He’s not a household name or a prolific tournament winner but at the age of 48 Cameron Percy continues to achieve something most never do: keep his card on the most competitive Tour in the world.
Golf aside, Percy is an engaging personality and interesting thinker whose political views often see him at odds with his peers. Yet he remains both popular and likeable as you’ll hear in this wide-ranging interview with Rod Morri.
The Victorian discusses representing his state and country before earning a spot in his club pennant team, bringing a shoe shine kit on Tour during his rookie year and covers armlock putting and Will Zalatoris.
[Music] hello and welcome to episode 70 of the thing about golf golf Australia Magazine’s ongoing quest to uncover the multitude of reasons that people get hooked by and on this crazy game my name’s Rod Murray and on this episode we’re going to be chatting with a player who’s approaching quarter of a century as a professional yet maintains his playing rights on the toughest tour in the world World C Percy is not a household name or a prolific tournament winner but he does continue to tea up and survive on the PGA tour at the age of 48 a feat easily undervalued and all too often overlooked golf aside Percy is interesting for a multitude of reasons not the least of them being his willingness to become entangled in political discussion it’ll be fair to say that his views lean to the left it would also be fair to say that puts him at odds with the vast majority of his PGA Tour peers Percy’s outspoken and thoughtful and in many ways a square peg in a round hole but he’s also personable and likable and I hope that you enjoy this chat with him as much as I did what is the thing about golf for Cameron Percy think about golf for me uh it’s it’s become a job now it started off as a fun sport to try uh the thing about golf right now is uh very hard um I’m 48 now um so playing at the highest level it’s very very hard the kids are just getting bigger and stronger and all that sort of stuff so look um for me right now golf’s very hard I suppose on the upside you don’t look at day over 47 so you’ve got that going for you I only just turned 48 mate where did it start for you you said that it started out as a game of phone who introduced you to it and how did that happen uh my dad did I I remember I got memories when I was a real little kid I think I might have been six or seven my dad would play and he would take me to your lawn and I remember playing the first second and third holes or something when I was six or seven with cut down clubs and I remember the first hole being such a hard hole because I’d have like eight or nine on it and then as I got older and stronger the next time I went back there I was a pretty good player and I remember almost driving the green which I thought was pretty weird so that’s that was my first memories yeah you must had that experience a few times from going back to places where you hadn’t played for a long time from when you were younger to compared to now for sure yeah I remember last time I went to warle um where I grew up playing golf I drove you know seven or eight of the holes like trying to drive the green instead of like I’ll hit it over there and I’ll wedge it on I was physically trying to knock it on the green which is a pretty weird feeling we might come back to that because I think that’s probably a feature of the modern game that probably wasn’t quite so prolific back when you first started playing what was your access like to golf when you were younger pretty easy to get on the call go playing yeah brilliant brilliant um I started playing golf in warle and and I think it might have been $125 to be a member for a year at my age wow so you know Mom could afford it uh my parents was put up so we could aford I could afford to play golf one um I had um old clubs from a grandmother and like for 125 bucks a year I could play as much as I wanted to which is just phenomenal you’d see something different in the states these days would you I would imagine with a lot of youngsters the course the course I’m a member at it’s 30,000 just to join Jesus it’s um we don’t have that here in Australia which is lucky I think which is a good thing it’s pretty R I tell people like you got Ro M our best course it 10,000 a year or something for two courses it’s it’s not much compared to what you pay if it was in the states you’d pay what 800 900,000 joining Fe you in 500 a year probably yeah yeah it probably a million to join minimum um you have to be invited by some oil tycoon or something probably uh and it’ be one of those things we just get a bill every year yeah I know friends that have joined clubs and they know in two years we’re doing renovation works and there’s going to be a we’re going to hit you up for x amount of money and they’re like you know people are happy to do it over here it’s like it’s crazy different cultures different cultures it really is so you Tred along there cam obviously you like the game and clearly you had some proficiency at it when did you start to think that maybe this is what you could do for a job were you a sporty kid did you play all the other sports as well and when did golf take over yeah when I was 18 I was in year 12 at school I turned 18 and that’s when I’m like I want to be a professional golfer I only took the game up at 15 oh really by the time I was 18 yeah I played when I was five or six as a kid and I didn’t touch a club till I was 15 wow so I had 10 10 years or whatever in between where I literally didn’t play golf um then when I was 18 I’m like you know what I’m G to be a professional golfer something just got in my head and I’m like this is what I’m going to do I reckon I can do this I don’t know why because I wasn’t very good at the time um what were you playing off at the time what level were you what standard not very good um I might have been four or five maybe but I qualified for the Victorian open uh and my teacher didn’t believe me actually that I qualified I went and qualified for it I’m like oh I’m getting better at this and all that sort of stuff but I was lucky I grew up with a guy called Jason dors who I’m not sure if you know that name but he was the number one amateur in the country I think when I sort of started getting into golf so I’m like oh that gu’s really good you know if I just practice a bit harder I’ll be able to hopefully beat him so that’s a that’s a somewhat unusual you certainly don’t hear that story anymore do you somebody at 15 taking up the game 18 thinking about going you do hear these stories occasionally but they’re they’re fairly sort of rare what do you think prompted that why suddenly golf did you just not work school you didn’t want to work in an accountant office what was the yeah I wanted to be a physio therapist until someone told me how to go to school for four years after school I’m like that sucks and then I love footy I want to be a footballer as everyone wanted to be and I was starting to get beled you know going for the ball and stuff like that I got knocked out I’m like man this golf thing and no one’s trying to hit me at golf so I’m like this is you know I’m going to give this a go so I still play cricket football tennis basketball soccer up up to high school and then when I finished school I that’s when I really got serious about I’d hit 400 balls a day and all that sort of stuff I was going to say how quickly at the age of 18 off sort of four that’s an Ian palter type story is I think he turned Pro when he off four but how quickly did you get to a point where you like realistically I can compete um really quickly cuz I then joined Southern a few months later um through Jason and a guy called Stuart sear friend of mine um had a connection down there I joined and that was sort of the closest club to warle so I could could join that pretty easily I asked I tried to join Woodlands I tried to join everyone else but the asking prices I couldn’t afford it um and they didn’t want me either and then I went there and play with the captain had to play with the captain I shot 68 or something like that maybe which is 5 under around there at that stage and the captain like we’ll take you and I could be uh I could join as a country member for same again $250 a year something like that to be a member at Southern Golf Club which was just phenomenal yeah phenomenal it was affordable and I could do it so I would imagine you went straight into the pennant team for those outside Australian who don’t realize pennant in vic Metro is it’s about as Elite as golf gets isn’t it it’s seriously people follow it really closely it’s a it’s a serious deal isn’t it yeah it is well funny is to say that I didn’t go straight on the team I was in the is it the cols maybe Wass under 21 21 I think yeah yeah I couldn’t get a game CU we had Jason doors we had um Anthony cowsky we had a few guys that turned Pro not long after and I actually couldn’t get a game I was number one of the Colts and I was winning 75 every week and then I got a game and I actually beat Marty Joyce who um used to coach at the V and then the next week I got dropped man this is really tough here and I actually played I actually played for Victoria the next in in something and maybe even Australia and then I got in the penet team the year after so hang on so you made the Victorian State team but you couldn’t crack a start in the southern pennant team I I improved really quickly at one stage there I got really CU like I said I was I was getting up at six I hit 400 balls a day in the morning and then play 18 holes chip and put all that sort of stuff and then I do that I did that six days a week for almost a year so I was on a pretty strong upward spiral just uh just an obsession which is uh which is terrific to see uh so then you you play you said you mentioned there you played vicin for Australia who were the guns then you