The Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick/Dr. Bob Rotella & Brad Faxon

This weekend, two close members of Rory McIlroy's camp are on...
Dr. Bob Rotella & Brad Faxon

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick here
on News Talk WGAC.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
He is a friend to this program. It is a
pleasure to welcome Michael Bred back to the Augusta Golf Show.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
I believe in four different balls.

Speaker 4 (00:14):
There's a ball position that's on your nose, there's one
that's on your left eye, there's one that's on your
left ear, and then there's one that's on your on
your arm.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Fin That's where I think the ball positions are, and
there's four of them.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
We're talking with Heimi di As here on the Augusta
Golf Show.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Didn't have a happy childhood, child of divorce, didn't have
a lot of effection from her parents, kind of lived
between divided family and teammates. Sure Tiger had all her
love all the time, and and Tigers that way with
his kid.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
We're talking with David Faridy here on the Augusta Golf Show.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
It's been an incredible life, you know, and live was
the only thing that I hadn't done, you know.

Speaker 5 (00:54):
I've never had a chance to be a lead analyst.

Speaker 4 (00:56):
And do something new like this, you know, So it's
just I've been right.

Speaker 5 (01:00):
Irishman in the right bar at the right time.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, Hi, good morning, welcome to this week's Augusta Golf Show.
I'm John Patrick. Thank you for being here this morning.
I want to say hi to all the radio partners
that we have across the Southeast, especially this one because
it's home based news Talk Information WGAC. HEI to you.
However you listen to the program, and I hope you

(01:23):
listen on GAC each week. But there are a lot
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We're on the iHeartRadio app. We're also on the iHeartRadio
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(01:48):
you listen. Thanks for doing that. Want to reach out
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emails the best way, fastest way, Johnataugustagolfshow dot com, follow
me on x at Augusta Golf Show. I mentioned the
website Augustagolfshow dot com so I can let you know.
Can't stick around for the entire show this morning, you

(02:09):
should know that you can catch up on the conversations
on the website Augustagolfshow dot com, slash listen. Okay, tell
you about the show this morning. Everybody still wrapping their
heads around what they saw. Final round of the Masters.
Rory getting another major, eleven years after the last one.

(02:30):
He completes the career Grand Slam. He is a Master's
winner for the rest of his life. Is Rory on
the show this morning, No, but I will be talking
to two members of his team. Doctor Bob Rotellham is
possibly arguably the most famous sports psychologists there is, and

(02:53):
it's a big world of sports psychologists. Doctor Bob was
at the University of Virginia for years, author of no
umerous books, and he has the ear of Rory McElroy
and he will join us for an extended conversation in
just a few minutes this morning. Then the pros putting
guru Brad faxon. Brad's been on the show a lot.

(03:14):
He is Rory's putting guru. He will join us a
little bit later in the show. So two members of
Rory's team this morning, Doctor Bob Rotella and Brad faxon
on the show. As always, I will let you know
where to find the golf on TV this weekend and
if we have time this morning and our Why I
Love the Game segment. We'll have a Grammy winner on

(03:35):
the program. Darius Rucker will tell us why he loves
the game of golf. Coming up Brad faxon. But first,
Doctor Bob Rotella, stay right there. Thank you for being
here this morning. You're listening to The Augusta Golf Show
with John Patrick here on News Talk and Information WGAC.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
The Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick. He's brought to
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Speaker 1 (07:12):
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Speaker 2 (07:25):
Good morning, and welcome back to the Augusta Golf Show.
I'm John Patrick. Doctor Bob Rotella is a best selling
author of a dozen books, including Golf Is Not a
Game of Perfect. He was the director of Sports Psychology
for twenty years at the University of Virginia. Doctor Bob's
been working with Rory McElroy. It's a pleasure to welcome

(07:46):
doctor Bob Rotella back to the Augusta Golf Show. Doctor Bob,
how are you.

Speaker 5 (07:51):
I'm great? Good to be with you. John.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Thank you for saying yes to this no pro when
you started working with the RYA, what do you need
to tackle first?

Speaker 5 (08:04):
Gosh, I don't even remember. I mean, basically, he wanted
to win more tournaments and win more majors. And you
know it's pretty basic stuff, but I mean some of
it is believed, some of it is getting your will

(08:25):
to be like steel and say I can't give into
anything that happens out there. I've got to be strong.
I've got to be resilient. And what you need to
understand is when you're as good as Rory on the
range and you get on the golf course, you're still
going to miss a lot of golf shots and to
have total acceptance of it and just go get it.

