Trevor Immelman - Part 4 (The 2008 Masters)

Music playing  00:00

Mike Gonzalez  00:15

So how did how did that change things with you? Because that's a new dynamic, you're still fairly young. And then you and your wife kind of had each other. And now all of a sudden, you've got this new big responsibility in your life.

Immelman, Trevor  00:27

Yeah, well, look, I was fortunate, I am fortunate, I always have been fortunate that the woman that I'm married is a special type of human being. She is extremely strong. And able, and she has been an unbelievable resource for me, partner for me, rock for me, throughout my career at every different stage. My biggest cheerleader, the person who can be honest with me, tell me the truth. And, you know, in that time, when I was competing at the highest level playing a lot of tournaments, she did a lot of heavy lifting. And she, you know, like, with many athletes, or successful business people, you know, she shielded me from a lot of it, and allowed me to enjoy in all the great moments and shielded me from all the tough times while I was competing. And so, I have to thank tremendously through that time for really doing all the heavy lifting. But we had a wonderful setup at that time, living in Orlando had made numerous friends in and around this area that were very close to us. And was doing well financially. So, traveling was quite easy. PGA Tour does such a brilliant job, with daycare, and all those different things now. And so, it really is a family out there on tour with a lot of people helping you. And so, Jacob, from a very young age, grew up on tour like so many of these youngsters and would travel with us, and enjoy as he was getting older seeing parts of America and different parts of the world and, and having milestone birthdays, whether it be you know, his first birthday at the Open at Carnoustie, or later on when he learned to walk at different places or learn to swim in Bermuda because I was playing a tournament there. You know, all these different life milestones happen at whatever tournament we're at, and whatever hotel we're staying at, or whatever house we've rented. And so sure, it's a very different upbringing. But it's what we know is normal. Yeah. And like I say, I'm extremely thankful that I have a wife and partner who has been so damn good at it over the years.

Mike Gonzalez  03:12

Yeah. Well, let's get to that next victory then in 2007. This coming at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. You must like that Gary Player Country Club course.

Immelman, Trevor  03:22

Yeah, yeah, I should do. You know, one of the courses that I was able to watch and see live and on TV as a youngster with all the all the best players come into play in the Nedbank or the Million Dollar as they first called it. And so, as a South African, that's a tournament that means a lot to us, you know, that was our access to seeing the best players. And so, for us to have the ability to play in that tournament and have a chance to win is huge. It was a strong field that year. I had been struggling with my health throughout the season had to take some time off after the Masters. I picked up some kind of virus and lost 22 pounds in two weeks. And was starting to kind of build my way back through the end of the summer I played really well at the PGA at Southern Hills, Tiger won again. And so, we're starting to find some form toward the end of the year. And then was playing at Sun City and got that win there which was awesome. You know, once again, same kinds of fields that I had when I won the first South African Open to be a South African playing on that Golf Course in that tournament against the world's best for South Africans to be able to watch one of their own beating those players. It brings you a certain type of pride and enjoyment that you, you don't necessarily get, it's an extra layer to that victory. Having your home fans see you. Because, you know, for the most part, and Ernie and I have had this conversation so many times, particularly when you consider his amazing career Hall of Fame career and the amount of times that he's won around the world. And amount of times he's won here in America, for South Africans for Australians, you know, the rest of us that I'm on from you. You know, we see week in and week out in American sport, how important home field advantage is. You see it in college football, you see it in athletics, you see it in basketball, pros, and amateurs, and you consider a guy like Ernie, and the rest of us. But a guy like Ernie, particularly in this case because he, he was still so successful. Every single time he teed it up in America, he was playing at Tiger Woods, his home course, home ground, home stand. And it's a massive, massive advantage. And so, for us, the Nedbank tournament was our one opportunity to have the crowd on our side as South Africans. So, to get that win really was fun, because South Africans, you know, they're a hard-working group. And they've had a lot of challenges over the years. And if they wanting to watch their, their golfers, you know, they got to stay up past midnight, because of the time change or not see it at all, and then read it just, you know, they read about it in the newspapers or the Golf Digest, or, oh look, Ernie won again, or something like that. And now all of a sudden, for them to actually see you perform in front of them. And then you beat these other players. It really is, is cool moment. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez  07:11

So, you get to the end of 2007. You got a little medical issue you got to deal with was that a little scary for you?

