Before his 1st Masters, Davis Thompson shared with Garrett what he’s looking forward to about the week.
He also shares how he deals with Sunday pressure and what works from his caddie on a Sunday.
All right, joined by Davis Thompson. Davis, this is a pretty cool year for you. I mean, obviously you got the win last year, John Deere Classic, but now you’re going to play your first Masters. How are you feeling about that as we get closer? Yeah, feeling good. Um, I went up there last week for a practice round, so trying to get the lay of the land a little bit, but um, yeah, it’ll be exciting and just, uh, just going to try to treat it like every other tournament, but, you know, it’s, um, obviously the biggest one of the year, so you obviously want to play well. Had you gone at all as a kid, just what growing up at all? Um I I went once as a kid in 2011. Um and then uh I went a few years ago in 2022 just to watch. So a little familiarity with it, but um it’ll be completely different playing in it. Yeah. Was your dad out there with you for those visits? Yeah. Yeah, he was. Um I remember him taking me in 2011 and then we went up again a few years ago and then uh yeah, going to try to get him up to play another practice round here in a few weeks. So, uh, yeah, it’s, uh, it’s coming up fast on us. Oh, so he got to play a practice round already, your dad or uh, not yet. No. Uh, when I went up a few weeks ago, it was, uh, just some other friends of mine, but, um, I’m going to try to get him up there in a few weeks. Yeah. Well, what about that event? Obviously, a man Corner, there’s so many iconic parts of the course, but during tournament week, what are you looking forward to seeing uh, from that course? Yeah, I guess just how it’s playing. Um, you know, if the wind picks up and the greens are really firm, you’re just going to have to play smart golf and make a bunch of pars. But, um, if it’s softer, you could, uh, try to be a little more aggressive, but, um, the greens are so undulating, you’re just going to have to dial in your speed and, um, obviously you got to put the ball in the fairway to attack the flags. What is it that you’ve any little tidbits of advice at all from any of the veterans that kind of just help you know where to miss it or or just know certain holes you can go after it or not? Uh, not necessarily like course management stuff. I’ve just kind of asked them like what they do to kind of prepare for it. Um, obviously hitting a lot of putts kind of up and over slopes. Um, making sure your drivers dialed in and um, yeah, I mean trying to go up once or twice before the tournament to uh, get familiar with it so you’re not, you know, pressing during tournament week to play a bunch of holes. What’s the plan for the par three contest? Yeah, I’m going to play on Wednesday and uh, my wife’s going to caddy for me. So, yeah, it’ll be it’ll be special. Has she been able to be up close for any of those big events before? It was a good chance for her to to be there. Yeah, she travels with me the majority of the time. Um, so she was with me at the US Open last year, so she she understands um magnitude of it, but it’ll be cool to kind of get her involved um with the tournament at at the par three this year. What was your favorite memory watching the Masters growing up as a kid? Uh, I mean, I remember where I was uh watching Tiger Woods chip in. Um, I remember watching him win in 2019. Um, remember the Bubba Watson shot. I remember sitting in my living room watching that with my dad. So, there are a bunch of memories. Um, bunch of iconic shots and um, you know, hopefully I can be a part of that one day. Is there a little bit in terms of the emotion going in? Is there a little bit of validation that you feel to having all the work that you’ve put into this and now getting to play in the Masters? Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think um now it’s about just preparing and try to play well in the tournament as opposed to, you know, just kind of, you know, wondering about your accolades, but I just, you know, just try to prepare for the tournament the best I can. Big tournament that you ended up winning was John Deere Classic this past summer to get you in. And, you know, I’ve talked to Billy Horseshel who’s over here on the putting green and he’s mentioned Sunday pressure is what he lives for. You know what I mean? Like that’s like for him everything. thing and I’m just curious for you like what does it feel like on a Sunday and PGA Tour that pressure and how do you manage it? Yeah, it’s it’s tough but um you know you just have to believe in yourself. I feel like you know if you’re in one of the final groups on Sunday you’re obviously playing well so you just try to ride that ride that momentum into Sunday and just keep playing well. That’s kind of how I’ve tried to approach it when I’ve been in those situations and um you know you just try to put yourself in those positions as much as possible to to gain that experience. Is visual visualization a big thing for you as you kind of get into those shots and and prepare? Uh, yes and no. Um, I guess like going out before the course, you kind of understand the conditions the course is going to be in. So, you kind of have an expectation of, you know, I probably need to go low today to win or, you know, I just need to hang around today to win. But, um, every tournament, every day, every round’s different. So, you just kind of have to take what the course gives you. And lastly, speaking of expectation, what is it on a Sunday under pressure over big shots that you expect out of your caddy, you know, as you guys talk through shots and and and plan through things? Just commitment. Um, commit to what we’re doing. I mean, if we’re both wrong and we were committed to it, I mean, you can’t really get upset about it. But, um, you know, if you’re kind of guessing, going back and forth, and you end up hitting a poor shot, that’s that’s when it can get, uh, frustrating. So, just commit to what we’re doing and, um, and stay in our process and just be present- minded. Davis Thompson, appreciate the time, buddy. Catch you down the road. Yeah. Thank you.
