World Golf Hall of Famer LIVE-Fairways of Life w Matt Adams-Tues Feb 13

Matt Adams sits down with World Golf Hall of Famer and 21-time PGA Tour winner Lanny Wadkins as they discuss the Ryder Cup, the Genesis Invitational, Riviera, Tiger Woods and so much more. Plus Tiger Woods announces his new apparel brand Sun Day Red.

Welcome to the most listened to golf in the world the fairways of Life show on air online and around the world with the most candid interviews Unforgettable stories taking you beyond the ropes here’s your host New York Times bestselling author matat Adams what’s going on folks welcome into

The fairways of life show delighted to have your company it is a historic week if only because we’re playing at a historic venue on the PGA tour side the Genesis Invitational at Riviera the amount of history on this property is Stout just some of the things that that

Pop into my mind aside from the fact that what it hosted the the 48 US Open it hosted the 83 and 95 PGA Championship it hosted the 1998 United States Senior Open uh the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship it will host the US Women’s Open at 26 that will

Be the 100th anniversary of Riviera it will host Olympic golf men’s and women’s in 19 in 2028 uh for that one so it’s it’s crazy it’s got all kinds of Hollywood members as you could imagine where it is Mark Walberg is member there Adam Sandler Conan O’Brien Larry

David I mean could you imagine those four guys playing together as a forsome that’d be a pretty funny pretty fun group uh also we got some traction you heard us talking about the ratings for the Super Bowl which officially came out at 123.5 million people and that was that was across all

Platforms CBS was broadcasting the event and their ratings just on the network platform are being reported at 120 million making it the all-time highest rated program in the USA so it caused me to think and wonder what is the alltime highest rated golf tournament or golf program

However you want to Define that it happened to be a golf tournament but that’s why I’m saying that anybody ber the alltime golf TV ratings leader and they say estimated to be because maybe they weren’t able to be as precise what 27 years ago the 1997 Masters was estimated to have an

Audience of 44 million of course the 1997 Masters Was Won by Tiger Woods last year the best ratings was also the Masters 2023 and that was John ROM winning the Masters and they said the average rating for that one was 12 million but it peaked at 700 p.m.

Between 7 and like 7:15 7:30 at 15 million so they’re saying it’s just interesting to to kind of get these numbers and where golf stands against the NFL where the NFL obviously in the USA is the Undisputed leader at 1234 4 million people across as they say all those platforms all right so

Yesterday tiger was talking about his apparel brand and it’s called Sunday red you could take a look at the logo there Sunday red and it has 15 Stripes I’m sure you can guess why it has 15 Stripes they do say if he wins another major they’ll put another stripe on there

A Dom told a story before we went on the air he said he asked his wife what do you think about the logo what did she have to say about it Dom what’ you say about Tiger’s new logo she she said is that an animal skeleton so Tiger’s new logo is that an

Animal skon and then he introduced the the clothing this is from golf WRX and the reaction from people at least online when this came out was not was not not overwhelming it was there was kind of a meh to it I’m I’m not sure what people were expecting

From it there are some things that I’m seeing not that I’m any F fashionista but there’s some things that I’m seeing that are that are I like the looks of that one I like the collar on that one there’s the little logo the tiger skeleton I don’t know that shirt’s kind of

Cool you know you’ve got to have the the mock turtleneck in there for tiger I think they’ve got the the ankles right on the the trousers for years I thought they had tiger playing in pants that almost looked like they rebell bottoms there’s the mock turel neck that one looks pretty good that’s

Like a a shirt coming out of a top of a sweater you know the obligatory hoodie now which we all wear jacket which I kind of like cuz it doesn’t have that huge collar one of the things fashion wise that’s annoying to me is is the collars they still make all

These collars you know the quarter zip collars that are made for for that one’s not so bad that are made for zipping up to your chin who Zips them up to your chin so you don’t and it sticks out like the bow of a ship right so anyway see what you guys

Think about all of this I’m sure you can find a lot of it online with Tiger’s new Sunday red line that uh has recently been announced to the world what do you think uh this week tiger Accord hosting at the Genesis new caddy for Tiger this week Lance Bennett will be carrying the

Bag Lance was is probably best known for hauling the bag for Matt coocher during the height of his run got a great show I think lined up for you today I am super super excited about our next guest he is a member of the World Golf Hall of

Fame Lenny Watkins won 21 times on the PGA tour he won the 1977 PGA Championship he won the 1979 Players Championship he was the 1970 United States amateur Champion Lenny Watkins was a member of the United States Ridder Cup team eight times he still has one of the best records on

Either side overall he was the 1995 United States Ridder Cup captain he played in on the PGA tour get this guys 692 PGA Tour events and in that time he had 21 runner-up finishes go along with those 21 wins think about that for a second and here’s an interesting fact to

Tell you just how great a player Lanny Watkins was during the height of his prowers from 1972 to 1992 right he finished in the top 10 131 times in 533 starts if you’re doing the math at home that is 25% a top 10 at least every fourth start