Devlin, Bruce  07:19

You can't quite make that one. 

Immelman, Trevor  07:19

Extremely. Mike, it was a crazy time for us. Right before the Nedbank, I was actually competing in China and Hong Kong. I played the Hong Kong Open, then went and played the World Cup with Retief Goosen. I want to say the two of us maybe finished third in the World Cup. We played solidly; we then went from there to that Nedbank. But while I was in Hong Kong, I picked up this cough. Wasn't feeling very well. And had a temperature for a couple days, got through that saw the doctors there, was taking some antibiotics. Worked my way through the Million Dollar and then got the win there. But just a few days after we were back in Cape Town, and I woke up and I was struggling to breathe. And the only way I could eventually take a deep breath was to scrunch myself down and, and like put my head between my knees. And that was very scary. I mean, here I am. I'm in my mid 20s I'm in amazing shape. I've looked after my body. I'm working out all the time. And this was really like, a "what the heck is going on" type moment. So, like I say I'm in Cape Town, I go to our family doctor that our whole family has seen forever. He sends me for X rays and a CAT scan. They find this mass. They then send me to a cardiothoracic surgeon. This is all in the space of 12 hours. Get into this cardiothoracic surgeon’s office, sitting there with my wife. And he's like, Yeah, we found this mass on your rib. And I'm like, okay, and I'm like, so you know what do I do? Do I take a pill for this, you know, what is the deal? And he's like, no, no, no, this has to come out. This has to come out and then we have to test it and then see where we go from there. And I'm like, like, my mind can't even go to this space right now, you know? So, I'm like, Okay, well, what does that mean? And he's like, so what we do is we'll cut that piece of rib out where the mass is. We'll then take I will put a metal sheath to connect the two pieces of rib, hopefully the rib grows back properly. And then you should be good to live like that. And I'm like, Well, what about golf? Like, I'm supposed to be playing at Torrey Pines in three weeks’ time. And he's like, Yeah, I don't think you're going to be doing that. But, still in my mind. I'm like, This guy's crazy. He has no clue what he's talking about. I mean, I just won last week. So now he says to me. I say to him, well, when do you want to do this? And he's like, why? As soon as possible? How about tomorrow? What tomorrow is actually my birthday, the 16th of December. And he's like, Okay, well, no, let's not do it tomorrow. Why don't you enjoy this birthday with your family? And then we'll do it Monday. I'm like, enjoy this birthday with my family. What are you talking about? Like, I'm playing in Torrey Pines in three weeks ahead. So anyway, we schedule the surgery for the 18th of December. And I go in, and they knock me out. And they opened me up. And he can't find this, this mass. It's not on my rib. Turns out it was on my diaphragm. And when we were doing the scans and I was laying down, it was compressing over the rib. And that was what made him think that it was attached to the ribs. So, they pull it, they go between the two ribs, they cut between there, they pop this thing out and they take it out problem was the epidural, and the medication was all in the wrong place. So, you know, it wasn't what they were anticipating. So, I come out of surgery and it's just well man, excruciating. So I've been ICU for another four or five days I eventually then start moving around in hospital for seven come out and he says look, you can't go anywhere for eight weeks you need to stay here as this wound heals up, so you got to I got a six inch incision on my back we've got to make sure we care for that we want to make sure that the scar tissues and all of that stuff works in my favor doesn't hold me back so I'm getting the correct physio and what have you and I'm just getting frustrated because the last tournament I played in I won and you know really wanted to kick things on we eventually made our way back to America and decided to skip the whole West Coast I wasn't ready to make aggressive swings I was concerned about hitting the ball out of the thick wet rough on the West Coast that time of year and then once I did start up I was rusty and in bad form and was not playing very well at all

Mike Gonzalez  13:21

Well somehow you found your form by  April. 