mentioned a couple of names for Victor who are the gun players what era are we talking that names that people might recognize uh I was just behind Robert Alam and Stuart Alby so those guys were doing what they were doing as amers um Jeff ogy was who I would compete with a lot like we played Vic amers and stuff like that against each other Aussie o Aussie AMZ I I nearly won the Aussie am one year and I beat him in maybe a quarterfinal or semi-final or something like that leester Peterson an older guy very comp brandan Jones um David Branson those kind of guys I sort of played my am golf with um but I just missed JY and Robbie they they just left and started having a lot of success so we’re talking sort of early 90s what what did the Australian professional scene look like then what were the prospects for all you kids who would have been thinking about turning pro obviously what did that look like then compared to now it was great because you could live in Australia and and play professional golf we had 30 Events maybe or something like that um just a lot of golf and then we’d go and play the tropo tour and stuff like so you’re constantly playing two three 4 Day events and you lived in Australia you didn’t have to travel overseas it wasn’t you know it wasn’t an issue and then obviously tiger come along and and and everything changed and everyone went to America and and you then you couldn’t live in Australia and be a professional golfer and you had to travel and get overseas it happened fairly quickly in hindsight didn’t it that there just the the disappear of the Australian tour as such we were down to three events almost before we knew it yeah it really was and that was about when I turned pre like this is great I can live in Australia um I just met my wife sort of thing and we were hanging out and um yeah I was happy just to live in Australia I could make money doing this and eventually you know I plan on if I get really good I’ll go to the PJ tour and all that sort of stuff but um that took a long time to get there but yeah when you turn pro I was like I just live in Australia and there none of this I got to move overseas and all that sort of stuff what was the path for you and know you’re a PGA Tour player we’ll talk about that you’ve sort of gone between the corn fairy and the PGA tour for a few years there sort of that yeah that level of play we see quite a few guys who go backwards and forwards between the two what was the pathway to their fori you it used to be in Australia you’d go well I’ll go to Europe and I’ll learn the craft and then I’ll go to America which is the the Pinnacle and see if I can make it there that sort of changed around that time the Applebees and I think applebe might have been the first Mighty not to just skip Europe completely went straight to the states yeah I remember he he went to even maybe Asia or Europe he’s like this sucks I don’t really like it I want to go to America and no one did it that time everyone’s like oh you have to go to Europe you know get your feet wet and get it become a good player because when you get to America it’s really competitive they’re really good over there so you don’t go there straight away but I did the same thing I went to the European Q School almost got through to the final stage twice I try there I played in Asia for two years but that was at a point where they didn’t really want white guys up there so I’d get in event um in China they ring me on Tuesday you’re in I’m like well I’m in Melbourne I’ve got to go to the Embassy and get a visa and then fly up there so they played a lot of um you know what I call funny buggers with you like oh you won’t get in you not won’t get in and all sudden on Tuesday they’re ining you are you in wow can you get here I like so you know and playing in India and all that sort of stuff which is the golf was fantastic and I went I saw some incredible places but it was really hard on the golf golf side of it to to establish myself yeah golfers club golfers and and non-golfers like don’t understand that side of professional golf do we that what happens before you get to the course we turn on the TV Thursday and you’re all playing golf we’ve missed a fair bit of the story to get there haven’t we well when you when I was playing for Australia that someone would email me or send me a ticket this is a hotel we’re staying in um Bruce will come with you he’ll look after you and everything look good just get yourself to the airport when you turn pro I went to Asian Q school I had to fly into Singapore get a taxi to a back alley to get another taxi across the Malaysian border and all by myself and I’m like um the place I got dropped off the first time to get across the border I’m like I could die here and no one would know like I was in a dodgy part of town and all that sort of stuff and I got a 2hour taxi to a golf course just over the Malaysian border and I was like wow this is a real eye opener like this is not and this is before we had our phones where we could just yeah that’s right get an urber dial something up book a hotel do whatever you want right there no exactly and I had to make sure and and they could barely speak the English you know i’ had that yeah I can get you like I’m driving driving I’m like I have no idea where I am and all a sudden I’m at the golf course then I had to get myself back like it was a real it’s a real shock all the travel and all that sort of stuff you’ve got to do yourself it’s an adventure looking back but it must have been terrifying at the time what’s more nerve-wracking Cameron standing over a putt to win a golf tournament or standing in a back alley somewhere in Singapore with a set of shiny golf clubs wondering if a taxi is going to turn up definitely in Singapore definitely wa I’m like fearing for your life different the fearing you’re going to miss a part that’s for sure does that help for golf that sort of perspective and learning that sort of stuff I think we see a lot of kids these days particularly on the PGA tour who’ve come through a system much like what you outline there for the Australian team and your Amer Golf and those sorts of things who never do the back alley in Singapore thing before they get to play the p GA too it does it help all of those experiences as a golfer really yeah absolutely well one of the best things Steve ban set up the Institute of sport and we would we would got an allegation of all right you got $6,000 to spend to go to Europe or something but we’re not going to do a thing here’s your $6,000 um you can go play the Scottish amate um the British amate the English whatever whatever it is we don’t care you’re organizing it so that taught Jeff and I which really helped us us how to how to travel um how to get a rental car because we weren’t old enough to get a rental car all that sort of stuff and um that really Jeff and I traveled a bit doing that and we had to book our own flights had to book Banny and that didn’t do anything um they could have and just and then we wouldn’t but we wouldn’t have learn anything so we had to do it all that ourselves that’s growing up in responsibility isn’t it Cameron isn’t that what that’s about is exactly what it’s about so you know we got these teams and all that sort of stuff it was fantastic but but yeah what bny did set up at The Institute of sport taught you about life and becoming a pro so much better yeah indeed interesting uh interesting sort of stuff so you finally got yourself to America when did that happen and I think your first surge on there wasn’t particularly successful was it no now the first I don’t even I think I come over here like 2004 something like that maybe maybe a year or two earlier something yeah and I got through Q School all three stages but then we had our first child in 200 six um and then we I stayed home for for that um and then the next year went back got through Q school and got my cor fery card and then got my PGA Tour card not long after that so that’s when that’s when it started really go for me you must have known around then that your future for the rest of your life probably lay in America and you’re having to go and live there when did that realization come and what did that mean well my wife and I we come over with a fiveyear plan let’s go I come over with $15,000 two kids and my wife and nothing and we went to the first event well let’s go for 5 years see how it goes and then we’ll just come back to Australia and now we’ve been here for how long 13 years I think we’ve been here for now so and now we’re in the predicament like we we wouldn’t mind coming back to Australia but now I’ve got a 16y old son who’s gone through the American school system he wants to play golf now he wants to go to college and we’re like we’re in that situation like what do we do like I know Jeff just come home a few years ago and very jealous of him and all that sort of stuff but a lot of guys have gone back there I think shwi even thinking of coming back to to Australia so so you really haven’t quite accepted yet that you live in America by the sound of it I mean clearly you do but it’s never been I’m never going home thing Australia’s still home idea well especially right now like we got Trump like if Trump got in we were coming back he didn’t get in so like all right we can survive another you know we got four years before the next election uh and now these shootings that are going on it’s just ridiculous and it’s like it’s not a matter of if it’s when our kids are going to be exposed to that and you’re like what are we really here for like are we really just waiting for the inevitable I me yesterday people got shot just walking down the street in a parad Chicago yeah and there’s nothing happening over here that’s going to change it so like what the hell are we doing here it’s crazy you raised an interesting point what I wanted to ask you about you do stick your head up over