Expert Analysis-Fairways of Life w Matt Adams-Tues Feb 20

Matt Adams is joined by Tour winner Andres Gonzales as they discuss all things golf including Tiger Woods WD, Jordan Spieth’s DQ, Scheffler’s putting woes and so much more with the Mexico Open right around the corner. Plus, LPGA Tour Winner and Solheim Cup star Maja Stark joins us live from Thailand.

Welcome to the most listen 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 best-selling author Matt Adams great to have your Cy folks

Welcome in the fairways life show on this Tuesday we’re coming to you from our home away from home just outside of New York City up here at NBC Sports H hosting golf Central this week well we got a great deal of response from all of you yesterday remember Dom had it as the

Question of the day and we were engaged in the discussion on the show as to the rule of a DQ applying to the signing of an incorrect scorecard or is there something else that can be done the the most extreme of which people suggesting that the rule should be changed some

People are saying why just because it was Jordan spe others are saying that yes absolutely with all the technology that exists today that the players shouldn’t even have to keep each other’s scorecard and then there’s others such as myself that kind of feels like you know it’s okay that you keep my

Scorecard I keep your scorecard but I don’t see anything wrong with using modern technology to make sure that we both get it right before a player leaves the scoring area and risks a disqualification whether it’s Jordan spe or not Jordan spe at any level that this

Type of exchange takes place so it was D what 59% the last I recall 59% of the people agreed that something should change and you could always weigh in on the question of the day by logging on to the fairways of life’s YouTube channel but was it 59% am I correct in that

Recollection yeah it was that was how it finished off Matt 59% so okay 59% of you said that definitely should change want to change that want to change uh have you worked on a question the day today what direction you going to take us down with that I haven’t I haven’t officially

Released it yet but yes the question of the day is going to be centered around the world rankings right now and we’ll get into it a little bit later and I’m sure you’ll get into it with our first guest but you probably saw the tweet that was making its rounds on social

Media yesterday from Greg Norman where he was complaining about the world rankings and how they’re a little bit off and he put up a tweet of the various ranking systems you can see on your screen there it thinks it’s laughable to Live players etc etc so I think it’s an

Interesting discussion and I think the question of the day should be do the official world golf rankings need an overhaul full stop yes or no well from the perspective that the official world golf rankings are supposed to rank all the golfers who are playing professionally in the world it

Would seem to me that the world golf rankings should be adjusted to accommodate and reflect all professional golfers now I understand that when it comes to live in the official World Golf Ranking system that they’re trying to figure out what Liv has to do in order to conform with the structure of the

World ranking system but I bet that some way to get that done if everyone put their heads together on that because from the the standpoint that they’re using official world golf rankings to still be the Gateway into many important events uh I definitely think that that’s something that uh should be worked out

There’s little doubt about that we’ll talk with our next guest about that I am sure Andre Gonzalez is joining us a five-time winner amongst the professional ranks including multiple times winning on the corn faery tour almost 300 tour starts when it’s all said and done and included 19 top 10

Along the way he is analyst this week for the PGA Tour event in Mexico and Andreas who I think is an absolute classic and have had the the pleasure of working with uh already number of times over at PGA Tour live is joining us live from I think the darkness of mouren

Where he’s calling us from is it what just after five am your time Andre good morning good morning Matt yep just after 5 am but anytime I get asked by Mr Matt Adams to come on and join I am more than happy to do it so just after the five

O’clock hour and getting ready to head back to bed when we’re done here and get ready to take the kids to school later yeah don’t you have three little ones running around if I remember correctly I do eight and seven-year-old girls and a three-year-old boy and they they keep my

Hands full here so happy that I’m able to to work for my basement a fair amount I can imagine now you are obviously engaged in professional broadcasting I’ve seen your work on the Range uh that’s seen on Golf Channel obviously worked with you PGA Tour live and

Enjoyed that as well what is going on with you from a players perspective are you still out there playing are you getting some starts and then mixing in the broadcasting or is a broadcasting primary I am not I actually have had my status it my status is no longer

Starting this year my last win won corn fairy tour was in 2014 so I had a 10-year conditional status on corn faery for the last obviously 10 years but this is the last year of it and I am strictly in broadcasting and starting to kind of dabble in other

