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The reigning Masters Champion joins the Howie Games – that’s right, the reigning US Masters Champion! The green jacket is even still in his cupboard!
The much-talked-about LIV Golfer gives great insight into his decision to depart the PGA Tour, including the financial and family reasons for the change. He opens up about his experiences across the globe from taking on and beating Tiger Woods in his Ryder Cup debut, and discusses the deep emotional significance of winning major titles like the US Open and The Masters, detailing the mental resilience required to conquer such prestigious tournaments.
The former World Number 1 – and still one of the best golfers in the world – offers invaluable insights into the mental aspect of golf, discussing how managing thoughts, focus, and pressure are crucial to success, both on and off the course.
🎧 The Howie Games is Australia’s #1 Sports Podcast. Where the biggest names in the world of sport go one-on-one with sports journalist Mark Howard. From ultimate highs to tear-jerking lows, Howie lifts the lid on the real stories behind the headlines. He sits down with the biggest names in Australian & world sport, finding out how they started out, what makes them tick, how they deal with the big wins and the big losses, and how they take on sport and life from here.
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I got offered a number that I think very few people in this world would have said no to every athlete in this world usually goes where they get paid the most and where they can win luckily golf is an individual sport I can still play majors I can still win oh
Yeah now he’s excited I think I have the biggest overreaction to making a four-footer ever in golf and that was the the winning partt on 17 right a cup week like I was playing terrible terrible Golf and I see the parents and I get paired with Tiger Woods the panic
Was at an alltime high my first every Cup point I beat Tiger Woods which is my alltime hero the feeling of my grandpa and sa up in heaven right so that’s why that reaction was what it was you got a baby under your arm I
Think I grow him and I said you have no idea what just happened not to only win a major but to be the first Spanish player to win the US Open was quite incredible you dream of things like that but when it happened it’s actually hard to believe I couldn’t sleep that night
Seeing that part over and over cuz I couldn’t believe that it actually happened a little tournament in Augusta called The Master a lot of times have thoughts of imagine we actually have a taping to win The Masters like imagine right so you kind of need to keep yourself on the moment
And and battle those thoughts that that that come in but it’s it’s a green jacket right it’s just a green piece of cloth but what type of awe does it bring to people when you show it to them most people are speechless a lot of people get a little emotional I get emotional
Right if I start thinking about it too well this is a trait we’ve had one one previous Masters winner on the Hoy games his name is Adam Scott now we’ve got the former number one the current Masters champion a man that has moved to live golf he’s one of the biggest sports
Stars on the planet we met about 18 seconds ago John Ram joins on the show John great to see you how you going how you doing how it’s great to be on the show thanks for having me mate I’m ped you on the show so I’m on a short break
Um up in Northern New South Wales in Australia the moment you are coming in from Saudi Arabia yeah we’re in Saudi Arabia yes okay so tell me I’m privilege to travel around covering sport um a sport called Cricket which you wouldn’t know much about and I’ve just been in
India I love to get out and explore things are you man a man that gets out and explores the places you go or you stuck between the hotel and the golf course uh I think this a mix this a mix sometimes the the course in the hotel
We’re at a little bit too isolated and that happens more often than you think so we just don’t really have the time right there’s not like gol usually takes quite a bit of time so when you wake up work out do media practice it’s a little
Bit too late before you can actually go and do something so uh it all depends on the wheek if I can I will if not obviously it’s not it’s not my top priority and there in Saudi araba we hear so much about Saudi Arabia 99.5% from my perspective John from people
That haven’t been so you’re there tell me about your impressions of the place tell you right now if I took a picture out of my window in the resort looking out at the Red Sea You’ have no idea this is Saudi Arabia right now right if you turn around and
Look towards land obviously you’re going to see a whole lot of sand but yeah uh that’s that’s a desert for you right I mean that’s the same with Arizona so it’s uh it’s it’s quite different right Landing in yesterday into jeda I had no
Idea how big of a city it was uh you could see the traffic throughout the city um it’s is different it’s different than I thought it was going to be right I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the UAE and be in Dubai and have an idea but
It’s a lot more modern in a lot of places than I think a lot of people would expect uh it’s a lot of a lot safer than a lot of people would expect it’s it it’s it’s gotten a bit of a obviously negative press uh a bit more
Than it maybe should have and I think if if somebody who hasn’t thought about it opens their mind a little bit and thinks about possibly coming to places like this it would be they would be gladly surprised well mate I hope you get to get out and about and explore it now I
We’ve got a limited amount of time I want to speak to you about your golf Journey but from what I can see you played golf in Australia once before the World Cup at Kingston a heia is that the only time you’ve played here only time I’ve been in Australia I did go early
And enjoyed playing at uh New South Wales Golf Club so I’ve been able to play at least one of the golf course in Australia while I was there and now you are coming to Adelaide uh 26th to the 28th of April tickets still available limited corporate tickets it’s on the
Seven network from what I can see from what what I can see Liv is bringing a whole new level of entertainment to golf which I love I think they’re going to love you John um and they’ll call you Johnny over here you got to realize when