the parit on Twitter with some with some political tweets and things about Trump and whatnot I would imagine on the PGA T your views might be a minority complete minority yeah there might be two guys that think like me well a few Australians think like me uh someone like a Greg chamers but he’s not he he doesn’t he doesn’t care he’s like I I’ve got myself off Twitter on my phone because I get so insens by it but he said c I can look at it go that guy’s an idiot next and just flick whereas I look at it I’m like oh my God so I’ve actually got it off my phone it’s hard for me to actually get on Twitter now I’ve actually got to be sent something that I look at and then I’m like oh what’s going on in Twitter and I’m like I’m a lot you know I’m very into how everything affects other people or Stu like like excluding yourself from the casino if you got a gambling problem cam you you make it hard for yourself to get on Twitter so you can’t get sucked into it yes exactly like I do I do enjoy a game I’m sure it’s not the same as your uh T thing what’s that been like to be in America and watch all that unfold we had Carrie Webb on this show last year year before who’s obviously a legend in America for the best part of her life not a citizen so isn’t allowed to vote and her frustration at that was pretty clear I imagine you sort of feel the same way but it kind of like you know a lot of American listeners probably won’t like this it’s a bit like watching a car Crush in slow motion isn’t it watching what’s happening in America the divisiveness it’s ma it’s maddening because we got so many friends that don’t think they just think ah there’s nothing we can do about it because if we if we ban guns they they get illegal guns and we’re like uh do you know how much an illegal gun costs no idea like uh well last time I checked like someone actually did a pro did a something in Australia you know I watched a program someone tried to buy an illegal gun $37,000 and you got to buy through the Hell’s Angel biking gang yeah like which 16-year-old is going to walk into the Hell’s Angel was 60 you know 37,000 and they just they just like ah there’s nothing we can do about it it’s not really the guns it’s it’s a mental health you know it’s just all that crap it’s like and and like it never it didn’t really work in Australia anyhow I’m like what are you talking about like we’re from there like they just cuz they watch lot of people watch Fox News and it’s just misinformation misinformation misinformation and then they talk to you about it and it’s like it’s like you’ve never lived there they’re telling me stuff that’s going on in Australia and it’s like it just drives me crazy that’s all those years of us telling them we ride kangaroos to school coming back to bite us because we thought that was funny it’s not funny anymore is it that they don’t know probably they don’t Ian we had a friend we had a friend tell us that people earn the same amount money in Australia it’s a socialist country everyone earns the same amount of money if you’re a doctor if you’re a teacher if you’re Drive the Bus you earn the exact same amount of money wasn’t Ted Cruz going to invade us at one point during the lockdowns if I recall probably he wanted to send he wanted Mexico was that from Mexico when he was in mexo that’s that’s not that’s not inflame things inflame things too much that misinformation I think this is probably partly true with golf too we can TI this IND golf in a way that misinformation what it does is breed apathy isn’t it and that’s the most dangerous thing so you don’t get people necessarily buying into the misinformation and campaigning for it but they end up shrugging their shoulders what can I do there’s no point voting for any and then that’s how minorities can sort of win or minority views can take precedence because of the apathy that correct 100% that have we seen something like that a little bit in golf it’s probably a stretch but I think about some of the things and we see in golf at the moment with the live to thing I’ll get your thoughts on that has something somewhat similar happened in golf there seems a very inch view from those players at the top of the game particularly those who’ve gone to the Liv tour about how the world works and their place in it how has that happened and how how how can people stay grounded as some have uh managed to stay grounded I guess when you you would see it yourself when you’re at the top of the game in in golf in America you’re virtually royalty aren’t you nobody says no to you oh it’s unbelievable we yeah we get treated so good on this tour um to think that we don’t get treated well it just doesn’t make any sense to me it’s just an amazing uh you know we turn up at the airport um and there’s a guy waiting between your carousels with a car key here’s your car key sir we’ll bring it out the front for you uh it’s a Mercedes it’s a Lexus it’s a beautiful car and off you go and then I me you got to pay for your own hotel rooms A lot of people don’t realize that you pay for everything else but like and then you get to the golf course and there’s in the morning there’s someone there at 6 o00 in the morning ready to make you an omelette and there’s freshly squeezed juice and there’s pump someone making a smoothie for and all the food you want in the world and then a lunch time you come in we’ve got that as well and then some tournaments will give you bouches to go and get free food free dinner and although might even cook your dinner and stuff like that um and then we’ve got every manufacturer in the in the world there anything you want ball shoes gloves clubs everything it’s just it’s all there for you so it’s just phenomenal as a kid from sort of regional Victoria are you comfortable with all of that and in that environment or are you comfortable there was that ever confronting for I would every time I’ve ever been to a nice hotel which isn’t many I never let them take my bags I feel bad about I can carry my own bags mate it’s okay there’s a problem obviously because that’s a job that somebody doesn’t gets paid for but just not it doesn’t sit naturally comfortably with me were you ever like that when you got to the tour or was it like finally this is Nana it’s where I belong yeah no I it took a long time to get used to it was quite weird to get used to um and like even for me like I ring up you got to ring up to say I’m coming in on you know this flight I’ll be there at 9:00 9 % of the guys just turn up where’s my car like and they really appreciate the fact that you’re ring all right you know I’ll turn up sometimes oh Mr f m you Tony fale just turned up and we’ve got to get him a car I’m like yeah but I rang and organized it it’s like oh we don’t know upset with him you know it’s just some volunteer who’s who’s just volunteering doesn’t want upset you know this guy sort of thing so volunteers every all these people have volunteered I wouldn’t upset Tony either he’s a big lad I saw him at the m at the president’s C Ro his dad’s even bigger I can’t imagine that’s huge it’s easy to see how you could develop an entitlement syndrome in those circumstances isn’t it well I was even having lunch two days ago with some guys and they’re complaining that oh you know what you can have I can be out here for seven years and one year I finish 1501 I got to go back to Q school I’m like and they’re like oh my God that shouldn’t happen like I I’m intitled it’s like no the next guys coming up are like you didn’t play well enough 151st means you got to go back to Q School like that’s the way it is like it’s sort of surprise either they tell you at the start of the Year too that if you finish 1501 that’s what’s going to happen you can go and be an accountant if you prefer yeah and it doesn’t and I’m sitting there I’m like are you serious dude like you made $7 million like you’re going to be okay and you’ve got your retirement fund and this and that like it’s not like you’ve been earning $725 an hour which is the minimum wage over here and working your ass off and now you’re stuck sort of thing it’s that’s crazy was it like that when you first got there or has that changed it’s changed there’s way more money now even from when I started um I remember Anthony P told me in the mid90s at a secondary tour I think it was the might have been the Hogan tour maybe the Nike tour at the time there was an almost a r in one of the southern states when they turned up to the Golf Course and there was no shoe Shiner and a whole bunch of BLS just lost it in the mid 90s that was on the secondary tour and I remember thinking then well that’s a different world my very first time I played that tour I bought my own nugget in that to shy my shoes and the guys all looked at me like dude what are you doing there’s a guy over there he’ll clean his shoes every week I’m like huh CU I still Trav I used to travel with my own night first event I traveled from Australia to Panama and pulled out my nugget and started cleaning my shoes and the guys all looked at me like dude what are you doing there’s going to be someone to clean your shoes every day so like a hick from Australia who’s turned up with your own shoe shine stuff yeah they’ve never done it in their life they’ never clean their own shoes these guys well now I imagine you get a new pair of shoes every week or every day even if you want remember seeing in the back of mooy’s car one open there was Shoal yeah I’m sure Rory wears a new pair of shoes every week probably someone like me I’m with my deal with titless I can get I think 12 pairs a year almost go through I was gonna say they they do get it’s almost one a month but they do get a workout don’t they when you think about it yes every single day and then it’s hot and wet not when it’s wet that’s when they get right yeah yeah they really they really sort of do you enjoy that now cam or do you wonder whether that’s sustainable