PGA Tour golfer Andrew Novak joins CBS Sports HQ to speak on the success he’s had this season ahead of the Travelers Championship this weekend.
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This trophy right here is up for grabs this weekend in Connecticut. The final signature event of the season on tour as we head to TPC River Highlands for the Travelers Championship. Andrew Novak was the champion on tour just a few months ago when he won the Zurich Classic with his partner Ben Griffin. Even more recently, Novak is coming off the US open, where he finished tied for 42nd. It has been a good year for Novak. He’s one of eight first time winners this week who will be in the field at the travelers for top ten finishes this season, and sitting ninth in the Fedex Cup standings make for the perfect scenario this week out in CT. We’re now pleased to have PGA tour player Andrew Novak join us. Andrew, thank you for the time. And first off, I have to feel and figure out how you are feeling as we get set for the travelers this week. Are you happy that Oakmont is in your rearview mirror? Because from watching at home, it looked brutal. What could you say for those of us that weren’t there who are watching on television, that just made the course feel even tougher when you’re out there? Yeah, I absolutely loved Oakmont. The place was so good, but it was exhausting to play, like mentally, physically, just hacking out of rough. It was so hard. It’s the US open though. You’re prepared for that going in especially, you know, being Oakmont. There’s a lot of history there of just being brutal. So it was a fun week. I got a lot out of it, which was good. I played four days, so I was pretty happy with that. Do you feel any different sense after you get that behind you now as you get set for this week for the travelers? Yeah, it’s definitely, you know, the tournament I played before it was Memorial also very, very difficult golf course, brutal rough. It’s going to be a little bit different feel this week at travelers. There are birdies out here. You know winning score can get up into that 20 under range I think Cam Young shot 59 here last year. So it’s just it’s going to be a little bit different golf this week. Overall what do you think has been working so well for you this year because you pick up your first win on tour over there at the Zurich four top tens in general. You were right there at the RBC. Is there something that just has clicked for you now? I would say statistically the putting has been very good, but really it’s just playing with a lot of confidence. I’ve been playing very well on Saturdays, putting myself in position and just giving myself a bunch of different chances to win golf tournaments. When you talk about winning tournaments and you talk about big events coming up, of course there’s still opportunities to rack up those Ryder Cup points. I don’t know how much you look at the standings, but we’ll bring it up there and we’ll show the top ten. You’re just missing that top ten, but are right there in the conversation when you’re on the course, or even maybe in preparation for a tournament, do you think about the Ryder Cup and maybe what you would need to get the invite? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I’m I’m in the tournament trying to win the tournament because frankly, just playing good golf is what’s going to benefit me. But yeah, I’m very conscious of it. I know I’ve had a great season this year. I do want to make that team. I think Bethpage is going to be unbelievable. But it’s, you know, pretty clear what I need to do. I need to I need to play well, I need I had a good start to the year. I need to finish strong. I’ve got some big events coming up and it’s just opportunity for me. So let’s act like I’m Keegan Bradley right here. And you’re giving your best pitch for why you should be on that Ryder Cup team. What would you say looking at the camera and making your pitch to be there? I mean, realistically for Keegan, there’s not anything I can really say. It’s going to be how I play. I mean, he Keegan’s the kind of guy that is going to do what he needs to do to win. That’s that’s just who he is. So he’s going to take the 12 best players to give him a chance, you know, or the best chance to win the Ryder Cup. And the best thing I can do is go out and play well and make it easy for him. So let’s say you make it real easy for him this week by dominating at River Highlands this week. What challenges does this course bring? There’s a lot of risk reward holes. There’s, you know, water involved. If you miss I would say generally you know, you’re going to have to putt pretty well because there are a lot of birdies. So putting is important. But I do think they’ve grown the rough up. It’s raining currently so I’m guessing the rough will be a little bit thicker. It’s going to be a lot different than you know. Oakmont and Memorial the last two times. But it’s still golf. Fairways, greens make putts and that goes a long way. So Andrew speaking of being a little bit different, I want to venture away from golf for a second and talk a little bit of football with you. I know you’re a Panthers fan. I’m a Panthers fan. We have been suffering lately, so I’m not even going to really go down that avenue for right now. But although I am excited for the year, I think it’s going to be our year with your fantasy football as we’re prepping for that. I know you have your own podcast, who’s number one right now for you as a fantasy football player out there? I think it’s Jamaar Chase. This year. You have pretty much everything you want. You have a very good offense. You have a good quarterback throwing him the ball. You have obviously an unbelievable player. I think you probably pairing that up with a defense that’s looking potentially iffy. I think the Bengals, again, are just going to have to score a ton of points this year. That means they’re going to keep throwing the football sets up for another huge year for Jamaar. Chase, I am curious, what do you think about the Panthers prospects this year? How are you feeling about things? Yeah, I’ve stopped trying to predict stuff for the Panthers a while ago, I think. I think in the draft they went out and got everything, you know, they really needed, like they drafted to a lot of needs. It’s just going to be whether the players work out. I think Bryce, you know, obviously showed some improvement last year. If he continues on that trajectory, I think the division is there for the taking. But it’s the Panthers. So we’ll see. I lived in Charlotte for four years from 2018 to 2022, and there was never a winning season at all. So I know very, very well of how tough it is to be a Panthers fan. Let me ask you a little bit more positive from the football side, because our very own Pete Prisco has his top 100 players in the NFL list coming out today. Who do you think Pete should have as his number one player in the league right now? I it’s got to be Patrick Mahomes I know obviously Chiefs didn’t get it done last year, but until proven otherwise I mean he is the best player in the league right now. And I think that we should maybe be afraid of you coming and taking our jobs as an NFL analyst for those out there, because I know you know your stuff and you know your ball. But for now, I can say thank you. I just wish you good luck out there on the links this week for the Travelers Championship. Andrew Novak, once again, thanks. Yeah, thanks for having me on. And of course, Travelers Championship. You can catch that this weekend over on CBS, streaming on Paramount Plus as well. Weekend coverage Saturday and Sunday, starting off at 3:00 eastern, the final signature