You get here they’re going to call you Johnny because you’re a man that plays with passion I’m sure you’ve spoke to some of the Aussie boys about it have you heard much about adeli because they’re going to love you they’re going to love you in that joint uh I can tell
You right now from anybody I’ve spoke to related to live and uh and players you know management everything I think Adelaide was unanimously favorite tournament last year uh and I we all saw the images we also saw the watering hole we also saw the atmosphere so it was my number one
Destination looking forward to obviously valderama is something where I want to play but I know the golf course I kind of know what to expect in Spain Australia I don’t know what to expect right I haven’t been there since 2016 or 17 so my memory is incredibly good
Kingston Heath is one of my favorite golf courses in the world and I’ve heard this one is also amazing so uh I can’t explain how much I’m looking forward to this one cuz it it seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun and I think this is
One of the great things about Liv Greg Norman came on this podcast John a year and a half ago and dispelled a lot of the myths about Liv and gave his reasons about why he was involved but I think the fact that in Australia in the past unless it’s the President’s Cup probably
We haven’t seen the creme to the creme of World Golf and now we do and I think that had a real impact on the Australian sports fans last year so it’s great to see the level of golfers that we now get to see thanks to live which you know as
I said mate there’s so much talk about it but I’m a massive fan of the fact you guys are here and you’re coming and you’re entertaining uh you know I think it’s one of the big objectives of live golf and one of the reasons why I decided to transition right it’s it’s
It’s playing golf in places that I haven’t played before very simple and there’s a lot of there’s a lot of golf communities that deserve a bigger level of golf that they never got to right I mean you have three of the four majors in the US and yeah before you had WGC
Some of them were outside but for the most part you’re playing in some countries in Europe in the US right you never really get out of that so to be able to to enjoy Saudi Arabia this week Hong Kong next week and then we have Adelaide and Singapore it’s amazing and
You and you get to be exposed and you expose golf to a crowd that maybe hasn’t seen it before or crowd that is hungry for golf and Australia always seemed like that type of place I mean I remember growing up watching golf in seeing some of the best players in the
World going up there in December to play the Australian Masters Australian PGA in the Australian Open right and the last few years that kind of died down Co obviously had a lot to do with it uh and it’s great that we’re back in there and to see that you know Australians want us
There and want to see the best golfers in the world and and as players you want to entertain a crowd that wants you there that’s nothing more fun than that well it’s going to be great to have you here I I guess it’s been a really interesting period for golf for the last
Three years because like many sports it’s been torn in a couple of directions before we get to why you decided to join living and congratulations for signing and and setting up your family for generations to come which will’ll get to mate massive congratulations and reward for your
Talent how has it been the last few years as a professional golfer while in some ways the Sport’s been torn apart now hopefully it gets joined back together but how’s that being a professional in that environment John well no change is easy right and I I think in both
Sides there’s a lot of question marks a lot of unknowns and that can be unsettling for a lot of people right so I think 90% of the players fall under that category where they don’t know what’s going on and you’re just spectating waiting to see what happens
Um when it comes to the change well I think it’s humans in general we just don’t like change but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing right in order to improve anything you need to change it right and and that’s it that’s something to get past right if
You kind of as a player and as a golf fan you need to have the open mind to maybe explore different options and accept that it could be better for everyone right and uh I think that’s what a lot of players have done that’s what I certainly did and I think uh Liv
Is making a positive change in the game of golf right there’s a little a few differences you have the shotgun Stars you have the three rounds but I can tell you as a player once you’re playing and on you’re in it I completely forget that it’s only three rounds until people
Remind me right competition is competition period and certainly not the first sport to go through it right uh certainly Cricket went through a few changes right you have five day Cricket you have three day Cricket you have basically one day and it kind of keeps getting smaller and smaller just because
Everybody’s busy it seems like everybody’s attention span is a little bit shorter and you know having your competition in certain hours of the day is always going to be easier as a product to sell so um adding that to the change in atmosphere right you have a little bit of music and
And a different vibe I think it just appeals to a younger generation that maybe they didn’t have golf in their mind and for people that haven’t seen it I really encourage to come and watch cuz it’s it’s different and it’s fun it’s it’s very very entertaining I’ve always
Been a golf purist right just loved the game forever and never wanted to see certain changes and you know uh kind of open my horizons a little bit by seeing how this just has evolved a little bit in how much more inclusive it is than people think yeah I think DJ Fisher an
Australian bloke is playing in Adelaide now John I don’t know what you like out on the Dance Floor on the Disco but he’s a very talented man I didn’t expect to be discussing Cricket with you I got to say but take me behind the scenes as
