Los Angeles Golf Club 7, Atlanta Drive GC 3
THE MODERATOR: Atlanta Drive Golf Club, maybe not the result you wanted in the match tonight, but overall 3-2 record, in a good position, I would think, for the playoffs. Patrick or Billy, if you want to just talk about the season as a whole and looking forward to the playoffs.
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I'm disappointed. I hate losing, and it sucked tonight. But listen, I think we're pretty much a lock for the playoffs. PC and Chris and JT played beautiful at the 5:00 match and obviously made our match a little bit less stressful. But yeah, it sucks to lose. I hate that.
But it's been a good season. We've had a lot of -- I think compared to every other team, we've had to deal with injuries, and Chris has come in and jumped in, and I think everyone has played really well. So we've got a team of five players that are solid, and we did well last year in the playoffs, and I like that we're going to be back in the playoffs.
Q. Patrick, tonight was the back half of a double-header for you. How did you manage your energy levels between the matchup between Boston and LA?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it's been a long day, but I don't mind it. It's fun playing these events, and it's good to be out here with the guys. We had a good match at 5:00 and we fought hard out there tonight. But yeah, long day. I'll get some rest.
Q. Billy, you're in the field at the Cognizant Classic this week. There's been a few withdrawals and just a relatively weaker field this week. Given the position on the schedule, curious your thoughts about what's happened to this field and what you'd like to see from a scheduling standpoint to adjust for this tournament?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Listen, it's tough with any tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule, outside of Signature Events, due to a multitude of reasons. We had this issue before the Signature Events were around. We've always had this issue. A decade ago this event was unbelievable with the field, but where it fell in the schedule was really good for a lot of the guys that lived here. It wasn't on the back end of an LA or a Riviera.
This field has sort of been up and down the last couple years. When you've got so many events on the PGA TOUR schedule and you've got guys trying to figure out where they're going to fit, it's tough to fill a field.
I think the world of this golf course. I think it's a great tournament. Obviously I'm a Floridian native, born and raised here, so I'm always going to support my Florida events. It's just tough. It's just not Cognizant; there's a whole bunch of other tournaments that are struggling.
But even with that, we still have a really good field. You may not have Patrick or Scottie or some of the other top players in there, but as we've seen like a Jacob Bridgeman, he made a name for himself I think here last year along with Joey Highsmith, so there's going to be somebody that wins it on Sunday, and hopefully it's me.
Q. You three are TGL veterans at this point. How important is it to have momentum going into the playoffs trying to create that first ever TGL dynasty?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I don't think it really matters. I think we want to feel good about our games. Obviously, yeah, we didn't win tonight, but I think as a whole, all five of us want to feel like our game is in good shape so when we do come in here, we're ready to play. It's no different than a tournament; you want to feel good, in control of your golf ball, in control of your game. I think if you do that, momentum is sometimes a moot point.
Q. That last hole, the Caverns, and then we've seen holes like Stinger, what do you think of some of these more wacky designs that TGL appears to be leaning into, and what's it like preparing for those or what's the process like?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, we have seen some crazier holes this year. Like you saw tonight, we threw the hammer before the hole with the rock in the middle. I think it just makes it a little more volatile. That obviously seems like something they're leaning into.
Q. Billy, what's it mean to see JT back like we saw in the first match and have him back in the fold with you guys?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Listen, it's great. JT is one of the biggest stars in the game of golf. I've said it for many years; I think his talent when he's on, he can compete with anyone. His short game, his ability to hit iron shots, I think he's an unbelievable talent. I've talked about it for years.
To see him obviously injured -- like I said, this team has been injured this year. The only guy that hasn't is Chris Gotterup, and as Lucas said, we've got to wrap him up in bubble wrap a little bit and protect him from us.
But I think JT was itching to play. Obviously anyone who's been on the sidelines, you're itching to play, and it was nice to see him come, and he played well. The three guys played really well at the 5:00 p.m. match against a really good squad, and I think his game looks very sharp in here.
I'm sure, like all golf fans, we're interested to see how it looks in a couple weeks at Bay Hill and PLAYERS Championship.
Q. Lucas, news last week, you were elected chairman of the PAC committee. What are your goals in that role, and what changes potentially do you see over the next year or so that you're looking to implement?
LUCAS GLOVER: I've got a lot of learning to do, first of all. I haven't been in the room yet, so that's my goal the next eight, nine, ten months before I'm actually on the board is to learn a lot from Patrick. He's already starting to guide me down the path.
I don't really have any goals yet. I've got to learn a lot. I said this last week: Something Brian said at our first meeting that he doesn't know what he doesn't know and he's got to learn it, and I respect that. That's kind of the mindset I'm taking right now is I've got a lot to learn before I can even think about making any or forming any opinions or making any decisions that I think could help or move the TOUR in a different way or a certain way or anything.
I don't know enough yet. That's a big nothing burger for you, but it's the truth. That's how I feel. I haven't done anything like this before.
Q. Why do you think you were chosen? Maybe other guys have a comment on that, why Lucas was chosen for that role.
BILLY HORSCHEL: I think we just chose the oldest guy. That's all.
LUCAS GLOVER: It was me or Adam, so I guess Rosey will be up next year.
BILLY HORSCHEL: No, Lucas has -- he sees very thorough and he's very thoughtful before he speaks. He tries to gather as much information before he gives his opinion and shares it with the public.
I think Lucas sometimes has a different perspective than other players on the PGA TOUR, and I think that's great. I think it's great that from the public eye, I think too many people think everyone, the top players all are in agreement and they're doing what's best for them, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
So when you add a guy like Lucas, who in the past has said some things that are different than some other players, it shows that the PGA TOUR is very open to everyone's opinion and trying to get as much information and opinions before ultimately deciding what's the best path for the PGA TOUR going forward.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports