Damon, what did you make of the green speed story?

Yeah, that sounds awfully familiar to what Keegan Bradley said.

at Best Page Black, in the Ryder Cup.

I'm not really buying that.

If that's one of your stories, one of your issues, that's on you.

That's on the captain and the vice captains and your data folks and your stat folks.

It's not like you haven't been there for the week and You know, you get out there early, figure out the green speeds, and get that done.

What are your thoughts about the role analytics seems to now be playing in these team matches?

[laughs]

... to kind of allow him to play 14, and then he can keep his membership.

Maybe he does a make good next year, adds a tournament to his schedule that he wouldn't normally play.

I think had he only played 13 events, that would've been a bit harder for, for the commissioner/CEO to, to kind of smooth things over with the membership.

I think this was a make good.

Rory kind of says, "Okay, I'll play.

You know, I get my membership one way or another." It, it's just one of those things where the number's been 15 forever, and if you come in at 13, it, it doesn't look good for the rest of the membership.

Yeah

What is the one story that you wrote or you almost wrote that is still with you today?

Wow, great question.

The story that I wrote that's with me still to this day.

You know, it's probably a feature that I did.

One of my first football features for the New York Times was a piece on Drew Bledsoe.

Drew had been the longtime quarterback of the New England Patriots.

Gets hurt early in the season.

Can you share a little bit about preparation?

that

point, no.

My parents, African-Americans, grew up in Compton.

We didn't have any connection to the game of golf.

We used to drive by golf courses, but there was no discussion.

There were a lot of people who looked like us on the golf course.

It wasn't until I went to graduate school that I had come across people who played golf.

Why history, and what were you going to do with a degree in history?