Three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Matt McCarty sits with PGATOUR.COM's Kevin Prise for a wide-ranging interview on his success this season resulting in his promotion to the PGA TOUR. The Scottsdale, Arizona native also discusses his origins into the game and his time at Santa Clara University. Plus, Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton provides the information you need for the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Talk of the TOUR Golf Podcast
Matt McCarty on his incredible 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season and his PGA TOUR debut this week & Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton gives his picks for the Sanderson Farms Championship
What's going on? Hello, and welcome to the Talk of the Tour podcast. I'm Paul Hodlonek, staff writer for PGA Tour.com, hosting again this week as we turn the page from the President's Cup and get back into the FedEx Cup ball, as well as the final leg of the Corn Fairy Tour finals. We begin there where our resident KFT expert, Kevin Price, talks with Matt McCarty, who has locked up his spot as number one in the Corn Fairy Tour standings. He's won three times a season and with it got an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. He's taking advantage of that this week in the field for the Sanderson Farms while the other KFT players are battling it out one more week. Then I bring in Rob Bolton, preview the Sanderson Farms Championship and our best vats for the week ahead. All right, let's jump in. Welcoming in Matt McCarty to the pod, Matt three wins and six starts on the Corn Fairy Tour and clinching that three victory promotion to the PGA Tour to be above the reshuffle category in 2025 and just a great kind of season and summer and building from the last couple of years where you were close in 2023. In terms of your great play this year, what has been kind of the extra edge you've found for these three wins and six starts in just such an epic heater. Obviously like just playing good golf in general, but I think just kind of like learning how to play in competition a little bit or in contention a little bit out here. You know obviously after Colorado like kind of didn't have a great Sunday but was playing really well and learned a lot that week and I think to kind of keep it rolling the next week in Springfield was great. Nothing really specific but just a lot of little things over the last three years that have kind of added up like things I've learned here and there and just growing like a lot in different aspects of my game as well. You know all the travel and learning how to kind of play tournaments and how much golf 26 events is but four rounds each week and everything and just I think mentally more than anything like not putting too much emphasis on like a single shot and just really going out there and like having fun and playing golf honestly. Is having fun when you're playing, is that like natural to you or was there a time like early in your pro career missing cuts and stuff where the fun was harder to come by? Yeah I mean I think it's always come natural like I grew up playing with my dad so it was always fun like we would always do that I had a good group of buddies in high school that I played with. We had a great team at college at Santa Clara like it was always fun to play and kind of the same out here like you know a lot of good guys out here and a lot of good buddies and it's just nice you know Tuesdays, Wednesdays are fun and then you get paired together in tournaments and stuff it's fun. My first year out here you know is good I made the first seven cuts you know in 22 so I think that was kind of helpful to settle me down a little bit and kind of like ease myself into you know having my card out here and I only had those first eight guaranteed that year so it's nice to kind of play my way into the rest of the season and just kind of you know have that freedom honestly early but yeah. You get that third win you have your PGA Tour Card you hold your PGA Tour Card when you have that in your hand what is like going through your mind. Yeah I mean it was cool I get all happened you know all these wins kind of came in the last couple months so it all happened quickly so like I wasn't necessarily expecting it but to hold the trophy and Boise and then my card as well was pretty cool it was definitely like a surreal moment I knew it was coming but to like kind of have it in your hand is definitely different for sure. In this pod I always like to go back to the roots and kind of the origins in the game you mentioned growing up playing with your dad so how old were you where did you start playing kind of those type of things when you think of your. Yeah I mean I had like you know one of the like plastic clubs when I was like a couple years old you know like just hitting those around and like the basement stuff and but yeah I mean just kind of played I played everything growing up baseball basketball but yeah like golf kind of during the summers and then just like it was a good way to kind of spend time with you know my dad and family too and outside and just kind of spanking the ball around you know but yeah it was good. Is there a first tournament win or a first time breaking par or 80 or do you have any memories like that that stick out in terms of like a first great golf accomplishment? I don't know if I was like 12 or 13 but probably the first time I beat my dad we'd play like on Thanksgiving every year like a serious match you know so I finally beat him there which was great like I was fun and then I ended up going to my coach Dave Williams he took me out there like a week or two later and he's like I don't think you're gonna listen to me anymore so finally started that but still working with Dave too so Dave's been like a great mentor and person for me as well in the game so it's been awesome. Was there one main course you played at growing up or did you bounce around kind of the kind of bounced around my dad's been in the men's club out at Dobson Ranch in Mesa forever so kind of grew up going out there but I mean just a lot of different places around Phoenix Scottsdale honestly yeah and Dave Williams what was the connection did your dad know him or he was just like a buddy of my dads and you know super old school guy and teaches at McCormick Ranch which was right down the road so yeah I just worked out really well but I mean started going out to him when I was like 12 or 13 and still doing it so it's been cool to like kind of you know stick with the process and kind of like doing it you know my way and in a comfortable aspect has been been really nice. When you say your way like in your own words what is your way what are the key kind of principles that you keep in mind as you work your way through and just being on. I mean I think a lot of just like having fun especially like you know my first second year out here on the road and like you know we play in 25-26 events like this is our life is you know basically being on the road traveling we're out here half the year so like to be able to take it light off the course have fun like it helps my catty doss