Devlin, Bruce  13:24

By April you did Yeah.

Immelman, Trevor  13:25

Crazy. Crazy Crazy Crazy how that turned out. Like I said it had been  a struggle. At that time, we used to play the Houston Open the week before the Masters and I ordinarily did not play the week before the Masters because I like to go there and have some practice rounds and then come back home and work on my game and rest up but I was playing so poorly that I was like man I have to just play another tournament. Exactly. So I added the Houston Open and started playing a little bit of that week I ended up missing the cut by shocked but we had some weather come in and I was on the wrong side of the draw but had played the best I'd played all year and so started feeling better about my long game knew that if I could just find a little something on the greens I'd be okay. And got to Augusta and because of the way I'd been playing I had low expectations just was really thankful to be there after you know four months prior this doctors telling me to enjoy my birthday with my family. And you know not knowing what was going to happen finally getting a wonderful result that the mass was benign and I didn't need to undergo any further treatment so still had pretty crystal clear perspective as to you Know how fortunate I am and was in that moment and to be able to play in the Masters at Augusta National, it's such a special place was something that I just really was looking forward to enjoying. So, go through the practice rounds, I remember playing as always, Tuesday, nine o'clock with Gary. And we're standing on the 13th green. And we've you know, we've hit our seconds onto the green, and we've hit all the wedge shots and chipping putting around 13 as everybody does. We're standing on the front right piece of the thirteenth green, and he comes right up to me. And he says, you know, Trevor, you can win this week, do you know that? I was like what? You know, totally caught me off guard. And he said it in such a stern manner that it sort of like woke me up. And he said, Yeah, you're playing well enough, you could win, but you just got to believe it. And he walked away. And I was like this guy, you know, as always, this is exactly how Gary is. Yeah. And we finished the practice round. And Wednesday, you know, kind of keep doing my thing playing the par three. And I just needed to find a little something with my putting. And got started on Thursday morning. Made a nice five-footer for par early on, and really built some nice confidence and went out in two under. And really from that moment on might as well had been the following week after winning at Nedbank, like all that confidence just came back immediately. And I felt extremely comfortable. 

Devlin, Bruce  16:43

So, you led after the first round after the second round, right? 

Immelman, Trevor  16:49

Yeah, that's right. 

Devlin, Bruce  16:50

By one over Brandt Snedeker 

Immelman, Trevor  16:53

Yeah, that's right. I'm wanting to say maybe 68-69 in the first couple days. 

Devlin, Bruce  17:03

That's close, 68-68. 

Immelman, Trevor  17:06

68-68. Okay, so was I maybe, I might have been tied after two rounds, was tied maybe

Mike Gonzalez  17:12

Leading by one over Brandt Snedeker. 

