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VALERO TEXAS OPENMay 12, 2010John LittleSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS COLIN MURRAY: We'd like to welcome John Little to the 2010 Valero Texas Open. He is making his PGA Tour debut this week. John, can you tell us a little bit about your feelings this week? JOHN LITTLE: It was kinds of surreal and didn't really believe it. I played all my life wanting to play on the Tour and wanting to play with the big boys and see how I stood up. I can't thank the Valero Texas Open enough for the opportunity, amateur or pro. Would have been fun to play as a pro but unfortunately the Air Force has rules and regulations on that. Had to remain an amateur. Q. John, you're the 2009 Armed Forces Champion. Talk a little bit about your game coming into this week, how much time you've been able to practice and a little bit about the golf course and we'll open it up to questions from there. JOHN LITTLE: Well, the Armed Forces Champions play at Camp Pendelton Marine Corp. Air Station out in -- just outside of San Diego was, I guess, in November, October, November. Wasn't hitting the ball well going into that and actually made the Air Force team by a guy dropping off the team. I played pretty bad, was first alternate and jumped on the team and traveled with the guys and went out and just played golf and funny things happen when you get a chance and you take it and run with it. The golf course -- my game currently, I have a 6-month old at home which is going through teething and the wife just had surgery so it's not much -- I haven't been playing much. The game is there. I took a couple weeks off and just kind of got back to things. I'm hitting it pretty good right now. The driver is a little shakey. We'll figure it out by Thursday. Q. The rough here is pretty penal. The course is tight. JOHN LITTLE: The rough is not up that much. The new grooves, I had to make a change to the new grooves to get with the rules on the PGA TOUR but the rough is -- the rough is fair. You get in it, you're not going to bring it in real high. The ball is kind of sitting up in the rough, it's really not dropping down, but what I'm hearing, it's kind of the way they wanted it this week is kind of little short, don't want to scare the guys off too soon. But the course is not as tight as people -- it's tight in some landing areas but, you know, you pick your poison, lay back of the bunker, leave yourself a 7, 8-iron in versus trying to thread a needle and have a wedge in. The greens are receiving the shots well. Q. Do you know anybody who is out there, guys from high school or anything? JOHN LITTLE: "Spencer Levine" is actually who I'm playing with. I really don't know him. I know of him growing up, playing a lot of junior golf. "Brent Dellahousie". He and I played a lot of Junior Golf together. I know Brent's family very well. Brent and I actually went into playoff I guess in, I don't know, I would say '98 at Forest Hills Junior Classic was with the Southeast Junior Golf Tour and he beat me, of course. I have a horrible playoff record. I think I've one won. That was the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces I won in a playoff on the second hole. That was -- finally got that monkey off my back. Q. Were you surprised when you got the phone call or were you tipped off this might be a possibility. If you could talk about the exemption. JOHN LITTLE: I kind of had an idea because I got a phone call from Air Force Sports asking if I would be up for it and my answer was yes, very stern yes. If my name was chosen I know it was -- there was a couple other guys they were looking at and what I was told, it was just -- my track record in the past, the past couple of years. In 2008 I won the All Air Force Championship and then finished 5th at the World Military Championship and I think that's kind of where it weighed on that. I was also -- the phone call when I got it from Craig Smith, I think, Craig Smith, when I got the phone call from him, he said, "Are you sitting down?" I said, "Well, I'm driving down the road. I'm sitting in my truck." And I said, "Why, do I need to pull off the side of the road?" He said, "No. I'll make it short and sweet. You're in." I about ran off the road. I immediately called my father and my mother and -- well, I called my wife first and then I called my brother which is also in the room today. He's actually caddying for me this week. And I knew the Air Force, it's going to be an expensive trip and so I reached out to family and got a lot of help, especially from that man sitting back there. He's helped me out a lot. Q. Where were you driving? JOHN LITTLE: I was driving home from work. I was leaving base and I was actually on a bridge so I was crossing over in between Tampa and North St. Petersburg, the Gandy Bridge, and that bridge is a little windy. I'm glad I didn't run-off of it. The palms got real sweaty driving over that bridge and never get sweaty driving over that bridge. It was a -- it wasn't a complete shock. I had an idea there was a possibility and, you know, I've had a lot happen in the last, I guess three, four months, just kind of beating the ball around on base and one of the Copperheads with the Transitions saw me playing and got me a spot in the Transitions Pro-Am, played well and from there I went and played in the Outback Pro-Am on the Senior Tour and then now here. Q. What's your aspirations this week? JOHN LITTLE: Win. Win. Cinderella story. Not to say these guys don't hit the ball well. These guys hit it incredibly well. I played with Chad Campbell and Bobby Gates. I played with Bobby Gates and Ryan Palmer. They were gracious enough to let me squeeze in the group knowing nothing. I just stepped out on the first tee and just kind of waiting. I was going to play by myself and they all showed up and said, "Why don't you come join us?" I think they might have got tipped off that who I was because I don't know if they read or whatnot, read papers or it was released to them but they knew exactly who I was and let me play with them. But Chad and Bobby were very good. Their caddies helped out my