THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Plano, Texas, natives and University of Texas graduates Parker and Pierceson Coody into the interview room at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Pierceson is making his eighth PGA TOUR start, and it's the third for Parker.
Pierceson, I'll start with you. This is your second start here at the AT&T Byron Nelson. What memories come to mind looking back that first start from 2021?
PIERCESON COODY: My first start -- my first PGA TOUR as an amateur was here, so this tournament means a lot to me. They gave me an opportunity to come play in front of my friends as an amateur, which as a high schooler, college kid, you saw Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth do stuff like that, so it was a dream come true, and now to come back was a pro, it's awesome. I have great memories of just being here for the first time, and looking forward to having a great week.
THE MODERATOR: Parker, as I mentioned, third career PGA TOUR start, second this season and teeing it up alongside your brother. What do you remember about that first start you guys had together at Honda and how special is it to be doing it here in your hometown event?
PARKER COODY: Yeah, very fortunate to be out here this week. Couldn't be a better tournament for Pierceson and I both to be able to play together at AT&T Byron Nelson, a tournament we've been so close to for so long, and to finally be able to play this week for my first time and Pierceson's second time, couldn't thank everyone enough for allowing that to happen.
Q. Wondered if each of you could maybe share a story, like how many years have you been coming to this tournament? How many years do you go back, and do you have a favorite story of a little you running around or a memory from the tournament?
PIERCESON COODY: To be honest, growing up we didn't come out to the tournament that often. It was during school for us. We were trying to kind of chase our own college dream at the time, I guess, because this was right during high school regionals. The timing of it was tough.
Then when we were in middle school and whatnot, we missed so many days of school playing football, basketball, golf, you're trying to finish up exams, so we couldn't convince our parents to skip class that often.
I do remember playing a high school event. We played TPC Four Seasons a lot, and they'd always set the pins like a Sunday pin, and I remember a lot of the cool shots like going up 16, you see the one of Tiger hitting the stinger down the left side, and Jordan making the birdie to the back right pin when he was an amateur.
I have fond memories of the course just watching it on TV so closely and getting to play those really iconic pins.
PARKER COODY: I would say very similar thing as far as missing classes, but as far as watching like at the Four Seasons or even at Trinity Forest and the past few years out here, it's one of the few PGA TOUR events in Texas, and it means a lot to be able to be able to play the AT&T Byron Nelson. Like Pierceson said, you can think of a lot of shots guys have hit coming down the stretch that you just stick with, just like watching any tournament you care about. You're able to remember those shots on Golf Channel, and one of the cool parts is being able to come out here and actually see it and feel it for yourself.
Hopefully can do some of that this week.
Q. Just curious, just for people that don't know, if you could just describe the dynamic between the two of you, do you guys practice together, hit the range together, how competitive you guys are with one another, all that?
PARKER COODY: We're very competitive in almost everything we do. But we do, we have a great relationship. We practice together. We play together when we're home. Play practice rounds. We spend every night on the Korn Ferry, at least events I've played, we spend every night at dinner together. We have a great relationship and definitely push each other, but really good friends, as well.
Q. You guys have been out of school for a year, but I imagine back at the UT facility, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth are plastered all over the walls. I know Jordan is not in this tournament this year, but talk about what it means to you to be in the same event as them and representing the Longhorns.
PIERCESON COODY: It's really cool. Jordan has obviously been the frontrunner of, I guess, Texas golf for a long time as a whole, but the way Scottie has done it embodies, I guess, more the model that we're trying to chase of four years at college, graduating from the University of Texas with a degree, and turning all that I guess success and maturity into something meaningful out here, and Scottie has been a prime example of that, so it's been awesome to watch.
We're both trying to obviously what he's doing. He's doing such an incredible job representing Dallas and Texas golf.
Q. Pierceson, you mentioned when you were here as an amateur that you kind of had a moment where you look at all these other golfers, these guys you grew up watching. Now that you guys have played some professional events, do you still have pinch-me moments like there's this golfer or is it just lock in and be competitive once you get out there?
PIERCESON COODY: I think for any guy their first PGA TOUR event, luckily for me as an amateur, it was a little easier just to look around. I wasn't playing for much other than just experience. Getting that out of the way is nice.
But this is Parker's third start and my, I guess, eighth, so I guess that kind of aha moment is out of the way because certainly here not to just have fun, have a great week and contend. Just trying to stay in my own world as much as possible, I guess.
Q. You guys have been together everywhere, high school, college, and I wonder what it's been like for pretty much the last year and a half. Parker, you were competing in Canada quite a bit. Competing separately and living separately, has that been a challenge for you guys?
