On the eve of the first ever match play event televised live in primetime, Jeff Maggert, the winner of the 1999 Anderson Consulting Match Play Championship, took time to answer some questions about match play and the effect that the Motorola Showdown at Sherwood will have on the game of golf.
Who do you think is the better golfer?
I don't think there is really any difference. The one thing about our sport its day by day. One day Tiger could win and another day David could win. I think the match is going to be interesting though.
What was it like to play Tiger Woods in Match Play?
It was fun. Match play is a different style of golf all together. I think on our level, especially on the tour in match play any one in the top 60 or 70 players can beat any other player on any given day.
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Jeff Maggert beat Tiger Woods earlier this year in match play. |
How much do you enjoy Match Play golf?
Match play is interesting. It is great when you are winning, but it is terrible if you lose. It is different than stroke play where if you play well and don't win, you can take some positives from your performance. But in match play it is win or lose. Sometimes it is hard to see the positive side of how you play when you get beaten in match play.
How does it feel to be the match play champion?
It feels good. I was looking forward to that tournament a few months before the event. I knew it was going to be a fun event and I felt like I had a good chance to do well in it.
What do you think about the Showdown at Sherwood? How do you view the impact of this primetime event on the sport of golf?
I don't think it will have a huge impact other than probably a few viewers who don't watch golf may now watch it. I think the most important thing from my standpoint is to continue to introduce new people to golf that want to take up the game. Golf is a great sport. And as long as it continues to grow and more people start to play it, I think it is great.
You have said that playing against Tiger Woods is fun. It is interesting that you beat him at a style of game that he loves so much. Could you tell us a little bit more about his playing style?
Tiger can be intimidating if you let him get to you. His length off of the tee and his style with the fans, he can really be intimidating at times. I think that at our level on the tour, at least from my standpoint, I don't get intimidated by things like that. I am not intimidated very easily. When Tiger was an amateur, playing in the U.S. amateurs, he had a huge advantage over some of the guys he was playing because he was a very intimidating player. I think the players on the tour are much older, smarter, wiser, maturer. I just don't think that the top players in the world get intimidated that way.
What advice do you have can offer to David Duval since he admitted back at the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship that he is not a big fan of match play golf?
I think David is going to do well. I think that one of the important things about match play is that you can't look toward the end of the round. You have to take it one hole at a time, one shot at a time because it is like 18 tournaments and each hole is a tournament and you really have to focus and the only thing that is important at any particular time in the match is that hole.
In stroke play sometimes, you don't really have to put all that focus on each particular hole. You are thinking more about how you are playing and just trying to keep on hitting good shots. In match play you have to put all of your focus and energy on each hole.
Who do you feel will win?
It is hard to pick a winner. I don't know the course at Sherwood that well. Sometimes a course can suit a player's games better than others. I think the most important thing is that if both players play well then anybody can win.
On the flip side of that, maybe if one of the players doesn't have that great of a round, it could be a blow out. It is going to be interesting to see how the match unfolds. I am sure television is thinking this is perhaps a best 2 out of 3 situation. You don't just have one day of 18 holes to decide who is the best. In match play, the more holes you play, and it is like this in medal play where you play four rounds in a tournament, the guy who is playing the best is going to come out on top.
Why do you think that Duval has become such a dominating player over the past two years?
He is obviously a good player. He has a good mental outlook on the game. If you looked at our sport over the last 15 years, there is always one guy who breaks through and does really well for a couple of years. Nick Price did it a few years ago. It is hard to sustain that over a long period of time It will be interesting to see if David can do it for a 5 or 10 year stretch the way Watson or Nicklaus and some of these guys used to do. It is so competitive on our tour now, it is hard with the all of the distractions and other things, I think it is hard to stay on the top of your game for 5 or 10 years and play that way.
How did you get into golf?
I started when I was around 10 years old. My dad was into golf and bought me a set of junior clubs. In the summertime, I just kind of went out and would play a few rounds with some of my friends. When I was in the seventh grade we moved right next to a golf course and that was kind of when I really started to take up the game and get serious about it.
Who were your golf heroes?
When I was growing up, it was Watson and Nicklaus. They were the two big stars. Palmer was kind of at the end of his prime when I started playing attention to golf. I was probably more of a Watson fan than a Nicklaus fan, but certainly I admired them when I was a kid growing up.
What's next for you in your golf career?
I would like to start winning a few more tournaments. I have been on the Tour for 9 years and I have won twice. So I feel like my game is starting to come into its prime. I feel like over the next 4-5 years, I am going to have the opportunity to win some tournaments. Certainly I would like to win a major championship if that is possible. I feel like my game is good enough to do that.