Endeavors great get dabbling in other endeavors with with the kind of Civil War mustache that that you like to rock do people recognize you still when you’re out in about and they go hey aren’t you the yeah so I I still get some I think the mustache was on purpose

And it was very it’s very recognizable I’m different than most golfers so when I’m out on the road or commentating at all I still get some pictures taken but I I think that I’m enjoying that right now because I don’t think that’s going to last a whole lot longer is players

Just seem to get younger and I seem to become more obsolete oh I don’t know about that that your your opinions certainly are not that’s the reason why you’re being sought at after with all these different broadcast entities why don’t we start with what we were just

Talking about that I’m curious what your perspective is on it uh you saw the kind of flare ups through social media Etc even Benny on responding to it yesterday about the world rankings where are the world rankings right now in your mind in terms of being the arbitrator and the

Gatekeeper into getting into these important events I think something’s going to change I I’m not sure exactly when it’s going to but with multiple the list that you’re showing right now with tuer the the ogre uh Sports Illustrated data golf having a bunch of different world golf

Rankings I don’t know if that’s a good thing for golf but at some point with players leaving and going to play Live they’re all good players and I don’t think that there’s anybody that has that is playing that has any animosity to them leaving you’re making a business

Decision but at some point the fact that these players are gone I think that there will be world ranking points it just they need to over at the Liv tour jump through a few Hoops to be able to get world rankings and and fall under uh certain regulations that need to happen

But at some point I think that everybody is going to be involved and everything is going to get back on track but as of right now it’s uh quite divisive and I don’t know if that’s the best thing for golf all right speaking about divisive opinions there were many of those on the

Fact that Jordan spe was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard have you ever had a situation like that happen to you I have um it was probably 201 13 I was playing in the US Open qualifier back in Columbus Ohio there were two rounds one was at the OSU

Scholar course and the other one was at scota country Club I started at scarc I played with John H and Rocko mediate and I just didn’t sign my card so when I got to the scota course you have about an hour hour 15 minutes in between rounds I had somebody come up to

Me I was walking towards the putting green and he was a rules official asking me if I was Andre Gonzalez and I kind of puffed up like yeah that’s me I you obviously know who I am he goes well you didn’t sign your scorecard sir and I

Just 180 degree turn turned around and went back to the parking lot and unfortunately just didn’t sign my scorecard so um that wasn’t the case with Jordan Speed he signed it but just signed for an incorrect score and that’s just kind of the way it goes those are the rules and that’s kind

Of how we’ve been trained since we were young kids is to know that you need to sign your scorecard you need to make sure that all the the boxes are checked with the right numbers and that just didn’t happen unfortunately for Jordan what would your reaction be if

They use some sort of a check and balance system some something in terms of the modern equipment that’s out there and everywhere to make sure that before you walk out that door somebody goes hey guys let me just double check the numbers and make sure that our system

Shows the same thing as you guys to avoid the possibility that someone could be disqualified without the intent of actually trying to sign a scorecard that’s wrong right I I believe we already do that to an extent um you have a walking score they come in and check with the

The official score and then you have the opportunity to go through and check your card as you go along so you can check box by box for 18 scores on whether or not the numbers are correct and you know my understanding is that Jordan was in a

Bit of a hurry to get out of there and maybe just didn’t quite pay attention he missed one score where he scored a A four instead of a three and signed for a three and unfortunately that’s just the way that the rules go right now I don’t

Think that there would be any problem with scoring happening out there but I I think that’s still going to be a difficult thing because at some point you’re asking a walking scorer or a volunteer to be able to keep track of a score and if somebody gets into some

Trouble where they let’s say they get off into some trees and start hitting some trees around you’re asking somebody to be accountable for let’s be drastic here and say eights nines tens 11s whatever it may be and I just think that’s tough to do so I think that it’s

Not a bad thing that it’s still on the players um I think the first person you ask if you ask Jordan spe he would tell you that that that’s on him that’s his fault and I don’t know if he has a huge issue with it now as far as we’ve gotten

With technology I don’t if somebody of higher power made a ruling that we can use technology to keep score I don’t think that there’s anything bad about that I think moving forward technology is a is a good thing and a convenient thing but as of right now that’s not