it’s a fairly Surreal Life isn’t it living on the peach oh very yeah it really is I don’t enjoy it as much anymore now like I’ve got my family with me now um which is great but my kids are all growing up and all that sort of stuff I I really enjoy my time at home so um when you say at home you in Australia or or Carolina in North Carolina like I love being at home with the kids and taking them into their Sports and just not sitting in a hotel room not thinking about my golf swing not like um just protecting your body all the time I can’t do that oh I might hurt my wrist I can’t do that I can’t even play tennis with my wife anymore because last time I played I hurt my WR and it’s like did she beat you Cam is that what happened did she beat you and now you don’t play with her anymore no not yet you know your son’s going to beat you at golf soon and that’ll be the end of it I know that’s not far away at all he’s getting really good he come out with me today and Greg charma’s went a practice around and Greg’s been helping with his putting and he he helped him with his putting today and and he he hit a few shots or something here and there and we’ll playing other guy he’s like Cameron not long now he’s going to beat you I’m like yeah I know I know he’s getting bigger and stronger that’ll be mixed emotions for you won’t it it’ll be a great day but it’ll be a sad day in some ways too he if he beats me it’s time to give it away I think don’t make be a bit careful that David toms’s Young bik beat him I think he’ said the same thing you bet him when he was about 14 or 15 I think Tom’s had to walk that one back CU it was uh it wasn’t the best thing I know Jonathan Bird’s got a really good son as well I think he he’s his son can beat him too now so well you’ve mentioned the magical word there Jonathan bird committed one of the world’s great golf crimes against you in the playoff did he not tell me about I think people kind of remember that it happened they might not remember this I think it was a three-way playoff at first it was you Martin Le Jonathan bird yep You’ already played three holes it was almost dark I think there was chatter about calling it before you even know you you played a par three as the fourth extra hole talk through what happened yeah yeah the go Martin and Jonathan didn’t want to go on CU it was it was dark and at the time I think I was number one on the tour from about 170 to 190 yards and that’s how long the path three was and I was like how about we just go hit and if it’s too dark to putt we we’ll come back in the morning and Putt and I was really confident I was really confident I was going to hit a good shot and Jonathan stood up and hold it and that was it I in the water and hit it even further in the water and we shook hands and and and off we went it’s a bizarre and surreal situation to be invol there but how could the two of you then hit it in the water after that’s interesting isn’t it that mentally you clearly you got you’re trying to Hole it to have the hole and yet you hit it in the water hit it near the flag what’s that about gol’s ridiculous well I remember aiming because I used to hit a tight draw I’m like it’s a perfect seven iron I’ll hit it 10 feet right draw it in and it’ll go in and I remember at the bottom of the Swing light don’t leave it out at the right and just pull and the pin was only four yards from the water and I think I hit it in the water it wasn’t that bad a shot but it wasn’t it wasn’t in that’s cruel how do you look back on that that must have been bizarre at the time and just you can’t expect that either but yeah at the time I was like I was playing really nicely and I’m like oh that’s all right you know I sort I think it got me it me I had a card for next year or some status for next year I was like that’s all right next year I’ll win and everyone’s like you’re going to win you’re going to win and that’s like 11 12 years ago now and I still haven’t won like it’s really hard to get back there I think that’s been the weirdest thing is like just how hard it is to get back to that level of goal so why is it so hard what’s hard about it is it hard to be that good or is the competition that much more difficult to overcome or is it some combination of both the problem now is equipment so good so if youve got a weakness in your game you don’t actually have to improve your skill you just go on and get a club and it’ll do it for you so if you can’t hit long irons doesn’t matter they’ve got hybrids and game improvement clubs now um the ball goes so straight now you don’t have to hit the middle of the club face and it goes straight the drivers are massive everyone drives it unbelievable there is there’s no one out there that hits it that’s bad at driving now the long the longer you can hit it the straighter it goes that’s the way the technolog become so there there’s really no Advantage um in anything really so except putting so it just becomes a putting contest so every week it feels I get I use a stats guy and he sends me a report at the end of the week and basically where I am in putting is where I finish in the tournament so right it’s basically a putting competition now need to get Greg Charmers to putt for you he’s still got it isn’t he he can still roll it as good as anybody yeah well it’s funny he hit he’s worked for the last three years on hitting it further and his golf’s got worse it’s really weird I spend so much time with him I’m like dude you hit it 50 yards further than you ever did but you can’t break 78 what the hell are you doing out there so it’s weird do Pros get a bit too wrapped up in the physical sometimes do you reckon it’s hard not to when Rory hits at 350 down the middle of every Fairway but he doesn’t does he can that’s the thing we think he does and we used to think the same about Tiger but if you really watch I know he does it a lot but not every time not every time and in fact I know not every time not every time but he he makes it look so easy that guy but you know Sam Burns now he he’s come along Scotty Sheffer they’re all 63 64 huge there’s no one that like just knocks it down there nicely and there’s no Zack Johnson’s or anything like that who just sort of bunts it down there is a good good wedge player sort of thing that doesn’t happen anymore these kids are getting bigger and bigger and stronger and and it’s just when you’re 40 yards back in the Fairway and they they’re looking back and hitting their eight on and or par five and you’re trying to sneak a 4 on up on the front edge it just it’s just it just wears on you I think the difference is that big four yeah like I play with I play with Harry higs and Jonathan Vegas I still hit it a fairway uh and they hit it 30 40 yards past me wow comfortably that’s yeah they’ll hit their three-w next to me and then the difference is if they hit in the rough I’m slapping it out trying to get on the front of the green they just pull out a seven and hit it up in the air and they’re still trying to get it next to the hole so that’s the big difference it’s extraordinary to watch and You’ see it up close obviously it’s an extraordinary thing to watch in person I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of difference on TV but has It ultimately do you think that that shift towards this more one-dimensional game that we have today has it been a good thing for the game no it’s terrible there there’s no skill involved and and now nerve like the golf is a game of skill and can you hold your nerve well now if you can’t hold your nerve you just lock the putter against your arm and Away you go like will zorus can’t putt he’s a flusher though isn’t he he’s Oh’s I love the kid he’s a great kid and all that sort of stuff but the first time I played with him the first hole he put up to like a couple of inches and missed it wow and I was walking to the tea I’m like I think he missed that and so I had to watch him from a foot to two foot every hole and he couldn’t get in the hole and then he went to the long thing where he just locks it against his arm and away he goes and you know it’s horrible his goal Str because he just suffers from anxiety so much on the greens but that skill’s g away because he just locks it against his arm and Matt cooches it it’s he nearly winning Mages you still wouldn’t call it pretty but it’s clearly more effective than what you first saw well it’s stuck against his arm can you imagine wasn’t stuck against his arm some those puts he would miss like it’s did that all those years ago though I mean he just did it with a short Putter and we we sort of applauded if they did with a short Putter and you just cross-and but it’s literally attached to his arm it’s anchored to his arm it’s it’s hard to to screw that up I’m going to make you the Zar of golf for the day what other rules are you changing you’re clearly outlawing the arm lock what else are you who else are you going to upset arm lock get rid of that um well you’re not going to change a golf ball now because too PJ tour love Bry and that The Bryson was a tour over here everyone just want to watch him flog it as far as he could so the tour don’t care about how far the ball goes people want to watch it um but he’s obviously gone now he’s gone to the live golf um probably a sandfield div I actually drove on Miller Fairway last week had a perfect number I looked down I was like I could barely hit it you’re not on that you’re not in that school are you s sanfield I’m happy to get a drop from a sandfield no it’s not a big deal to me really but that’s the only thing I’d change probably sanfield div it was just I’d rather no sand in it I would have had a shot but it was sanfield divot had like half buried itself in the sand I just had no shots so it’s half a bunker shot a seven IR or a four IR or something and it’s a effectively yeah can understand that’s about it get rid of the long Putter and make it a game of skill