Immelman, Trevor  17:15

Okay, leading by one after 36 I think I was tied off the day one, 

Devlin, Bruce  17:20

You were 

Immelman, Trevor  17:21

and leading by one after the second round. And then I remember the third day. You know, now it's all getting a little bit real. Thinking back to 2005, where I was in the second to last group on Sunday and trying to draw on that experience. Feeling good about my game, I'm drawing on a couple of the big wins I'd had against the best players. You know, you sort of half convincing yourself that you've got what it takes. And we had a long delay. It was big front that was coming through. We had a two or three hour delay on that Saturday was sitting in the locker room waiting for that to go through. And we eventually got out there. In the final group was Snedeker, He, and I both played really well. And we played the last hole in the dark. I remember that. Sun was going down. Coming up the hill and we actually both birdied the 18th hole in the third round. But I had built up a two-shot lead. And now you know, now you're on the verge. And media attention has definitely ratcheted up. I remember, you know, us finishing like I said in the dark, it's past seven o'clock. You go and do the media. I remember driving down Magnolia Lane, past 9PM.  Going back to the house that we had rented. Didn't get to see my son, he was asleep already. He was way past his bedtime. He's just 18 months old at the time. And you know, now you go back to the rental house and the mind games begin. You thought to, you know, wonder all sorts of things, you know, have I got what it takes to get this done? Do I believe in in my ability to be able to get this done? Am I going to go out there and shoot 80 and bomb out like some people have in the past? I mean, I wouldn't be the first guy to do that. Is this my best chance that I'll ever have is this my only chance that I'll ever have? And really that was the thing that I felt took pressure off of me. Particularly in that time because, you know, Tiger was winning at such an insane clip. and reeling off majors one after the other. And that was really what, what calmed me down was I said, here's the deal, this is probably the best chance that I'm ever going to have two shots in the lead, I'm playing great, I've got some confidence, I'm not worried about any part of my game, I love my strategy. It's supposed to be windy tomorrow, that suits me, I grew up playing in gale force wind. So, if this is your best chance, what puts you in the best position now I'm like, I'm talking to myself. I'm giving myself a pep talk, what's going to give me the best chance at this time is committing 100% You just got to commit, you got to give every single shot everything you can. And that way you'll be able to live with the result. So, make it through the night, actually slept quite well. Woke up at 8AM the next morning. And, you know, you keep yourself preoccupied, you're playing with the kids and with Jake and the families over and you know, you're trying to stay in your routine as much as what you can, you don't want to get to the course too early for a couple of reasons. You know, if you get there early, immediate is going to ask you to do stuff, you're going to be tempted to get in front of cameras, that lends itself to somebody saying something or you saying something that lodges a little seed in your mind, you don't want to get there too early. You also don't want to get there too early, because you don't want to turn your warmup session into a practice session. Because the longer you stand on the range, the more likely you're going to hit a shot and go, Gee, why did that happen? I sure hope I don't hit that shot, you know, into 12 today. So, you want to keep everything as tight as you can. So, you're planning down to the minute. And really, you want a couple of minutes less so that you don't have any time to waste so that you're efficient. And that's what I was, I remember coming out the locker room being very nervous, walking out onto the practice facility. And the whole week, I'd warmed up down on the left corner, the old practice facility has that big hedge running down the left-hand side, you know this as well as anybody. And, you know, back in those days, they used to have to put the net up at the end of the driving range because guys were starting to hit it into Washington Road.  Were you driving it into Washington Road. I wasn't the guy to worry about. I wasn't worried about I mean; I was longer than average. But, you know, particularly at with my ball flight, it was more like, you know, a well struck bullet, it wasn't you know, there was nothing there was going to high. This thing was coming out low and hot. So, you know, I would always go down to the left-hand side of the range, I would on the course play a baby fade, but it always felt released. When I closed my eyes and I made my swing, it felt like a draw. It was a full release. But when I looked up, it was dead straight, or the ball would fall slightly to the right. So, I would always go down to the left corner. And I would like that hedge down the left-hand side, right, I would aim, you know, five paces inside the hedge and I would just release it as hard as I could, and nothing would ever go into the hedge. And so, it was a nice feeling for me to be able to warm up like that. And I felt like I could be aggressive. And that Sunday, I walked through the patrons and make my left and I look down at that left corner and there's Tiger warming up in my spot. And, you know, I look down there I see the red shirt and I see him warming up and now it's like, if it wasn't real before now it's real for sure. And that was like the first decision I had to make for the day was okay. I either back down and just hit balls over here to warm up or I go down there, and I just hit balls right next to him and keep doing what I've been doing. So, I decided that I'm going to do that. I went right down there. I dropped my balls right next to him and warmed up, you know, two steps away from him and managed to make my way through that. And then you know, you head to the other side of the clubhouse, and you start hitting a few putts as you're getting set to go. And I was extremely nervous, like, extremely nervous. And going to that first tee, just wondering, you know, how are you going to find a way to keep it together? When did the nerves peak for you? In that period of being on the putting green and then walking to the First Tee, I remember saying to Bob Rotella, the famous sports psychologist. We work together for more than a decade and he's just the best. Wonderful, lighthearted, easygoing. Just such an easy person to be around. So, he was with me on the putting green, and I remember saying to him, you know, I find it so funny that all these players, they always say how much fun it is to have a chance to win a major and I'm just trying to find a way not to throw up in the cup, right? That's how nervous I was. And you know, it's just all this excitement and nervousness and anxiety and it's all kind of melded together and you can feel the buzz and the electricity from the patrons. Got off to a rocky start, blew my tee shot way right into the trees and had to chip out made a bogey on the first hole which was unsettling. And then strung a few pars together. Made a great up and down on the fourth to save par . I hit it, famous hole location there just over the deep bunker on the right-hand side, and I hit it long left and hit a wonderful chip down to about four feet using the ridges and got out of there with a par, which was huge. And then hit one of the best shots I've ever had in my life into the fifth with an eight iron to four or five feet and made a birdie there on five to get back to even for the day. And that really was the moment where I was like okay, now I that was one that was the first time I took a breath was after I birdied five and then got to six and things started to slow down slightly for me.