brother a little bit as far as what to do and whatnot to do. And, as an amateur, these guys are out here playing for a living and I want to -- I kind want to stay out of their way but I'm out here the play, also. I'm going to give it all I got. I can tell you that. I'm not going to -- not going to just lay down. I'm here to play. Q. Can you tell us in some detail what your job is? JOHN LITTLE: Yeah. I'm actually Security Forces. It's my career field. I work in the armory. I'm part of the 6th Security Forces Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base in right outside of Tampa. What I do is -- like I said, I work in the armory. I maintain weapons, help maintain weapons and issue weapons to on-duty guys during the day. You know like civilian cops, we can't take our guns home. We have to turn them in. Q. Were you supposed to deploy? JOHN LITTLE: I was supposed to deploy. When I was medical out processing, I -- there was, as you know in the Air Force, you have to pass PHA, Physical Health Assessment I think is what it stands for. Correct me if I'm wrong. Went in and my doctor wanted to see me due to past high blood pressure and I went in for my checkup and didn't pass my blood pressure and he scrubbed me. So, it would have been a lot of pressure on myself and my family not only -- you know, right before deployment you want to spend as much time with your family as possible because you're going to be without them for six months. Trying to come here and explain to my wife that, you know, I'm going to go play golf and when I get back three days later I leave for the desert -- Q. Is that would it would have been? JOHN LITTLE: The 20th I would have flown out. The 20th I would have flown out to training and from there I would have forward deploy. Q. Do you know where? JOHN LITTLE: I can't say. I can't say. Q. How do you want to represent this exemption this week and how do you want to represent the Air Force and all the Armed Services? JOHN LITTLE: It's an honor to serve your country. It's a voluntary thing, volunteer thing. The Air Force is a big world but it's a small world. You know a lot of people that you've either been deployed with or you've played golf with. I've been fortunate enough to play a lot of golf throughout the Air Force with a bunch of guys here at Randolph and Lackland that know me. They've all given me best wishes. I just want to represent the Air Force the best I can. I know it's kind of a tall order to represent hundreds of thousands of people but just to do my best and remain as -- just as I'm walking down the fairway, realize if I hit a bad shot, I could be in the desert, you know. There's a lot of brothers from other Services over there right now fighting for our freedom and it's rough, it's rough over there. Q. How long have you been in the Air Force? JOHN LITTLE: Three and a half years. Q. What was your golf background? JOHN LITTLE: Golf background prior to military? Well, I grew up in Phenix, City, Alabama. Played for Glenwood High School. Won two State Championships as an individual and signed with Auburn University. Played there for two years, transferred out -- prefer not to talk about the reason why, but left there, went to Georgia State University in Atlanta and played there for a year and then just decided to move on with life. I went sideways in life, got a little distracted. Tell you what, women are pretty. Went a little sideways. I worked for my brother for like two and a half years, Keith, two years, two and a half years, and then had an old friend of his that he actually went to college with that was in the Air Force that came to work for him, mentioned that it might be a good thing for me and took me to the recruiting -- recruiter and talked to him and just kind of wanted to try to start over, and got in the Air Force and within six months of being in the Air Force ran into a One Star General that was an Auburn fan and invited me over to his house for an Auburn/Alabama game, the Iron Bowl, and just started making connections through that way and found out about the golf program in the Air Force, in the Services. Every branch has a program. Kind of like an intramural college, you know, intramural sports in college. It's not the Air Force Academy Golf, D-I golf and every year you go out and try out for the team and it snowballs from there. Once you make the Air Force team you go try for the Armed Forces and if you make the Armed Forces team you go play the World Championships and it moves around every year to different countries who hold it. Two years ago it was in Canada, this year was in Namibia, Africa. Can anybody can tell me where it is? It's in the middle of nowhere in Africa. You know, it's kind of just -- it's different. You meet a lot of guys and you get to see the other side of the Air Force, I guess you would say. It's not all about business. You get to rub noses with guys that you're having to salute everyday and you actually find out that they are people and, don't get me wrong, I do respect my rank, the people above me, but you kind of get to know them as a person instead of your commander or somebody else's commander and you do have personal relationships out of duty and off-duty and a lot of guys that I play golf with out rank me by a lot. It's fun to get to know them. Q. What do you think this might lead to? JOHN LITTLE: Hopefully a career outside of the military. Hopefully a professional golf career, that is an aspiration of mine. I do think I have the game to play. You know, with only playing maybe once, twice a week, sometimes no time, none a week, not a lot of time to practice -- I think if I had the time to practice, I could make it. You know, it's a tall dream but I'm living a dream this week, you know. I'm getting to play with the big boys. Q. What's your home course? JOHN LITTLE: Bay Palms Golf Complex. Q. Is that on base? JOHN LITTLE: It's on base. Q. How much better are you playing now than when you didn't make the team and were an alternate? JOHN LITTLE: It's not even close. My wife had a baby, had our child four days before I got on the plane to fly to California to go try out for the Air Force team. I had my cell phone and I had Air Force Sports on the phone and I looked at her and I said, "Tell mean, I'll do it." She grabs the phone and hits the red button and says, "You're going." The day we got home from the hospital, I left that next morning at 5:30 in the morning flying to California. So, I had a lot on my, I guess you would say plate. I hadn't hit a golf ball, hadn't slept, you know, with the new baby and the delivery, I think I was -- she was in labor for 38 hours so I didn't sleep. The anticipation of having a child, the nerves if it was going to be healthy or not. We had some questions in regards to that so I didn't sleep much. But, you know, golf is golf. I've played it enough. I should have been able to play good golf but I had to -- I had the low lefts going. I'm talking about quick low lefters. 