is like we're teammates in college like good buddies and not trying to like change anything with my swing if I'm not hitting it well or like make any like serious change just kind of sticking with what I know and I've gotten all four years in college last three years I've continually like kind of improved in a lot of different aspects but it's been nice just to kind of see that gradual climb of like you know literally just trying to get it's cliche but like just trying to get like 1% better every day you know. When you think of the decision to pursue golf as your career as your livelihood was there a time or age whether middle or high school or was it in college when it clicked where you're like this is what I'm going to pursue yeah I mean I think high school I wasn't really thinking like I think it was always like a dream you know to play professional golf play on the PJ tour like grew up watching all those guys so like that's like a thing growing up as a kid that you want to do but yeah in high school is kind of just like the goal of just keep improving get good enough to like you know get recruited by some colleges be able to like play in college at the D1 level you know and then my sophomore year of college I won one of our events in San Diego moved up and the amateur rankings enough to get into a lot of the good like summer events like the western the north south and stuff like that so then kind of playing against those guys and you know having some success out there but seeing like that I could compete you know and then towards the end of college to kind of continue improving my game and I realized you know is like nothing rather do this than sit behind a desk so yeah it was lucky enough to have a lot of support for my family but a ton of people around as well you know it's financially tough to like start your pro golf career it's like you need some money to get going so I've been lucky enough to have that support from good people as well which has been great do you still play golf with your dad yeah yeah not as much as we I mean just with traveling so much and everything but yeah we still play it's a good time yeah do you give him shots or does he like handicap himself with T's or something with yeah I mean he doesn't like taking shots he definitely needs some now but he's still a good player you know he's a good player in his own right so it's competitive it's fun he hits it nice he's got to work on the pot in a little bit but it's good it's good we have a lot of fun kind of just growing up like that's how we spent a ton of time together you know was like on the golf course and it's been it's been a great way for like our relationship you know as a father son to grow as well too so it's been good totally do you still like play any other sports pickup wise not really I mean no I mean I'll play like a little bit of pickleball here and there not too much I just I spent enough time doing this I think I spent a lot of time watching sports on the couch now more than anything what sports do you like to watch it was convenient we had the last couple weeks off football season starting so it's great you know nice nice weekend on the couch last weekend kind of everything you know whatever is on TV honestly but yeah probably football my number one so are you an Arizona Cardinals fan no I actually I lived in Seattle as 10 so Seahawks fan for the NFL and then my grandpa played football ASU so it kind of grew up a sun double fan as well so yeah we'll see Seahawks look good you know defense was okay week one work on the offense a little bit do you have other favorite teams besides the Seahawks and Sun Devils like in other sports like in basketball or hockey year yeah yeah like I you know the Sun's obviously from Phoenix and then I'm kind of my dad's family's from Chicago so I kind of grew up a Cubs fan my little sister goes to Tennessee so I've kind of adopted the Vols now is my you know SEC football team do you play fantasy football yeah I'm in a couple of leagues we had a tough week one but we'll work the waiver while a little bit I was on the waiver wire last night yeah we're talking in week two and I got destroyed in both my leagues and I'm like tight ends her grind and trying to figure out a tight end yeah it's tough I've never been good at fantasy so we'll work our way up there yeah exactly do you play in a league with your caddy by chance yeah yeah we actually got a couple so all of our college buddies from Santa Clara and everything yeah it's good so sometimes on the course does the talk like when you're on the course yeah we're playing each other this week so this weekend might get a little contentious here that will go from there yeah so having dev on the bag that wrote to us your college teammate what was kind of the genesis of him coming out on the bag and just it's almost in a way a type of Joel and Gino type of vibe just kind of friends from kind of pre pro career coming out he was done at Santa Clara after four years and then I ended up staying that fifth year for COVID so he was like working a job you know sales job for like that year and I was just kind of you know my dad catted for me kind of that summer a little bit and then through Q school got me through and then I was just texting with dev he was like I don't really like my job and wanted to do something else I was like if you know if I make it through I'm gonna need a caddy I'd rather have you know like a buddy than just somebody random to kind of you know make the travel more fun and kind of go to all these new places together has been good he obviously played college golf as well so he knows the game well but I think caddings are definitely a different perspective so I think both of us you know I've grown a lot with my game but I think him as well of how he kind of sees golf courses and sees you know each round and everything he has a lot of input which I think is helpful and like we've kind of grown a lot together of like learning through some ups and downs which has been cool to see and yeah it'll be exciting for both of us next year yeah totally the conversations what type of stuffs you guys talk about on the course like the percentage of like you know game planning and golf stuff versus random off course life stuff it's probably like 50/50 I think it's more so like kind of keeping it light you know when things aren't going well it tries not to let me get too upset but then also just you know walking the shots just talking about other stuff like what we're doing for dinner or whatever but then like kind of over the ball or right before just like talking about you know what we think the wind's doing and you know kind of where we want to be and everything so little bit of strategy but also too like he's kind of helped with the mindset of you know everybody goes so low out here so like just kind of keep the pedal down and keep it going too I think it's hugely important out here for sure I know you guys last year had a kind of nickname the road dogs is that still going or yeah yeah yeah we're still on the road all the time we're still dogs so yeah who came up with that Nick and I think it kind of generated from like the part of my