Mike Gonzalez  27:29

Had a pretty good up and down for par at eleven. Great par save there.

Immelman, Trevor  27:35

Yeah, you know, nine I made a great up and down. It was brutal weather. Not crazy cold, you know, high 60s. But blustery, gusts up to 35 miles an hour. And when you're playing Augusta National with these tiny little pieces of green that you have to keep your ball on if you want to have a look at birdie or have an easy to putt when you have that sort of wind hitting from uneven lies. It's just borderline impossible. And so, it was just a fight, every single shot was a fight. I made a great up and down on nine-foot par again at 11 hit a good tee shot flared my five iron out rated the green didn't want any part of the pond on the left and hit a pitch up there that just got caught up on the fringe. I was about 15 feet from the hole. Made that that was a nice a nice boost for me. We could hear standing back on 11 tee there was a bit of a holdup number of guys were hitting it in Rae's Creek on 12 because of the blustery conditions. So, things started to jam up around Amen Corner. And we had quite a long wait on 11 tee. And Tiger made about a 50-footer for birdie at 11. So, the patrons went absolutely nuts. We could feel that here that back on the tee. So, for me to be able to make that putt to save par was a nice moment for me to keep some momentum. And I could just feel okay. You know, I feel that I'm ahead. I can hear it and I can feel it from the crowd. Just try and keep putting one foot in front of the other here. See if we can get this done.

Mike Gonzalez  29:33

Yeah, nice little approach at thirteen for birdie.

Immelman, Trevor  29:37

Yeah, once again, that kept the momentum going, Bogied 12, which wasn't the end of the world with the type of conditions we were playing in. And then got that back at 13, birdied 14 and so now you're really on the countdown of okay, how much water do I still need to deal with? 

Devlin, Bruce  29:58

Two more times? 

Immelman, Trevor  30:00

That's right to avoid a disaster. And so, with that wind that was blowing that day, 15 was straight back into it. Standing on the tee, I knew that there was no chance to be able to reach into that kind of wind. So laid up. That wedge shot is extremely difficult. But it was a back right hole location that day. Obviously, the committee was aware that the conditions were deteriorating, the wind was really gusty. So, they used the back right hole location. I hit it to about 10 feet and got out of there with a par. And now I know like I can see the finish line. Because I'm starting to get a standing ovation as I'm walking up to these greens and tees. And so, 15 is right there. There's this huge observation areas, and people are giving me a standing ovation as I come over the Sarazen Bridge and you can feel now like okay; this is getting pretty close. So, I make a nice five, and we get to 16. And I'm between clubs a little bit, got between the seven and the eight. And I decide I want to go with the little seven. And I'm taking,

Devlin, Bruce  31:19

Did you know you had a five-shot lead at this point.