For two decades and this was during a time period think about the time I just defined for you from 1972 it’s a time that I like to refer to as when Giants roamed Lanny Watkins now is a voice that you’re familiar with with his work broadcasting

The game of golf and his opinions are still important to the World of Golf as well and certainly here on the fairways of Life show always a pleasure to welcome Lanny Watkins into the show Lanny what is going on my man how you doing not much I’m worried about the way

I look mat and you know after you’re criticizing all the clothes I you know it’s a little early so I didn’t exactly dress to the nines this morning you know I was saying that and I saw you in the preview and I saw your eyebrows raise

Like oh no I’ve got one of those sweaters on do I look like a ship going sideways or something I don’t know it all it all looks good it all looks good this week the Genesis at Riviera just before you hooked up with us Lanny I was

Kind of going through some of the history of Riviera and it’s so Stout not only with the big events you won there multiple times what is it about the golf course that seemingly every generation of professional golfers go yeah it’s a gem and I love playing it yeah I think

It’s one of the absolute best courses if not the best that we play on the PJ tour year in year out it’s just a supreme test of everything you do in golf uh for starters the greens are very very small uh you’ve got you’re putting on poana so

It’s a little on the tricky side uh I cannot get over how well that course sets up from the te you stand on the te it tells you what to do where to hit it and if you can work your driver and and create shots uh and put it in the

Fairway in the proper place to attack these greens you can shoot some numbers it will yield low scores but if you don’t it will eat your lunch it is uh it’s just a true test of golf plus it’s just a beautiful place to play Ben Hogan

At number 10 used to hit a four iron and leave himself about 125 yards uh and go for the pin from there what was your philosophy on 10 well we didn’t hit it as far as they do today I mean they’re driving a great with 3-woods drivers

Easy a lot of 3-woods going with that green we didn’t hit it that far for me it was a perfect Forwood at the left edge of the bunker that goes through the Fairway over the cross bunkers in the Fairway so I had about a 40 yard area to

Hit that Forwood in if I hit it in the right place uh you know pretty much did with Forwood I would have somewhere around 75 to 85 yards to the hole and it was a perfect 56 degree Sand Wedge for me to get close

Um I I usually play that ho well on the par I usually two or three under every week I was a pretty good wedge player and if you put it in the left side of the Fairway with wedge straight down the gut of that green uh you should be able

To take advantage of it was or is there a particular type of player that’s that’s favored at Riviera is it for somebody that has control over their irons coming into those greens well you got to be a good iron player but the starts with putting it in the Fairway if

You don’t have it in the Fairway and you’re trying to play that cool you rough to small greens you’re not going have success you can’t attack the flags uh the greens are small which also means that once they start tucking tucking the flags in the nooks and crannies around

The edges they’re very very small and it also means getting up from shortsighted uh is really really difficult at Riviera particularly when you’re trying to pitch through the kuuya uh if you can land it on the green it’s one thing you’re okay but when you’ve got to start bouncing it in there kakuya

Doesn’t bounce and it sure doesn’t bounce very consistently so uh you’ve got to have a game plan going in when you’re missing greens Lanny are you joining us on your phone today yes are you holding your phone yes I thought so Dom is yelling in my

Headset going in the break we’ll get him to settle that thing down sorry about that not as steady as I used to be all right as promised wh we come back we’ll have a settled down Lanny Watkins I have so much I want to talk to him

About today Dom gives me a whole list of things that he wants me to go down I know where I want to go with lny Watkins and one of the things I want Lanny to share with us is the story about how we brought Ben Hogan’s one iron back to him

We’ll do it quick lny we’ll we’ll we’ll go in and out of it very quickly and I’ve got another great story not from Lanny but from one of his playing Partners in the Ryder Cup when Lanny stuck at the sevy that coming up after this relax easy now fine in your happy

Place it’s all in the hips just tap it in yes find the latest clubs in apparel at golf’s happy place the PGA TOUR Superstore in Ireland golf is more than just a game come and experience our world famous Lynx courses and our world famous Parkland courses all set

Alongside world famous scenery and visit our world famous historic s and while you’re here enjoy our world famous Hospitality fill your heart with Ireland at ireland.com golf it screams it tracks it’s soft it reacts it is the Bridgestone tour be with a gamechanging reactive cover designed to Spring faster off your

Driver and stick longer to your wedges try bridgestone’s T bees the tour Bowl reinvented the Gen 6 iron is a culmination of everything that we have learned as a team the absolute best golf club I’ve ever hit it’s something special say hello to the New pxg Gen 6

Iron the longest most accurate irons we’ve ever made they go higher and farther than any iron that I have hit to date and they’re so easy to hit super excited for the consumer to try these they’re going to love them pxg nobody makes golf clubs the way we do period

Baseball nah football done it I think I’m going to go after the PGA Tour Bo you’re going to need the right equipment company I think I got that you know tour backs all their clubs with a lifetime warranty I know they ship all their premium custom clubs in 48 hours I know