take guys when they did like that road trip with like we listened that podcast a lot you know shout out Big Cat PFT just kind of like being on the road so much and then just like yeah kind of having that dog in you has been like a term we've used like in college and everything so yeah I mean I guess just kind of randomly I guess back to Santa Clara with going to college there I know you mentioned on shout out Ping Proving Grounds podcast I listened to that before this interview what was the genesis to go and I know you said you're pretty proud to be the first in a while from Santa Clara to make it to the PGA tour so what's it kind of mean to represent them at this level and how did you end up you know deciding to go there yeah I mean it means a lot like it's pretty cool I didn't really realize that until after you know I kind of was tour bound and everything of you know coach reached out and said that so it's it's very cool and kind of like surreal in that aspect I kind of just wanted to go somewhere that I knew I could kind of like play as a freshman and being in the WCC is a good conference but we played like a really good schedule as well and I went on a visit up there and you know being from Arizona I kind of didn't want to go somewhere that was super cold like play year round and just fell in love with like the campus and all the golf courses we got to play like in San Francisco Monterey I mean it's beautiful up there so yeah it's just it was a lot of fun it worked out great and I had a great experience up there for sure when do you feel like your game was ready to be on the PGA tour was it sometime in college or did it take these couple years out here to get to that point I mean honestly I felt like it was getting close last year you kind of earn it when you're ready so I would say now but yeah I mean last year it was kind of tough being on that bubble for all the whole summer and kind of early fall I guess but yeah it was good I played a lot of good golf last year there were a few things this offseason was able to gain a little bit more distance and I think that's been helpful kind of especially to help scoring on par fives and some of that stuff out here but I think it's been like a lot of growth and just like a lot of little things kind of add up and earlier this year I was playing some good golf probably not getting some of the results that I felt like I could have been you know there's moments where you get a little frustrated and down on yourself but I think I kind of handled that a lot better this year than last year and I think that's kind of a big aspect of being able to you know get to the PGA tour obviously and then hopefully be very helpful again next year just kind of have that same mentality for sure what was it that allowed you to handle those moments better this year I think just honestly like it's just belief and just kind of like trusting myself and also just patience like not trying to force it being okay after Colorado with playing well but not getting it done and just kind of having the patience of the next week just to like kind of go out there and play golf again you know and not put too much emphasis on the past and just kind of moving forward staying focused on like the next round and the next shot I think more than anything has been helpful for sure and you mentioned earlier in the year that you wanted to be kind of more intentional about being ready to hit a shot kind of this year as opposed to maybe last year is that something that's been part of it to visualization is huge and just kind of seeing it before you actually are over the ball and hit it I think is important kind of just taking your time and thinking about but I think yeah visualization more than anything has been huge is that something like you talk about like with your coach I know you mentioned on a pod or somewhere I saw that you might have a three hour session and an hour of it is mechanical and two hours you might talk about golf and yeah approaching the game and yeah exactly so I think golf's obviously a lot of your performance is hitting shots but I think a lot of it is how you kind of strategy how you manage the course but also kind of like how you manage your emotion and your mental state when you're out there for sure is Dave Williams like de facto mental coach in a way or do you have yeah I mean he kind of has been I've been working with a guy Jeff Becker for the last like three or four years he's like a mental performance coach and that's what he does he's a basketball guy so I think it's kind of nice to have some more of like an overall athlete mindset sometimes than just like golf specific stuff but yeah Dave's like a philosopher as well so we spent a lot of time talking about the game and just he played at a high level as well so like also kind of his experiences and what he's seen from other players as well too I think like your demeanor is kind of big out there and just kind of sticking with what you do and not trying to be like anybody else is huge too it's easy to like kind of I think out here like especially my first year compare yourself to you know some of these guys and you really just kind of have to play your own game and be the best that you can be and hopefully that's good enough you know for sure what do you like to do to get away from golf to kind of unplug I know you mentioned sit on the couch and watch sports and stuff do you have other like random hobbies honestly just with us being on the road so much just like spending a lot of time with my girlfriend you know hanging out with her going to dinners and stuff and I mean just a bunch of random stuff having a few beers here and there having fun more than anything when you're in dev do you have any like fun little side bets or challenges or stuff that you like come up with either whether it's in practice rounds or just little subplot things that you have or does it not really go kind of a little bit nothing consistent just some random stuff here they'll pop up I'd say yeah we play a lot like together as well on the road like we try to get some fun rounds in so I think that more than anything he hasn't been able to beat me yet the last three years I've been able to hold on to that but yeah we've had some good matches you know I gotta give him some pops obviously we've got some fun games going and with Mason and his caddy Trevor we've played some fun like worst ball scramble stuff this year and some crazy stuff like that so it's fun keep it light and I think to just how much tournament rounds and serious golf we play it's nice to honestly just go out and have fun and not care what you shoot sometimes and just try to hit some shots and learn some things that way as well so is it like a Wednesday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon you've Monday you've had some of these matches like early internment weeks or yeah I mean it's been nice this year you know third year out seeing most of these courses like taking them a little bit lighter you know Monday we'll travel if we get in somewhere early we'll play that afternoon Tuesday we might just play nine early and then do something go play somewhere else we have an