THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the champion of the 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship, Luke List. Luke, what a day that was. If we can get you to recap the day and what's going through your head right now.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, it's been an interesting last hour. Start of the day, I kind of had a number in mind and I think that kind of hindered my play early on, so then I tried to just free it up.
My ball-striking really wasn't there this weekend, but I was able to really scramble nicely and make some putts. I was just mentioning, it's very challenging to win out here. Ben played great, but 16 and 18 were playing difficult. Just to have the opportunity to get in a playoff, I felt like, wow, okay, this is a gift.
Then my mindset just switched into, okay, let's try to make birdie any way I could. Didn't hit the best iron shot, but I told my caddie, I'm making this, and I just somehow rolled it in.
Q. Take us through that playoff, just that one hole with five players.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, was in a playoff a couple years ago in Torrey Pines, so I'm familiar with that, and was able to kind of harness my emotions and hit a nice drive. Felt really comfortable in that moment, and then just once you get on the green, I've been rolling it well, and I hit really good putts in the last three in regulation, so just pick my line and get in the moment and just trust the line. It was awesome to see it go in.
Q. You won the first time on the TOUR in 2022, now again. Talk about what this does for you and also your plans now for the rest of the fall.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, it obviously opens up a lot of doors, the Sentry in Maui and Augusta and some stuff. I was just really happy with the way I hung in there mentally throughout the weekend without my "A" game, per se, golf swing. Usually in the past I would kind of fold up and get a little frustrated, and I was able to just hang in there. My caddie did a fantastic job on keeping me present, and just very fortunate to come out on top.
Q. I think you gave your hat away after regulation, so you really were not thinking a playoff was in your future.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, then I heard Ben made a bogey, which is tough, on 16, and he had a heck of a week. Yeah, I was not expecting it when I posted 18-under.
Henrik Norlander is one of my best friends, and he hit a great putt on 18 and he played well all day. To see him play really well again, I'm happy for.
Again, but it's a tough game, and I was happy to come out on top.
Q. I know winning this tournament, too, and Steve Jent's tournament here means a lot to you, as well.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I've always liked this golf course. I've had one other good finish -- I think I finished tied for second maybe the year Cody Gribble won and a couple other decent finishes so I love the golf course. It's always in fantastic job.
Steve Jent is such a fantastic guy, and he works so hard to get the field as good as he can. This tournament is so sleepy under the radar, and I think it's one of the best tournaments we play all year.
Q. Curious if you could take us through your emotions there after everyone is done with their putting. Your family runs out on to the green, what that moment was like for you.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I think all my emotion kind of came out after that putt, and then it was just shock, really, still. But to have them there means everything. The last one my son was a little smaller and he's starting to get into golf a little bit.
But just my wife, she's incredible, and her steadiness and perseverance to keep me level and positive is a job in itself.
At 38, I'm not that young anymore, and I feel like I do have some good golf within me, and it's just tough sometimes backing myself, and she's always got my back. It was really special having her and my kids.
Q. Your story is well documented about what you guys went through with your son, and this is a tournament that works really closely with Children's Hospital of Mississippi. How much does it mean to win at this event for that reason?
LUKE LIST: Yeah, it's fantastic, and I know the RSM does the Birdies For Love and the charity, and that's why we play, to give back. The game gives us so much in these moments and this platform, but ultimately it's using our exposure and our platform to give back to those that need it.
For this tournament to have a charity like that, it really rings home for me just having both our kids in the Children's Hospital of Georgia in our hometown of Augusta. There's a lot of families that need our help there locally, and we're trying to give back as much as we can.
Q. I was wondering when you're playing golf, is there any kind of mentality or quote or thought that sticks with you that guides you, especially when you get to a playoff at the end?
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I mean, once you get inside the ropes, you kind of switch on because you've got too much to focus on.
I was a little antsy a little bit Friday night playing well and knew my game was in good shape, and maybe left a few out there yesterday. Today I was just like, okay, just free it up as much as I could.