Where we’re at so that’s that’s the rule for now and he’s out our guest is Andre Gonzalez we will continue with Trey on the fairways of Life show right after these words our show is presented by the PGA TOUR Superstore they are the number one golf retailer from coast to coast

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Academy tournaments and so much more Bo golf truly offers an unrivaled Michigan golf vacation experience just log on to bo.com Welcome back to the fairways of Life show from wherever around the globe you are joining us today our guest is Andre Gonzalez a longtime veteran campaigner amongst the professional ranks so Trey I’m curious do you think that that fans that we as fans truly understand the grind

That a professional golfer too I mean everyone sees the traing of celebrity and and luxury and and wealth that goes with reaching the top highest tiers of the professional game but to get to that level take so many levels of accomplishment those steps you have to

Take to get there do people really truly understand what it takes to get to a point where playing as a tour touring profession will actually pay your bills I don’t think so I think it has to do with it doesn’t seem like a real job it’s it’s a hobby that most people on

The planet love and I think that’s really cool to be involved in that but as far as taking it to the next level where you’re making a living doing it that it becomes a grind and it becomes a lot of fun honestly um you’re doing something that everybody loves and

You’re able to make work of it to get to the highest level it’s tough though because once you I I was fortunate enough to play on the PGA tour for five years and once you get there you’re not given anything you’re still you may have reached this lifelong goal but now

You’re playing against the best of the best and I was very fortunate enough to be able to get to that level but I wasn’t to the level where I was getting consistent enough to where I could stay there five years was a a good run for me

But as far as is putting in the work it it does become a grind especially when you’re not playing great when you’re playing well it seems like the easiest job in the world but it’s it’s all relative you can still be a top 20 player in the world and have a week

Where you feel like you don’t have any idea what’s happening in your golf game and any control over the golf ball so it’s all relative based on where you are and what state of the game I mean sounds like a cliche question to ask you then

But when you’re in that state good or bad is it more mental or physical 100% mental uh if you go out and play in a golf tournament if you don’t think you have a chance to win you’re probably not going to win so as far as self-belief that’s that’s a huge part of

It and making sure that you’re in a right uh mental state of mind and at the lower levels that can be frustrating because I think the constant question that anybody has especially playing mini tours or even corn fairy tour is what’s your backup plan and for most people

That plan on playing on the PGA tour there is no backup plan this is it this is this is the plan this is where I’m throwing all my eggs in and that’s what your belief is so constantly a answering that question could be uh it can be a

Bit annoying and then at at the highest level you’re you’re not really given a whole lot of respect unless you make it to the PJ tour which is the highest level you know it there’s something you touched on too with with all of that Andreas when you’re talking about mental

100% sentimental to use your exact phrase I’ve always wondered about this when when you look at the people historically or even in your experience that you’ve run into and I and I assume at times you even felt it yourself where there was nothing that you couldn’t do

And I’m not talking about you make every single pot but you go out there and you know you’re going to shoot underpar you’re just where you need to be in a mental space and it manifests itself in in how you play but I wonder if there are certain people that their ability to

Handle press pressure whether it’s manifest in making that clutch putt or hitting the shot that they need to hit at the time they need to hit it is that how they’re wired you you follow me in other words we all like to believe that you read a few Bob rutella books or you

Gain some confidence and you can go out there and do the same thing but it seems like there’s certain people Jack Nicholas comes to mind obviously Tiger Woods comes to mind where they seem to have the ability to perform in times and at places when it consumes everyone else

That that surrounds them where do you fall on that is that a learn trait or do you think that’s a hardwire issue I think it’s both um I think hardwired is the initial state where you’re going to get a lot of young people or even professionals that you

Don’t really I at the professional level I think that you can train for it a fair amount so those people are all a little more experienced but at a a younger level let’s say junior golf even amateur golf I think that players are hard wired

A little bit but it can be taught you need to want the ball you need to want the uh the moment to take over and that you can control it I think that there are a lot of players on the PGA tour at the highest level where there are

Players in particular that fans may want to have a putt that’s let’s say 10 feet to win a golf tournament and there are other players that they don’t want to win a putt now are are those people wired differently tough to tell but I I think that it’s