(08:45):
My last book was make your next shot your best shot,
and all that means is wherever you hit it, go
get it and go play the next shot. You can't
be dwelling on the last one or getting down or
frustrated or mad or embarrassed. And you just got to
say that's right, ball is I got to go get
it and go get in a hole. So we talk
an awful lot about being mentally tough and having a

(09:08):
you know, a will of steel. And it all starts
with the idea that you know, as a human being,
you have a free will, and so you get to
choose how you're going to respond to stuff that happens
during around the golf and you get to choose your dreams,
and you get to choose whether you're willing to do
the stuff you have to do to get your dreams.
And he's got some pretty big ones. And then I

(09:28):
tell him that you had to take personal responsibility for
how you respond and how you think about yourself, and
you got to hold yourself accountable. I mean, that's probably
where we started. And then it's about, you know, you've
got to stay in the present moment and you got
to kind of get lost in your own little world
on the golf course where it's you and your ball
and your target and you're just playing golf, and you know,

(09:51):
you have things like Thursday, he felt like he played
almost a flawless round and they hit a nice chip
shot on fifteen and the greens had really gotten firm
and fast and it dried out, rolled in the water
and made it double and they made another one. I'm seventeen,
and he felt pretty good about the shots yet, you know,
and so then we really started talking about, all right,

(10:12):
how are you going to bounce back from this? Are
you tell me you want to win championships? Well, there's
a lot of time, And that's a word that comes
up a lot that Rory. There's lots of time. You know,
it's Thursday. You're still in this thing, and there's lots
of time, and you're talented and you're probably going to

(10:32):
go on a run if you'll just be patient with yourself.
And a lot of it for him on the Masters
tournament was are you willing to be patient on the
front side? You know, I would say, he's telled me
he's had times in the past where he would try
to force shots that he didn't need to force and
end up making a mistake, he getting in trouble. And

(10:53):
that's why probably Thursday was even more challenges. It was
because he played the front side just the way he
wanted to play it, and he usually plays the backside
really well, and he messed up on the backside. So
that's this beautiful game. And that golf course is just
such an incredible golf course. It's just not as good
as it gets, but it's challenging. And I'd say the
other thing on this course, you have to be prepared

(11:15):
for like an inch one way or another one ball
can end up in the hole or an inch from
the cup and an inch shorter, and it can be
fifty feet in off the green and you didn't do
anything different, and you got to be able to deal
with it. And I just was so proud of how
well he dealt with, you know, making some shots that

(11:36):
it'd be really easy to think, how can I hit
a shot like that and get down about it and
beat yourself up, and instead he just kept plugging along
and kept playing, and every time he made a mistake,
he came back and did something fantastic. You know, he
made the comment that the pitch shot on number three
he thought was probably the most important shot because that's

(11:59):
a really tough up and down, so he loved that.
I think he loved the shot on four. I mean
that was an incredible five iron, and obviously the shot
on fifteen, but you know the playoff hole to go
to eighteen twice in a row and just blitz the drive.
You know, everyone was saying he was nervous on the

(12:20):
first tea, which he probably was a bit, but the
day before he hit the same drive on the exact
same line and it carried the bunker by several feet
and then kicked up there and went forever. And on
Sunday he hit it on the exact same line, and
it came up like six inches short from being an

(12:41):
absolutely fantastic drive. So the truth of the matter, his
mind was really clear and committed on the first tee
and hit a great drive and he got a really
bad result and again, you know, ended up with a double,
but he bounced back. And that's that's what you got
to be able to do in this game. And you know,
we talked a lot. It's a game the mistakes. It's

(13:01):
not a game of perfect. I don't care how good
you get, You're not going to master it. And can
you live with it? You know, And then it was
all the pressure of you know, when you try to
explain to people how badly Rory McElroy wanted to win
the Masters, and yeah, what went with it on top
of it was finishing the Grand Slam and putting you

(13:21):
in a very elite company. So I mean that was
all there, But I can't say as we spent much
time talking about that. We spend all the time talking
about what he needs to do. And you know, then
it's like staying in the present when when that all
is on the line coming down, you know, in a
tournament like this, you know, it's a heck of a challenge,

(13:42):
and I thought he did a really good job. And
we pretty much meant in the in the building at
the end of the range. Every morning before he went
to the practice area and went over stuff, and then
he made some notes on the key things mentling emotionally
he wanted to do in his yardage book. And he know,
every other hole he'd have something to eat or drink,

(14:02):
and every other hole he'd look at his yards book
and kind of go over his notes and he was just,
you know, very happy with himself. I think he's getting
very mentally strong and is really loving it. And you
know he's he's such an honest kid. I mean, you
can see all we honestly is in his interviews and

(14:23):
open about everything and in the same way when I'm
working with him, which makes it very easy to help somebody.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
We're talking with doctor Bob Rotellim here on the Augusta
Golf Show without getting specific, Doctor Bob, when you do
have these conversations with Rory, is he asking questions? Are
you asking questions? How does that come? In general terms?
How's that conversation kind of go?