so change the golf ball it was sort of a missed opportunity wasn’t it the putter the where they where they decided to regulate the stroke rather than the the tool itself the Implement when they come back and said oh we’re happy with m Co is sing I’m like cooch cooch is like oh you anchored to my arm and I’ll go like that I’m like that’s anchoring and that but you can still anchor it and just if they get pulled up you just say I didn’t intend to like Charles you swartzel and a few other guys are still using it disappointingly Adam is is one of those Adam’s one of the great people in golf and yet every time he picks up that putter you can’t help but be a bit disappointed can you it’s um no he’s lost it’s a game of skill and nerve and he doesn’t have doesn’t have one of them so that’s the way it is yeah my mate said he looks perfect in every way until he picks up that pter and then he turns into a buffoon which is which is Harsh and I’m sure Adam doesn’t care he’s living his best life and doing much better than us but yeah yeah uh he’s a legend I I like Adam’s one of the great guys so he’s been a great Ambassador for the game let’s talk about who have been the good ambassadors for the game we’re seeing this now in a way that we’ve never really seen before you hear bits and pieces when you’re in the industry and as a fan of who are the good guys and who are The Not So Good Guys there’s been a fa bit of with this split I never met K and all that sort of stuff I follow on Twitter and stuff but she was she was unbelievable K web and what she did with young girls she would bring them over for US Open yeah still does it yeah like what she’s done and now those girls like M Juni and stuff like that now those girls are C and so Kyrie I mean I think K’s fantastic I’ve never met her all that sort of stuff you sure she’s a legend you love her you get on great she’s fantastic yeah yeah um she had the same psychologist as me no Blondell and you know no would tell me all her stories and that but just from the outside looking in she looks like a fantastic human um cam Smith now I think he’s does something similar maybe yep um just an awesome guy um and he’s doing something now for the kids like that so that’s really cool um that’s really about it I think maybe and I’m not sure if leash does some stuff if you ask leash to do stuff he’ll do it there’s probably stuff those guys do I don’t know about um but and Greg Charmers is brilliant like he had someone over it you Porter maybe bought someone over yeah remember that was at um can’t remember what tournament was at but you’re right just Nelson maybe yeah I met I met the girl yeah really nice girl and we walked around a few holes and stuff and she got the Putt and she was like had a great time I think you and Porter might have set that up like yeah he runs a he’s trying to do fabulous Junior series down here now called the Super Junior six Junior Sixers I think it is sponsored by Adidas and it’s a fantastic yeah there’s a guy that’s passionate about the game I mean he’s turned he’s turned full circle like he was just a crazy man on the golf course but his passion for the game and for helping people’s fantastic I think another flusher it’s no guarantee is it Cam he’s a guy who I watched and listened you can I think the sound is what separates Pros when you can hear the Fizz 30 yards in front where it’s still really ripping through the air he was one of those guys and yet in terms of a playing career not huge success whereas you would have watched him hit ball so there’s no way this could he’s going to win everything it’s not the it’s not the ultimate Arbiter is it well because there’s no there’s no advantage in hitting the ball anymore all the pins are fall from the edge so even if you hit a great shot with a five iron from 220 Ys the pins fall from the edge you’re probably aiming 20t right so great shots are still 15 foot you still got to Hole apart there’s there whereas when I first turned Pro the pins were 8 n from The Edge and if you were good enough you could hit it under the hole and have an uphill putt you can’t do that anymore like I I remember I would like try and keep the ball under the hole good good the good ball Strikers hit the ball under the hole well there under the hole’s three foot three yards from the edge of the green now I mean it’s almost impossible to get there sort of thing so the good ball Strikers don’t have that advantage to be able to control the ball where everyone just hits at the same spot it’s a putting comp so that’s what the game’s become what’s your take and what’s the chatter on tour about this Liv stuff and has it changed over the past couple of months it feels to me like from the outside maybe I just think well apart from Taylor G maybe caros or t they’re all guys that their best golfs behind them does that make sense yeah they’re all like man this PJ tour is so hard and these got I just think they’re ripping the sa’s off I mean the saies have got so much money they don’t to do with and they’re like oh yeah we’ll give you how much you want and from some of the reports I’ve heard it’s a crazy money and to make that money out on the PJ tour you you got to basically do what Scotty heer’s done every year and it’s impossible to do that so I don’t blame the guys like I think Matty Jones said he this is so hard on tour now and they’re giving me I don’t even know what he got I can’t tell you because I don’t know but crazy money just to sign up and then they’re playing for 25 million a week so the money and so Manny’s like I can do this for three years and I got three girls I can just have be a father and and hang out at home and all that sort of stuff I don’t blame any of the guys for taking the money at all if they had off me the same money I would have done the same thing so right right um I just I just didn’t get off of it um but at this stage of my career I’m like I can’t make yeah for me to make a mill I got to play so damn well and it’s just so hard to do that right now not to divide the world into halves and halves and halves but there is nothing in my life that has the prospect of making me a million dollars Ever So you you’re already well it’s going to be hard to make that million I know your job’s more expensive than mine I don’t you know I don’t Jets and those sorts of things but it’s funny isn’t it how these things sort of change I’m interested to hear you say you would have taken the money does the source of the money not bother you oh it bothers the crap out of me bother bothers the crap out of me but you’d still take um I think I would have if I had got off of it I think um I I think I wouldn’t have liked to get to to go to Saudi Arabia and play um England I don’t even know where there’s a few here Portland yeah Bedminster is next a lot of trump courses on the on the LI which won’t come as yeah yeah all the nice people that helping there so um but um yeah I I think because to for me to make the money they’re getting offered out there I I can’t play that well out here I mean it’s it’s crazy to to play that well but I think yeah it bothers the crap out of me where the money’s coming from it’s terrible it’s easy for those of us who’ll never have to make the decision I guess because you’re never going to be put in the position where you test it so I’m really interested to hear your take which is well hang on a minute there’s a personal responsibility which I have to consider and that’s that’s what most people don’t ever think now you look at a guy like Johnson or mikkelson and you can’t imagine how money could be anything that motivates them given what they made but well Phil needs it needs it he’s broke we we hear that but um yeah and if that’s the case then this is just another stop Gap yes unless something radical has changed it’s just going to happen again you would think unless he’ll probably have $2 million a football game instead of $500,000 yeah so that you can see so but see like Dustin Johnson like he got off 125 million or something nearly double his career earnings on the tour just to sign up yeah and he’s like wow and he’s like man I’m like like he he works really hard on that sort of stuff he like like if someone offer 125 million that’s going to change even as much money as he’s made it’s like that’s crazy same with Bryson at least Bryson come out and said this is a business decision um you know they offer me so much money and then the guys from Mexico like Abraham and um Carlos the money they that hopefully they’re going to use that money to improve Mexico I’m hoping for a Robin Hood scenario there because they both good so much poverty down there in Mexico it’s saddening yeah it’s quite an existential can isn’t it I mean the sums are so eyering even for people who have moved in those circles before it’s difficult to imagine that you know the the the noble part of you would like to think it doesn’t matter I would just say no based on my own principles but the reality is somewhat different isn’t it you I mean from what I’m hoping comes of is the guys use the money for good like if I got the sort of money they’re getting the stuff the stuff I would have use that money for you know would have funded a lot of stuff so it wouldn’t have just gone to me and I’m just going to you know have five houses instead of one sort of things I don’t want to say you’re naive cim but I suspect that you might be disappointed if that’s the alome you’re waiting for yeah personal I do hope as I said when and when Ana won the Australian Open down here he seemed a genuinely good guy in always you you can usually you can tell you go to press conference and you see these guys but you can tell when you go and follow them they rip shreds off volunteers and they do stuff that makes he didn’t do any of that he wasn’t any of those things lovely humble sort of I hope that um he’s going to do a Robin Hood and cuz I know I I read his statement