INVITED CELEBRITY CLASSIC

April 19, 2023

Mardy Fish

Las Colinas Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, Mardy Fish, thank you for joining us here at the Invited Celebrity Classic; coming in as the defending champion. How does it feel to be back here?

MARDY FISH: Feels great. Windy again, but feels great. We had a blast obviously last year in kind of the first year event last year. Even though Flaskey and team have put on many events, just felt like just a smooth transition, so it was great to be part of it.

Awesome to be back. Never take for granted not -- never take for granted getting invited and, you know, it's a really good group of guys and women and people that you look up to and that you have looked up to.

I'm a big sports fan, so obviously on the celebrity side it's super fun. And then I'm a big golf fan, too, so obviously know a lot of these names and kind of putting faces to names again and meeting a lot of really cool seniors and Senior Tour players.

So it's super fun to kind of put your game up and see how you can do with them alongside you.

Q. Yeah. Last year you won in a playoff over Tony Romo. What do you remember specifically about last year's competition?

MARDY FISH: Well, he's not going to like this, but I remember him hitting it in the water twice on 18 on the last day. Definitely remember that.

No, I remember it being great, great fun. We battled down the stretch. Again, yeah, I remember it being windy as heck, so growing up in Florida and get ting that type of game and feel and kind of feeling shots around seemed help me at times.

Yeah, so these things are always super fun. You know, invited to Chocktaw, and Flaskey puts on a great event. Again, always thrilled to be invited.

Q. You mentioned it's special playing alongside these professional golfers. Who specifically among the golfers and maybe celebrities are you most excited to see come to this event?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, last year I got to play with Darren Clarke, Lee Janzen, Steve Alker, who is one of the best players I've ever played with. Honestly. And I played with a lot of guys that are playing on I guess both tours now, LIV and the PGA Tour.

He was one the best players I ever played with honestly, so that's fun. It's also fun, in Orlando we get to play with the LPGA women and they're so good. It's fun to put your game up. You always have to feel like you have to play well and they're kind of watching, watching your tee balls and stuff.

I always have in the back my mind, okay, let me show this guy or this gal I can play a little bit. Then I got to play with Annika in January as well for the first time. We've played in these quite a few times, and so that was a blast as well, just to kind of see the greatest female player of all-time up close.

So, yeah, it's great to be back again, like I said, and thank you to everyone who invited me.

Q. How often do you get to play golf for practice?

MARDY FISH: Not a whole lot. You know, it seems like people have been talking a lot recently about pace of play and stuff like that. Pace of play, that's one of the issues with golf, I think, is it takes forever. So I just don't -- I've got two little kids. I work. You know, I do a lot of fun stuff, interesting stuff, and a lot of time I don't have five hours in the day to play.

So whether it's going to watch my son or caddieing for him in nine-hole tournaments, he's only nine, so that's as much golf as I get.

And watch on TV a little bit.

Q. I know obviously this is kind of old hat for you playing in these different events and formats, but seeing specifically the PGA Tour Champions legends of the game playing for decades now and still out here going strong, what do you take away when you watch them firsthand inside the ropes?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, they're probably the same player; they just hit it a little shorter maybe. They're straight as heck; putt and chip it like crazy.

It's always fun to -- not to put them in the same with the LPGA as well, we just play at different sort of style of golf it seems like. These guys can hit it pretty close or just as far and obviously hit it straighter all that stuff.

But it's fun to see how they get around on the course and how they score, score so well without hitting it 350 yards off the tee. That's really interesting to me.

And so, yeah, ever name, pretty much every name you're like, oh, yeah, I know that guy or I remember that name or whatever. I remember a Masters here or U.S. Open there or obviously Lee and Darren winning the British and getting to go play with Lee winning the U.S. Open a couple times.

Yeah, it's super cool.

Q. How is your game right now? What part of your game are you working on most?

MARDY FISH: Working on everything. Swinging and hitting in the middle of the face on the range, because, again, I don't play -- I played 18 holes since January, since I played that tournament.

Q. That's it, huh?

MARDY FISH: I hit some balls from time to time. I feel like it helps me sort of reset and not really think about swing thoughts or anything like that.

I grew up sort of learning on my own and have never really taken a lesson or anything like that, so it's kind of a feel game for me. Honestly I feel like the more time goes by I can sort of reset and not really -- get the bad swings out of my mind a little bit maybe or usually just kind of helps me not to play as much.

Q. You are set to play pickleball later this week.

MARDY FISH: Yeah.

Q. The sport is clearly taking off. Why do you think it's so popular and what do you enjoy about it?

MARDY FISH: Everyone can play. Anyone can play against anyone pretty much. I understand it. You know, like I still prefer sort of the intricacies of tennis and just kind of like trying to one-on-one beat your opponent, figure out, problem solve, all that stuff.

Pickleball is different. There is not a whole lot of singles in pickleball either. Just a lot of doubles. I can play with my wife and another couple and they don't play much and we can still have a fun game.

So I totally get it. I don't play quite as much. But I don't play many racquet sports anymore. Don't have the drive. Playing since I was two, playing tennis since I was two. It's a long time.

I play less and less now. Certainly understand it. Certainly will enjoy beating Jack and Justin. So J-Will is talking a lot of smack with his teammate, Jack, who is probably the best pickleball player in the world.

But I've got Isner on my team, which is good. Unfortunately he can't serve from the normal -- yeah, from the normal 6'10" height. But we'll figure it out. We'll be fine. We'll pick on Justin. We'll just keep it away from Jack and we'll be okay.

Q. One last one. You mentioned just playing with Annika. I don't know if you're aware, this will be her 20th year anniversary of her playing at Colonial. She's here this week. Just what has she meant to the game do you think just for...

MARDY FISH: Yeah, I'm a big fan of the LPGA Tour. I have got a daughter of my own. I want her to play golf. I'm not pushing her. She doesn't seem to love it yet, but hopefully it'll be something that a father and a daughter can sort of love together.

I haven't gotten her fit yet. My son, yes, not her. But I just love watching the ladies play. I love, again, how -- you know we just played one in Orlando with them and distance-wise, you know, it's quite different.

So it's really fun for me to see like how they get it in the hole and how they get it in the hole a lot faster than I do even though I'm able to hit it further.

So I'm fascinated by that. I watch a ton of women's golf on Golf Channel and stuff when it's on, so I've been a huge Annika fan for a long time.

You know, it's not very often -- I guess you can go Wayne Gretzky with someone who's unequivocally the best of all-time.

You know, there is not many of those. Michael Phelps maybe and then you get a lot of debates. With her on the female side you don't, so that's a really cool thing.

She just walked by right there. It's like, oh, there's Annika, and you know you're friends with her and Mike, her husband is a great guy. Been fun to get to know them. I'm a big fan.