Much as you can John in a snapshot your thought processes was there was there a moment did you speak to Greg or another player what what made you decide as the you know the world number one the Master’s Champion you obviously knew the impact it would have on Liv making that
Decision as I said again congratulations on that decision talk me through it all right how much time do we have um well that’s up to you I got hours but that’s up to you John well it it’s it’s an extremely complicated process to try to narrow down quickly right um I was
Never completely against it uh even though I had my my thoughts about live right and and I met in public you know I wasn’t the biggest fan of the format right away right and I’ve never wanted to make decisions on my career based on money but as a
Father and that mindset changed a little bit and I I realized for people watching this when I say what I said at the US Open I was already a dad but you know growing more into the role of a d you kind of change a little bit and um yeah
I when I got offered a number that I think very few people in this world would have said no to that that to begin with and get that out of the way cuz obviously it’s a big part and to be honest every athlete in this world usually goes where they get paid the
Most and where they can win luckily golf is an individual sport I can still play majors I can still win so I don’t know why that’s such an issue nowadays for for golf alone but that’s that’s besides the point right you can believe it shouldn’t be isas it because like you
Mentioned Cricket you know basketball NFL um every sport you pay the athlete what The Athlete’s worth so yeah I’m with you there I don’t get the fuss if the market says you’re worth reportedly $600 us million do as a sign on fee then you know good luck that that’s reward for
Talent in the market surely I mean that’s how I see it but that’s uh it’s easier for me to say now obviously uh having accepted that um but the main thing was uh once the PGA Tour made that agreement right when the framework agreement came out when none of us had
An idea and of us had that gets published I think that changed the dynamic in my mind it changed okay if this is going to be the future of golf then I owe it to myself to see what’s out there and see the product and then I
Started asking questions right a lot of the people that practice where I practice were in live golf and spend a lot of time with them because they’re friends and I I started asking questions and seeing the dynamic and in inevitably at some point uh I wanted to hear from
Higher people so I didn’t meet with Greg I met with other other management and and try to hear out what they what they had to offer cuz to be honest up until then I didn’t really know I didn’t know a Future Vision I didn’t know what Liv gol wanted to do
Right all I heard was basically what media said which was never a really positive thing which uh to be fair I didn’t believe everything they said so uh once I got more information I said well this this is definitely something to consider right and uh it’s it was a
Family decision I would never want to do something that you know my wife or anybody my family would be against and having their support and and going through pros and cons which I could get into it for a very long time uh I ended up deciding to go right I think um if
You look at my stage of my career playing a golf had just won the Masters fiveyear exemption for all majors right uh my value as a player would say would be an alltime high I think it was the right time for me to go and maybe be able to make a positive
Change for the better right and uh hopefully seeing both uh both tours come together again right because at the end of the world at the end of the day we all want to compete against the best and I think everybody wants to see the best compete against each other it’s it’s
Very similar what cam Smith said and I I asked this question to cam uh John and as I said we’ve only been chatting 15 minutes so I don’t want to ask it in in a in a crash dollar cents but I I asked Smithy about the responsibility that
Comes with that type of wealth and and what you can do for your family and generations of your family what type impact I don’t know if responsibility is the right word what what type of impact has that had on you so I would only feel comfortable with myself if I
Invested this type of resource in a way of given back to the game that has given me so much right like I said the game I love the game more than anything else so i’ I’ve said in many interviews for anybody that follows me what sevie was able to do in Spain
And in Europe right Beyond accomplishments on the golf course was incredible when he started playing golf there was only 15,000 licensed golfers in Spain the time he that there was 350,000 wow the amount of golf courses were incredible so if I can add on to that in any way possible right I think
It’s also a success not only I I usually try to say Spain because I’m from there and I want to give players easier paths to get to where they want to get to uh but if I can do make an impact anywhere else in the world it’ be great as well
Right uh so I’ve had for a few years uh since Co has been difficult but we’ve had what we call John golfer kids which a bit of a take on the draft chip and part for for younger kids but I want to be able to involve that right mainly the
Spanish golf Federation runs amateur golf in Spain but maybe with my rise I can add on and and add more tournaments that people can access to and play and and and you know develop themselves on uh if I can do it in the US as well
Definitely have a few a few ideas right luckily I grew up close to a very accessible driving range in Spain uh very few public golf courses when I started uh so my swing coach back in Spain had a range that you could just go into you paid A2 entry and you could
Rent clubs or you could just be on the PTY green for the rest of your life and that’s it right so having more accessible places like that and that would be easier to do in Arizona um there’s little things like that that would improve the stage of the game and
Give people more access to play game and um you know give give somebody the opportunity to be exposed to go that maybe wouldn’t have that in the past is where I I see myself doing right and I think that’s the right thing to do for