Kind of a rocky start a little bit, bogeying 2.
But I think my mentality is just put one foot in front of the other and just keep going and try to birdie the next hole. You never know what can happen, obviously, watching how it unfolded. Like I said, I never thought I was even going to make a playoff.
To be sitting here is pretty unbelievable.
Q. Mississippi is a state that I've found is known for its baseball and football. Obviously this is a big golf event that puts it on the map, too. What do you like about this course specifically and what stands out to you when you're playing compared to others?
LUKE LIST: Obviously the greens stand out. They're probably the most pure Bermuda greens we play, so this time of year, pretty consistent. They usually have a little bit of rough that makes a premium on hitting the fairways, and then the weather is nice, too.
It's such a consistent, well-run event, and to have the charity and the fan support and just the overall experience is just such a great one for me personally, now it's even better.
Q. We were talking to Mackenzie Hughes earlier this week about the conversation starter in his house that that trophy is. How excited are you about it, and how unique is that to add to your collection?
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I'm very excited because my daughter has been kind of on me, it's time to win another trophy, and she really enjoyed the surfboard at Torrey Pines, and I told her earlier in the week there was a rooster or chicken or whatever you want to call it, so she's pretty excited.
I think we'll have to get her a little mini version of it for that.
But it's nice to have your kids present and old enough to kind of appreciate it and share with them, and I'm very fortunate.
Q. I'm interested about the hat exchange. Did you sign the hat when you gave it away?
LUKE LIST: Well, the first time, no, I hadn't. The kid had just said, can I please have it, and I'm kind of a sucker for kids saying please and thank you. You'd be surprised how often we don't hear that out on the road. Usually in the South you get some good kids.
The young kid, I told him, hey, bud, I'm sorry to have to get this back. I think there might be a chance of a playoff. Even when I said it then, I didn't really believe it. I just kind of go through the motions going down there, and then when he hit just in the rough there on 18, I was like, okay, maybe there's a chance.
I did find him right after the playoff or after the trophy presentation and was able to give him the hat back. I didn't sign it yet. Hopefully I can get him a signed hat later.
Q. What would have been the contingency if you hadn't found him?
LUKE LIST: I've got another hat in the locker room, so it wouldn't have been the end of the world, but that one did me right, so it was nice to have that one for the playoff.
Q. You talked a little bit about the playoff. What did you see exactly in that putt? It's one you'll remember for a long time.
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I hit it shorter off the tee than in regulation, so I actually had a better number and didn't hit it -- I actually hit a really good shot in regulation and was long, so it was a perfect number, and was kind of pin high-ish, but my speed has been really good all week. I think I maybe ha one or two three-putts, but just really good speed.
Just really dialed into my spot, and that's all I did. I was just thinking about rolling it over that spot, and it was downhill. The greens were so perfect, breaking right to left, and I hit my spot, and it went in.
Q. Now you're heading to Vegas. What is your schedule the rest of the fall?
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I'm not really sure what changes as far as that. I'll definitely go to Vegas because I like that golf course, too, and it's a phenomenal charity again, phenomenal tournament, and I like that tournament, like my chances there on that golf course. I'm going to go try to get my mind right and compete and enjoy this for the time being and then play Vegas and kind of reassess from there.
Q. You graduated from Vanderbilt; is that correct?
LUKE LIST: That's right.
Q. SEC, obviously, big in the South here, too. What was something you learned from playing at Vanderbilt and the SEC and everything that still helps you today as a professional?
LUKE LIST: Yeah, I learned not to get my hopes up for football. But tongue in cheek. But such a great school, and we have a lot of other programs that are easy to root for for the wins.
But Coach Lea there does a fantastic job.
I obviously still root for them. It's just a tough conference to compete in, as you guys all know, as Mississippi State and Ole Miss guys, it's a challenging conference.
Yeah, I loved my time in Nashville and wouldn't trade it for the world, and their golf program now is fantastic, top 5 consistently. Coach Limbaugh does a great job, so I love following them and supporting them, as well.
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