It’s definitely a trait if you want the ball and you want to be able to have a putt for a big finish and there are some people that shy away from it a little bit or don’t like the nerves that come with it yeah let me let me pick up on

That side then and come at the question from a different direction if you’d allow and that is okay not the people who perform but are there people I’m sure you’ve seen this through through your your professional career are there people that just can’t handle the pressure they may have all the talent in

The world they may be able to hit the ball as good or better than anyone that you’ve seen But at those moments of pressure regardless of how much training they’ve done and experience that they’ve tried to Garner they just can’t close the deal they’re probably are people like

That but it’s tough to tell until you actually get somebody in that situation the more that you’re in it the more you become uh accustomed to being in a pressure pack situation and the more let’s say you you go into it and you succeed right away you can still learn

From that if you fail you can still learn from that but you need to put yourself in position uh that has any kind of pressure any kind of magnitude over and over and over to where you can kind of get over that hump and feel like you can

Win and some some people do it quicker than others and some people you know it takes a little bit of time can you think of a Time Andreas when when you had trouble feeling your hands or or you knew that your knees were knocking underneath your trousers

Yes I my highest finish on the PJ tour was a tire for third at the Maya COA which is now the worldwide Tech classic in Mexico and I came down the stretch and I just didn’t make any birdies the last six holes and I was I was feeling pressure but it was

Also as much fun as I’ve had playing and it I I felt like my mind quieted down a little bit so I as far as not being able to feel hands that I don’t know if that was the case but being able to kind of harness what you’re doing and and be

Able to try to quiet everything down and that’s what you play for you you play for giving yourself a chance to win golf tournaments and so a lot of it is the fun of trying to feel these outside circumstances and these outside nerves come in and and be able to control it

The best you can it’s it’s it’s a ton of fun and I miss it every every day one of the things that’s interesting to me is when you look at the scoring on the corn furry tour uh whether it was Steven joerger a couple years ago or just what

We see week in and week out it’s crazy good scoring crazy good ball striking that we see if you look at qualifiers to get into whether whether it’s a PGA Tour corn fairy tour a PGA Tour champions for that matter you’re looking at scores many times they sub 65 just to get a

Hint a sniff of the possibility of getting into these events because you have seen tours outside of the highest tours in the PGA Tour what is your reaction to hearing that in terms of how much raw talent is circling around the game of golf well I first of all I think that

Players are getting better and better and better and I think technology is a big part of that I think that Tiger Woods is a big part of that um him turning pro in uh 1996 I think that you’re starting to see generations of players that are born in his lifetime

Their entire life Tiger has been a big part of the game and if not the game so I I think the players are coming out a lot more ready and when you get not the highest level let’s say PGA Tour when you’re starting to play in Monday qualifiers and in tournaments I

Think that there is a point where you’re trying to Showcase uh these young players and the courses may not be set up quite the same as far as they’re they’re probably same length but the rough isn’t near the same as it is on the PGA tour Fairways aren’t

Quite as much of a premium but I think that that’s the way that it should be I think that if you’re not watching the preeminent tour in the world that players need to go low and that’s that’s the way that it is uh we saw a couple

Weeks ago down in Columbia on the corn fairy tour we saw a 57 and a 59 in the same week and that’s had a very high elevation course at I want to say 8,500 maybe 9,000 F feet in bogot Columbia but I don’t I don’t care what course you’re

Playing you still have to make putts and you still have to get it around and it you’re playing against the same people the courses shouldn’t really matter you’re playing against the course yes but you’re playing against the competition that that you’re up against and any anytime you’re putting up those kind of numbers

I just think it’s absolutely insane guys are ready to go and and chomping at the bit to get out on the big tour that’s just only part of what makes it so exciting to watch everybody’s Ascent in the game as well if you could go back to

Your earliest days of ascent if if it was possible to go back in time and talk to a young version of you what advice would you give to yourself in terms of moving forward as a tour professional uh believe in yourself there’s not a whole lot of people that

Are going to sit there and believe in you outside of maybe your parents and your swing coach and your your small team that youve put together your family your wife but as as far as going out there there’s not one person that is going to get as much joy from you

Playing well as you are so it it doesn’t affect anybody else out there if you’re not playing well I guess for the most part it may bring other people a little bit of Joy even if they’re your friend uh to be able to beat you so if you don’t have

