Sam Ryder opens up after firing a 65, leaning heavily on his putter in what he calls a “no-pictures-on-the-scorecard” type of round. In this thoughtful press conference, Ryder talks about balancing life off the course with the mental grind of the PGA TOUR, and how moments with friends and family keep him grounded. He shares insight into life as a “bubble boy” on the FedExCup standings, the pressure of maintaining status, and how he’s learned to embrace that role. Honest, introspective, and optimistic, Ryder gives fans a deep look into the realities of pro golf.
Sam, the putter was hot today. A lot of uh a lot of good going on the greens. Uh but overall, how how the how did you kind of assess the round? Yeah, I I felt like I kind of it was definitely the old kind of no pictures on the scorecard kind of day for me. Um wasn’t really thinking too much about it. I was just kind of just trying to focus on, you know, the next shot. I felt like things were right there. So, I didn’t really lose a lot of confidence even though I wasn’t really hitting it great. Um, so I kind of just was able to lean on my putter for sure today and uh, you know, I know there’s that’s not really probably sustainable for four four days and I’d like to kind of, you know, play three more good ones. So yeah, I mean, I’ll get a good good practice this afternoon and and try and build on that. After the regular season, what did what did the last like month or so look like for you as far as what you kind of did? Yeah, it’s been balanced, I would say. Um, I’ve played a lot of golf, but I’ve had, you know, a decent bit of social life, you know, of seeing some friends, been with family. I’ve, you know, was just, you know, was just in Chicago this past weekend for my godson’s baptism. So, like, things like that. Like, I was working really hard when I was home and playing a lot of golf and practicing and and trying to, you know, take my days when I got him. And then, but also trying to enjoy some of the time that I’ve had off, you know, because I know this next fall stretch is going to be very busy. be a lot of traveling. You know, I’m first alternate for Japan. So hopefully, you know, we’ll see how that goes. But it’s going to be a lot of traveling. You know, Cabo and Bermuda and Utah and so um I knew I wasn’t going to have that much time. So I try to enjoy, you know, my routine and my days at home practicing, but also have a little bit of a life outside of golf. How do those times where you’re away from the golf course, you get you get some time to yourself. How do those help you when you come back to competing? Yeah, I mean I think people that know me know that, you know, I’m not just a golfer. I I like to enjoy my life and I I enjoy spending those times. Like even Napa, you know, I had a terrible round on Friday and my mom was there, my girlfriend was there, and my sister was there. So, you know, being able to en sometimes those end up being the best weekends that you have, you know, even when you don’t play great. So, um yeah, I I I like to try and maintain a balance. I think it keeps me excited. Doesn’t make it feel so much like a job all the time. Um, but yeah, I mean trying to find the right balance is really the key for me. Do you do you focus on where you are in the FedEx Cup or you just try to go out and play good golf the rest of this fall and see where the chips may fall? Yeah, I think the the correct answer is is let the chips fall where they may and and just focus on what you can control. I can’t really control how other people play and I you know really I just you know know it’s really more processoriented stuff. So, I mean, I’m very aware of where I’m at. I mean, you know, it all year. You get a text every single week that tells you exactly where you’re on FedEx. You can’t hide from it. So, but it doesn’t really dictate my schedule, you know, just if I was, you know, if guy got if I was in a better position, I’d still like to think that I’d be working hard on my game and trying to win and try and check other boxes. You know, right now, you know, I’m trying to play for my status, but still trying to play for bigger goals, too. You kind of feel like you’re is in this position a lot. You’re kind of the eternal bubble boy, per se. I have. I mean, last year I finished 125 and, you know, there’s a lot of good golfers in the world, you know, and I’ve had, you know, this is my eighth season on tour, so I feel like I’ve had a lot of good, but I haven’t necessarily made that jump. I had, you know, one year where I think I was couple years where I think I was really safe, you know, early on. Um, but I find myself, so I’m so the positive of that is I’m pretty comfortable with it and I know that when my back’s against the wall sometimes I can kind of play my best golf and it helps me kind of focus and I try and use that to my advantage. Sam, along those same lines, what you just said, when you approach a tournament like this where you probably haven’t had a lot of success in the past with this golf course has been challenging and today you go out and shoot 65. When you come into this tournament, approach it like that. What is what is your mindset? How do you get yourself ready for that? I think that I mean for me if you if I really looked at my career, there’s been a lot of courses where I’ve had chances to win but not necessarily played well every year, you know? So I think it’s a lot of a lot of times I feel like it’s really indicative of my game and where I’m at and I’ve always been kind of a little up and down, but when I show up here there’s no reason I don’t feel like I can compete and contend and potentially win if I play well. So I mean I I don’t think there is, you know, not to get too focused on that. And I know I haven’t had a ton of success here, but I I feel like it fits my game fine. You know, I feel like if I’m playing good golf, then I can play most places. You know, there’s some that are obviously better than others, but to be honest, I’ve you know, I’ve almost won in Vegas and I missed the cut. And I’ve almost won in Nap and I missed the cut, you know. So, you know, there’s a couple where I play more consistently like, you know, TPC Deer Run. I feel like I’ve been very consistent there and finished second there. But, you know, to be honest, you know, I feel like it’s really more indicative of where I’m at, and I feel like my game can stand up to most courses if I’m playing well. Yeah. Thanks,
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terrible audio volume