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THE McGLADREY CLASSICOctober 25, 2014Will MacKenzieSEA ISLAND, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: We'll get started. Welcome into the interview after a 5‑under par 65, which included a hole‑in‑one on the par‑3, sixth hole. Quite a round for you, Will, if we can get some comments. WILL MACKENZIE: I'm doing the best I can out there. I feel pretty good. Felt like I have all week. The game's‑‑ I'd like to say it's sharp, but I'm making some mistakes, so just trying to avoid when I'm in those areas where I'm not feeling good, I'm trying to hit it to the fat and utilize my short game. Try to eliminate all 3‑putts and hit it on the right side of the hole because that's what you do out here. You start hitting it on the wrong side of the hole and you got these big run‑offs and then you can make kind of silly bogeys. I've avoided that. I've driven the ball really well, and even though I'm not taking a ton of putts, my speed's okay, so I'm cleaning up well. THE MODERATOR: Take us through the sixth hole, what you hit. WILL MACKENZIE: The sixth hole, I don't even remember how far it was, like 178. So that would be about right. 170 something total. Yeah, and I hit 8‑iron, it's a little down, off the left, and I just hit kind of a held‑off 8‑iron. At that point I wanted to be pretty aggressive and just go ahead and hit it right at it; and I decided to, and I guess I flew it in. We didn't even see it. So it was a very anti‑climatic hole‑in‑one. I mean I'm very happy. People have been like "way to go, congratulations on your hole‑in‑one." I'm like, thanks. Most anti‑climatic hole‑in‑one I've ever had. And I think that's my third out here on the PGA TOUR. I don't know how many I've had in my life, but you know, like I said, we just heard it hit the pin, and I figured it had ricocheted off. Q. How did that big birdie on 18 change your attitude both about today's round and going into tomorrow? WILL MACKENZIE: I know I scored pretty well today. I had gotten myself out of trouble a couple of times with some decent par saves. And then, you know, when I made that huge mistake on 17, I was just frustrated. I was kind of struggling on the way in. My focus had left me. On that par‑5, what hole is that, 15? You know, I just played that hole, and I'm like, what just happened. I mean it's been downwind all week off the tee, and I go out there and it's just turned into the wind. And I just kind of came out of my drive. I'd been hitting great drives there, and just once you hit it in the rough there, you're doomed. I mean it's like a hole that you're hitting 4‑iron, 5‑iron or hybrid into. Next thing you know I'm going to be struggling for par because I don't like that wedge shot. And then I hit a terrible wedge shot. And I was like, okay, regroup here. And I hit two great shots on the next hole. I actually was committed to the next hole, which that tee ball can be your nemesis every now and then, No. 16. So I committed there. But then lo and behold I make that big mistake. So to answer your question, it feels great. You know, it was huge. It was necessary, because even though I put myself up here in good contention, I was still making these mistakes, and I played 18 kind of bad, too. I kind of came out of my drive in between on the 6‑iron or 7‑iron from about 175 into the wind, and I hit the 6, and I'm not capable of hitting the like feel shot right now. I was a little jumpy. So that was huge to make that bomb. Q. You talked about cleaning up nicely today or so far this week, and yesterday you talked about how the focus this off season was trying to get 15 minutes just with a short club in your hand. Was that like one of those crucial things that you felt like kind of pushed you over the top this week? WILL MACKENZIE: Yeah, I'm putting a lot. I'm doing my drills. My drill. It's like the only drill I've ever had in my life, like a drill. And it's awesome. And I told everybody, I stick it in the ground and I just putt five‑footers, gets my stroke nice and straight; the toolbox, Golfer's Toolbox. Rich Massey is the rep. And I think it's turned my putting around. I feel like‑‑ I mean there's no telling what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm sure I'm going to miss some big putts in the future, but pound for pound, that's why I'm a better golfer now than I was pre getting demoted, you know, off‑‑ the first time. You know what I'm saying? I mean I would get streaky every now and then with the putter, and then I would win, or I won Reno, and I won Viking. That's because those were great putting weeks. I mean there was some good ball striking, too, but it was mainly putting. It was all about if I got streaky with the putter. Now I'm a consistently‑‑ deep down I think I'm just consistently a really good putter, and that's an unbelievable feeling. I mean I'm struggling with it out there a little bit. There was times that, I mean, you know, but I think even the great putters do. They don't make everything. (Indiscernible) doesn't