All their premium clubs are hand bailed in the USA I know you know Tour Edge has won 35 times out here guys I know pound-for-pound nothing comes close Bo golf provides the Ultimate worldclass Golf destination with 10 Championship caliber courses spanning three Resorts centered in Michigan’s Northern lower

Peninsula the courses are the products of some of the games Masters including Robert Trent Jones senior Arthur Hills and Donald Ross from the all-inclusive vacation packages Elite instruction with the bo Golf Academy tournaments and so much more Bo golf truly offers an unrivaled Michigan golf vacation experience just log on to Bo Golf.com welcome back to the fairways of Life show folks pleasure to have your company it was at the 1950 Us open at Maran of course Ben Hogan coming back from a near fatal car accident and Ben Hogan used a one iron on his 36th hole of day coming

Into 18 he had to because his legs at that point from the severity of of his injuries were basically dead the famed High piskin photo of Ben Hogan hitting is one iron at 18 is one of the most Classic photos ever taken now you might be surprised when you go a

Lot of people say oh they didn’t hit as far back then etc etc he hit the one iron as I mentioned because he had to hit the one iron the next day from the same spot he hit a four iron well he was fresh he had got a good night’s sleep

Plus he didn’t have the one iron the one iron that he used on that day was stolen that night along with the shoes that he was wearing and it dis appeared for over three decades my guest Lanny Watkins was part of getting it back to Mr Hogan in

2013 I had the honor of taking that one iron back to the actual spot where Ben Hogan hit it and it was the first time the club had actually been there in over 60 years so the question is for Mr Lanny Watkins World Golf Hall of Fame member

What was your involvement and how were you involved is it a thing of myth that you played a part in getting that one iron back to Mr Hogan no it’s not I was on the Hogan staff at the time playing Hogan equipment I played a lot of golf

With Ben uh we had started playing you know money games and and we got along really really well we kind of hit it off on a good plane so we played a lot at Shady Oaks in Fort Worth had a set game played all the time anyway a friend of

Mine uh former basketball player and coach at Wake Forest found the one iron in a according to what I heard anyway in a barrel and a uh par shop in Raleigh he called me he thought it was Ben’s One iron and he kind of a club nut guy named

Jackie Murdoch former player and coach at wake anyway I said well Jackie send it to me and if it is I will take it over and give it to Ben as soon as I received it I knew it was his because it still had his grip on it which was the

Grip that he used I I had seen his grips on his clubs they were very very distinctive he had a cord put under the grip at a certain angle so that his grip would fit right where he wanted it to every time it had that grip on it it I

Knew the set the rest of the set was in the uh lobby of the Hogan company so I I knew that club matched I took it over to him walked into his office said Ben I think I’ve got something of yours he picked it up and said well I haven’t

Seen this in a long long time and he had got a big old grin on his face and uh he really appreciated it and you know anyway that’s kind of how it happened yeah and that’s one iron now is in the usgaa museum it’s probably one of the

Most famous artifacts in the history of the game you know it’s amazing Lanny when when when you think about when one takes from my perspective historically takes a look in perspective of your career everything you did and I called it a time when Giants roam in the game

Because everything you did in particular were surrounding huge huge names like yourself for example the first PGA Tour win you had you win by a stroke over Arnold Palmer the man who name was on the scholarship you went to school with right yeah he was not very happy about

That either he was not very happy about that because I was still supposed to be in school that would have been my senior year at Wake Forest so not only did I leave school a year early on in scholarship I cost him a win uh he was

Not happy now you just said that you were that you and Ben Hogan got along great that Ben Hogan really liked you did you have the the famed money games against the likes of Raymond Floyd who a couple of times got you in major championships or the leecher venos or

The Sam snez or all these other guys that were still playing then uh yeah I had money games with with you know with Hogan I had our set game then once I got on tour starting about 73 we had a real hard set game it was me

And Bert yansy playing Weiss goof and and Palmer and we played them on a very regular basis if we were all at tournaments we’d play Monday Tuesday Wednesday in money games uh never played much with draino later on down the road Raymond and I started playing hail and

Hail Irwin and Jack Nicholas and Majors we played them for about three or four years had a great run a lot of fun then uh Watson and I kind of took on everybody for a while we went five years before we ever lost I think we lost to

Uh I trying to think who it was we lost to uh maybe ainger and Mickelson at Augusta one time when when ainger hold a five iron at 18 that’s the first time we ever lost but uh I I I surrounded myself with good partners I think that was

Number one you put you put you know hail I excuse me Watson or or Raymond on your side uh you’ve got about as good as it comes when it when it comes to playing for money yeah I speaking of Partners my friend your reputation as a competitor

Precedes you so at the end of last year we had a chance to speak with Marco Mir and I was asking him about his memories for the Ryder Cup right it was a Ryder Cup year we were heading into it I just wanted to get a flavor of it well lo and