Speaker 5 (14:45):
Well, much more of the time it's me basically telling
him what we need to do. I mean, so you know,
we're going over some basic points. I mean the week,
the week before the tournament, I had sent him along
text which he much covered everything we're going to really
focus on for the week and for the rest of
the year, because you gotta understand, this all started months

(15:08):
ago in the off season. He didn't take any time off.
He kept playing golf in practice and all through the
off season with a big emphasis on playing a lot
of golf in shooting scores. So he liked what was
coming up this year. He liked the tournaments that he
saw for the majors, and he wanted to have a
great year. And he's you know so, and he knew

(15:29):
the Masters was the first one, so he wanted to
get off to a great start. So that helped. You know,
he's been really working on his wedge, distance control and
trajectory and that's gotten a lot better. And it was
really neat to see him hit that shot in the
playoffs and have it stuff, you know, to win the tournament,
so that you know, he's getting rewarded for a lot

(15:50):
of stuff he's worked on. But I mean, pretty much,
when we're sitting down, I'm going over stuff that we've
already talked about. But and if anything else comes up,
like you know, after Thursday, we talked a little bit
more about bouncing back and you know and coming back
and all that stuff. But in general, we're going over

(16:10):
the stuff. I mean, gott to stay present, not you
can't let anything bother you, and you gotta just keep
on plugging along. And it's like he did a great
job of it. You know. I keep telling guys, you're
going to make You're gonna get bad bounces. You're gonna
hit good shots that end up bad, and you're gonna
hit bad shots that end up good, and you get

(16:31):
some really good breaks. You're gonna get some bad breaks,
and you're gonna misread some putts and you're gonna hit
really good putts that don't go in, and you might
misread and mishit a putt and.

Speaker 4 (16:40):
Have it go in.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
And are you willing to wait until this course gives
you something like if you watch the tournament, you'll see
guys holding bunker shots and making pit shots or holding
shots from off the fairway. But you gotta be willing
to wait. And if you don't wait, then you'll force it,
and then the core will beat you up pretty good.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
Did he need doctor Bob? Did he need to get
some sort of chip on his shoulder when coming down
the stretch? Did he I don't want to say get angry,
I don't want to say be aggressive. But did he
did he need that sort of killer instinct?

Speaker 5 (17:16):
No? No, he has plenty of killer instincts. Like I've
had people say to me, Rory's too nice, or he's
too open with the media, or too honest. I'm like,
he'd only be too nice if he wanted the other
guy to win instead of him. You know, that would
be being too nice. No, Rory's a really nice kid,
gets along with everybody. I mean, you saw the hug

(17:38):
justin Rose's wife gave. I mean he's a good guy.
People like him. He treats people really in a nice way.
I mean he's confident on the golf course, but very
down to earth guy with when he's off the golf course,
and it's a nice combination. But no, he believe me,
he didn't need a chip on his shoulder. He was.
If anything, we're trying to give every shot the same

(18:01):
equal low level of importance. We're trying to downplay the
importance of the tournament. Once he's on the golf course,
we're trying to just play every shot the same. Some
went good and some didn't, but he kept doing it.
It turned out the.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
Way he dreamt I'm curious.

Speaker 5 (18:18):
This is another interesting thing is that I think that
was the eighty third time one of my guys is
one of major And I told Rory, I said, it
never happens the way you dream it up. In your dream,
you cure every shot, hit it to a foot and
tap it in for Birdie to win the tournament. And
they write stories about your swing. And I don't see

(18:38):
anybody do it that way. It's always crazy how you
do it. I'll promise you this isn't the way he
dreams it up. And can you live with it? You
know that it doesn't happen the way you think it's
going to happen. True.

Speaker 2 (18:51):
Okay, you know what, Let's take a pause right here,
take a break. We'll continue with doctor Bob in just
a couple of minutes. I want to find out what
it was like for you him watching Rory Sunday afternoon
play that second nine. But while I have you, take
a look at a couple of the golf headlines. From
earlier this week, the headlines are brought to you by
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(19:15):
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(19:38):
Reid failed to qualify for last year's US Open at Pinehurst,
it ended his streak of forty one consecutive major championships.
Speaking of the US Open at Pinehurst, Bryson d Chambeau
bounced back from his disappointment at the Masters by going
back to the site of his US Open victory last
year at Pinehurst, the resort unveiled a plaque commemorating his

(20:00):
bunker shot to four feet on the seventy second hole
of last year's championship. Speaking of the US Open, USGA
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The youngest thirteen year old beck Patrick, the oldest seventy

(20:22):
three year old Macogrady. Don't forget when you're logged into
your Facebook page, come on over become a fan of
our Facebook page. The Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick.
We keep talking golf during the week and you can
join in on that conversation if you're following me on
x at Augusta Golf Show. Still to come this morning
Brad Faxon will be here, but when we come back

(20:44):
more on Rory with doctor Bob Rotella. Don't go away.
You're listening to The Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick
here on News Talk and Information WGAC.