Self-belief you’re going to have a tough time making it at the highest level so make sure that you constantly believe in yourself and don’t give up on yourself is that the advice you give to all young people today or would you also salt in there to continue to work on their short

Game short game is a huge part of it but I mean every every aspect of it especially the higher levels you get the short game was always harped into me and junior golf and in college and when I got to the professional ranks I was like

Man I need to hit it the Fairway a little bit more too so I’m not putting for par as much as I’m putting for birdie um but yeah I I think that that’s the biggest thing I’ve I’m asked by a lot of people and parents of their kids

That are in college junior golf even mini tour golf asking if I think that their kid has a chance and the the answer is typically yes I think that anybody that thinks that they want to play professionally probably has a chance but you better believe in yourself and you better get ready to

Start working because it’s not an easy task and the biggest thing that I’ve really been able to tell outside of self-belief is just the amount of time that players put in and if you can put in a lot of time and believe in yourself I think that there’s a good chance for

Every player you touched on this earlier in the interview but I want to I want to ask you in a form that makes it Crystal Clear one way or the other do you believe that the game of golf at its highest competitive levels will become one will something be worked

Out I do at some point um whether or not the the piff and the PGA Tour come into any kind of agreement I think that’s I I I don’t know I we we’ll see what happens there that those negotiations have been ongoing but I do

Think at some point there will be a one world ranking that will go overall of golf which I think that there should be I think at some point uh that’s that’s the best thing for major championships moving forward that’s where fans want to see all the best players in the world

And that’s uh looking like where you’re going to start seeing all the best players in the world which is going to be fun at some point when that does happen because that’s that’s what you want to see that’s what majors are all about all right Andre as we say goodbye

To you here this morning before we say as such would you share with us how and where we can get your coverage moving forward what are you going to be doing for the next few weeks uh this upcoming week I will be down in studio in St Augustine Florida

For PGA Tour live so you can check that out at ESPN plus there you go um and I will be on the Marquee group coverage we have not got that quite yet but I would assume being a defending champ and the top ranked player in the field Tony

Fenale will be in that group but if not you’ll be able to find him on the Main feed and on the third feed which is featured groups fantastic well we’re looking forward to your continuing work on the media side of the business thank you very much for getting up early with us

Today and then run those kids at school and get yourself some more sleep and I can’t wait till we get a chance to work together again my friend excited thank you so much for having me Maddie all right we’ll talk to you very very soon so folks when we come back on the

Fairways of Life show we’re going to be joined by yet another touring professional to give us a glimpse into that world deeper we go in the fairways of Life show on this Tuesday stay with us 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 irand golf is more than just a game come and experience our world famous lyx 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 SLG golf it’s screams it tracks it’s soft it reacts it is the Bridgestone TB with a gamechanging reactive cover designed to Spring faster off your driver and stick longer to your

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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 Club the way we do period baseball nah football done it I think

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The New Black Ops pxg.com for more information we are delighted to inform that we being joined Now by Maya Stark she’s joining us live from Thailand she’s there for the Honda LP TGA Thailand which kicks off tomorrow her background is interesting haling from Sweden she played her college golf

At Oaklahoma state where she Rose as high as sixth in the amateur ranking she turned professional in 2021 won two of her first three starts as a pro on the let Maya is still only 24 years old she already has eight professional wins of

Them on the let one of them on the LPGA Tour no doubt you remember her too from the last European solheim Cup squad where she went two one and one in her first appearance taking down major champ Allison corput in singles by a score of

Two to one Maya how are you welcome to the program what time is it where you are in Thailand I’m good how are you um it is 8:30 at night not so not too bad but how quickly are you able to adjust when you’re going through multiple time zones

I’m assuming you just had dinner recently what time is your body right now or or do you tend to travel pretty well and adjust easily um it’s usually easier because we always well at least I live at home still in Sweden so I usually just travel West to go play tournaments and that’s

Always easier but i’ I don’t know I think I’ve just been so tired coming here so I’m pretty ready for bed but that’s usually not the case going east well we’ll try not to keep you up too late then your time as it’s it’s just after 8:30 a.m. East Coast for us when