Behold the story that he told was about Lanny Watkins let’s go back to that day you know as we walked up to the first teat we played obviously for some the best ball which is known as best ball and it was going to be Lanny and I Lanny

Watkins and I against seia balleros and Manuel paniro and we walked up and Lanny goes all right I’m gonna take care of everything today you don’t say a word to these guys I’ll handle everything I’m like okay sure Lanny whatever and so we’re on the tea and they they

Introduced the the US team first and of course they introduced me and a lot of people probably don’t know who Mark Homer is so I got a few Applause no big deal then they introduced Lanny Watkins and they boo him I booted him on the first te I’m like wow okay this is

Something unique for me to experience and he we both hit our drives in the Fairway down there and sebie got up and they went crazy when they introduced Panero and then sebie baleros and they walked off the tea charging down the Fairway and then I I looked over and I’m walking with Lanny

And I can’t say it on air or what exactly he said to me but you can only imagine loan Lanny Watkins he’s one tough cookie I mean this guy’s the ultimate competitor and so we’re walking down there and he’s talking to me and I’m like okay sure lny whatever you say

I’ll do we get on the first hole this is a great story and you’ve heard it Maddie I think you have but I’m going to tell your viewers and listeners this story is unbelievable we hit three of us hit the green sey hit the green I hit the green

Uh Lanny hit the green Panero missed the green chip down is going to make bogey I putt I missed my birdie putt now it’s sev’s turn to putt sevie putts it down there to about three feet so now it’s lanny’s turn to putt and so lanny’s

Lining up his Putt and he looks over at sebie BOS and he says seie he goes listen your your marks in my way you got to move it one to the left so se’s kind of huffing puffing stands over moves his coin over one to the left now Lanny puts

His ball down he’s lining it up more and he looks over at sevy and he say okay sevie uh that’s not enough you’re going to have to move one more to the left and of course sevie stares at him and he’s like you got to be kidding me so he

Moves it over one more and backs away now Lany gets over his Putt and he hits his Putt and I’m watching and it’s going down there and I’m thinking looks like he pulled it to me it glances off the right edge of sebie Ball’s coin and goes in the

Hole he goes to pick it up and seie standing there by the side of the hole and se’s like what and he goes yeah lny goes I played it that way he goes you’re one down see him the next te and I’m like oh boy here we go and it only it

Only got better I think we you can look at the results I think we either beat them six and five or five and four something like that and that was my first experience with Lanny how much of a competitor and how much he wanted to beat those guys you know what I love

About that story Lanny is it it says so much about you it also says a lot about sevy and in listening to Mark recount that story the reason why I was I was smiling and I saw you on our preview screen doing the same thing is because

You have told me the unedited version of that story and I would ask you what was as as and again given our audience now what was sevy’s reaction when your ball went in the hole Yeah he was not happy well sevie wasn’t happy anyway and and you have to

Understand when you played sevie you knew at some point in time early in the match he was going to try and get in your face he was going to accuse you of something he was going to pull gamesmanship that’s just the way he played it’s the way he was is the way he

Made up he thought that was part of the game I knew it Curtis Strange knew it few other players that have been around him enough knew it and knew how to handle it because you had to go get right back in his face and so essentially uh Mark had it pretty close

There at the end and then when I my putt you know went off his coin and went in the hole he said you do that on purpose you have me move my coin so you can make that putt now I understand the coin is

The size of a dime and the hole is a lot bigger and I just looked at him and said yes that I’m that blank and good don’t forget it and we kind of went on to the next SC that was it we were Mark and I

Were six up and six to play I think we may have lost a couple of holes coming in but we had them down the whole way it was it was a very enjoyable day are you a reflective person do you give yourself time to kind of look back when you’re

When you’re maybe sitting with a beverage in front of a fireplace probably not very much no um I kind of stay involved in in in my boys lives these days and uh and what you know penny and I doing so that’s kind of where it is but uh um you know it’s not

Not a lot not not too much I mean I’ve got memorability around here so I see things and you know and it does bring back memories and times and more than anything else these days I look at it and go I don’t recognize that youngster I’m looking at on the on the wall

Sometimes well I’ll tell you one thing you’re going to love take a look at these photos that we got from your college which takes you how about this youngster amazing right that’s y lny watk I I don’t I don’t see the picture I’m sorry but yeah oh yeah well we could see it

It’s old black and white photos of you as a Collegiate player and it’s it’s fantastic it at Wake Forest now Andrew pull up that graphic that you had the full screen graphic because now that we have Lanny Watkins in this setting I do

Want to ask you to look back if I may to reflect when you look at this list of accomplishments is there anything in particular that stands out to you that that kind of touches your heart even more at 21 PGA Tour wins the 77 PGA Championship the 79 players the 1970 US

Amateur eight-time United States Ridder Cup team member 95 us Ridder Cup captain and 692 PGA Tour starts how about all of that and being a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame what stands out well it’s you know I think and it’s funny I