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Speaker 1 (24:01):
All of the conversations from the Augusta Golf Show are
available on our website Augusta Goolfshow dot com slash listen.
That's Augustagolfshow dot com slash listen.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Welcome back to the Augusta Golf Show. I'm John Patrick.
Let's pick up the conversation with doctor Bob Rotella. Doctor Bob,
I'm curious. I'm curious. What was it like for you
watching Rory Sunday afternoon play that second nine.

Speaker 5 (24:33):
Well, I felt really good that he was going to
do all the stuff we talked about, but you still
watch it and waiting to see if he does and
he just kept bouncing back so beautifully. But you know,
first of all, I'm out of the golf course watching
it and you know, you can only see so much.
The crowds were so used. You're trying to find a

(24:55):
glimpse or a spot you could stand and watch it
because you kind of want to be a part of it.
But the bottom line is, you know, I'm probably feeling
what a lot of people are doing. It's unbelievably exciting.
Then something doesn't go the way you want, and then
someone else and then Justin is lighting it up. Now

(25:15):
Rory isn't paying attention to that, but you know all
the viewers are like Justin. Also, he didn't know what
Rory was doing. He said he never looked at a
leaderboard or paid attention to anyone else is doing until
he got to the eighteen t And then he said,
before he hit there a huge roar. He figured as
Katy told him they were tied, and he said that

(25:36):
Rory there was a big roarer over on fifteen. So
he thought Rory made an eagle, so he thought he
had to make birdie on eighteen to get back into
a tie. And so he really was in the making
of Verdie. That's the first time he looked and I mean, Rory,
we're talking every day about staying in the moment and
not paying attention to what anyone else is doing or
anybody else is swaying. You know, we talked all week

(25:58):
about being in a bubble, which is just a world
you create in your own head. But you know, it's
hard to do with that environment. But you know, he
did a hell of a job of it.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
What were you thinking, doctor Bob, when he was going
to hit the putt on the seventy second hole, And
what were you thinking when he missed it?

Speaker 5 (26:22):
Well, I'm just looking at his routine and seeing if
he's going to do his routine, because that's what I'm
going to be happy about. I don't judge things by
whether the ball goes in the hole. I judge it
by whether he did what we talked about doing with
his routine, which he did, and so I'm just saying, good,
just keep on doing it. Go back to eighteen and

(26:43):
hit another great drive. Go trust your drive, which you
know we want. We talked a lot about being clear
and committed on every shot, and he stood up on eighteen, now,
you know, and then to come back and have about
the same distance and instead of making a full swing,
he went to a three quarters swing and just stuffed
it and made the putt. But you know, we don't

(27:05):
evaluate a putt based on whether it goes in the hole.
Our attitude is I made it, it just didn't go in.
In other words, I hit it where I wanted to do.
I did my mental and physical process, and that's all
I can do in terms of you know, people ask
all the time, how do you forget it? When you
when you just miss one. It's like, well, if you

(27:26):
want to be a great golfer, you have to be
really good at forgetting. You got to let it go
and you've got to reward yourself for doing your process
and say, I don't know why I didn't end up
in a hole. And you know, we talk all the
time about why would anyone knowingly and willingly choose to
relive a miss putt? So it's over and you got
to have instant amness. You got to be really good

(27:47):
at it. And you know, we just want to keep
getting in contention. We want to keep getting in contention
and assume we'll win our share if we do. I
keep reminding them how many times Jack came in second
and third and how many top ten he had. They said,
he got there a lot and always played really good
and shot good scores. He never played bad. You know,
I said, just keep playing good golf. People are giving

(28:09):
you grief for coming in second, but you know, at
the Open in Scotland, I mean he shot like but
eighteen or nineteen under and got beat by a shot
or two. At the US Open, he shot ridiculous scores
all week, including the last day, and got beat by
a shot by someone playing great. Even his putt at Pinehurst,

(28:30):
he felt like he hit it where he wanted. He
couldn't believe how much it broke. And again, just keep
getting there and focus on all the good stuff you did,
and you're going to get your share of these things.
But you know, he's still plugging away trying to get better.
He feels like he's a better golfer now than he's
ever been, most physically with his game and mentally and emotionally,
so Hill, everyone wants to know, So is this going

(28:52):
to really free him up to go? I go, well,
he's pretty free already. I mean, if you watch him swing,
it's pretty free. If you watch his show game, that's
pretty darn good. But I sure like the chances of
him going on and you know, being relieved of this,
but you know how it works. A lot of the
you know, everyone talking about the pressure from the media

(29:13):
and social media, they go, well, let's face it, there's
some of that. But the bottom line, these guys with
big dreams and big ideas, they put enough pressure on themselves.
Most of it comes from within. And you know, as
soon as this week is over, he's going to be
thinking about the next major. You know, he's gonna be
thinking about the PGA. And you know it's not going

(29:34):
to stop. He's going to keep finding something new that
excites them and gets them up in the morning and
gives them a reason for going out there and practice.