You live at home in Sweden do you just block huge amounts of time that you’re going to plan on being on the road or otherwise how do you keep your game from getting rusty when it’s cold and snowy out um well on the Swedish team we’ve always been um working periodically I

Guess I don’t know if you say that but um so we go we say you’re not going to lose much if you don’t practice putting for a month uh but you’re going to gain a lot if you work on your irons for a month straight so um it’s I

Mean my coach thinks it’s a great thing to have a couple of months off um and just being able to be endorsed and hit and work a lot on uh the gym stuff so um it doesn’t really get very rough Rusty I feel like it takes maybe a day or two

When you’re outside and you’re able to hit chips and putts but then you’re back to where you were and how how much are you have you been traveling so that you’re actually out there on a real Golf Course hitting these shots and and preparing vers how much time did you off

Have say around the holidays and the start of the new year I didn’t do much I wish mostly just at home we had a camp in Phoenix with the Swedish golf team the week before to so um that’s pretty much the only thing

I did I mean we I did spend two weeks in the US after see me like the finals but um I didn’t do anything it barely touched the club so what do what do you what’s how do you spend your time during those cold cold months in Sweden do you like to

Read is it watching streaming services or or how do you occupy yourself uh the answer is is yes to all those questions um I mean there’s only so much you can hit in so for so long because your body just can’t take much more than two three hours a day of just

Hitting balls so it’s a lot of um I started painting last winter so I did some of that but um it’s been a lot of just maybe planning for next year doing Financial stuff fixing fixing some of those things too do you find that maintaining your life at home gives you stability and

Helps you find kind of a emotionally a firm ground when you’re out competing yeah def definitely you don’t want anything to be worrying you outside of golf I guess uh that’s not a very comfortable position I have tended in the past to play pretty well when I have had tumultuous weeks but I

Outside of the course but I don’t I don’t want to have that um so yeah it’s definitely helps when you have kind of a calm mind going into a tournament what is it Maya about professional players now coming out of Sweden I mean there was a time when it

Was not a normal thing just to expect that tour players would be coming out of Sweden with regularity I think now you have to go back at least 20 years maybe 30 years to get to that point but it’s a regular occurrence now with what is happening you’ve mentioned multiple

Times uh the Swedish team that’s behind it could you talk to us about your Inspirations and infrastructure that exists in the country now to help you guys evolve yeah I think it they’re really good at creating the community so everyone will kind of meet everyone it’s

Um very different in the US I guess because it’s just so big and you can’t really call people for a camp um every other month when it’s not actually for the national team so in on the Swedish team you have the for the girls part you have the super camps which are just

Regional where they get local coaches and then you get um coaches from the Federation who who maybe have some more knowledge of how just the national team works so they come in with that knowledge and then you get the girl girls future H Team or camps where you

Have a lot of different girls um coming in but meeting with coaches from the national team and you learn how the national team practices in place kind of or what’s what the average is of the national team players and then you go up to the girls national team so I feel

Like there’s a lot of initiatives to help everyone and not just the top of the top um and it all comes from like the same organization which uh I think has been helpful because then everyone gets the same info Maya who was your hero who was your

Inspiration you know I didn’t have that many like golf um Idols but but I think lately Tiger has just been the one I’ve stared watching the chasing 82 on YouTube so I just go through all of his wins and just look at little documentaries of that that is very cool when you said

That you’re a reader what kind of books do you like to read uh I keep I have reread some books um but it’s usually somewhat adventurous I like I like um well I guess almost every book is adventurous I think that’s fictional otherwise it would be boring but um

That’s what kind of keeps me to a book I’m not a huge reader so don’t hold me by that but um oh I’m reading one of my favorite book is called wild which is about a woman who’s kind of lost in life and then she goes in an adventure

Well speaking of wild that’s a perfect segue here because from what I understand about you when you travel I believe the quote that I saw was that when you open up your suitcase it explodes what is the story behind Maya The Traveler oh but it’s just I’m not very

Tidy and I think I was talking with Lynn about this that’s where the quote comes from that Lynn will actually put her stuff in the closets and hang stuff up whereas I open my suitcase and I just leave it in there because I have my system in the suitcase where it’s like

Okay this is where the workout clothes are this is where the golf clothes are this is where the rest is this is where the fancy clothes is so I have that system but then I also have to put the dirty laundry somewhere so that just