Mean if I think if you ask any player uh it’s probably worth his medal he’s going to sit here and say yeah those are nice but I remember the ones I lost or the ones I felt like I should have won and I think sometimes that’s more reflective

Than the wins uh I’m proud of a lot of that I did I’m proud of uh my wins at Riviera for starters I mean I have the T I still have the tournament record at Riviera 20 underpar that’s been standing since 1985 that’s 40 years so uh I think

The longevity the fact that I won in three different decades played a along time played well at a long time a long time uh yeah I’m proud of that that I I was able to do that because I had some injuries and some things that you hope

Don’t happen to you while you’re playing but uh I I I persevered through a lot of different things and full heart when you won your PGA Championship in 1977 you finished in front of Jean ller and again there’s so much about your life story your competitive story that

Is surrounded by Legend and one would think myth and I’m curious if this one too had had reality to it did you believe that you were done and go in the clubhouse and and have a couple of beers and relax a little bit and then find out

You had to play yeah we didn’t know what was was going on we had no idea it was going to be a sudden death playoff at Pebble that that day um I was hanging around the scoring tent waiting actually I stood on 18 and watched Jack Nicholas

Stand over a 15 footer the time me and I’m all I’m thinking is you know I really don’t need Jack to make this you know we got an 18 old playoff tomorrow morning uh going against Jack Nicholas one of course he’s already won two majors on that’s probably not going to

Turn out too well for old lny boy so I was kind of pulling for Jack to miss that putt he did ller apparently got it up and down at 17 then part 18 and uh I I assume we were done till the next day and talking to my

Buddy Ed sne he had me a beer and I was about halfway through it and they said you’re on the first tea and tell you how unready they were for they’ already taken all the gallery ropes down uh this was a madous for three holes of sudden

Death golf it was totally out of control there were thousands of people everywhere uh they had no Gallery ropes ropes didn’t have enough Marshals so we were we’d hit our shots and essentially get run over so it was uh it was pretty harrowing for three holes but uh you

Know ended up being a good outcome for me indeed it sounds like you were the perfect guy built for that situation the first sudden death at that PGA Championship and a major championship secured uh when you talk about kind of the ones that got away if you will you C

You were runner up in four other major championships do you look back at any of those and and how how how does that strike you is it a putt that didn’t drop or is it a bad decision that you made or or something that haunt you when you

Think back on the ones that didn’t yeah usually it’s a putt or you know putts here and there um I mean there are a couple that come to mind that the Masters in 91 I felt like I played well enough I should have won lost by two uh lost backtack us opens by

Two Shots uh that’s that’s hard to take when you get that close to tournaments that’s significant uh you know I I I think the thing that strikes me looking back uh and I and I wish I could go tell this to some of today’s players uh you

Have to go ahead and put a whole lot of importance on the majors uh I I think that’s one thing that tiger and Jack Nicholas did better than the rest of us uh they kind of sense that at some point in time you were going to run out of

Majors you were going to now all of a sudden not be exempt for a masters not a US Open uh whatever you’re not going to be in all these tournaments and have all the opportunities you finish second one year you think oh I got another year all

Of a sudden the other years are gone and that’s that’s that’s you know that’s what it sneaks up on you time goes faster than you think and I think that’s probably the the thing that that got me a little bit was you know I wish I’d put

A little bit more emphasis on being ready for some of those one more segment with Lanny Watkins right after we come back the fairways of Life show was presented by the PGA TOUR Superstore the number one golf retailer from coast to Coast shop with the pros at your happy place relax easy

Now find your happy place it’s all in the hips just tap it in yes find the latest clubs in apparel at golf’s happy place the PGA TOUR Superstore in Ireland golf is more than just a game come and experience our world famous links courses and our world famous Parkland courses all set

Alongside world famous scenery and visit our world famous historic sites and while you’re here enjoy our world famous Hospitality fill your heart with Ireland at ireland.com golf it’s scams it tracks it’s soft it reacts it is the Bridgestone tour be with a gamechanging reactive cover designed to Spring faster off your

Driver and stick longer to your wedges try bridgeston tour bees the Tour ball reinvented the Gen 6 iron is a culmination of everything that we have learned as a team the absolute best golf club I have ever hit it’s something speci special say hello to the New pxg

Gen 6 iron the longest most accurate irons we’ve ever made they go higher and farther than any iron that I have hit to date and they’re so easy to hit super excited for the consumer to try this they’re going to love them pxg nobody makes golf clubs the way we do period

Baseball nah football done it I think I’m going to go after the PGA Tour Bo you’re going to need the right equipment cup I think I got that you know tour backs all their clubs with a lifetime warranty I know they ship all their premium custom clubs in 48 hours I know all

Their premium clubs are hand bailed in the USA I know you know tour Ed has won 35 times out here guys I know pound-for-pound nothing comes close Bo golf provides the ultimate world class golf destination with 10 Championship caliber courses spanning three Resorts centered in Michigan Northern lower