Me for what the game has done for me it’s a great answer you’re going to see this man 26 to 28th at the Grange of April in Adelaide get your tickets if if uh if you’ve got any interest in sport right John let’s let’s talk about you
Just talked about the the local driving range why golf like what’s your first memory of golf was it watching on tell you mentioned sevie was it a hit with your mates or a relative how’d you get into this beautiful game so my dad started playing golf later in life
Closer to his 40s uh I was young then and the way my my parents say it is they would pick me up from school and they would go get their golf Liston and they say sometimes I fell asleep sometimes I had a snack sometimes I just watched and
Then one day I just tried I think I was around s or eight and and and and I try to play golf and and just hit it right and I do have that memory of going up with the club and trying to hit it so my earliest memories are yeah going to that
Range and and kind of grabbing a golf club for the first time and and going through that process that we all go through right of the frustration of not hitting the ball and then uh learning how to hit it right and then shortly after that my parents got me into
Lessons with and Collective lessons with other kids and and and the love grew right obviously being from Spain I think every kid at some point that plays an eorts like oh I want to give be a football player right that say you just want to play football I want to play for atic
And that was it like there was no other thing related to sports early on and uh once I started playing golf things changed pretty quickly right that’s when you know I fell in love with the game there’s something special about the game and probably because he was such a
Family thing we did right I think I had such positive memories with it early on that that made me gravitate towards it and apart from being severely more talented to play golf than to play football on any other sport so I often ask this question of
The guest that come on this Sean show John there’s part ability and there’s there’s part hard work were you within six months or a year the kid that everyone else has play against saying oh no we’re in the CB against Johnny Ram he’s going to destroy me or were you hey
You’re shaking your head you’re a kid that had to work hard yeah no no that was it was a slow process so I started playing at eight and I think I mean we’re talking about young ages right but yes I didn’t become that player up till
I was 14 going on turning 15 okay but it was it was weird cuz I I think it was when I hit my gross per was when I was about 14 right so it was that that it was over a winter like I was okay it was
I was good in my region uh was able to finish top five want to the National level but I was never the player and then that winter I grew exponentially I grew to pretty much the size as I am right now uh maybe not like
That but I mean at 13 I was definitely I think uh you do you do meters right meter C we do yet okay so I was meter 85 something like that something ridiculous right I went from being average to the tallest of my class by far with that
Came a lot of distance and certain improvements when I started seeing my golf coach Edwardo Theus at the time and uh I was able to win my first ever national tournament that January of the of when I was 14 going on to 15 and and
What did that mean what what did as as a 14-year-old what did Victory mean to you because I I want to talk through various victories you’ve had and what they’ve meant I it was my first ever like really like around in the 60s I believe in a
Tournament that was big and uh I te of way before the leader shot four on there I believe on the final round and ended up winning right nobody expected me I ended up winning like I was done hours before and and uh yeah here I’m the Champion like some the people around my
Region knew but a lot of people in Spain did not know who I was and then that’s when I became a bit more of a name but then that same year the Spanish under 16 Championship National Championship was at my home Club hosted by my home Club
Little bit of home court advantage and I was able to win that by nine and that’s when nine shots nine shots I won that by nine wow okay that’s when my confidence went to a different level and I became the player to a player to be reckoned
With and uh hard to explain how I felt um I mean you’re so young it’s like you don’t know how to deal with those things right I think uh my first time ever having a lead going into Sunday and and shooting a good round and and winning by
A margin it was just fun to be able to enjoy the last few holes with you know with knowing that I had wanted I I don’t know how to explain it it’s I think you’re so naive that almost my thought was okay I wanton more right
It was more than just that there was there’s more things to accomplish than it was early on um but I can’t quite remember how I mean itly I felt very happy about about it and I remember feeling almost more nervous for the speech than actually competing I’m sure you knowed it you
Went on to study um in the states so you go to college in America so a lot of athletes in Australia in in World sport especially football John they move you know some of our our bigname footballers leave at 13 14 15 years of age um to pursue their dream you’re obviously a
Little bit older than that and I’m sure you’d seen a bit of Europe I don’t know about the world what what’s it like as a young young man packing up his golf club saying goodbye to his family and pursuing Golf and education on the other side of the world
So I did spend my last two years of high school in in Madrid so I’m from Bal different city right so yeah I’ve been away from my parents for decently long period at a time um and and and that helped a lot CU I grew up speaking in
Classrooms I grew up speaking and learning in Basque I had a transition to Spanish which was a bigger change than most people would think so going to the US longer flight but the change was obviously more difficult but I had some experience on it already uh is more of a
Cultural shock to be honest I never had time to go and visit you know I go I grew up in town with 1300 people and then spend some time in Madrid but very isolated as part of Madrid and then I go to Arizona State which is one of the