Speaker 2 (29:42):
We are talking with doctor Bob Rutella here on the
Augusta Golf Show. Doctor Bob, this may be a question,
not only for professional golfers, but for any professional Where
does confidence come from?

Speaker 5 (29:56):
Well, ultimately, it's got to come from within. Now, you know,
is it easier if you won all the time as
a kid, or you know if every radio show you
did when you got started got the highest ratings in
the in this part of the country and everyone was
kissing your button telling you how wonderful you were. It
doesn't really matter if you're doing radio or doing coaching

(30:19):
or playing. I mean, it's easier if you got a
lot of unbelievably early success. I tell people all the time, well,
win early, win early by a wide margin, win early
by a wide margin on a regular basis, and win
early by a regular on a wide margin by a
regular basis against kids two to five years older than you.
That'd be the easiest way to get come. Ninety nine

(30:41):
percent of the people I work with don't have that experience,
so they've got to believe in themselves before their results
or other people tell them how good they're going to be,
you know. So I mean that's the challenge. And you
get this game. Let's face it, no one wins more
than you know, probably the best ever to need to
win ten percent of the time. So I mean you
lose a lot. So you've got to be able to

(31:03):
handle loser. And once you accept the fact that losing's okay,
I can live with losing. You know, it starts making
winning easier. But you've got a confidence going to come
from how you think about yourself, how you perceive yourself,
what you remember, how you talk to yourself. In other words,
that's what free will is all about. You get to
either believe in yourself and your dream or you do

(31:25):
what most people do, which is give up on their
dreams if it doesn't come readily to them. And you
know this, this has been since like twenty eleven for
Rory to keep going after this dream. But I tell
them all the time. I mean like Tom Kite probably
played twenty something times in the US Open before he
finally won one. Darren Clark went and open, you know,

(31:46):
when he was forty seven years old, so he had
probably done it, you know, twenty something times. And they're
from the same part of the country. I go, you
know this, You're not the only one that had to
go through some of this. So but let's keep the
dream alive. And a lot of people give up before
they get it. He chose to keep fighting for it,
and God bless them.

Speaker 2 (32:06):
Rory challenged us in the media center the other night,
asking what are we going to talk about next year?
Where do you guys, where do you see you guys
going in your conversations after he's done something like.

Speaker 5 (32:18):
This, Well, it's probably going to come up kenn he
Win and Charlotte, And then if he brings up I'm
going to say, well, you have to do the same
things you did at the Masters. It might not be
the same, but mentally and emotionally, you got to get
your head in the right place. In other words, are

(32:40):
you going to get spoiled by now being having completed
the Grand Slam and think that you don't have to
be tough and you can just show up and when
that ain't going to happen? Or are you going to
get stronger and have more patience and more acceptance and
have more beliefs. So I mean, my guess is he'll
go in that direction. Knowing him, he really loves golf still,

(33:01):
and he loves practicing, he loves playing, he loves preparing,
and you know he loves being in contention because that's
what get his juice is going. You know, everyone talked
about him or Bryce and being nervous. I go, yeah,
that's why you play in tournaments, So you can get nervous.
If you want to be relaxed, play lousy and tee
off at seven thirty at the Master's on Saturday and Sunday,

(33:22):
and you'll be nice and relaxed with all.

Speaker 2 (33:25):
With all that you guys have talked about having and
him having accomplished what he accomplished, What are you most
proud of him about?

Speaker 5 (33:36):
Oh, I would say the toughness and resilience. I mean, like,
you know, for him to hit a pitch shot like
you hit on thirteen and just come right back and
play great golf. You know, to hit a wedge in
the bunker and make bogie on eighteen and come back
and birdie the whole. I mean that tea shot is
so difficult, and that uphill lie. You know, even though

(33:57):
you're hitting a wedge, it's a big ill, it's a
big slope, and they come back and just let forget
it and just go do what you need to do,
you know, to do his routine in the playoffs and
knock the four foot putt in, you know. You know,
anybody who plays golf though, like, yeah, you hit a

(34:18):
really great shot, but you still got a four foot
putt with a little left right break. It's not like
it's a gimme. So I mean, you got to keep
on doing what you've been trained to do. And he
did it. So it's good he is. I'm just I'm
just happy for him.

Speaker 13 (34:32):
You know.