Kind of ends up on top of something else so then it’s just see okay so as as we’re going to break because we’re going to come back and talk to you some more I assume that you’re connected with your phone right now how about you grab your phone and

Show us what the room looks like the explosion that exists around you right now okay um well so it’s hot in Thailand right so we got some clothes that are that I hung up oh my they’re just hang um well it’s not great there’s there’s some some things in the bathroom

Too that I hung up from yesterday that I haven’t take it’s I’ve only been here for a day and a half so it’s not as bad as it could be um well that’s good to know at least at least we’ve covered that that portion when we come back more

From Maya Stark to learn about how she is making her way in the world of professional golf and when we come back I want to hear about because my personal belief is anyone that’s a touring professional they instantly become their own little business their own little

Brand what is her brand stand for that and more as we carry on after this I guess hello world huh and with one subtle hello tiger began an amazing and Unthinkable [Applause] career I’ve done it for 20 many years now with with bridgstone allows me to play an aggressive style around the

Greens and it’s allowed me to win a Lot F them Bridgestone Golf proud to be part of your journey 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 gamees

Masters including Robert Trent Jones senior arth Hills and Donald Ross from the all-inclusive vacation package is Elite instruction with the boy Golf Academy tournaments and so much more Bo golf truly offers an unrivaled Michigan golf vacation experience just log on to Bo golf.com I think when you’re training

For other sports or where you’re what why most people go to the gym is so that they can like have muscles and you know be strong and be healthy and a lot of the reason why they struggle to play golf is their body doesn’t move properly

For them to be able to hit a golf ball and when you’re training for golf is a little bit different because you’re focused more on flexibility and mobility and being uh strong in motion when you’re able to kind of have a warmup and have a workout routine and kind of

Gradually build up to where you’re training your body to move properly yeah you’re going to get a lot of big dividends on the golf course relax easy now find your happy place it’s all in the hips just tap it in yes find the latest clubs and apparel at golf’s happy place

The PGA TOUR Superstore what if we started a company and the company was under no time constraints no Financial constraints the one constraint is their clubs had to be exceptional performers and much better than any other alternative I was told time and again it’ll never work it worked like a

House of fire and I’ll tell you what I think our customers love it bxg nobody makes golf clubs the way we do period stride by zero friction the first ofit kind personal cab walk in comfort and style with strides remote and follow me technology The Stride handles almost any

Terrain and its 54 hole range will last all day the lightweight design and removable front wheels makes it simple to handle plus it easily fits golf carts order yours and save visit zerof friction. stride or scan the QR code to order yours today stride your personal cavy Welcome back to the fairways of Life show our guest is Maya Stark from the let and the LPGA she’s joining us live from Thailand getting ready for the start of the Asian swing remember it starts tomorrow in the time primary time zones for us it is just about almost 10

Minutes to the top of the hour which would be 9:00 amm eastern time and she is getting ready to go to bed because uh she is as I mentioned on the other side of the world so Maya how excited are you for the start of the Asian swing and all

The golf that you have before you I’m really excited I love playing in Thailand especially I think the fans are great here and um it’s Al also nice to not have to warm up as much because it is so hot are you when you travel we talked a

Little bit about adjusting your sleep schedule which obviously is critical for anybody but in particular a professional athlete what about the food how are you when you travel internationally whether it’s Asia or anywhere else around the world in terms of adapting to the local Cuisine it’s a little bit trickier for

Me I’m a a vegetarian so uh sometimes there are not many options uh but I’m I’m so used to it by now um but I love Thai food so it’s great this week a lot of stir fries Pat Thai um so other places it’s a little bit harder um but I

Mean usually when we play in the US so much that’s always easy but uh yeah when we go to Asia especially it’s kind of a hit or miss did you find being a part of the European solheim Cup team and coming back with a winning record such as you

Did and and a victory in singles uh distinctively did you find that it’s helped you from a confidence standpoint has it changed your perspective at all oh for sure um hitting shots like that in such critical moments when you’re not just playing for yourself um when you feel

Like you want to do it for your team not just for Sweden like we used to do in European teams team championships and stuff or at college this was way different because it’s just one team against another so you’ll have way more people rooting for you and they will be