Biggest universities in the world uh grew up in the cold and landed in August in the desert I mean the the change was about as big as you could ever imagine uh and it took me some time right also the English I was used to was UK English
Right English English that’s what they teach you yes right I’m going to American accents it’s it was a change it was a change it took a good month for me to settle in and unfortunately it showed on the golf course but once my English got to a high enough level everything became
A lot easier but it was it was a solid month of struggle the first month wasn’t easy but again I think you’re so young and so naive and so immature that you don’t know anything different right I mean you just kind of think it’s normal
And and that’s about it I mean you deal with it and uh and to remember my coach saying that he didn’t think I was going to last more than two weeks uh he thought he thought I was going to quit and go back to Spain and I don’t blame
Him cuz I was quite quiet but throughout that time and the difficulties uh cuz I got in trouble a lot for honestly just not understanding what they were telling me uh I could kind of find my safe spot safe space on the golf course right and play golf and even though my first
Tournament was not great starting on the second one things things got a little bit better and and uh easier for me so tough change tough to be away from family but again I think when you’re so young you just don’t know anything different we’ll get to winning the biggest tourn
It’s almost like at that point you just want to be aware from your parents right like I don’t want somebody telling me what to do yes yeah you don’t have to do homework you can you know there nobody’s not Mom you what to do like it’s somewhat fun at first and then
Once the Panic starts hitting in and the problems come in it becomes very difficult but there’s you know there’s like well I don’t have a bedtime I can do whatever I want I’ve got a 12 and a 14 year old I think your ke are a bit younger than
That but trust me it’s pretty early on when they start not really wanting to do what you do but I’m sure that’s coming your way um the um before we get to the big Ts as I said that I’d like to get you get your views on how you physically
Mentally prepare and that type of thing what’s your first check in in golf um like I guess you got to be a pro like what what’s your what’s your first time you’ve won any money playing golf so my first pro start was right after the US
Open in 2016 at Oakmont which I played good and I I won low amateur it was Congressional it was at that time the rocket mortgage and I finished third and my first ever check was 4 $400,000 okay did you go and buy anything like cam Smith we mentioned
He’s into his boats are you a spender or you put it in the bank Johnny no so uh I did boy I listen I needed to buy a car cuz I didn’t have one so I did buy a car and uh let’s just say about a more expensive car than I would have
Otherwise uh I ended up buying uh it was 2016 and even then I tried to be responsible it was I used 2014 uh paname GTS okay so that was my first purchase okay so you talk about winning there I needed a car I didn’t need that car but
I needed a car that was that was EXC my dad was not happy it was one of the funniest things to go back in time now and think cuz I remember him I told him he thought I was going to buy a like a Toyota a 4Runner because that’s what I
Told him I was going to do the next thing he knows here I am with a Panamera and I can just I remember him you you are driving to paname you just and I tried to tell him like Dad it was good priz like I did my work this and that
You that’s still good great and I and I will tell them nowaday still cuz funny thing about that now is I have an emotional connection to the car so I couldn’t sell it so I actually sent it to Spain for them my parents to drive
And for them to have and it’s so funny how he loves it now and I tell remember how Matt you was like I wasn’t that my brothers there in the background like oh no he was pissed like I know it was just one of the fun things great story so we
Get we get to January 2016 Farmers Insurance your first PGA Tour win where I was looking at it this morning Johnny your whole like a 60 footer um an incredibly long part um and then like I don’t know if your world changed did you like like what does it
What does it do as a professional athlete to all of a sudden realize that yeah okay I’m here I can do this so I think throughout my career I can go back in the situations where I say I I see myself go to the next level and then
Prove myself that I belong there luckily when I was in college my third year in 2015 I finished fifth in the Phoenix Open as an amateur so I felt like I had the talent to be there and when I won the tournament more than you know I belong
It was more of a thank God it came this quickly right like thank God this happened this fast and and it’s over with uh especially the fashion I did is not only that part I shot six under on the back nine eagled both part fives
Bird 17 and then make the long p on 18 which people that know golf or not I know 60 feet is a long pot but it was very downhill it was about a ball like all I had to do was hit it 10 ft
And it was going to get to the hole so it was more of a hope it hits the line and if not two put with a two I would have still won the tournament but making that put and just stealing it was absolutely incredible um you dream of things like that right
You dream of your win to be something that static and that exciting but when it happens it’s actually hard to believe like I couldn’t sleep that night seeing that pot over and over because I couldn’t believe that it actually happened uh and it was yeah it was just
More that relief of okay it’s done I’ve won my tournament finally and um keep on going before we talk about keeping on going what I’ve learned doing this show John is for every success there is a lot of failures that build that success and obviously in golf you know there’s one
Successful player and there’s 12 odd that that aren’t and I tried to read and I couldn’t really find anything take me to a tournament where you think you could have got the job done and you didn’t and how you mentally go and work through that and get over that and what that
Does for you so the failure that may somewhere down the track create success well the biggest one I would say for me was the players I had the lead on Sunday and had a terrible Round And even through my bad moment uh I was I still had my chances and just