opportunity just a lot of that it's one fun place you've played in Jersey we got out Tuesday to Pine Valley which was that was a pretty sweet week but yeah we've had some good ones this year we played Cherry Hills in Colorado but yeah PV takes the cake for sure that plays a special our host that we stayed with last year he's a member out there so reached out to him and he was able to come out and hang out with us and it was fun day so it's cool it's awesome when you think of the grind of what it takes and being mentally rested and fresh for tournaments like if you felt fresh like on the first teeth Thursday and just in multiple weeks in a row I guess or is that something you've had to like learn to pace yourself yeah I think last year that summer stretch versus tough you know you got like the seven in a row week off for the fourth and then seven after so we're playing fourteen out of fifteen weeks out here if you're playing all of them but last year during that stretch you know I got a little tired and it's obviously easier to kind of keep your energy up when you're playing well I think as opposed to playing poorly but yeah honestly like before these two weeks off the last seven is like you know we've had some fun rounds just kind of nine Tuesday nine Wednesday not really obviously playing well but not trying to like over exert myself on the range or you know kind of just keep it light and but also conserving you know your energy for Thursday through Sunday is definitely important and I think being out here a third year seeing the courses like that's kind of helpful and comfortable so that'll be you know obviously more to kind of like learn and manage next year with a lot of new courses and everything but I think what I learned last year each week like the course is different but it's still golf you're still kind of doing the same stuff hitting the same shots and you don't need to really overdo anything especially like when you're kind of like in a groove and playing well so is there anyone out here that's given you advice of how to just approach being a pro or strategizing out here yeah I mean there's been a lot of guys you know I think the camaraderie out here overall is great and a lot of the guys that have been playing for a while you get advice from them like stuff off the course like how to travel like where to stay and certain stuff like that but then yeah just like how you know seeing these guys that have you know had great careers on tour and they've you know been playing golf at a high level for a long time and just kind of seeing how they kind of like manage their game and you know kind of like their mental state out there I think you know in college you see it a lot but like even early out here it's tough to like not put so much emphasis on each round and each shot you hit you know like you're gonna hit bad shots you're gonna have bad days like golf is tough it's not supposed to be easy so I think reminding yourself that is super important I think I've learned that from people but also like observing kind of what guys are doing out here as well who's someone that comes to mind of someone that has done something that's stuck with you I played in the US Open a Prox round with Lanto Griffin played with Jonathan Bird this year just a bunch of guys honestly like Cody Blake was helpful for me code he's just an awesome dude and like he's seeing how positive he is all the time like you know my first year out here I think that was good to see so your dad was from Chicago moved to Seattle this family from Chicago both my parents grew up in Phoenix area Tempe was born there my dad we moved up to Seattle for like my first 10 years my two little sisters were born up there and then we moved back you know when I was 10 and 11 so you know kind of lived up there a little bit so kind of adopted the Seahawks and everything and got some good family friends up there still and everything Pacific Northwest is awesome but I grew up in Scottsville I would say your first like golf memories though would be in Seattle yeah river bend up there's like a little range you know they had it covered so even it was raining you go out play they had like a part three course up there and stuff me and my dad would go out at so yeah definitely nice and in terms of the distance gains I know you mentioned what was the inspiration honestly like just my first year out here just kind of seeing how far in college everybody hit it far too but seeing how far everybody hit it and like you know being 15 20 30 yards behind guys isn't fun especially over the course of the season so I was a late bloomer too skinny kid I mean still kind of am but just learning when you're playing this many events like college really play like 11 or 12 so like learning how to kind of take care of your body and the emphasis you have to put on that when you're playing golf this much and also to like just solely to keep kind of your energy up throughout the year as well I think it's super important so I've been working with THP in Scottsville for the last few years some more golf specific stuff but like honestly like mobility kind of injury prevention as well as huge but also to like gain some speed and gain some distance so I think I gained a little bit of distance my first year to second year and then kind of last year to this year as well so it's it's been good but uh you know always work in progress for sure instead of blended things that's helped you gain the distance or is there any like specific exercise or drill or routine I think it's just kind of overall strength I've been using the stack system now for speed training those sticks for probably like a year and a half now so that's been helpful and then also like with gaining some speed making pings been awesome to like kind of make some adjustments and equipment and kind of you know get the ball going out of the right windows with the right spin and everything but yeah honestly a combination everything and we don't do anything ourselves so having good team around me has been great too yeah and I know you mentioned on the pink pod a seven wood that you've been using are you still using yeah seven one yeah seven one's been good as a good addition last year kind of to be more aggressive on some long par threes and some par fives with coming in a little bit higher ball with some spins been fun but yeah it's good it's a fun club to have I didn't I never really thought I would have a seven wood but it's been something really cool so what it was like the inspiration to put that in the bag I would never like a huge like hybrid person and the two three iron sometimes really tough especially if it's like a little firmer seeing like maybe some other guys had them you know either out here on tour and just having DB build one and I hit it well and knows yeah it's good from there awesome do you have a favorite shot around or moment kind of maybe not necessarily a win but over it could be this year or any year a day that six out that you learned from or you were proud of or like kind of a critical moment or even a tournament out here that kind of comes to mind in 22 I made like a 35 footer to get in a playoff for the US