make everything, but he looks like he's going to, and he thinks he is. And now I think I'm going to make them, you know, 80 to 90 percent of the time and then when I'm really like just chopping, I'm just trying to roll it up there close. Q. Will, back on the hole‑in‑one did, you hit the pin on the fly or did it bounce‑‑ it was a front right; right? The pin? WILL MACKENZIE: Yes, sir. Q. Did it bounce or did it hit the pin on the fly? WILL MACKENZIE: I think it just flew in there. Nobody cares. That's what I'm saying. That's the whole gist of it. It was like I heard like one clap up there, and I'm like, they were like, oh, yeah, good job. Sorry, you got screwed, you know, like it hit the pin and then it's back in the‑‑ you know, somewhere like off‑‑ the collection area. That's what we thought the clap was. I mean it was that low key of a clap. I walked all the way up there, no idea‑‑ didn't know until I got on the green and another lady, the caddie, we were like, where is it? And the guy's like‑‑ there's four guys up there. Q. From the sound how far did you think it might have ricocheted or what was your worst fear? WILL MACKENZIE: I was like, is there water up there. I'm like is there water up by this green because it could have ricocheted into the water. It hit hard. It probably hit, I'd say‑‑ I don't know, but it probably hit like this far off the pin and just sort of just (clapping) did one of those jobs. It was just a perfect shot. Obviously it was too much club. It was coming in downwind a little hot, and had it not hit the pin, it would be 20 feet long, 15 feet at least. Q. Give me the exact moment and who told you that you made the most ordinary hole‑in‑one of your life. WILL MACKENZIE: This guy, it was like I remember‑‑ I just can remember four guys over there. We were like, why aren't y'all telling us anything. I mean there's a cameraman up there; he didn't give us any love. So like I walked on the green, and finally somebody ‑‑ Mark Wilson and I were like, I go, "is that me?" He's like, "no, bud. That's me." I knew Svoboda had hit it left. I spaced out when Mark hit it. I just wasn't even looking. So I was second guy to hit, or first. I don't know if I was first or second. I saw Svoboda left. I don't even know where Mark hit it. We started walking up there, and I'm like, yeah, that's probably me about 15 feet right of it. That sounded about right. I didn't see anything near the pin. He's like, no, bud, that's me. Then I started looking off the green. And I'm looking around there. And I'm like, dude, where is this? And finally somebody is like, where is the ball, and there was this random guy over there, he's like ‑‑ like the four claps earlier? They were like, yeah, it went in. Didn't you hear us clap? (Laughter). I was like, thanks, man. You guys are low key here. They're used to seeing great shots. They're used to, you know, your Matt Kuchars and the guys. Studs. Yeah, just don't even worry about it. I made a hole‑in‑one, and it was the most anti‑climatic hole‑in‑one. It means nothing other than it was a one on the score card. It was just the most boring hole‑in‑one ever. There was nothing. I hit it. I'm like, hmm, gave my club back to the caddie. None of us knew. We're like, yeah, that hit the flag. Q. I might not write about this now if it's that boring. WILL MACKENZIE: Don't even worry about it, Bud. THE MODERATOR: Yeah, but thanks to Quicken Loans, a fan gets a free year of mortgage payments. WILL MACKENZIE: Yeah, that's what I was thinking, I just hooked somebody up with a mortgage payment, and I wish it would have been me when I was with Quicken because I had a big one with them. I'm glad I'm out of that. (Laughs). That was the house on the river. Q. I walked in and was hoping to hear about a hole‑in‑one and I'm hearing nothing but a big mistake on 17. WILL MACKENZIE: Yeah, I hit 5‑iron. Everybody else hit 6 and 7‑irons, over the green into the bushes, into the wire grass, and I was very lucky there. I mean I had‑‑ I could hit it again. I mean it was in this gnarly little wire grass patch, and I tried to bump it, and I hit it‑‑ you know, I hit the shot I needed to hit, but it went over the green, and then I hit kind of a good pitch, and then I had like six or eight feet for boge and made it downhill. Q. How many people clapped? WILL MACKENZIE: It was a big boge clap. It was like the best bogey clap I've had actually. So it all evened us out. It's just an emotional roller coaster out there, buddy. Q. (No microphone)? WILL MACKENZIE: Yeah. That's what I'm saying, it was way louder. It was on a whole 'nother level. We did not know I made the hole‑in‑one until we got on the green. No one in our group, no bystanders. Q. Will you be emotionally stable for tomorrow? WILL MACKENZIE: Yeah. Everything is fine. I feel great. THE MODERATOR: All right. Anything else? Q. I think we're good. THE MODERATOR: I think so. Will Mackenzie. Thank you, sir. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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