Completely handled it so wrong and ended up losing it right um what you do wrong a lot of things okay um okay I think so at first I had a very hard time that they maintaining myself in the present and just playing golf like I do right I was
Too reactive of what other people were doing okay cuz if you go through the round early on when people make birdies I make Bogies and then other players start making mistakes and then I make birdies right so it was uh it was very much a reactive round and rushed the
Whole day I just felt rushed I never took my time and and really centered myself right and um I was playing good enough to win that was one of those where I shot 64 the day before to take the lead I was playing really good golf and there’s really no excuse besides
Just not handling that that moment properly so in a situation like that in in in a situation like that you walk off the course are you an athlete that it stays with you for a minute an hour a month and what are you learning in those situations well from every mistake
There’s an opportunity right so okay okay you can choose to learn that was really the first time I had to lead in a big event going into Sunday um uh it hurt it hurt I’m not going to lie the play is the tournament you know you
Dreamed of winning and it’s not an easy one to win on and it hurt not to get it done I know knowing that it was my fault then I could have done so many more things better but with that said I will be usually no matter what happens bad
I’m angry for tubs 30 minutes to an hour after the round uh or until I get some food sometimes guess like that’s that’s what my my wife knows if I’m coming steaming off the golf course and I see her she knows not to say much but she knows okay we need
To get him food just because you play you’re tired and just justat eating and sitting down just makes you rethink right um and pretty quickly I just get to normal so at the end of the day yeah I mean it’s just golf right my life of the golf course
Doesn’t drastically change whether I win that or not right especially we have a lot of positives going for me so once that happens you got to learn and analyze what you did wrong what happened and then try to improve upon that okay it’s part of the process whether you win
Or not the next day you’re still waking up and go to practice again so it really is just the process so in Australia we obviously have um the Australian guys um can compete in the President’s Cup which is an amazing event but you Europeans have the Ryder Cup I was looking back I
Actually watched it I John I went to watch 10 minutes of you playing tiger in the Ridder Cup in 2018 as the youngest player in the um European team and I watched an hour so you cost me a bloody hour this morning because it was captivating what is it what is it like
Talk to me about ride a cup as a kid playing against arguably the greatest golfer of all time who you ended up beating so what a lot of people don’t know about that week is I had my wisdom teeth taking out 10 days before the week of
The rtic cup cuz I had an infection I had to so I didn’t I wasn’t allowed to eat solid food till like r a cup week uh and I just hit it terrible like I was playing terrible terrible golf off and then Saturday night I see the parents
And I get paired with Tiger Woods and the Panic level was at an all-time high tiger had just won I’m like he’s playing good ideally that Golf Course fits his game more than me at that point the longer the golf course the better that
One’s not and I was like oh man this is terrible luckily we had a lead but I’m like oh this is just unfortunate in many ways and it took a lot to uh to flip that right into into a positive u a lot of conversations with Tommy fle would have played tiger a
Couple times and Thomas Bjorn and coming up with maybe a game plan and the one thing I learned is okay I got to go out there and play myself even though it’s match play I’m playing Tiger Woods I got to almost try to eliminate him from the
Picture and just forget that he’s there right because it is Tiger even though you’re in Europe he’s going to have a lot of support especially having just being that comeback in 2018 right so uh that was my plan I just tried to walk and not even see him there right I just
Have somebody I had to beat and that was it uh and we had a really good match I actually played really good golf uh played great golf on that Sunday the only mistake I say I would made was missing um about a three four foot putt
On 16 to go to 17 with a two up lead uh but then was able to bir 17 to win it so it was uh it was quite quite great honestly I started great put the ball in the Fairway on one hit it to three feet
Made the P started with a one up lead and and seeing the crowd support it it’s hard to explain uh the way I tell people I think I have the biggest overreaction to making a four-footer ever in golf and that was the the winning put on 17 but if I when I tell
You the story so my grandfather had just died that summer who really wanted to see me in the ride a cup and he was my biggest fan right you know my grandparents were a big part of my life and when I’m reading that putt I’m aware of the moment cuz I know
Tiger’s there right I’m like okay well if I tie the hole worst case I go one up to 18 but I did not want to see 18 cuz it’s really hard hoing Anything could happen right like when I make the part I’ve just missed a three-footer so that memory is still
There and while I’m reading it I’m obviously aware of my grandpa but somebody yells in Spanish do it for sebie now as such a big sey fan as I am the the the amount of pressure I felt in the moment like oh my God how come this
Guy is is telling me this now right but it almost instantly flipped and I thought of my grandpa and sevie up in heaven just together willing up ball into the hole just helping me out right so instantly it was like from pressure to almost an uplifting feeling
To where I went to that ball thinking a this is this is going in there’s no way and uh yeah I mean I hit a perfect but he goes dead center and the reaction is my first step right cut point I beat Tiger Woods which is my alltime hero um
