| Have you always lived in Florida?
Yes sir I have.
Does your family play golf? My
Dad plays weekends at our club and is a
pretty good player and my younger sister
is starting to play. How did
you pick it up? My Dad just
took me out there starting when I was
about five years old. We'd go in the
afternoon and I'd hit these little
clubs.I'm the oldest of five so there
were lots of young babies around so
sometimes I liked to go with with Dad
just to get away from all the chaos and
just go play golf. So you have
won this event the last two years?
That's a reputation to live up to. What
did you shoot today (second
round). I shot 73. I'm a
little golfed out right now. I had a US
AM qualifier the other day and the heat
is really getting to me. I also played
in the Southern and Western Junior, two
top tens. I have been playing pretty
well. In the US AM qualifier I shot
74-64 and lost in a playoff. I shot six
under and did not make it. I'm a little
emotionally drained from that so it’s
been a tough week and so I'm trying to
get back in gear. Have you ever
played in the US Junior? Yes
sir I have. I played two years ago at
Trump National. I had never played in
any AJGA's and this was my first really
big tournament. It was a cool
experience. It poured the second day. It
was a monsoon. The first hole was an
uphill 515 yard par four and it was wet
and raining. Hardest opening hole I have
ever played. What other sports
do you play? You look like a baseball
player. Yes I did play
baseball but even though you can play
golf year round here in Florida, I take
the winter off and play basketball. It's
a lot of fun. I play on our high school
team and playing basketball is a way to
get away from golf. I need the break.
I'm actually a basketball player who
just happens to play golf. After
basketball season is over, I will take a
month and then start to get back into
the swing of things. Is it
true that helps you get freshened up for
golf? Oh definitely, you get
that spark back, you wanna go play.
Right now I'm about done. I have very
little left in the tank from a long
spring and summer. But I do play for my
high school team and we have a fall
season. We're going to be good as we
have all five players returning.
When we talk about the sport
of golf what do you like about
it Trying to see how well you
can play. Go out there every single
shot and try to hit it the best you can
and when you hit a bad shot, see if you
can make up for it. Even at the US AM
qualifier, after the first day everyone
thought I was out of it and trying to
come back and almost making it, that’s
what I really like. . What
things you like to do away from the
course? 
Lots of sports. I
love football, going to the beach.
What about school subjects.
Which ones do you like? I
like math, I’m pretty good at it. And
I’m working hard on my Spanish. I think
it’s cool to be fluent in two languages.
I’m almost there but I need to work on
it some more. If we talk to
people who know you and we asked them to
give us some adjectives that describe
you, what would we hear?
Probably “athletic”. Maybe “cocky” but I
joke about that. Also “non-chalant,
laid back”. I like to have fun.
When you drive, would people
say you drive very fast, fast, or a
little fast?
Maybe a little
fast but I’m a good driver. I don’t go
crazy. If I get a speeding ticket my Dad
will take my car away for a
while. If we talk about the
various aspects of your game, what’s the
strongest part? I’m a pretty
good putter. From 50 to 100 yards I
still need to get better. If I have to
punch out from the trees and then get up
and down for par from , say , 60 yards,
I can’t do that right now as well as I
should. Are you a feel
player? Absolutely, 100
percent. I can have five different
putting stances in a round. I just go
with what I think feels right.
How about you practice routine
away from a tournament? I do
putting drills and games but I need to
come up with some wedge games. Like
anybody else I tend to practice what I
am good at and so I don’t practice my
wedge game like I should. But when it
gets to tournament time I just go play.
You have some more junior
golf left, pick a tournament you would
like to win. Oh the Junior
Players without a doubt right here in my
hometown. Then the high school state
championship would be next both
individually and as a team.
You looking forward to Florida and
college? Oh yes, Coach
Alexander knows what he is doing and
will make me a lot better.
You want to stay all four years?
Oh yes. I want a degree
especially in international business
where my Spanish will help. If I were
to win some pro tournaments as a
amateur, that might change but
(laughing) that doesn’t happen to too
many people. I think we
covered a lot of ground today. Thanks
for the interview A.J. Thank
you Mac, this was fun. |
2011