Peninsula the courses are the products of some of the gamees Masters including Robert Trent Jones senior Arthur Hills and Donald Ross from the all-inclusive vacation package is Elite instruction with the boing Golf Academy tournaments and so much more boing golf truly offers an unrivaled Michigan golf vacation experience just log on to Bo

Golf.com zero friction introduces the wheelpro push cart golf bag with its revolutionary 3 in-1 design supportive legs that spring into action a comfort grip handle with three locking positions accessories for the modern golfer enhanced by seven pockets for more storage and removable allterrain Wheels which slide right into place the new

Zero friction wheelpro golf bag checks every box for every golfer push carry your cart the decision is yours thanks to zerof friction head to zerof fr.com today As we welcome you back to the fairways of Life show our guest is World Golf Hall of Fame member Lanny Watkins Lanny right before the break you said something I wrote it down because I thought it was an interesting piece of of a quote where you said dot dot dot I

Wish I could tell this to young players today dot dot dot stop and you were talking about that their preparation being ready for the big events and being ready for major championships I’m curious if you ever thought about the same thing when it comes to you was

There or is there something that you wish you could have gone back and said to a young Lanny Watkins when you were starting your career oh yeah yeah there are some things I would have changed and done different in in my setup you know we didn’t have you know the guy that taught

Me how to play died the last round before the NCAA in 197 I didn’t really work with anyone until I started working with dick Haron in 1985 so I did it all by myself from 70 to 885 I did work with Phil Rogers on my putting in uh

1980 81 81 I believe it was and changed it completely because I’d really been struggling with the Putter and the biggest mistake I made was not going out and working with Phil on a more regular basis I I did my version of what he told

Me and taught me uh it worked great I won five times the next two years 82 and 83 uh puted very very well more consistent uh I made the mistake of thinking I could do it on my own and I need another set of eyes I should have

Been out to see Phil Rogers probably two or three times a year at least I think that would have made a difference going forward particularly in Majors because when I look back it was always putting that eventually uh cost me winning those Majors you know I realized the followup

To this is almost um it’s almost kind of a universal generational question but I want to find out your perspective on it nonetheless and that is do you have an opportunity are there young players from today that actually seek out your Council or is this a belief of you guys

Don’t know what it’s like it’s a different tour today than it was when you played I don’t know I don’t know that that’s the case it it may be in some ways the game is still the game there’s still things that I can help I mean I’m familiar with today’s games you know

Both both my boys carried over 300 yards they they hit it you know so far by me and they all they do is laugh at me uh that which is the same main reason I even play golf is is to watch them laugh at me because I enjoy it uh it’s cool to

Have watch your boys have that much fun and and they both love playing and love the game they qualified for the usj midam this I mean usj fourball this year they’re going to play the usj fourball as a team this year at the Philly Cricket Club so I’m very proud of them

And and you know the fact that they’ve kept going in their life it’s it’s a big big thing but uh you know it it’s I haven’t really had the opportunity to talk to any younger players um some early on zator some when he played on the high school team with my youngest

Son uh but everybody’s got their own team their own mentors I I I I I’ve always been a little surprised that they don’t seek you know me and other players out uh I think the thing that surprised me this year at the rder cut for example

We had uh a great group group of former captains probably you know Travino and Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange khaw kite me paven uh ainger all there in the team room and we did not have any interaction with the team whatsoever uh we were not even allowed in the locker

Room we weren’t allowed in the team room at the hotel uh not one player they they walked in a a hall right next to our room where we’re sitting watching the rider cup a lot at the course nobody ever came in and said hi to us all week

So uh I if it had been the group you know the group of players that I grew up watching uh Hogan sneez Arnold Jack trino boy we’ have been in there talking to him till you know we’ have been wearing them out uh they don’t have any

Interest in seeing us it’s a little disappointing from that aspect but you know it is what it is everybody has their own team own things and they go forward you know if you were there as an eyewitness then Lanny what went wrong for the United States team at that Ridder

Cup my whole perspective looking at from day one is what are you worried about the team room for let’s worry about what’s on the golf course I never we never played a Ridder fup worried about the team room for Christ’s sake I I I

Don’t get it I mean is it is it having your buddy so are you so insecure you can’t go play with another you know member of the PJ tour and put him on your back as a partner and try and beat somebody from you know the other tour I

I I don’t I don’t get that I just starters day one worrying about the team room is the damnest thing I’ve ever heard of is there anything that you worry about when we talk about the game of golf we’ve got this new massive investment by the Strategic Sports Group

In the PGA Tour we’re hearing that the PGA Tour and piff the owners of Liv are still in negotiations is golf right now in a better place than it was say 12 months ago I don’t know I mean I think that’s all to be detered ger man I think

We’ve all got to wait and see uh there’s such a big emphasis on money uh you know we played the tour when I came out to survive and and pay bills and live I mean these guys are looking for generational wealth uh never occurred to us we’d ever have generational wealth