Way louder than uh you’re used to um so yeah it just became a whole different thing and especially with my pting I noticed a huge difference because I think I just focused on making the putts and not anything else because um technique whatever it was was just

Irrelevant uh so I saw a huge Improvement in my pting during that week and I’ve been trying to um pick out what was different that week compared to normal tournament weeks Maya as young as you are and with the success that you’ve already had surely there’s a whole Myriad of

Emotions that you carry with you as you’re making your way as a touring professional how much is gratitude a part of who you are as you you step forward day by day oh it’s it’s kind of hard sometimes because you don’t really think about it

You just think about the now but then I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t get the invites that I got uh at the first couple tournaments I got one from from um scfta open from Raina who I’ve known for a long time and he’s great friends

With the kinol family and then I got an invite from Creek house management and I am I I’m just so happy that they gave me that chance and um that opportunity and for everything that I’ve gotten because it’s not it’s not a sure thing that you’re inviting this young

Player and maybe it won’t be great maybe they will perform and people like watching it um but that that set up my whole career after those two and then just everything I mean when you look at and get to meet the fans or especially the younger younger players younger

Girls and boys that um look up to you that’s that’s huge but you don’t think about it every day especially when you’re in it but during this offseason I have looked back on some memories and um kind of stop to reflect on what I have been

Doing and uh and the best memories are always the ones where you feel like the fans are with you or that you can make a difference for someone definitely important at that and speaking of gratitude we like to ask you about your SP sponsors as a way to say

Thank you to them for you coming on with us so who have you aligned yourself with I have uh Nike and I have ping I went to school with one of the solheim uh Grand well great grand kids I guess um so I’ve known them for a while even

Before I turned professional um and I have tight list as well for the golf balls very cool now you may have heard me mention this as we start to wrap up with you today Maya right before we went to break that my belief is is as a touring professional you become your own

Business your own brand what do you want your brand the Maya Stark brand to represent to the world hopefully that I’m doing it for more than just myself um I was talking with my co my golf coach and my mental coach a few years ago about motivation

And um why I want to become good at offl and and a bit of it well a bit of where I get my motivations from is giving back so I’ve had this goal forever to donate dollars to Charities um so hopefully I’ll be able

To do that one day well we are very much looking forward to everything that lies in store for your future you’ve already proven yourself as a winner and I think that is a trend that will continue in Earnest maybe it will start this week Thailand but certainly it will happen

Very very soon there is little doubt thank you for taking the time to join us and in your case we can say good night from here and we hope you get a good rest and get ready to go thank you so much absolute Delight all right folks so

I want to share with you the air times in just a second of where you can catch the gulf this week but before we get to that let me grab Dom and bring you back in So remind us if you would about uh what your question of the day was today

Dominic and then if you could give us and again you guys can weigh in on this if you want to just log on to the fairways of Life YouTube channel what was again the question of the day doin where do we stand right now on

It uh yeah sorry I was saying goodbye to Maya there how you could tell I was delayed I was I dragged out the question I was saying goodbye he’s like hey Dominic hey I’m like I’m talking to Maya give me a second I I appreciate her joining us live from Thailand that’s

Bananas that’s so cool that she did that and I really enjoyed the explosive suitcase situation she totally lived up to the billing by the way that was only one day it’s great it is only one day we only got about a minute left but um the question was do the official world golf

Rankings need to be overhauled yes or no straightforward nice and simple 91% are saying yes and I know we only have a minute left Andrew but why don’t you put that graphic up of a list of all the rankings this is coming from a a tweet that Greg Norman sent where he was

Essentially frustrated saying this is laughable and you can see the various possible alternative ranking systems so it’s just it’s wild man that everyone is I think it and and even Andre talked about it early there’s there’s got to be a better way I’m not sure anybody has

The answer but I think we need to make some adjustments here well the official world golf rankings said that they want to figure out a pathway it’s just time that they do uh because there are major players playing golf that they’re playing very well at that too that are

Not represented with everything comes together so with all that we used up the time that I was going to show you air times I promise you that I will do that tomorrow uh the fairways of Life show from 800 am. Eastern Time thank you so much for your company thank you to Andre

And thank you to Maya for joining us from to farflung time zones for us and thank you to all of you for your time have a great day bye for now