Speaker 5 (34:32):
My my life is about helping people with their dreams
and I get to work with a lot of people
in sported out of sports to have some really big ideas,
and they haven't let the world knock those dreams out
of their head, you know, so they're still chasing them
and it's a lot of fun, but it takes a
lot of toughness. And that's we'll say the phrase I

(34:53):
said earlier. I tell Rory you got to have a
will that's like steel. I mean, you can't cave in,
you can't give in, you can't give up. And like
a lot of golfers, they don't walk off the course.
So they say, I don't ever give up on a round.
Well they don't give up in that sense, but mentally
and emotionally they give up. And Rory did for the

(35:15):
entire round. I mean, he had a lot of chances
to just say, I guess it's not my day, and
he just never gave into it. That's what I'm.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
Most proud of he is, Doctor Bob Roteller. Doctor Bob,
it's great to hear your voice. Thank you, Thank you
for saying.

Speaker 5 (35:29):
That, John. Good luck with everything. You take care, good
talk to you.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
Here you go, doctor Bob Rotella. While I've got you,
take a look at the Golf on TV. This weekend,
Golf on Television, brought to you by the Forest Hills
Golf Club, the area's premier public facility. Golf Channel will
get the coverage started. PGA Tour RBC Heritage Golf Channel's
coverage begins at one this afternoon, same time tomorrow. Don't

(35:56):
forget about the really early coverage. PGA Tour Live on
ESPN plus. CBS will then pick up the coverage of
the RBC Heritage coverage begins at three this afternoon, same
time tomorrow. Golf Channel then has coverage of the additional
event on the PGA Tour. Since the Heritage is a

(36:16):
signature event, The Corals Punta Kana Championship coverage begins both
days at three. Golf Channel will then have coverage of
the LPGA Tour. JM Eagle LA Championship coverage begins at
six tonight and six tomorrow night, and then finally, Golf
Channel will have final round coverage of the dp World Tour.

(36:37):
The Volvo China Open coverage will begin at midnight tonight.
When we come back, Brad Paxson, Rory McElroy's putting whisperer,
don't go away. You're listening to The Augusta Golf Show
with John Patrick here on News Talk and Information WGAC.

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What a pleasure to be talking on the Augusta Golf
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Speaker 9 (39:53):
You love golf, so you're always working on the mechanics
of your stance, facswing, spine rotation, hip flex, down swing,
and club toss.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
While you've been.

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Speaker 1 (40:24):
If you'd like to comment about anything you've heard on
today's show, just send John an email. Send it to
John at Augustagolfshow dot com. That is John at Augustagolfshow
dot com.

Speaker 2 (40:38):
Welcome back to the Augusta Golf Show on John Patrick.
Brad Paxson won twice on the PGA Tour. Brad through
the years has become the putting guru for many of
the players on many of the tours, and Brad famously
works with Rory McElroy. It is a pleasure to welcome
Brad Paxson, who is in his car on the road

(40:59):
back to the Gusta Golf Show brand. How are you.

Speaker 4 (41:02):
Good, John? It's good seeing you last week.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
It was it was it was good to see you.
Let me start with you, tell me your emotions and
what you were thinking as Rory was was coming back
on the second nine Sunday.

Speaker 4 (41:19):
Well, it was an incredible weekend for golf and you know,
having worked for Golf Channel and NBC the last dozen
years or so. To be in a position where you're
doing the broadcast, you're analyzing golf, and you have a bias.
You know, I certainly want Rory to win, but as

(41:41):
my producer, Tommy Roy Hall of Fame producer Tommy Roy,
he said, we can't. We can't pull for anyone in particular.
That's a very very difficult position to be in sometimes.
And yes, thankfully I wasn't really calling the action. CBS was,
but on the Golf Channel live from they don't care

(42:01):
if you tell them who you're pulling for. So that
makes it a little bit.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
Sweeter, harder, Brad, harder to watch what happened in the
middle of the round Sunday, or harder to watch kind
of what happened at Pinehurst.

Speaker 5 (42:19):
Sheets.

Speaker 4 (42:20):
That's a lot of similarities. I'm glad there weren't any
more holes left on Sunday at the Masters. I don't
know if my heart could have taken it well, you know,
and you almost almost always think that heartbreak can break
you or it can make you stronger. And in Rory's case,

(42:43):
these dear misses in the last several years, particularly last
year at Pinehurst, to Bryson who he got paired with
it the final day. It has to feel extra sweet
to Rory did it was like everybody would say, it
was a script that you couldn't have made up and
some roller coaster ride full of emotions. And you know

(43:08):
the irony of Rory finishing Thursdays round with a couple
of boat double bogies. He looked like he was a
complete and mason making that big long time on Thursday
from sorry on Saturday afternoon to guarantees in that plat
of group and then Rory making another double vogee Sunday
morning in the first hole Sunday afternoon, and he said

(43:30):
that helped him. It's crazy, you know, Rory or hit
so many stactacular shots, both great and both unexpected, good
and bad, certainly made through good TV.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
How did you and Rory first connect?