Immelman, Trevor  31:22

I did not know I had a five shot

Devlin, Bruce  31:23

Because you weren't looking at the boards 

Immelman, Trevor  31:24

Because I wasn't looking at the boards.

Mike Gonzalez  31:26

So, what's going through your mind because you backed off that shot, didn't you?

Immelman, Trevor  31:30

Well, what's going through my mind is just trying to really get a beat on where the wind is, because it's been blustery and gusting all day long. And you're down in the valley there. And it can be difficult to understand exactly what's happening in the valley there at 16. Because you've got the big mounds up on the left-hand side trees and the pines behind the green. But you can hear the wind whistling through the pines. And throughout the day, you can hear the maintenance staff coming on with the leaf blowers blowing all the pollen and stuff off the green so that we could put like there was, it was a sensory overload. I mean, there's so much information that you're trying to take on. And you know, you can't go in the water, you know, you've got the ridge in the middle of the green to work with. And I probably hit the wrong club, when I think about it now, I probably should have just smashed an eight iron up the middle of the green and put it in the first third green, and then had a 40-footer. But I decided and you know, probably due to 2005. Thinking back to 2005, I hit a little seven in there in the final round and actually made a hole in one playing in the second to last group. So, I decided I'd try and go with the same shot. And I just slightly tugged it. And so, you know I'm taking some off of it. Hit a little pull. Because of both of those things, the ball comes out flatter. And just, you know, too much steam on it for the wind to really get it, the wind was coming hard out of the left. So, ball ends up, goes down into the pond and I'm just like, ah, the first thought that goes through my mind is what have you done, you know, what have you done here. That is like the worst place to possibly hit it. And my caddy was great. He said, you know, don't worry about it. We'll just drop up here and we're going to hit it on the green. And he's watching the leaderboard. I'm not watching the leaderboard. He knows exactly what's going on. Like I said, we'd been together for a long period of time. And so, I took comfort in the fact that he seemed relaxed in the way he was handling the situation, and he was just like, Okay, we're going to drop it up here on the end of the tee in the drop zone. Nine iron, middle of the green, hit the nine to the middle of the green and had about a 15 foot for bogey. And I hit a weak putt out to the right. Missed the cup by about a foot. Good speed but never had a chance to go in. Tapped it in and I got a standing ovation again. And I thought that was so awkward as I was walking off the green because here, I've just made a double bogey. And, you know, but I was like, well, I must still be leading. I must still be leading because of the way that the patrons are reacting. So, then my thought process shifted into okay, if you're still leading then let's forget about that and just find a way to par the last two holes. So, everything else disappeared and all of a sudden, I was right back into the moment of okay, how can I find a way to get through here and hit a great tee shot. Hit a pretty good second that I thought was perfect. Landed up top came back into the bunker. Quite a difficult bunker shot, because you are landing your ball on the downslope had about five yards of green to work with and hit a beauty that checked up nicely and trickled to about four feet. And at this point, like every part of my body is just on fire, shaking. It's amazing that and it's so funny because I heard Max Homa say this a couple of weeks ago at the Ryder Cup. He said that on the 18th hole in the singles when he had to take the unplayable and then he chipped it on the green and he made like a 10-footer to win his match. And he said his legs were shaking so hard that he couldn't believe that you couldn't see it on TV. And I was like, yes, I know that feeling I know that feeling. And so now I've got this four-footer, the wind is humping. The 17th green is very exposed and perched up. So, the wind is just whistling through across this green. And I've got a four-footer that has a cup of break out of the right. So, you know, I sort of prod this thing out there, and it dies in the right side of the cup. And I'm very thankful about that. I ended up having to come back, really. And so now I'm walking to 18 and you walk down off the back of 17. And there's like a little alleyway that patrons form for you to get back to the new 18 tee which is probably another 25 or 30 yard back. And at this point now people are like patting me on the back and saying well done. And so once again, it's like okay, I'm going to still be leading. So how can I, you know, what do I need to do now? Now 17 is gone. What I need to do now. Okay, if you're leading by one, you can make a bogey at worst and get into a playoff. So, you know what, what has to happen? What has to happen is you got to get this tee shot in the fairway because if you know it's such a narrow tee shot now as they pulled the tee back at 18 at Augusta National that if you get one that has any sort of curve within the first couple hundred yards of flight, that ball gets stuck in the pines, magnolias, it could go anyway, you can make six in a heartbeat. So, you got to get this thing in the fairway. And so once again, everything else disappeared. And all I focused on was right, I don't care how you do it. How this ball comes out how high it comes out what type of shape it has, just get this thing into the fairway. And I actually hit my best tee shot of the week. Just flushed like a bullet fade up there that started in the middle of the left bunker and cut to the right side of it and crushed it, hit it right off the screws. So now I'm walking up. And I get to my ball and it's in a divot. And I said to my Kenny, like, can you believe this? 