18 out there is a par 5 and you have to hit it 80 yards left to hit it out of bounds. I hit it out of bounds twice. Then the big redwoods, it's got a seeing eye dog to get through them. Didn't even touch one. The game was not there and my mind was not clear. This week it's clear as it can be because I know I have zero to lose. Just go out there and hit it and chase it. Q. Boy or girl? JOHN LITTLE: Little boy. Six months old. His name is Trip who is -- actually name is John Callaway Little, III. Yes, Callaway. Callaway Little, III, and we call him Trip. Q. How did the playoff that you won, how did that go? JOHN LITTLE: I'll make it short and sweet. Par 5, No. 1. He actually made a 10-footer on 18 to get in the playoff. And par 5, No. 1, probably 550. Both of us in the middle of the fairway. He was about 10 yards, 15 yards in front of me. I had like 250 in and tried to squeeze a 3-wood and absolutely ripped it right over the stick, over the green and it's dead back there and they call that grass -- they put around the fringe, you might know it. Not zoysia. When the ball hits and it just stops. You can't -- from the South you can bump and run anything. You can't do it out there. I had to hit a flop shot off a tight lie and chunked it. It was probably four feet off the green. He's in there about three feet for birdie and I made a 35 footer from off the green, moved about six inches and I made it dead center. I did a little Tiger pump like that (indicating) on him and he just looks over at me and shakes his head and he ended up making the putt and then the next hole -- funny thing is the two guys that were caddying for us in the playoffs were Air Force teammates of ours. It was weird. We're talking down 2 fairway and we're like, "What are we playing this for, it's just a medal? We're still going to Africa and Libya." Lo and behold this is what it was for. This is kind of what turned out. If I was -- if I obviously would have known that it would have been a little bit better. You're a competitive golfer, you want to win and get the gold medal. Second hole, I hit 3-wood right in the middle of the fairway. He hit drive and pulled it left in the ditch. I thought it was mine. The next thing I know he's crawling in the ditch. He hits his shot up and over a tree out of the ditch to like 40 feet and now I've got to hit a 105-yard wedge in there. I hit it to 8 feet below the hole. He lagged it down there about 7 feet. I lagged it up there about two inches and kicked it in. He missed it low. It lipped out bottom side. So I was -- I didn't even watch him hit it. I had to ask Jason Perry, Tech Sergeant Jason Perry if he made it or not because I wasn't looking. I was ready to go to the next hole. He had made pretty much everything he looked at that day coming down the stretch. He didn't make much but the putts he had to make coming down the stretch he made them. I figured he was going to make it. Q. Your brother who is here with you, that's him? JOHN LITTLE: That's it, and my Air Force brothers. Support I'm going to have this week, what I'm hearing is it's pretty big. So I'm going to try to do everybody as proud as I can, you know. I told Chad Campbell today, said, "When you're on the golf course Thursday if you hear a bunch of rattling, I said that's probably my knees on 1." He kind of laughed at it. He said, "You'll be all right. Just get up there, peg it up and let it ride. What's the first thing you have to do? You have to go chase it if it's in the fairway or woods. You have to hit it again. Don't be too nervous. If you're not nervous, you don't deserve to be out here because we're always, all of us are always nervous on the first tee." Q. The guy you beat, what did he say when you were -- JOHN LITTLE: What I have heard, they were trying to get two guys in. I'm not exactly sure on that story. He was kind of given the go ahead that he was in and so was I. We both were talking on the phone, "Who is in? Are we both in? I don't know." He's like, "I got the phone call, I'm in," which he didn't get the phone call from Craig. He got the phone call from somebody else. I don't know who it was. But somebody said he was in and he wasn't and I was on -- they did a little piece on me on NBC during the Transitions, they have a military tent there and Jim Nantz -- not Jim Nantz, what's his name -- Gary Koch. He lives at Copperhead that helps run the Transitions and you know, they sponsored me into the Pro-Am so they did a little piece on me on 16. He was at the military -- he was in the tower on 16 and the military bunker, as they called it, was at 16 and they had me show up there and they did a little piece on me and talked about that I played in the Pro-Am and I was the Armed Forces Champion. I think that had a little bit to do with how I got in as far as the decision. You know, they had a decision to make between myself and "Lieutenant Golden", I guy I beat in the playoff. He won Worlds. He won the step above me. But I don't know if that had anything to do with it but, you know, I can't thank Copperheads enough for that, not only the Transition to get the whole ball rolling and now it's about as big -- started on the other side of the golf ball and it's a snowball. I'm going to let it roll until it runs out. End of FastScripts |
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