Speaker 4 (43:50):
We met down in Jupiter, Florida area, where we both
lived selfishly Billy Andre and I a billion another Rohde
Island professional golfer were we'd approached Rory hoping that he
would play in our CBS Charity Classic, an event that
we ran for twenty plus years up in Rhode Island,
and we hadn't had Rory and he had asked him

(44:12):
if he would consider coming to our event, which was
always in June, and we spoke for about fifteen minutes
at the Seminole Promember and I was still playing a
little bit Champion Stewart Senior Tour. And two weeks later
I got a text for Rory while I was out

(44:33):
in California asking and I didn't have his number in
my contact, was asking me if might watch him hit
the puts in a couple of days on a Monday
of the Bay Hill Tournament Arnold Palmer Invitational, and I
flew back home to meet him, and he statistically his

(44:53):
putting hadn't been great for three previous years. He had
been with several coaches over the last five or six
and I think, you know, through his father and through
his team, they suggested having a conversation with me, and
that's kind of how it started. And you know, we
had hit lightning in a bottle of that first week
we were together, he went to a hill and it

(45:13):
won my four shots. He had had a spectacular cutting
week and we've been together now for seven plus years.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
We're talking with Brad Paxson here on the AUGUSTA Golf Show.
When when you first watched him putt, did you notice
something immediately.

Speaker 4 (45:32):
Yeah, but it was it was less technical than it
was something routine wise. You know, players always talk about
the words, use words like the process and their routine,
and it looked to me that he had become a
little static, a little stationary over the ball. I kind

(45:53):
of always liked the idea that you should have some
kind of continuous motion, something that's or athletic looking, and
it looked to me like he had been trying to
do too much with his stroke technically, where there was
none of that slow that you see in the greatest athletes.
And it was just kind of unlocking that a little bit.

(46:15):
And I think, you know, we were on that putting
read for maybe an hour, and all of a sudden
you could just see the genius come out of Brewery
and like, I got this, And that's that's how it started.
And his putting numbers have been much better since, and
particularly in twenty twenty five, he's had I think the

(46:39):
best putting start to his year after winning the first
two tournaments before April that he's ever done on the
PGA Tour, both at the AT and T and the players.
I wouldn't say he had his best putting round on Sunday,
but he certainly made enough to get the job done.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Well, let me let me take you back to seven
o'clock Sunday night, and he's got that putt on the
eighteenth pole to effectively win. What were you thinking?

Speaker 4 (47:05):
I was sitting with my wife's story in the hospitality
suite Rolex had not far from the first fairway, and
there were a bunch of people in there, a bunch
of monitors, and you know, I didn't want to jump
up and down like crazy, but I was pretty invested
and knew this was far from mc guinnea touch. The

(47:27):
Shambo had putted before Rory from a little bit further
away on a similar line, but not exactly the same
that Rice ands ball stayed high, maybe a little too
much speed. I don't know if that fool Rory. All
the players in the field, John hit putts from the
what will be the known whole locations throughout the week,

(47:48):
and I still haven't seen that putt hit from down
the line to know if that was a putt that
broke more than any thought or of the actually pulled it.
But you saw the graphic go up on that screen
and maybe for the first time in my lifetime, you
saw the graphic say this is for the career grand slant.

(48:10):
Usually you say it's to tie for the leader to
maybe to win out right, But rarely as I ever
been up there on a screen, and I'm like, the
immense pressure, you know, the burden that he's carried every
year going to Augusta. I had fingers and toes all
across and when the putt didn't go in, he had
to do it all over again.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
What did you think when he missed it?

Speaker 4 (48:38):
It was now you knew there was going to be
a playoff. Justin Rose is a long time friend of his,
teammate of his on the Ryder Cup, and just had
so much success in Augusta near Wins, who had just
played one of the finest rounds of the day with
ten Ernis. I'm like, this is extraordinary. I hope that

(49:01):
Rory could sign his card and regain himself to at
least just hit the fairway. And the mantra he would
he use would have been, you know, don't let the
pass get in the way, just keep going forward, keep
in the process. And he hit a drive with anything
a little better than he did in regulation. And I

(49:23):
think maybe having Justin Rose hit before him, having hit
the superb iron shot that looked like it almost landed
in the cup, and there's no way of telling from
down in the fairway to that uphill lie uphill second
shot how close Justin's ball actually was, and Rory had
no choice but to kind of go for broke and

(49:46):
the shot of the day.

Speaker 2 (49:48):
We saw his emotion when he won. How were you
when he won?

Speaker 4 (49:57):
Well? I wanted to jump up, up and down like crazy.
The Rolex suite where we watched it. We were an
invited guest of a friend of ours, and Rory is
not a Rolex sponsored athlete in me because he sponsored athletes,
so we had to be a little bit careful that situation.