on Twitter and he’s like what I can do for my people in in Mexico and all that sort of stuff so hopefully he actually does that so that’ll be that’ll be brilliant because because people down there they work they work for 50 cents an hour it’s sad to see how hard they work and it’s it’s just it’s despicable how good was his logo by the way I didn’t know he had a logo till I saw that statement and the logo on the top of the letter might have been one one of the revelations of the whole live thing what do you think will happen what are what’s the talk among the players you’re right there on with on in the membership there’s obviously tears you’ve got the top guys Rory and those guys and I’m sure you see them and talk to them all that sort of stuff but they are in a somewhat different world what’s the general membership thinking you’ve had this pgl thing lurking in the background as well and I’m sure you’ve had correspondence from them they seem to be offering something that would reward everybody in some way with a similar kind of idea what are people saying about any of that um every there a lot of mix I think a lot of people are jealous they haven’t been offered the to go there that makes any sense because it’s just such crazy money um and I think I I just don’t see where it goes the Liv stuff it’s just the future’s hard the Saud the Saudis could go no one visit us H we’re done like they they could get halfway through next year and go Greg we don’t really like your attitude or something like that we’re out uh I I don’t know what there because there’s no there’s no attempt to try and get the money back that they’re spending um and all that sort of stuff I just just don’t understand what the point of it is if that makes any sense it makes complet I wrote this yesterday which was that for all of their faults and they many the PG tour and the European tour I still like to call them the DP world because let’s let’s not pretend that DP World some fabulous company that sort of sponsors the the European tour but they there’s no other purpose for them to exist but golf there’s no reason for live to exist they’ve just chosen Golf and they are two very different they might be doing things that look the same and I think the ultimate question is if you think the pga2 has done a bad job as the big dog in golf how do you think theis will go if they assume that position and that’s something interesting to consider I just I haven’t heard of like they’re in Portland just recently yeah um did they donate some money to a million one million you know Local Schools you all that sort of stuff I haven’t heard any of that stuff what are they doing to help people it’s all about how much money we’re making this is how much money we’re making this is how much money we’re making it’s very much about no message whereas the pj2 is you know we go to every place we go to and you see the people that it helps the the Charities and stuff that’s that’s what we’re trying and do do you get to see PJ T is a little disingenuous either and exact we sort of get that but do you get to see that at the tour as a point yeah absolutely yep yeah so like we’ll go to Memphis we’ll go to the hospital there and and you’ll see the kids that that um the money helps you know so the kids don’t have to pay for the hospital visits um this week we might be here somewhere and there’ll be like um a certain school or something needed upgrading and the money goes towards that you see it every week oh this is great you know and you might be at a restaurant oh you know thanks for being here my son’s got autism and the money you raise helps you know my son gets a little bit of help at school and blah blah blah so the money does it’s obviously not as much as they they say um it’s a lot of it’s just Contra and stuff ium um but it does really it does really help though yeah seeing kids in Hospital Camp particularly as a dad I’m I don’t have kids but I would imagine that gives you a perspective jolt for that week yeah it wasn’t much fun I I got asked to do I had to go to St judee’s hospital in Memphis and I had a 5-year-old and seven year old at the time maybe and I went and saw five and seveny old kids with cancer and and like barely alive and it was holy crap like I’m just so thankful my kids are okay uh it was not much fun going in there at all so and talking to the p and all that sort of stuff it’s heartbreaking we need those reminders don’t we what people go through yeah we need those we need those reminders don’t we as humans sometimes God you yeah yeah that’s terrible every time I’ve ever traveled I haven’t done a lot of it every time I’ve ever traveled out of Australia I have vowed on the flight back to never complain about anything again because Australia’s so to India you ever been to India I haven’t I haven’t if you go to India you’ll never complain about anything in your life well we say it don’t but within 3 weeks I find myself bitching because the bin hasn’t been picked up out the front of the house or because I’ve had to wait for a train for 8 minutes cuz one was you fall back into that entire and that’s just a small version of what we’re talking about top of the game you can’t help it you get used to everything being a certain way and if it’s inconveniencing at all um you know you you really think that you’ve been harshly done by until you meet yeah absolutely was it the old I thought I was going I thought I was going poorer cuz I had no shoes till I met a bloke that had no feet and you’ll see that in India you’ll see people in they feet in India my God it’s terrible that’s clearly stab with it how long since you’ve been to India I went to India and I was just turned Pro I think it was 1999 maybe and have you ever ever watched Slum Dog Millionaire I haven’t but I’m I’m aware of it so so Slum Dog Millionaire the mafia ma MIM kids and put them out in the street and make them beg beg yeah so they they burn their eyes out with acid and they cut their legs off and chop arms off and stuff and these kids are on the street and they come to you moneyone and apparently the mafia go around and just it’s awful it’s awful I’ve seen I’ve seen people with just SS on their legs that I’ve never seen before and they people just walk past them and don’t care and that stayed with you for all this time oh my God yeah my God yeah and just just to have water to drink like I saw I saw one guy peeing in the water I another guy leaning over the bank of the water [ __ ] in it and 20 hours away there’s a lady doing the washing in it Like This Is How They Live Like and we’re complain We complain you know there’s a terrible there’s an embarrassing element to being sort of middle class isn’t there when you see that and you see the things we complain about and then you wonder then you get into that whole you can fall down a spiral a rabbit hole of well we should be able to fix this but then when as you get older you realize you can’t fix things no matter how much you’d want to well then I go then you go to the golf course in India and there’s a lady hitting off um and she’s got a caddy a guy with an umbrella over her um she hits off someone picks a tea up and she just drops a club on the ground someone picks that up she’s got four people wow and she just walks down the Fairway and it’s like and then she gets in the car and someone drives her somewhere and all sort of stuff and then you know you’ve just driven past these people living in abject poverty and this lady’s got everything it’s a genuine class Society is it there’s there’s genuine class India India there’s there’s poor and then there’s poor poor and then there’s po po poor poor and it’s crazy and people people don’t care they just want their leave they just want their Lis for $25 if have to pay 30 I’m not doing that that’s ridiculous do you get into that do you do you look at where things come from before you bought this is obviously the big thing with Nike I know I never bought I went to Nike I went to China and I never bought Nike I never bought a single Nike product because I went to China and someone told me you know oh what they do Nike who wants to work for Nike and yep no worries they all work there they close it they lock the doors they have to for 3 months and they just produce they eat eat or feed them but if they’re not working on their machine or something like that they go sleep get up feed them bang back on the machine produce 100,000 garments oh we only need 880,000 that’s how you get the 20,000 in the streets of Hong Kong and stuff like they said that’s that’s how Nike operate so I never bought a Nike product in my life I’m kind of the same I wonder whether we’re kids of the’80s or you wonder how much of that a is true you wonder how much B the solution is not to buy it is that the solution well they got to pay LeBron James $100 million a year and Michael Jordan makes a million dollar a month and stuff like that like Rory poor people shefer lot of Nike and golf yeah yeah yeah that’s crazy and it’s stuck stuck with me like yeah the guy who lived in met in China he’s like this is what they do and all that sort of stuff but I’m powerless to stop it I’m not a politician and stop the people it Taps into that saudy thing though doesn’t it you know what do you do about it as individual so you can stop buying Nike but that hasn’t achieved anything we know that you can go not go and play to live that’s not going to achieve anything we know that that’s what I mean it’s that existential crisis you got an iPhone Apple they they say they say that the Apple factories aren’t that much different to this not this notion of sweat shops that we have in the west yes yeah yeah 100% love my iPhone yeah but you gotta but yeah like I said if I got like I said if I got the money I would I definitely wouldn’t have just kept it myself it would have gone to other people for sure so interesting but that’s just me I’m just that’s