Q:
Can you summarize what the Travelers Championship was like for you?
Jay:
All week was like I lived in a movie. It was like I scripted a movie, but the only difference is that if it was a movie I would have won. But then reality caught up right there at the end, and Hunter just hit some shots that I couldn’t duplicate basically. And my wife said that there were people on the hill that were crying, it was just bizarre; it is really bizarre.
Q:
How significant of a role has Land Resource played in your life this year?
Jay:
Well, I think if we go back to January. I came down [to Orlando] and played golf with Mike Flaskey [CEO of Land Resource]. It was a professional member guest tournament and we won. I was trying to figure out where my life was headed at that point and Mike really stepped up to the plate for me. He said this is what we want to do at Land Resource, we want to get involved with you and we want to be your primary partner this year.
I said, great, let’s do it. Mike and Land Resource were there from the very beginning. And when no one else saw potential, Land Resource did. Mike has always believed in me. That was certainly a huge confidence booster for me.
Obviously, playing golf you aren’t thinking of the hat or the things that you are wearing, but just knowing, you know, as Mike has told me, that there are a lot of people within the company and the entire Land Resource family who are pulling for me. That is nice to know, especially when the competition heats up.
Q:
How did your performance affect your family?
Jay:
When my daughter came down the hill, and was obviously very disappointed, that was a tough moment because the last thing I wanted to do that day was hurt anybody. My daughter, who’s eight now, Whitney, quite honestly was really affected by that deal and I was really kind of surprised by that. Even the last couple of days I’ve noticed that she just kind of looks at me in a different way. I think she was so shocked and so struck by the situation that it really affected her -- probably someday in a good way, but I think at the time it was difficult for her. Not J.T. my 4-year-old. Quite honestly he had no clue what was going on, bless his heart. He was trying to tell Whitney when she got there that we had been to the dinosaur park and seen the dinosaurs and he just wasn’t able to ingest the situation. And George, who will be two in October, George was obviously just a wild man. But Whitney was really affected by it.
Q:
Any other thoughts on your family?
Jay:
I’m very blessed. I have a wife, Marnie, that has always supported me and has been my biggest cheerleader. Now, obviously Hunter’s a young guy so he doesn’t have a family yet and he has a lot to look forward to in that respect. But when you decide to have kids, you take on a lot. And having three kids and living the life we do is pretty crazy. I’ll be the first to admit that we, as a family, needed this to happen. Everything happens for a reason, but we needed this to happen, to kind of, you know… I’ve been saying for a while now, even though I won on the Nationwide Tour and that is all fun and good, I needed something like this to happen, on this level, so I could confirm to myself and to my family that this is what I should be doing. And to have it happen like that was just incredible.
Certainly having a family, I’ll be the first to admit it, wasn’t the best thing for my golf game just because you have to be so selfish, but there’s no question that my family is good for me personally. It has added a whole lot to my life that I would never want to change.
Q:
I don’t think spectators saw you lose a tournament but rather witnessed you gain a personal victory. Would you agree?
Jay:
That’s what everyone has told me. As the days slip away, it stings a little bit more to be honest with you. Just because of all the things that a win would have carried with it. Now certainly, the way I finished, it kind of got me “out of jail” basically. I served my penance on the Nationwide Tour and it was just my time to get out. And so at least it did that for me and it gives me a chance to play out here on unlimited sponsor’s exemptions throughout the rest of the year and try to finish in the top 125 and stay out here again next year. That’s what I’ve got to take – I’ve got to look at it as a positive. Obviously it’s a huge positive. I made a lot of fans and Land Resource came through loud and clear; I’m thankful for that.
Q:
Can you give us some insight into the hours right after the tournament?
Jay:
In golf you don’t really have teammates. When you walk in a locker room, you walk in with other players but they’re all hoping to beat you. There is camaraderie, but it is a little artificial I think. But I’ll tell you what, walking in the locker room after Sunday I was really touched by how many people genuinely felt good for me. I remember Paul Stankowski saying it was great for golf to see two guys that people have never heard of to step up under those conditions, under extreme playoff conditions and under the stress, and hit good shots that weren’t named Tiger and Phil. He said it was really good for golf; it was good for the PGA TOUR that two guys could play like that under the circumstances.
Q:
Did you talk with Hunter after the one-hole playoff?
Jay:
A little bit when he basically finished me off, but other than that I never saw him. I did see his caddie and his caddie was obviously very nice to me. I think…Well, I was obviously proud of the way I played, proud of the way I hung in there because I had never been in that situation before. I was proud of the way I held myself together afterwards. You know, I’m not usually the strongest person under emotional duress. I have a tendency to maybe shed a tear at inappropriate times and I was really surprised that I was as strong as I was.
Q:
Compare the way you played at Travelers to your Nationwide victory.
Jay:
This was a different week for me. This was unlike any other week I‘ve had because I was basically leading the whole time. You know I’ve never really had a tournament where I was basically leading from start to finish. I’d never been in that kind of situation. So, I was feeling it obviously all week, where the Nationwide event I came pretty much from behind. This time I had to sleep on the lead and do things like that which adds to the whole stress level. Playing with David Toms on Saturday was a great experience too. Obviously he is a world-class player and you know, I held my own with him and that’s actually what gave me some confidence on Sunday to go out there and feel like I could perform. It was very different than my Nationwide Tour win.
The Travelers Championship was an incredible experience and hopefully I can play in a few more with similar or better results. When you reach the top in a tournament you just never want it to end, even though you want it to end immediately, you want to get to the finish line, but make sure that you don’t blow it, that you don’t do anything stupid or embarrass yourself. You just want to get to the finish line. Then, this week, you want to start it all over again.
Q:
How do you transfer your success from last week to the Buick Open?
Jay:
Well, I’m trying. You know it’s just golf. Getting out there and just trying to do the same things. Although I am still trying to make adjustments, golf is always about making adjustments and trying to get better and that is what I am doing. I’m playing in the Pro-am today [Wednesday]. I’ll just try to prepare to play the golf course, just try to do some of the same things I did last week.
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