And we don’t we never did you know my boys aren’t going to you know you know benefit from anything other than the fact that I could you know teach and golf and give them an education uh uh but you know I’m not leaving them anything if they’re thinking going to

Get a big inheritance down the road they’re sadly mistaken their mother has figured out how to spend pretty much most of it so uh you know that’s that’s kind of where we are but it’s uh um you know it’s it’s just a different scenario these days well these days this week of

Course Tiger Woods back in action at Riviera we started our whole conversation today talking about this magical venue that you won at multiple times how important is it do you think to the game of golf that a legend of the status of Tiger Woods is still around

And what are your thoughts there well I think it’s great for the game I think you know everybody wants to see him play uh I mean I’m excited to see him play see what he can do I hope he’s able to play like he wants to play uh he doesn’t

Want to go out there and embarrass himself I I know that uh so I’m I’m sure he’ll be ready it’s such a great venue uh you a course like that with a with you know with an event like that I mean it deserves tiger to win I mean the so

Many of the biggest names of you in golf in golf history have won at Riviera it would be a shame to see tiger not have that on his resume but uh going to be fun for all of us to watch this week especially on just such a great venue

Lenny you talked about playing golf with your boys what is it that’s keeping you so busy today what is it that makes you get out of bed and keep going well uh I mean I’m doing my work at golf I’m only doing 12 events this year I’m cutting back I’m only doing 12

Telecasts I’ve got a lot of design work I’ve got two projects going for invited uh doing a couple of big projects for them uh some renovation stuff I’ve got a great design partner in Kurt Bowman who spent a long time working with Jack necklace and uh you know we’re staying

Busy uh and and we like it it’s enough to keep me in the game keep me occupied I enjoy that aspect of it I’ve done different things since my playing days from broadcasting to design work and uh uh it’s it’s kept me near the game and

In the game and um and keeps me busy I don’t think I’d be very good sitting home I I you know if you think about it I’ve been on the road 25 30 weeks a year since I’ve been you know 21 years old and uh it it’d be hard to shut that down

And how are you feeling Before We Say Goodbye this morning how’s your neck how are you doing yeah I’m feeling fine feeling pretty good uh I think as anybody my age I’d like to have more energy but I feel good I mean you know I’ve had my share of surgeries I’ve had

Six back surgeries I’m triple fused in my low back so I can commiserate with tiger know what it’s like like uh I’m going to go to uh Naples Florida this weekend and play golf with some buddies of mine for about five six days and and

Get away I do have an an Augusta trip planned the 1 of March with uh we have a group of four of us have been going for 20 years one of the guys obviously is a member so we go and play and have a have

A blast and uh yeah I still I still get to do some some pretty special things I got a great buddy of mine Pat Cal who uh hosts me every year out at Cypress Point when we do the tournament out there so I

Get to do that so I I it’s not like I’m uh I get to play some pretty decent spots during the year Lanny it’s awesome dude I love that you still love the game as much as you do the P the passion still Burns very very brightly indeed thank you so much

For your time I know we just barely touched the tip of the iceberg of Lanny Watkins stories and we will get into them at another time but I appreciate your company today you bet Matt congrats on the show and and uh keep it going man thank you so much folks we come back

Let’s go down the road let’s s further this theme of the game of golf and using it as a platform where one can give back I guess hello world huh and with one subtle hello tiger began an amazing and Unthinkable [Applause] career I’ve done it for 20 years now

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Code to order yours today stride your personal cavy Welcome back to the fairways of Life show on this Tuesday a special hello to those of you watching us on the west coast it’s not even 6:00 a.m. there as yet dark that is where Cindy Court who is the CEO of the tgr foundation and Mike Antolini the

Senior vice president of tgr live are joining us live on this Tuesday to both of you we say welcome thank you very much for taking the time to join us as again I know it’s very very early so in the interest of time here Cindy I want

To ask you the question to talk to us about the foundation what are the objectives why was it started how’s it going and then Mike you just jump right in if you and I bumped in each other other and I said what’s tgr live what would the answer be Cindy fire away

Please great at tgr Foundation Matt our mission is to empower young people to pursue their passions through education um and how that uh comes to life when what Tiger’s Vision was is that we would create a safe space which is our learning lab and it’s inspiring where

Young people can explore new ideas and Concepts and careers they can go there to learn new skills um and develop hands-on experience and ultimately create a plan for their future that allows them to successfully pursue their passions um we provide free yearround programming at the tgr learning lab uh

During the day uh with our schools and their teachers come with them and we provide teacher education after school during the summer where a lot of students experience summer learning loss so we’re seeing great results um and helping some of the data that is devastating to watch that’s coming out

Of some of our schools Matt and Mike jump right in there if you would and talk to us about tgr live yeah first off it’s it’s tough to sleep when there’s so much excitement in the air this week at the Rivier Country Club in the Genesis Invitational tgr live we use