the way I am I give everything away so that’s I’m a bit that way you broke your wrist a couple years ago it could have all come to an end that was that a perspective shift what happened there so I fell over I took the kids for a holiday uh fell over fractur my wrist and I’m still have trouble today today it’s actually I’m in a hell of a lot of pain right now um so no one bet on me this week that’s cuz you’re talking to me CAM that’s nothing to do with the wrist that’s I um my thumb wrist like just ever since I did that I came back too early I thought I was right I tried to play an event and I’m like I got through it the problem is I played the next week and that’s what I really Hur it the next week I just pushed it too hard for too um too long so uh and I haven’t really recovered since haven’t got full strength in it been issues with my swing and stuff like that we just sort of managed around it I guess and then La two weeks ago we played in Canada and there was horrible rough and I i’ ruined my WR again hacking out of the rough and I hit a shot out of the r last week and I flared it up so I’m just trying to play through it right now and then that gives you the tension whenever you hit it in the rough doesn’t it oh is this going to be the one that hurts again it’s you can’t you can’t play like that it’s a it’s a subconscious thing I don’t feel it but I pull out of shots yeah I used to really flush the ball I could really compress it and I can’t do that anymore I try to and my brain just won’t let me obviously it knows something’s going to hurt you’re working with Brad Hughes is it you working with Brad yep I work yeah I see see Hugo three four times a year that’s about all I need right um I was with Steve ban for a long long time and bny had uh his wife got cancer so he had to go home to Australia and obviously be hereit there for the for that um I was still in contact with bny a lot um but bny built such a good golf swing with me um I just go see Brad I would go see Brad every three or four months he like pretty good purse he’s see another three four months he’s like okay see you mate he’s a different cat isn’t he ago he’s a different cat yeah oh my God yeah yeah and just for someone to be so knowledgeable about the game of gol from the golf swing who was really good at it yeah like some some people was like oh you’re awesome of that what do you do like you talk to bads about putting I just look three foot short of the hole and try and roll it over that nothing really help anything else you can have no not really always trying to pick bad’s brain he never tells me anything just no just just roll it over that you Reon he’s hiding or do Reon he really doesn’t know how he does it I think he’s just sick of everyone asking him because he’s so good at it to be honest with you he’s like if I start telling you and like he he does work on some technique technical things and but he’s just he’s brilliant I played with him last week he’s he didn’t make everything but you could everything runs over the edge of the hole it’s fantastic yeah yeah but with Hugo he’s like he’s and he he had a system to build a golf swing and I’ve got my young fell got into golf and I used that along with some stuff bny told him and my son 16 he’s perfectly on plane you know he’s so far Advanced from all the other kids 16y old kids so he’s pretty lucky Hugo was such a flusher himself wasn’t he it’s unusual for somebody with that kind of talent to have a gift for teaching as well it’s almost unheard of in fact um it really is yeah and he’s been at the highest level so he knows what we’re all going through what’s going through our mind how nervous we are all that sort of stuff and he’s got some triggers for that too so that’s good tell me about that what’s it like to play tournament golf and have a sh have a shot to win at the highest level it’s pretty good it’s it really it’s it’s um yeah a lot of stuff goes through your head that’s for sure and just little real basic stuff like learning to breathe and a routine and all that sort of stuff comes you know all the little stuff that you you don’t think much of when you get under the pressure it’s like holy [ __ ] like that’s this is why that you know this guy told me I needed to work on this and stuff like that so and and it works have you been in the Zone what’s the Zone oh for sure I used to be really good at it now I’m hopeless at it I’ve actually bought a focus band to try and get myself back into it what’s a focus band it’s just it’s a band you put around your head um and it tracks your brain waves and stuff like that and i’ I’ve used it years ago when I was really good at it and I I I was like oh Cam you don’t need this but now I just like I could stand over shots and look at a leaf 300 yards away and imagine the ball going that leaf and this and that and all that sort of stuff I could do that easily and not think about anything else now I get over the ball like I wonder what the kids are up to today like what are they doing today you know you know what what what am I doing and then I was like oh what was I even thinking about that like just just stuff into your mind I can’t get out of anymore so what’s worse for your golf the wrist injury the physical or the wandering mind which one has a bigger impact W wondering mind for sure wondering mind for sure you just lose track and don’t concentrate all that sort of stuff flight I just find now it’s hard really I’ve really got it work on it to to to focus for 18 holes four days in a row that’s tiring too isn’t it more tiring Than People realize oh it’s exhausting it’s exhausting mentally exhausting and physically yeah and now the physical bit I struggle with so that makes it even harder well you’re 48 Cam and you’re still out playing on the PGA tour now we applaud all sorts of things but we focus really on winning in golf don’t we that’s a hell of an achievement to be on the PG tour at 48 years old I’m pretty proud of that now like there’s only I mean Phil was exempt he was older than me Stuart sink is just a bit older than me he’s exempt and that’s about it yeah so I’m inan that sort of class at my age so I think that’s just a testament I was looked after my body pretty good um don’t smoke and drink too much I don’t smoke at all but don’t drink a whole you know just and you know maybe I’m just pretty good at this game so maybe I just got to Pat myself in the back every now and then most people would get somewhat worn out what happens to what do you lose as you get older as a golfer because we saw Phil win at 50 was it was a one-off obviously but what do you lose as you get older is it that just competitive drive or I it’s just strength and speed right just just the shots I can’t hit out of the rough anymore you know I used to get a bad live from 190 hours I’ll just hack that out in the green it’ll be fine now I’m like oh you know maybe I can run something up or something that I just the strength to get out of the rough is what you lose in a few miles an hour ball speed I’ve just had a look at I’ve just had a look at the time going to let you go there’s couple things I want to ask about you can’t let anybody who’s played the game in the last 20 years go without talking about tiger if I’m not mistaken you played with him in the last round in Kingston Heath in that 2009 Masters what’s that been like what what have your other interactions been like with him over time that day was one of the best days of my life and then obviously what happened you know things went crazy with him it was quite weird the next time I saw him over here on the tour he’s sort of like you and just sort of walked away and it was really awkward because it was like you know it was such a great day for me that day one of the best days of my life what do you remember and what sticks out when you think back to that day what do you remember just the crowds the crowds and the people it was just every Hall was and then just all the people that were inside the ropes we had all these people obviously had paid all were you know sponsors they got inside the ropes it was just a me it was just Mayhem the whole time inside the road just trying to focus and concentrate back then I was really good at it and things didn’t really distract me um but just the size of the crowds it was just brilliant and just and the 18th hole just Grand stands full and all that sort of stuff like my family come out and watched it said it was a nightmare to watch but it was just it was just an awesome day so when you’re that quintessential kid on the putting green dreaming about the future as a professional over they the pictures you see aren’t they in your mind is the the crowds what I found really hard was was because I was my first year on the PJ to the next year I was the last two or three groups every week with four people watching so the adrenaline rush of that and I’m like this is this is what I want to play for I want to get to that I didn’t have that you know very often there was a few tournaments where I did well and there was some big crowds but it was almost like a let down every week I was like this is pretty boring this is pretty boring and I found myself like having to get myself up i’ sort of reached such a crazy high where tiget gets it every week yeah like everywhere he goes that’s what he’s with I mean that would be unbelievable to get to play front of that all the time it’s kind of one of his advantages in a way isn’t it is that he’s everybody who steps into that world steps into his world doesn’t matter who you are even if you’re Phil or Ernie or Rory there’s no question who’s stepping into whose Arena y 100% he’s used to all that stuff and he uses the energy of the crowd like to play in so I played in Tory Pines last year in front of him in front of him that’s right he was behind me so all the crowds I I had 10 Deep every it was brilliant the atmosphere was fantastic I played