Open and ended up qualifying that was pretty awesome and I think that was like a big thing I played well that week at the US Open I missed the cup by one but I think that was like a big week to kind of show me that I could you know compete against a lot of those guys that I grew up watching on TV and everything and also like on that tough of a golf course and kind of like that stage it was a lot of fun and I think it was a tough week for me to like miss the cut and everything but looking back on it I learned a lot that week and I think gained a lot of confidence as well I didn't win in Colorado but that ship and I had on 15 for Eagle down below the hill that was probably one of the cooler shots I've hit you know like in contention so that was a lot of fun I couldn't see it going but to like have the crowd kind of react that way like you know it went in and that was cool for sure and there's this fun random moment it's like a putt you made I think first or second round in Utah that was captured on Golf Channel I don't know if you've seen this clip but you make a putt and you and Dev kind of have a fun celebration yeah we were uh hitting it well all day and I think I don't know what hole that was for us but like probably like 14 of the day and we just couldn't get anything to go and that one honestly probably wasn't one of the better putts I hit kind of like pushed a little but it just curled and dropped and yes you always like react more to like the ones that just like happen to on like a day that's not as good versus like the one you hit perfect you know so it was fun yeah it's almost like a microcosm of the approach of having fun and like even though it's a job and work and a grind being able to have fun at work you feel like helps you play your best enjoy those moments and that like every moment be locked into your process like yeah and exactly like I think that's a big thing it's tough when this becomes a job and like obviously like to add pressure with that and everything but I think reminding yourself that I'm so lucky to be out here to be able to like have an opportunity to do this but also like to do this for a living now this is what I would do for fun like I'd play golf anyway I would love to do this anyway so it's like now to have that opportunity on top like you have to enjoy it when you're out here and honestly like enjoying the competition and testing what I'm able to do against all these other guys that are great players and challenging yourself in that aspect is tough and moments but it's also like very fun as well and it's like kind of what is the reason why I think all of us kind of get out of bed in the morning and honestly spend so much time practicing and working on the game and going to the gym and it's a unique opportunity we have but you have to like appreciate it too and have fun with it I think is super important for sure did you have any like sports heroes growing up whether it was golf or other sports I love Dwayne Wade growing up he was probably like my favorite basketball player when Tiger came back obviously Tigers you know the goat and everything I just love sports growing up so like a ton of athletes but I'd say those kind of stuck out Steve Nash or like after going to Santa Clara like Steve Nash went there and then also being from Phoenix like that that's cool connection what's it gonna mean playing the Phoenix Open I think that's probably like what I'm looking forward to the most next year is like I grew up going out there you know we do the standard bear and growing up we weasel our way into 16 and the stands in high school and college and stuff the atmosphere out there is it's awesome and I think that's kind of a big part of like I grew up going out there and people are having fun like all supposed to be fun you know it's like a party out there and I think to be able to go out there and play and you know now when I'm at home I practice at TBC Scottsdale so now it's my home course I'm a little bit more comfortable with it it'll be a lot of fun I'll have so many I probably knew a couple hundred people out there you know anyway so like now that I'll be playing it'll be a lot of fun to have a lot of family and friends out there for sure absolutely and last couple and always appreciate the time thanks for reminiscing and reflecting on the journey it's always a pleasure I wanted to ask the Butterfinger story that I heard in your Wedge stamps and kind of how that came about yeah so we're in Sarasota in Florida this year on I think it was Sunday on hole eight but yeah I'm just like right in the middle of the fairway grabbing my club putting my glove on you know very standard procedure and just drop the club right on the ball and ball like goes shooting you know few yards like forward kind of and me and Doss are just like sitting there like laughing at each other we're in like 20th so we're having like a solid week you know especially early in the year neither of us really thought it was a penalty we called Rosefish Oliver like yeah like strokes like okay is what it is move it back but hit it to like you know 25 feet and made the putt and kind of like curled one in so I think is good karma on that aspect but yeah it was fun and then next week Ping had the truck in Texas and DV comes up to me and he's like fixed your 50 degree like I heard something's wrong with it I was like I don't think there's anything wrong with it but like okay and then Doss snap butter fingers on it so it's a good story but I think we've got to keep that even if we get a new one everybody thinks it's like the candy or something it's like no I just can't hold on to a club but haven't dropped it since so that's good vibes I guess it's amazing last year you were on the bubble at last tournament of the year cornfield tour championship and had kind of a struggle on the last hole on Saturday and made it eight and ultimately fell short of your card looking back now that your tour bound what did you learn from that was that like hard for you for a couple weeks in the off season and what allowed yeah it was tough throughout the off season but I think it was very motivating because honestly like on Saturday it's probably that eight was probably the worst hole I played out here but also like the eight or nine holes leading up to it was probably the best golf I had played out here it was very similar to kind of like my experience in the US Open like coming up short but giving myself confidence of knowing that I can play at that level and kind of like have that in me you know it was tough but I think very motivating I think everything happens for a reason and I think this year if I don't make the eight and like play well it's like what I have been ready for the PGA like you know what I mean and maybe could have struggled a little bit out there this year but now I feel like I've grown a lot more this year my game feels better than ever and I think I'm ready to be out there and I know I can compete out there so honestly like the way it's all kind of worked out it's been great so everything's a learning experience you know and you kind of just have to look at it that way I think is there anyone on tour you're excited