PARKER COODY: I would say we don't know any difference, if that makes sense. We've always played the same sports and been on the same teams where we've just spent a lot of time together, and luckily we do have a good relationship where we're okay with that.
But like you said, playing this summer in Canada was definitely different. Haven't played more than a tournament really without my brother in the field.
This year has been a little different. He's obviously had a few more TOUR starts, but it's definitely comfortable to go play practice rounds with someone you're most comfortable with out there. It's very easygoing. But it's great to be able to play tournaments together, and hopefully down the road we're both playing a lot of PGA TOUR tournaments together.
Q. A lot of Texans show up for this event and they seem to have a lot of pride in all the Texas events, maybe more so than other people when they come to their hometown events. Why do you think that is when so many local people love to come out to these events and play these events?
PIERCESON COODY: I think it's so cliche, but it means a lot. We have 30, 40 people coming out here that are great close friends. It's a course that we just have grown up playing, like all the courses in the area. The Salesmanship Group has been great to us. We know a lot of people in the group.
Everything that the tournament represents feels like family, so it's really easy, whether like you're in Scottie's position going week to week on TOUR, it just feels nice to come to a place that you know, and I think that's why everyone returns to play this event, because it's easy going, they feel very comfortable, and they like representing stuff they're proud about, I guess.
Q. You guys were talking about all you do together. Do you keep a running tally either in your mind or written down who's feeding who the most in practice rounds and everything, and where does the running total stand right now?
PARKER COODY: To tell the truth, if we kept a tally, it would be way too much to keep count of. We'll settle up at the end of the day each day, whatever putting contest or chipping contest we've done, but every day it's some kind of little bet.
It's nothing crazy, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely some kind of friendly competition that just keeps us competitive and not hate each other at the same time.
Q. Who has the overall win advantage?
PARKER COODY: He probably does the past few years, but we're trying to change that.
Q. Just curious if you can pinpoint a moment in your childhood when you knew you wanted to be a professional golfer?
PARKER COODY: Gosh, that's a good one. I haven't really thought about that. Truthfully I'd say once I got to college or maybe late high school when I started to have a little bit of success and understood that I maybe did have a future in golf. We played all other sports up until ninth grade, so it wasn't like I had to play golf or it was like, I'm definitely going to play college golf. It just turned out I happened to be decent at golf. I would definitely say high school, maybe early college when I had a little success and found that I do enjoy it, so it would be a fun profession.
PIERCESON COODY: I completely agree. I guess in high school when we started to have maybe our freshman and sophomore year winning high school events consistently and moving up in the national ranking and getting a scholarship to Texas, you kind of -- I guess you realize that you have a chance to be good.
The best advice my dad has always given us is it doesn't matter how good you are at 12, 14, 16, it matters how good you are when you're 22, 24, 26. That's when you kind of make your mark on the game.
I feel like I've just been trying to keep that in my head as much as possible. I guess I've somehow ended up here, so just trying to stay down that same path.
Q. I'm wondering as you progress through this golf journey if you've learned anything about yourself and maybe the connection between mental health and mental wellness off the course and finding success on the course, and if so, if there's anything that you do, any training, anything of that nature to kind of flex that muscle and get a little bit more composed in those situations?
PARKER COODY: I mean, I think anyone will tell you golf is more a mental game than anything. As far as mental health-wise, I think, like I said earlier, being able to travel together really helps.
Every once in a while traveling alone is nice, but dinners by yourself, every hotel night by yourself, it can get pretty lonely. Even seeing with some guys out here, you can get in some dark places. If you keep a positive attitude, make some friends out here and are able to go to dinner with a few guys or have a Bible study. TGF travels with the Tour. Those little things I think can really keep you in a good spot.
But as far as working on your mental game or flexing it, it's just something that everyone is thinking about it. It's how committed are you to that shot, how can you get past a bogey, all those little things that the elites are really good at. Everyone is trying to get closer to that, just where your mental game is your best asset.
PIERCESON COODY: A lot of the same things. I think that golf is tough because you play 25 events a year, and if you have one good event and you win out here, you might feel like you had a great year.
I feel like almost faking it at times and being positive is the only way to kind of keep that even-keel feeling, I guess. I haven't really -- like Parker, I haven't done any specific mental work to, I guess, keep myself away from mental health issues, so just -- I guess just trying to enjoy it as much as I can even on a poor week, trying to stay positive for the next week is the only way I can keep myself in a level spot.
Q. Do you have anything on the line this weekend between the two of you?
PARKER COODY: No, not anymore. We did in high school. We did a car bet. But that was about it.
PIERCESON COODY: Nothing serious this week.
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