The golfer will play the weekend at Royal Portrush
Check. Check. Ricky, how are you? Yeah, good. Nice to be nice to be done. Get a little relaxing time. Now, tell me this. You’re a regular visitor to Northern Ireland over the years. What’s it like out there, the atmosphere, because everyone’s excited to see all these world class golfers? It’s fun. I mean, it’s uh it’s great. we were being able to come back after being here in 2019 and I think this place is a is a great test of golf. Um I’ve I’ve enjoyed my time here obviously good finish back in 19 and um off to a decent start this week. So um yeah, it’s I I know a lot of guys really just enjoy this golf course, enjoy the fans over here, enjoy the town of Port Rush, um as well as down the road Port Stewart. I played over there on Friday and um especially when you get the weather we had over the weekend leading into the week. Um and so far we haven’t had too much rain. So um it’s a good place. And you had a lot of support out there this morning. Yeah. No, we had a you know handful of people. I didn’t expect a a bunch to show up at a 7:08 tea time, but um there was I was uh surprised there were a couple people with their their little ones out and uh you know having little ones myself that’s that’s uh that’s tough to make happen cuz you don’t just wake up, roll out, and show up at 7:00. That’s that’s some serious commitment. Thank you. A little bit of an up and down round, Ricky. Did you you know some really good shots again to 13. Did you find it hard to get into a rhythm a little bit? Yeah, I got out of position a couple times. I wasn’t swinging as well today as I was yesterday and kind of just had to fight my way around a little bit. Um I think we did a a decent job of of managing that and you know not making any big numbers, but um you know it’s it’s definitely it’s tricky out there um if you’re a little bit off or get out of position a bit. Um but it’s it’s a good test. What do you think is the biggest challenge in Port Rush in terms of things that you’re thinking about for for the weekend? Um, I mean, it doesn’t take much to get in get yourself in a a interesting spot. Um, you know, I feel like that a lot of the greens or a lot of holes typically give you kind of one side where you’re okay. Um, or at least have a chance. And then there’s others where you might you have a slim chance, but um you can you can turn a you know a poorly executed shot into you’re hoping for bogey sometimes, but you can turn them into doubles and and more if if you try and maybe get too much out of it or get a little as some of us call try and get a little too cute. Um, yeah, it’s good. You have to think your way around this place. Um, even some of the shorter holes. Um, number 11. I made bogey the last two days and it’s basically like making par I feel like there. Um, yeah, it’s it’s good. Um, I enjoy it because it demands, you know, a lot out of you hitting different shots high, low, and, you know, left, right, especially when the wind’s up. Do you hit a lot of drivers today? Um, I hit a few. I want to say I probably hit maybe four. It seems like just with the way the course is laid out, some of the force carries you have, but then maybe the runouts, it can get a little tight. We’ve seen even guys on par fives hit less than driver. I’m just wondering kind of strategy that it’s, you know, forcing guys off the team. Yeah, you can you can hit quite a few drivers if you want to. Um, I typically don’t hit many drivers in left to right wind. Um, that’s why I carry a mini. I draw it a lot easier. I’m able to hold it better. Um, I didn’t do a great job of that today, but um, at least they were somewhat in play. Um, so I I may hit less drivers than some. Um, you know, but like I said, there’s there’s plenty of options to do it, but really no matter what club you hit, you you have to hit it um, at least within reason. A quality golf shot. you’ve you’ve spoken about your affinity for this style of play. You didn’t grow up playing it. Why do you think that is? Why do you think um I’ve just I feel like I’ve always been, you know, creative and had a good imagination when it comes to hitting golf shots and, you know, growing up on a flat driving range. Kind of had to picture different things and hit different shots. And um you know, over here you kind of there’s obstacles out there, but you have to at times be able to see the shot and you know, you have to execute it as well. But, um, I find it, you know, a lot of fun. This place being a little bit different because it’s a bit more in the air than a lot of Lynx courses, but there’s always a few different shots you can hit. And then, um, you can make all of them work, but obviously it’s sticking to the one that you pick and executing. But, um, yeah, I find it fun because there’s so many different variables from how much the ball bounces, whether it’s downwind and, you know, using the wind or not. Um, yeah, it’s just I think it’s the variables part of it. Um, as well as you throw the wind in there and then I’m not a big fan of the rain, but that’s a that’s a big variable when it comes into play. Stylistically, how different is it from the type of shots that you’re hitting week in week out typically? Yeah, you can still hit some very, you know, fairly stock shots to what we, you know, hit back home. Um, there’s plenty of times where keeping it simple is is probably your your best bet and not trying, like I said earlier, try and get too queued or or pull off the hero shot. Um, but I feel like being able to, you know, flight the ball or hit it up downwind. Um, and then being able to hold it, uh, both ways to to be able to use the wind. Um, you don’t necessarily have to, but it, you know, at the right times it can be a huge benefit. Ricky, I got a short game technique question for you. Can you talk about how are you doing anything differently off this kind of turf than a lot of the golf we see over in the states? Not much. I mean, good delivery is still good delivery. Um it doesn’t really matter if you’re on firm, soft, grainy. Uh if you can go chip off grainy Bermuda back home in Florida, everything’s possible. Um you know, this is, you know, a bit tighter and firmer, but um you know, still the initial contact um that’s that’s basically for me still the same. um because you’re not really should be making kind of ball and ground contact roughly about the same time. Hopefully ball before ground if slightly. Um so in that case the the surface shouldn’t play as big of a factor with that. Um certain shots I mean obviously you know the fairway it’s it’s not like it’s it’s tough to hit you know flop shots or you know when you have that much balance and different things. So um I would say a lot more squareface or not as not as open as maybe at home just because of how much you expose the bounce and what that could lead to cuz 10 yard shot could go 40 if you don’t execute properly. Ricky, you had you had you had success with your jailbird pter. Now you have a lab. What do you like about it? What did you change to that? Um I feel like it has a lot of the characteristics of the Jailbird just you know shorter length and a you know lighter static weight and the Jailbird’s still a great putter. Um, I’ve I’ve found over the years all putters work. It’s whether you believe it or not. Um, so I’ I’ve been happy with the lab and had success with it. Um, but yeah, at the end of the day, they all work. Um, right now, this is what’s what I’m seeing the line with best and um, feel like is my best chance of making putts. But sometimes things change. There’s guys that use putters for forever and um you know sometimes putters start to look a little differently to you or maybe be a little off to your eye and um a big thing at setup is you want something that looks right. So if this starts to look wrong I’ll I’ll look for the one that looks right. Thanks for thanks.