to meet I mean it'd be cool to meet Tiger I think there's a lot of those guys Joel Damon, Homa like I like kind of like their attitudes and like their comedic relief I think but yeah honestly like a lot of those guys just to like kind of watch them work and how they go about you know their day their week and I think it'll be cool and a learning experience for sure I've played a lot with Mac Meisner out here so he's been up there so it'd be nice to take some money from him on Tuesdays again and stuff next year it'll be fun it'll be nice to do that again get that road dogs kind of gravel cats right where we get that you'll get that going back again I guess yeah perfect mad thanks so much for taking the time always a pleasure and that's the luck next season on the PGA tour yeah thank you thanks for having me all right we are back for our regular scheduled programming now that the President's Cup is over Rob Bolton has resumed his stead as the as the closer of these Wednesday talk of the tour episodes and Robert jumping right back in no time for a President's Cup hangover we are headed to the Sanderson Farms Championship this week also the Cornfairy Tour finals going on this week not sure they're betting markets for that so we're going to focus solely on Sanderson as we get ready here I think I want to start with the only player from the President's Cup who is in the field this week that would be Mackenzie Hughes I was on site in Montreal and there's a lot of talk about what a week like that can do for people can it spark them to win in further weeks especially maybe if they haven't won now Mackenzie has has won this tournament he knows what it feels like to win a tournament but kind of that that idea that you get a you get a boost after one of these weeks playing in the pressure pack scenarios that you inevitably face in team events we've seen that from Scotty Scheffler we've seen that from Tom Kim in the past so what say you about that Mackenzie Hughes coming into this week do you find that the bumper do you feel like emotionally that could be tough for him to kind of respond after what was an amazing week in Canada for him hey buddy good to see you again it's been been a few weeks so ready to get after it here for the FedEx Cup fall seven events and in eight weeks as far as being a closer I think I can still probably hit about 54 on the gun with this with this aging right arm I have here on a good day maybe throwing downhill with the wind so that appreciates the confidence that's all that matters yeah he was the only president's cup per uh competitor in the field could be only vjgas assistant captain also in the field this week but sheres the lowest odds to win this thing the same as what you did as you mentioned that was just two years ago yeah obviously he's committed to the event it's a it's a five-year exemption whenever he wants to burn it for winners into opens like this one so Sam Burns won the previous year not in the field the different reasons and and you know you can you can understand both ways to play or not to play this week after last week especially uh Burns of course on the winning team up in Montreal I think it just comes down to the guy you know uh mckenzie hues has a lot of fans in terms of uh the fact that he goes out there and he golfs his ball I think the fact that he's sharing the shortest eyes on the board with Keith Mitchell and maverick mealy's uni are talking here bet him gm plus 2200 uh is a reflection on the board itself but also the fact that we just saw him mckenzie hues play former winner and all of that so it's respectful from that perspective but expectations are not that high for him he's number six my power ranking so i'm not even into a top five at this point he doesn't present as a top five uh prop most of the time anyway um you know and this this tournament this course it makes available all sorts of uh skill sets and here we are in uh you know early october talking about it so yeah look you're gonna you're gonna go in to a mckenzie hues market probably targeting a top 10 but you're not gonna get much for it so when you're uh when you're thinking about uh uh divvying up your units perhaps a fraction of unit for that but you know maybe lean into something a little stronger uh for something else and then look at hues maybe a little bit later in the fall yeah you go down the list of the tournament winners here luke list last year out last a five person playoff uh year before that we have mckenzie hues sam berns is a winner here sergeo Sebastian Munoz cam champ ryan armor just running down the list it's not one type of player here so as you've looked into kind of the underlying data and just remembering uh what this tournament prioritizes what can we pick any certain skill that really sticks out for people that have won or people that have had success here good golfer kind of it kind of you just listed you went deep enough into the reverse chronological order of the winners at the country club of jackson there in central mrs sippy to get a flavor of the winners now the tournament itself has evolved from an additional event from a few years ago into its stand alone status now more fetish cup points uh you know invent invitation the masters for example all those things now come with it so the field has strengthened from those old days when it was opposite the world golf championships uh event in china but yeah there's never been a repeat winners never been a two-time winner um as you mentioned those skillsets they're all over the place uh and the course itself you have two and a half inch Bermuda rough at this time of year it's gonna be in the south it's gonna be just as luscious it was two months ago in the heat of the summer so no big deal there in terms of uh a difference uh but uh it yields one of the stingiest uh fairways hit percentage of all courses all year top ten typically and then greens and regulation is usually in the top half uh pretty comfortably top third type of thing uh and then uh putting ends up being sort of a difference maker but even then the greens are running up to 13 and experience hasn't really mattered we've had a bunch of first timers and the first debutants win this thing uh the first six winners of the tournament were first-time winners uh none of the last four were the last three needed at least two previous trips so it's all over the place and that's an amalgamation that any golf course any golf tournament would love to have it's like the players championship it's like the open championship i referenced it and this week so a golf bite insider so we have to be careful uh to to push all of the all of the units into any one skill set it's not a week to stack and dfs in terms of that uh angle as well so it's just equitable and that's one of the reasons i dig it i don't know if it would be as as compelling uh week after week after week but it is this week and we're gonna really relish it for when we have it because things will change next week with the new course head in the Vegas after that when things change so we have this wonderful pocket of time when we get back after it for the FedEx cup fall it's a course it's now and it's eleventh