(50:17):
I think of the golfing world, including the Rolex people
were elated for Rory. No do that this is good
for the game of golf, and I was balling my
eyes out. I couldn't contain myself.

Speaker 2 (50:37):
I don't think you were alone, Brad, No, my.

Speaker 4 (50:40):
Wife was right next to me trying as well. I
know a few people that she had a tear.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
I know you're on the road. I know you're traveling.
I can't thank you enough for taking the time to
do this. It was good to see you. I wish
we had had more time, but it was good to
see you last week. Thank you for taking the time
today to do this.

Speaker 4 (51:04):
Well. John, You're always nice to call me and I
love listener to you. All right, John, get me to
talk to you.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Thanks. Fred. There you go. That's Fred Faxon. Don't go away,
We're coming right back. You're listening to the Augusta Golf
Show with John Patrick here on News Talk and Information
w g AC.

Speaker 11 (51:21):
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Speaker 1 (51:25):
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He will keep him out of the doghouse when he's
been away from the house five hours when he wasn't
supposed to only be gone but three and a half
or four. So that's a good thing for him to

(51:48):
do to stay out of the doghouses, call his wife
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Speaker 13 (52:49):
Get there, Hi, This is a fuzzy zeller and you're
listening to the Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick.

Speaker 14 (52:55):
For more than one hundred and twenty five years, Pinehurst
Resort has been the home of a Maria, and yet
there's never been a better time to be there. In
twenty twenty four, the US Open returned to Donald Ross's masterpiece,
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(53:16):
including its newest Tom Doaks, rugged and breathtaking design of
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(53:36):
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Speaker 16 (53:55):
Golf Course superintendents are the unsung heroes of our great game,
and because their efforts, we now have turf that needs
less water, courses that are more sustainable, with many now
offering natural wildlife habitats from the days of old Tom Morris.
Golf course superintendents have given golfers a reason to love
this great game. But don't take my word for it.
Jack Nicholas agrees.

Speaker 14 (54:16):
If you love golf like I do, thank a golf
course superintendent.

Speaker 16 (54:19):
A message from the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America
and local superintendents everywhere.

Speaker 1 (54:26):
If you enjoy the show, follow John online on x
at Augusta Golf Show and become a fan of the
show on our Augusta Golf Show Facebook page.

Speaker 2 (54:37):
Welcome back to the Augusta Golf Show. I'm John Patrick.
It's time for our Why I Love the Game segment.
It's portion of the show where somebody tells us why
the game of golf is so important and so meaningful
in their life. This morning, we have a Grammy Award
winning artist Darius Rucker telling us why he loves the
game of golf.

Speaker 13 (54:59):
I just love being outside, I love I love the
you know, I love how this.

Speaker 4 (55:05):
Is good thing.

Speaker 13 (55:06):
I really loves how it's never the same twice. I mean,
I've never had two rounds that were even remotely close
to the saying it. And like you know, for me, well,
I leave my show and when I wake up in
the morning after leaving the show, I'm at a golf
course and I just love playing and I love being
all my buddies and I love me against the course.

Speaker 2 (55:25):
Are short and sweet Darius Rutger and why he loves
the game of golf. If you would like to comment
about anything you heard on the show this morning, good
or bad, I would love to hear from you. I
do love the feedback. I would love to know what
you think. Send me an email John at Augustagolfshow dot com. Okay,

(55:47):
John at Augustagolfshow dot com. Become a fan of the
show on our Facebook page, The Augusta Golf Show with
John Patrick, follow me on x at Augusta Golf Show.
And if you missed any of the converse here this
morning with Bob Rotella and or Brad faxon just know
they're all available up on the website Augustagolfshow dot com

(56:09):
slash listen. Well, that's the show for this morning. I
do want to thank my guests, Doctor Bob Rotella, Brad Faxon.
Thank you for taking the time to listen. I I
asked this of you every weekend. Please make sure the
other members of your foursome know about the show. Tell
them when it's on the radio, but also remind them
these days. The show is available on demand twenty four

(56:30):
to seven on the iHeartRadio app. It's available on iTunes,
Apple Podcasts. However, you and they stream at home Back
to normal. Wallace AND's Son Lawn and Garden Show is
coming up next c and see Automotive Show after that.
This morning, Mary Liz ab a newly married Jenna and
I will be back Monday morning at five point thirty.

(56:51):
Did that sound like Jenna and I got married. Have
a great weekend. Thank you for listening to The Augusta
Golf Show with John Patrick. Stay well and please stay safe.
I'll see you next time. So long, bye bye.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
The Augusta Golf Show with John Patrick is a production
of the Murto Group, which is solely responsible for its
content Copyright twenty twenty five. The theme for The Augusta
Golf Show was written and performed by Jim Brickman. I'm
Jeff Lawrence, and we'll see you next time.