And then the the the feeling of my of my grandpa and sa up in heaven right so that’s why that reaction was what it was uh I actually turned around and when I shake Tiger’s hand I I apologize cuz I’m fully aware that maybe it was too much
Uh but he was very gracious and tell me D don’t worry about it like it’s deserved well learned but uh but yeah there was a lot going on and on top of that it’s right a cup I mean it’s it’s kind of a big deal it’s funny
That you’re in some ways apologetic your I can understand you speaking to your opponent but that when I saw your celebration on that not knowing the back story that’s when I immediately thought the punters the crowd as we call them here in Australia are going to love this bloke
At Living Adelaide because he plays with emotion and passion so it’s funny how you’re almost half apologetic for it where I’m like this is what I want from golf this is the ENT it’s only because I respect tiger so much yeah I get that
Yeah I get that it’s just out of like oh man I got like not apologetic for winning but for the reaction yeah I get it had it been the longer putt I think is completely excused like my reaction at the US Open in Ator P I’m perfectly
Excused right I mean it’s a big deal but that is I don’t know it’s four feet it’s not like I won the wrer cup it was early on right it’s like I don’t know I just felt like maybe I I don’t know it’s it’s that’s weird but it you know everything
Together is just just came out you mentioned Tory pwns 2021 your first major and again I’m looking at that your whole ripping part uh correct me if I’m wrong but a birdie on 17 to uh I think equal is swart all the South African year or is it usaz that’s water
Yeah and then on 18 another birdie and then so you’ve almost got your hands the first Spaniard to win the US Open and then I love it cuz in the coverage they cut and you’re on the practice Fairway and like everything you’ve wanted to achieve since you were a kid is there
And you have to wait what what is that period like because he he’s coming up to hasn’t completed his round so he can still unlikely as it was he can still take you to a playoff yeah so I I I took a one shot lead and he was on 15 green
So I think he two-putted 15 and you’re watching in right and 15 16 are not birdie holes so not that I’m too worried there 17 if you put the ball in the fway was a possibility cuz with How firm it was he could have made birding than 18
Same thing being a part five right so uh that’s where I was worried and then it honestly seemed like the longest hour of my life was it like was it yeah cuz you’re not in control right like I just made the PO I’m an incredible Euphoria right it’s amazing and then you
Have to come down and like all right he can still take me to a playoff or he could still actually win he has the holes like I finish birdie birdie so he could finish birdie birdie as well and trying to deal with that was difficult you go um cameras are following you they
Want to see you react actually I’m watching TV so it’s tough uh I remember watching his tshot on 18 when he went he hit in the hazard and uh it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings looking at the TV knowing that there’s a camera
Right in my face like I I can’t be happy about it on TV you can’t be doing fist pumps can you yeah I mean it’s obviously I’m not upset to see go on the hazard I love Lou because he’s a fantastic player and a great guy but at that moment I’m
Not upset obviously right so when I see May bogy and then he misses the fway on 18 takes going for the green out of the question and and he has to hold out this wet shot and and I’m I’m hitting Shots Out On The Range just in case cuz you
Never know but at that point the crowd tells you right I’m I’m I’m hitting balls and we heard a cheer but it wasn’t a very loud one like like a whole out would would tail so at that point is when I stop and I look and then tell us
He missed it you win the tournament uh and it was an incredible moment to share with my wife and our and our newborn Kea who was 2 months old at the time you got a baby under your arm that’s what got me when the little Fell’s under your arm I
Think I grow him and I said you have no idea what just happened yeah someday he will not not that he would care or not but uh you know not to only win a major but to to be the first Spanish player to win the US Open was quite incredible uh
So you go from one of the highlights of my career to one of the stressful most stressful hours of my career to then being the champion is it’s such a hard feeling to describe I mean I know golf to a lot of people might not be the most exciting sport in the world
But to be a part of it like those roller coasters you can go through it’s absolutely incredible I I only have well one more topic and one question after that so you take as much or as little time on this topic as you please because your time is Valu but I know we’re
Getting you the end but that topic is a little tournament in Augusta called the Masters before we talk about winning it Adam Scott came on this show on episode 100 and he told me a story John so for those that aren’t aware the winner gets
The green jacket for a year you can take it away from Augusta he would talk about back back in Queens land people be coming around for dinner and he’ just casually leave the green jacket over the couch so when they walked in they would see the jacket and it would blow them
Away that there was the master’s Green Jacket have I still got you there I have so tell tell me a story about you a and what you’ve done with your your famous Green Jacket which within the year period I guess you still got yeah I nothing like that nothing like that a
Lot of people a lot of people yeah would wear it and and go through drive-throughs and things like that I yeah I just never I probably should do it just for fun and be able to say that I’ve done it I think the closer I get to the Masters
The more I’ll wear it just because I know time’s coming up but I I I have it on my closet and every every day when I go get dressed I see it every once in a while put it on but I never hasn’t venture out of the house a lot to be
Honest nothing nothing special like that uh obviously I show people but I don’t have it advertised let’s just say that and when you show people does it have like it’s it’s a green jacket right it’s just a green piece of cloth but what type of a does it bring to people when