time as host there are no changes so guys can hit the ground running back in the FedEx cup fall but they can also find their games this week too it's gonna be a lot of compelling storylines that we don't see coming and a couple that we what we do and uh well it's a argument that we can make most of the time uh those are the factors that are really stepping forward this week yeah at the top of your power rankings you have Nick Dunlap who would fit maybe that first timers category as as we go through the history there you start off that just by saying good golf good golfers is is where we're looking here that would seem to be why Nick Dunlap's just number one for you what what kind of had you have him right at the top of the list well in full disclosure there isn't really an of a go-to number one this week there isn't that stand-up player you mentioned used to start you know tied for lowest odds Dunlap's third the 2500 plus 2500 with shame is power again you know anybody's paid attention to golf week after week after week these are not the guys that you're targeting uh at the top of the board or for the for the for the shortest odds at least and you know we're far cry from three digit odds so that's for that some of that equanimity comes from Dunlap just prevents most firepower yes he's won twice and he's an incredible story this year one of the best of the year uh but uh the fact that he committed he's just recently won not long ago uh over the summer and the fact that he's you know a southern kid like that is there's all sorts of good things going on there yes he's not from Mississippi he's an Alabama guy whatever but it's close enough and I know the southeast is the southeast is similar to the mid-agreens we can we can cite all of those things but for the top of the power rankings for this week I'm looking at firepower and Dunlap delivers that I want to go off the board someone that's not even in your power rankings but when you look at the betting odds I think you mentioned he has the third best odds that's Keith Mitchell uh one that as you go through some of the horse for course type stuff he fits some of those markers but clearly I know for other people I think oh maybe they just forgot Keith Mitchell's in the field certainly I know Rob you knew he was in the field so what was it about Keith that is maybe thinking he's not going to have the week that you know at least the odds makers would would set him up yeah I love Keith I've owned him several times in my season long leagues including this year so it pains me to cite him as missing the cut is the wild card in the golf bed inside of this week he's plus 260 when I wrote it on Tuesday so that's quite favorable for for investors he is one of those three who is shortest on the board of 2200 to win plus 2200 to win but he's over four on this course man over four for a guy who is as dynamite as he is from T to green you'd think at some point he is 171 and everything else is power or worse his scoring average is not good it's of course a little bit like Silverado that also can it's indiscriminate it can come up and bite you and sometimes the time of the year the guys have just finished the playoffs previously it was the start of the season so the dynamics are different you had uh you had a class of corn fairy tour graduates so the just a different mix it's different now since the fetish of fall has been introduced now in its second season uh so we're learning a little bit about how that's going to play effect maybe that'll be better for we'll see but he he's over four he has two consecutive 12th place finishes upon arrival yeah the metrics are always good for Keith that's one of the reasons I love owning him but more for the long range than for the short term I think he's a trap this week I'd be careful I want to pick your brain just a little bit on the fall schedule it's a little bit more sporadic than the week to it week in week out pj tour you know if someone plays right last week is in the field this next week we kind of know where their forms at right now we've had what two fulfilled pj tour events in the last you know two months just based off the playoffs and then you get a week off then you have pro-core then you get another week off and then it's it president's cup like it's been very sporadic for the guys that you know haven't worked in the playoffs weren't on the president's cup team so I see some of those players that have been hot in in your power raking someone like a pat fishburn like a patent gazire I'm just wondering how you're factoring in form at this stage of the year when we're taking weeks off it's a bit it's not like the normal cadence people are going through yeah that's going to be individual to the prognosticator and for me I think it's uh it's almost a shame that guys find some form entering the end of the regular season then then they they can't play they could go play the corn fairy if they wanted they don't they prefer the rest and you know that makes sense too and and whatever sort of you know injury or thing that might be bothering them or just to go reintroduce themselves of their family like I did in the last month that's important too for the mental so it's unfortunate that some of these guys have had to hit the brakes uh but we we keep the faith in with regards to some of them it's always call for specific you mentioned Patrick Fishburn one of the dynamite rookies of the last several months not going to be rookie the year unless he you know he'd have to win a couple of times this fall to really have a chance for it but it's out there form to go get it a patent gazire the winner of the pro-core championship we know a little bit more about patent the long term is is more favorable for support there but Fishburn has been dynamic no matter where he's played so you know he's playing new places patent gazire has been playing these courses for a while they both come in at from different angles uh in terms of the overall the general philosophy it's I I like the guys that you know have had chance to work on their games when they haven't had to go out and be pressured to perform for their jobs that's a good thing so I think at the end of the day it all neutralizes into some of the similar things that we go to week after week we just don't have as you said recent results it's sort of recent but it's all we got so you know we think about it we expect to learn from it and then take it forward in the next week and the week after we put something out there as I have for you know many many years and and we roll with it and so that's why I got to Keith Mitchell scares me this week despite all the factors that would would lead me to believe or lead others to believe that he deserves to be again sharing the lowest odds to win this thing perhaps if he was younger perhaps if he didn't already have some of that course experience that hasn't paid off um you know if it's if he's over two maybe we give him one more but the leash is already over four so again it's golfers specific uh and it's always been it's a great question it's something that will continue to contemplate as the Fedoska fall gets deeper and then we'll have more recent results