Mike Gonzalez  38:27

It's in a deep divot too.

Immelman, Trevor  38:28

It's pretty deep divot, it was fresh. It must have been one of the last four or five groups. And he was like, oh well, you know, once again, just like 16, he was so calm and matter of fact. And he was just like, well, you knew this wasn't going to be easy. It's not a big deal. 

Devlin, Bruce  38:47

It'll come out of there. 

Immelman, Trevor  38:48

You got a perfect number for an eight iron, and he said to me.

Mike Gonzalez  38:51

You needed that club that Player used with the rails on the bottom.

Immelman, Trevor  38:55

That's right, that fairway wood. You know, I'm trying to think back now I'll be within a few yards. I was like, I was like 157 or 158 yards or so. And it plays about 10 up from where I was, you know, between eight and 10 yards up so I'm mid 160's. And he's like, it's a perfect eight iron. Just put this thing in the middle of your stance and hammer it. And that's what I did. And the ball came out like it was on a tee. I mean it came out with the perfect flight and went down into the lower bowl and the patrons all stood up and started clapping. And so that was a relief and so I'm giving the eight iron back to him and he gives me the putter and just like always he had been with me for all of my well, let's see. I ended up winning 11 times worldwide. He was on the bag for eight of them. So, you know we had had a lot of experience together in that kind of situation. And as always, I would say to him, Okay, how are we doing? Yeah. And he was like, Oh no, it's over you're three ahead, and so then I'm like, I'm three ahead. And he's like yeah, it's all over. So now my mind really for the first time all week is going nuts. The whole week I've been so in my own bubble. So, I think for a little bit and I'm like, wait so 

Mike Gonzalez  40:36

I can four putt this?

Immelman, Trevor  40:37

My ball is on the lower level. I'm like within 18 feet of the hole. 

Devlin, Bruce  40:42

Yeah. 

Immelman, Trevor  40:44

You telling me that I can three putt and win? 

Devlin, Bruce  40:47

By two.

Immelman, Trevor  40:49

Remember, in my mind, I'm still thinking about the tournament I choked to Jim Furyk when I three-putted eighteen and he looks at me says no, no, you can four putt and win. And I was like, okay, I can do that. We're good, 

Mike Gonzalez  41:04

We're good.

Immelman, Trevor  41:05

So, you know, at that moment, really, for the first time all week was I let my guard down, I came out of this bubble and really started paying attention to everything that was going on around me, I could see the people, recognize people in the crowd, see my family, see my wife and my son behind the green. My parents were back there, and really start to understand what was happening for that last 50 yards or so as I was walking onto the green. And I'm thankful for that now, particularly at this point, you know if that was my one shot, and the one time that I got it done, to be able to really enjoy the last half of the 18th hole is something that I'm thankful for.

Mike Gonzalez  42:01

And you know, you think about some of the winners over the years. Not a lot of guys get that opportunity to sort of relax for a shot there at the end do they.  Yeah, good point.  Thank you for listening to another episode of FORE the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends. Until we tee it up again, FORE the Good of the Game, so long everybody.

Music playing  42:30