awesome all chattering and looking the other way waiting for TI to arrive or you they were you think they were and they watched us play and it was fantastic I’m like this is awesome like we had massive crowds on every hole 10 Deep wow because tiger was behind us the atmosphere was fantastic and you got up and there was energy there was no last group uh there’s four people watching and they waiting for you to get off the course so they can rate the bunkers and stuff so it’s I wonder there there’s lots of theories about what winning early mean for a career we’ve seen it go both ways obviously you know some people wi early they disappear Ty Trion is the one that Springs toor qualifying school at the age of 17 and being unheard of virtually ever since then you see somebody like Jordan SP who came out of nowhere and his his slump was a $10 million twoyear period so he’s going uh he’s going okay you can play but I wonder what the impact of something like that might be you not you know you get to experience that and then you’re not experiencing it I wonder what the actual do you think that has an impact on the way you play you think that impacted your career in some way yeah definit just just just trying to get myself up and like this is actually pretty Bor like it was it was such a high yeah it you know I suppose that’s what people take drugs and stuff like that it’s like oh that high was incredible I do it again my high and I and I was once or twice we had big crowds and it was great fun but not week after week after week like it just got you up funny how things impacted know we had pet onard on this show a couple years ago and he hit a hook at the Australian Open that hit a wheelie bin and bounced back into play and that led to a birdie which saw him make the cut on the number he finished top 10 got a start the following week finished top 10 and then built Peter Ward’s career yeah but he’s on his way to miss the heit hit a we yeah what funny because I know Ben Curtis he played with James McLean somewhere he was at Q school he went like 60 foot 70 footer got his card and then the British overy won to get into that at the West an open he was missing the cut he holded like a 50 footer in the last hole to make the cut and then play well in the weekend made the cut which got him into the and he played really good got him into the British Open which he won yeah like crazy he misses one of those 50 Footers who knows what happens you’d have to be mental to do it for a living with in your cam you hear those stories and you got to be mental don’t you yeah it’s you got to be mentally strong that’s for sure if you’re not mental when you start you will be by the time you finished what about actually playing with t what was it like as a golfer Jeff ogy once told me the trick to playing with tiger cuz I think he he beat Tiger Beat he won a couple tournaments playing with tiger wgc’s said the trick was to not watch him got to stop yourself from watching him yeah I said if I play with him again I won’t watch him and just being all you know tet am I right over here it’s like you gota I was just really happy to be there and experience it but I was playing well enough I could have won that golf tournament like I hit one or two poor shots that I shouldn’t have hit and or else I would have won the golf tournament but I was just I was just happy to be there instead of like all right I want to win this golf tournament he was just there to win the golf tournament I was like who’s this guy it’s cam like okay yeah um but yeah I I looking back if I had a chance again you’re like you got to just play there to win and and enjoy it but not sit there and watch for sure I hate doing it to people you know talking about Target or other the golf pros it’s hard enough you got to play against him then you got to talk about him as well but have you seen we talk about tiger 2.0 you mentioned it there have you seen a different I’m not suggesting you great maybe you are great Mo I I know he does seem to like Australians um have you seen a difference in him since all of that happened definitely in the last few years he’s definitely different like up you know even a few years after that he he’d turn up and he barely said a word to anyone he practice he plays at like six o’clock in the morning as soon as it’s light he gets out there um barely he doesn’t come in the locker room might come in and have lunch here and their lizard complet and is just press conference I’m out of here so no one really he’s very with arent Atwell yeah arent will stay at his place when he’s playing the Honda and stuff he’s close with arent for some reason he’s the only person I know he’s actually close with um but definitely the last few years way different talks to people um he’s more friendly with them and stuff like that and he’s trying to pass on knowledge and stuff like that whereas beforehand it was like not telling you anything sort of thing I’m here to beat you so yeah I think he realized like you know was more to life than being a good golfer I think he’s realized that and he’s embracing in some ways the injuries might have done him a favor in terms of a human experience because he was a golf machine for all of those years and it was an incredibly impressive thing to watch from the outside but it’s got to be doing things to the person who’s in the middle of it all he can’t have a normal life and some of these realizations must have been pretty important for him uh let’s wrap it up cam what does the future hold are you still playing the champions tour in 10 years time are you burnhard Langer at 62 are you still shooting shooting your age now I’m not exempt for the champions tour so nobody is how do you get in Paul Lorie can’t get a start Michael Campbell can’t get a start no you got to win four times now they uped the four times on tour so you’ve got to win four times or a certain amount of money it’s really hard to get on the champions tour because those guys don’t want you out there they don’t want the good players um because they just they just want they just want to keep making the free money it’s free money yeah um that that where um but um I’ll probably try in two years who knows I don’t really I don’t know the body is starting to really hurts I’m I’m I’m a bit over being pain I haven’t got a very good pain threshold anymore so I’m sick of being in pain so we’ll see we’ll see but I’m just so good at the game so kind of hard to it’s hard to give up something I’m good at that makes any sense looks like a blessing but is actually a curse in some ways I’m sure that is actually uh is actually somewhat true if not golf then what is there something you’ve always we know lean’s got his beer company going and some interests outside of the game are you wired that very very I’m very interested in like politics and all that sort of stuff but obviously if I live over here I can’t do it um if I come back to Australia probably something in politics um maybe bit of coaching and stuff I’ve been coaching the kids high school team and stuff I enjoy I just enjoy helping people I guess so um probably a bit of coaching I’d imagine and live off that PGA to a pension yeah like other people I know but it’s should be all right I should be okay yeah it’s it’s unbelievable it’s really good yeah it really is well what a journey it’s been so far Cam and it’s not over yet it’s been fabulous to catch up with you today if you’re someone I’ve always wanted to have a chat to and keep keep staying away from Twitter but keep going on cuz I enjoy your tweets so I’ve now got mixed emotions about what it’s doing to you but what’s in it for me is what it’s about so get back my my issue is I I I just can’t let stuff that’s blatantly wrong I have to say something because too many people just let it go and that’s how we end up how we are so you just need to remember that that great that great meme where the the woman’s calling out from the bed you’re coming to bed honey he says not just yet there’s somebody wrong on the internet I’ve got to I’ve got to fix it you’re really swimming against the tide mate you’re not going to get there but oh I know I know unfortunately I I I like to be proven wrong if someone more educated than me proves me wrong I’m happy but over here if you prove someone wrong they hate you so that’s that’s a crazy way people operate over here cam it’s been fantastic mate appreciate time you’re at the barbero this week in Kentucky good luck with that if you get across the line you’re off to the old course so that’ll be nice won’t it fantastic I played one British Open there once it was fantastic experience so any trip to S golf or no golf any trip to St Andrews is an absolute Joy one of last treats so best luck this week mate for the rest of the year thanks for catching up you good really appreciate it thanks Rod well that’s a wrap for episode 70 but I hope you’ve made the effort to follow the Pod because on our next John Huggin sits down with a very special guest in one of the game’s iconic figures well sevy said to me well you know tiger wants to play with us and I said yes so we’re going to play n holes with I said okay perfect fantastic and we play the nine holes and from T to Green you know normal stuff uh but obviously we spend a lot of time uh chipping around the greens bunker shots you know all different types of chips you know bump and runs with the sandwich with a nine iron and so on and tiger tiger kept kept on cuz he couldn’t do the stuff you were doing kept on watching you know he kept on asking questions and this and that and he true that is true yes uh he he picked uh you know as as as much as he could uh to improve his short game is that a bigger compliment than that do you think well not really I mean I think that that was fantastic that’s two-time Masters champion and winning Rider Cup captain Jose Maria aabal next time on the thing about golf n [Music]