that's like a tremendous 19th whole conversation pal it's a great question we could go on and out about it well I'll take the compelter thanks Rob uh two more guys out two more guys I want to hit Matt McCarty 15th in your power rankings if you're unfamiliar with the name don't blame you know he spent most all of the year on the corn ferry tour wins three times has secured the number one spot which gets him into the players next year the u.s. open as well so he's kind of accomplished everything he could set out to accomplish on the corn ferry tour so he's foregoing the final week of the corn ferry tour finals and starting kind of his promotion this week uh at the Sanderson it's a bit hard because we haven't seen him compete against this slate of professionals we've seen him play really really well in the corn ferry tour you could argue and I would hear your argument that he's one of the hottest golfers anywhere and you just take the form regardless of what tour it's on but with that unknown how do you approach him from a betting standpoint from a fantasy standpoint you're obviously comfortable enough to put him 15th but it's it's a bit of a I'm sure a hard one to follow because you're just not quite sure how he's gonna stack up how have you approached Matt in this first week that he's up the most important thing you said there's that he's he's been hot uh the three wins in his last six starts you're right he doesn't have to play this week so he's taken advantage of the membership on the PGA tour this is a free play I think it will sell tourists during the uh during the super season when he ended up winning rookie with the years a non-member there were only three rookies that year and he was a non-member uh loved following him and he it was arguably gonna be the best year as a professional golfer because he had absolutely nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain and that's Matt McCarty this week and then whenever he plays during the Fettest Cup fall these he has he has his job so there's McCarty sitting there thinking well I have nothing to lose I'm gonna go out and do this thing uh I love the dynamic mentally as that person so now he can just go play and do what he's been doing so wonderfully so expectations are high I kind of went into the week thinking he'll be in the power rank you know again relative to the field this week he belongs in the power rankings in a vacuum but I'm gonna respect the other 14 who have been out there doing it all year who are chasing who are more familiar potentially with the course that those sorts of regular attributes that we look at thought about sliding a little bit higher not much higher but I figured you know what will open with him and then give him the attention that he deserves and then if he finishes inside the top 15 or you know better than 15th and then that makes sense I just I love guys who have this opportunity this is the only time in his career where he'll probably have this because if he has to go through it again that means he'll have he'll have regressed and that'll be a different dynamic that won't necessarily be as positive as right now so it's a special time to be Matt McCarty and I'm all in for it all right last guy I want to talk about probably the most popular guy in field Ricky Fowler making his return to the BJ2 where he's welcome to kid in this time since he I mean it was shocking when I went and looked at it he hasn't played since the open it's been or we're going on almost in over two months now almost three that we've last seen Ricky Fowler in pj2 where competition and it wasn't good the last time we've seen him play and I wonder about his motivations this time of year because he won last year in Detroit so his car to secure he's not worried about that top 125 bubble he's probably in line for signature event exemptions because we know what how popular of a player he is I'm sure he would like to get there on his own number and not have to rely on them but is this just one of those things where you kind of are in a wait and see approach with Fowler this fall because we're just we're unsure of the form we're unsure of what he's shooting for like it's very hard to place Ricky in this because I wouldn't be surprised if a fresh restart he's out there contending but also if he shows some rust misses a few cuts that that wouldn't shock me either so are we just in a wait and see mode right now with Ricky I think I'd be surprised if he went out and played well this week especially I like the fact that he's out there you've already laid out in terms of his job he's safe and all that just as just as much as it's good to be Matt McCarty right now it's really it's always good to be Ricky Fowler let's face it so he's out there doing his thing he's he's unaffected by it as at least outwardly his balance in his life is where he wants it to be he's 35 now so you know he's he could be considered in his prime but he had a really early you know launch in his career so relative to him he could be entering his post prime we'll see he's got two young kids like that's a priority so golf tends to take this tends to take a back seat to that when I looked at the board and in areas in my in my other notables on the golf pit insider plus one one five for a top 40 that's Ricky Fowler that's not a misprint so if you like Ricky Fowler and there's a lot of people who do my myself included and you want to be on board with him this week with an opportunity he doesn't have to play he could be at home with his newborn all those sorts of things but here he is he's out there chasing the grind at plus money for a top 40 at least half a unit in that instance that's where I would get on board because again as I've said for years some of the best experience that you have whether it's in fantasy whether it's in betting now is when you attach yourself emotionally it's just so much more rewarding we obviously love the win but when you pick a guy like that for a low finish like a top 40 fields 132 it's 12 shorter than it was last year cut still low 65 in ties nothing different about that but Ricky Fowler in this field should be one of the shortest on the board and he isn't and he ends up being plus plus value for a top 40 the timing of to get on board for a guy like that who has that kind of firepower that we know despite the fact that I don't expect him to contend I like the fact that he's plus value for the top 40 so that's that's where I I land and I would understand and respect anybody who who thinks either way of that but the conservative in me understanding all the parameters is certainly as you laid them out I think that's where the the smart money should be this week with Ricky Fowler we will be following it all throughout this FedEx cup ball Rob will be here weekend and week out with us Rob thank you so much for the time all right pal good to see you again talk to you again when we talk to you thanks for listening to another episode of the talk of the tour podcast thanks again to Kevin Price and Matt McCarty for their time as well as Rob Bolton we'll be back again on Monday to recap all the action from the Sanderson Farms until then have a great week everyone