You show it to them most people are speechless most people are speechless yeah people are especially if I put it on cuz you know most of the people seeing it or family are close enough to where they understand the significance of it and yeah a lot of people get a
Little emotional I get emotional right if I start thinking about it too so yeah it’s it’s it’s it’s a very special trophy to have that you only keep for a year it’s it’s uh it’s hard to put into words I can’t really explain it so the tournament
Itself um I I can summarize it for people but for the tournament itself tell me about your your your mental state so day one you shot Seven under equal first day two 10 under second behind keot on 12 day three um you’re nine under kep because 11 um but it’s an unusual tournament
Because the weather so you’re playing a little bit the next morning Etc how do you mentally keep when the pressure of the Masters when that first thought comes in your head [ __ ] I could win the US Masters here which would have been on um sevy’s birthday how do you mentally process
That to not get ahead of yourself and picture in your mind lifting up the trophy I think that’s a challenge every time you’re in contention in a tournament um for that one in a weird way Friday and Saturday were the easier part because you were with the rain delays and the weather you
Had enough worried like when it’s pouring out rain and it’s blowing wind you you almost forget like you’re just trying to you know deal with the elements and and and deal with that so for that period of time and it was weird that you’re not thinking about golf it
Obviously became very very real when Brooks and AR off last on Sunday that’s when things changed quite a bit right that’s when you’re playing and okay this is to win it actually to win it so uh at first obviously I’m chasing Brook so I’m not really thinking about winning but
Once I take the lead on six those thoughts do come and you have to be able to man them uh so what does that mean what what does what does manage those thoughts mean this is the gist of what I wanted to exactly you take the lead and you’re thinking you’re obviously you
Kind of start having i i a lot of times have thoughts of man imagine we actually have a taping to win The Masters I imagine right and I’m like well it’s a whole lot of golf in between to make that happen so you kind of need to keep
Yourself on the moment and and battle those those thoughts that that that come in right not batt but almost you almost need to let him go and just keep focusing on you and um I think because that day I I set myself a Target score
To shoot I wanted to shoot 69 or better uh I just kept hacking at that and then just trying to manage the lead right even at that point I I’m seeing Jordan spe and Phil Merson going off shooting very low um and and catching up to to
The lead so at the same time you try to distance yourself as much as you can right I think it was a two shot lead starting on 10 and I was able birdie um 14 uh 134 to make it a four shot lead right so you you try to still keep
Playing good golf cuz a lot of people that may not know about the history of the game in 2004 erniel stood on 14 T box with a three shot lead played the last five H holes one on par and did not win The Masters we are accustomed to this mate
We’re yeah we’re accustomed to this with Greg Norman leading F by far shot in the ’90s Australians know the Heartbreak of the Masters more than more than most to be honest so you still you still need to stay in it and and keep hitting those shots cuz they’re not easy right I hate
When people tell me oh it’s a boring finish I’m glad it was boring for you cuz is very stressful uh the only time I was safe is when I had the I feel like I hit that third shot on the green and that on 18 and that was done so before
That it’s a lot of battling of you wanting to win and your feelings and and and chall B the the golf course in a way where you can still be aggressive and make birdies but you never want to give up anything right it’s is maintaining
That sweet spot but at the end of the day when you’re playing it’s not like you’re thinking about all that right you’re just trying to do what’s best for yourself in that moment uh and I think with the pressure being so big on Sunday and you’re being so nervous it’s
Almost easier to maintain yourself centered uh just because you’re so aware of everything that’s happening right it’s it’s it feels like those black last nine Halls are a lot longer than the 2 hours they really are last question I have for you I realize you got to go we
Have a lot of kids listen to this show and you will understand the responsibility of this cuz you know have a young family for all the kids out there John that want to achieve success in their field what lasting piece of advice would you leave them with this is
Always very hard yeah yeah everybody’s different but you have to find your passion it’s a lot easier to achieve great things when you’re passionate about what you’re doing because it doesn’t feel like work is that simple going out to practice going out to to work out and and spend
The time and and the sacrifices that it requires is a lot easier when you absolutely love what you’re doing a lot easier in fact it doesn’t really feel like a sacrifice maybe to other people it does but not to you because that’s what you want to do uh so it once you
Find your passion is still it’s is still an immense amount of hard work and dedication to be able to get to to be one of the best in the world or anything and that’s what my dad always said he’s like son I don’t care if you want to be
The best golfer in the world the best garbage man in the world the best journalist in the world it doesn’t matter to be able to get there you need to you need to have an incredible discipline and incredible work ethic and uh yeah that’s where you need to get to
Obviously there’s different ages where you can make your practice fun and your days entertaining but it’s a lot of hours that you need to spend doing what you need to do to be able to get there you’ve been so generous with your time I could ask you three more hours of
Questions we can’t wait to see you in Adelaide maybe you have a great time in Saudi Arabia John it’s been a privilege to have you on the show go well and we can’t wait to see you in this part of the world M good on you thank you very much thank you
