challenging. Not used to this much media attention in a few years. I haven't played that well on the regular TOUR, so it's nice to get out here and get noticed. PHIL STAMBAUGH: And the reception from some of the guys, probably been a little while since you've seen some of them; right? JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah. I think a lot of them were a little bit shocked to see me actually. They had to take a double take and asked to see my I.D. and make sure I was‑‑ anyway, it's been fun, a lot of familiar faces. So that part of it's been fun. And also looking forward to the challenge of competing on this tour, a lot of good players. You know, I think other people have a lot of higher expectations than I do. I'm trying to take it just kind of one week at a time out here and try to play well and have some fun. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Your assessment of Fallen Oak? JEFF MAGGERT: Wow. Championship‑caliber golf course for sure. I know we don't play all the back tees here this week, but if the regular TOUR was here playing this course, you know, from a lot of the back tees, it would definitely be right up there one of the toughest golf courses that we play. Q. What's it like to be a rookie again? How does that feel? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, to be honest, it's not all sinking in yet. Every day is a little bit new experience. All I can say is I'm enjoying every bit of it. This is my first taste of a Champions Tour event. The atmosphere of the players, very relaxed. Had a great time at the pro am yesterday, met four great guys. Hopefully it'll be more of that the rest of the year. Q. Of all the ones to debut in, this one's got a pretty good field to come in. Is that a good way to start do you think? JEFF MAGGERT: Definitely. I mean the players on the Champions Tour are just a lot of talent. I don't know if you can rate a Champions Tour field like you do a regular TOUR event. Obviously the guys that are playing out here have a lot of good credentials and they're out here for a reason. So I don't expect it to be a cake walk out here. A lot of people say, oh, you're going to turn 50, you're going to go out there, just play really well, but you gotta beat a lot of good players out here, and I'm not taking anything for granted. Q. What's the name of your caddy, and how underrated are the caddies and the golfers out there? How much do they help you? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, my caddy is Rusty Uresti. They call him Hoss. He has a younger brother that's played the TOUR a number of years, Omar Uresti. So he has a lot of experience around golf, and he's caddied probably almost 20 years on the regular TOUR and he's been with me for the last three or four. But caddies can make all the difference in the world. They're kind of your second eyes on the golf course, keep an eye out for things, keeping me straight, making sure I'm doing the things that I need to be doing. And more than anything it's just a friendship, it's someone that you spend seven, eight hours a day with, working with, practice rounds, in the tournaments, so you have to have a good friendship and relationship on and off the golf course. And if you can find those things that work, then usually you're going to have a good caddy for a number of years. Q. I know that you're used to playing against guys that are from Europe, and we've seen a couple of guys from England and Scotland. What is it like to play against guys that are from across the pond? JEFF MAGGERT: Well, when I started on the TOUR in the early 90s, I guess Nick Faldo was probably the premier player from Europe, Seve Ballesteros, obviously. And since then the number of European players has really grown on the regular TOUR. You know, it used to be two or three guys and now there's 20 or 30 guys coming over and playing really well and competing well on the TOUR. Q. Jeff, how are you looking the coast so far? The weather's been great so far for this tournament. How much has that played an impact? JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah, I got here Monday night it was pretty chilly, and Tuesday was chilly. The golf course played difficult in the practice round, but certainly the last couple of days the weather has made a turn for the better, and it looks like it's going to be a great week. I think the golf course is drying out a little bit; it was a little muddy on Tuesday, but after today I think the golf course is going to be in fine shape. Q. You played Web.com down here; right? JEFF MAGGERT: You know, I didn't play the event here‑‑ 1990 was the year I played the Hogan Tour or Web.com Tour, and I don't know if there was an event in Mississippi that year. If there was, I didn't play it. I think Tom Lehman might have won that event. But I think that might have been '91. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Anything else? Jeff, good luck this week. JEFF MAGGERT: I appreciate it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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