Golf events to really Fuel and drive that mission that Cindy just mentioned events like the Genesis Invitational this week of course hosted by Tiger the Hero World Challenge which was a few months ago back at Albany in the Bahamas and other events throughout the year um that really aren’t just a celebration of

Golf inside the ropes obviously we’re going to Crown a champion this Sunday that person’s that player’s life’s going to change um but we’re also making so much impact outside the ropes as as Cindy mentioned through our benefiting charity at tgr foundation and Mike you of course are one of those inside the

Ropes if you please when it comes to Tiger Woods and his world how is tiger looking to you right now there’s always that pre-tournament speculation I know he’s going to talk tomorrow to the world but it’s always that talk of where is he is this more of a ceremonial appearance

Which I know he would hate for that label to be applied to it what have you seen of him in terms of how he’s doing physically and how he’s playing yeah I’m and I’m not the label guy and you’re the Speculator so I I’ll let you continue

Doing that on this fine show of yours um we’re so excited there’s 23 of the top 25 players in the world you go down the of the the field here at Riviera um but so many eyes are on the world 893 Tiger Woods in our tournament host and that’s

Not going to change so much has changed in this sport of ours and continues to evolve but one thing that hasn’t and one thing that won’t it’s the excitement that Tiger Woods brings when he tees it up inside the ropes and it’s only ratcheted up when it’s at a tournament

Hosted by him benefiting tgr Foundation like the world will’ll see this week at the Genesis Invitational and um you know we’re looking forward to we’re only a few days away from uh from Gates opening 7 am. on Sunday I know you have a national Global audience and but you

Also have a lot of Southern California viewers uh I would remind everyone that last year we had to stop ticket sales on Saturday and Sunday um we still do have some tickets available go to Genesis invitational. the Sun is going to be shining Rivier is just perfect and uh

It’s going to be a great week very much looking forward to that Cindy if I could jump back to you for a second too uh I I’m interested about how the foundation serves under served communities how can the learning lab be a place where because you spoke about it specifically

About being a safe space what does that mean so that you continue to reach people and you’re going to impact these lives for the rest of their lives yeah well we’re very excited that next year we’re opening up the doors in West Philly so we’re on the move and

We’re growing um and then the year after that we’ll be opening in La at a campus called Lulu’s place um and so we’re excited about that truthfully every community in America Matt needs a tgr learning lab kids need that safe space um during the afternoons when it’s most

Dangerous they need academic support uh we provide three program areas uh with steam enrichment and we’re very focused on science techn techology engineering the Arts and math in health and well-being and in career and college readiness so getting those three things ready and being able to go into more uh

Neighborhoods that need us most throughout the country is going to help us Empower more young people to pursue their passions Mike this week Chase Johnson was given the Charlie cord exemption into the the tournament uh I am curious about the impact of that and I’m also curious about whether there are

Students from the foundation that are also going to be on site and helping you yeah so really proud to award Chase with the 2024 Charlie CF Memorial exemption I’m just a fine young man outside the ropes but uh the the year he had in 2023 three apga tour wins made a

Couple of cuts on the PGA tour his game’s really reading he’s ready uh to join the world’s best this week at at Riviera you know the cfer exemption is is so important important to Tiger it’s so important to this tournament as a way to preserve Charlie’s Legacy Charlie

Obviously did so much for the game of golf he means so much to to Tiger has a great association with Riviera in the LA open the Genesis Invitational now of course um he won it in in 1969 and um yeah it’s it’s a it’s a great celebration and something that

We’re very proud to again to preserve um and then you you you look at the the history of that event and in in that award and it’s just it’s really it’s really helping Advance the diversity in the game of golf which is what it uh

Which is what it intends to to do that is awesome Cindy I guess the the simple question I would ask you because we’re still early in 2024 about a minute left here how excited are you for everything that lies in store for the year ahead we’re incredibly excited um

Talking about the Charlie cfer that is going to be where we go in Philly as on the cobs cre um golf course and that’s where Charlie uh really started his PGA career and started playing so there’s a lot of synergy happening um there’s uh new things on the way in other areas outside

Of our learning lab so we’re very excited if you’ll go to tgrf foundation.org you can learn more and again um you know just get involved where you can it makes a huge difference in the lives of young people and it only takes one tgr found foundation.org as Cindy is instructing and don’t forget

Mike is telling you there still are tickets available to the Genesis Invitational if you would like to attend that really excited about the week that you guys have in store Cindy thank you for your time congratulations with everything you are accomplishing with the foundation and Mike I can already

Tell even at this early hour on the west coast you are super excited and you are one of Legions that are the same we wish both of you guys the very very best in the week that lies in store and moving down the road thanks Matt see you guys and thank you

To all of you for today’s show and joining us being a part of it part of your day I so loved having Lany on the program as well the fact that we could get a World Golf Hall of Fame member to kind of tell stories and share some of

The incredible things that happened in his career too and then sharing all the news about the foundation and everything that’s working cannot wait to have your company again tomorrow folks until then goodbye for now