The Tarheel Tour Interview with Andy Bare

Today’s interview is with 2008 Sapona Open champion Andy Bare. Andy birdied the first play-off hole to win the event over Florence, SC native Gregg Jones. Andy shot 69, 65, 68 to finish the event at 11-under-par. The UNC-Greensboro alumnus earned $17,500 for the win. He is currently seventh on the Tarheel Tour money list with just over $23,000. This is his second win on the Tarheel Tour after winning back in 2006 at the Warrior Classic.

You had a bittersweet 2007 season. You recorded Six top five finishes with over $51,000 in earnings. You also had a great finish at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, finishing 20th, and a top-25 finish on the Nationwide Tour. Then to everyone’s surprise, you missed at the first stage of Q school. How much do you feel like that set you back?

Andy Bare: I had higher expectations going into Q school last year. Even though I didn't win a tournament, I think I played better than I have in any other year, just being consistent all around. I think I only missed one cut the whole year, and that was in a Nationwide event. Going into Q school, I felt like it was my time to do it and then when it didn't happen, the whole off-season was just miserable. It was a big letdown not to get through and then I think somehow it kind of fed its way into my golf game and it’s taken me a while to get over it and get back. It’s taken a while to get the confidence back to play on a more consistent basis every week.

Do you feel like, at this point, that you're back to where you were before Q school last year, or do you think that you still have some work to do?

Andy Bare: I think I still have work to do. The past five events, if you take away Sapona, I've had a missed cut, a couple of good rounds like at Northstone last week. I shot 68 the first two days and I was in a good position, but then shot 73 on the last day. I've had a few over par rounds in the last four or five tournaments where I remember last year, I went probably seven or eight tournaments without shooting over par. I’m still trying to get it all together every week and not just two of the three days.

If you look at the number of players that were within a shot of you that last day at Sapona, and you won with probably not your best game by your own admission, and not quite as much confidence, how were you able to overcome those factors to finish on top?

Andy Bare: One of the things that really helped me that week was just trying to visualize positive shots and good outcomes, and I remember I did that a lot last year. I've had great closing stretches, birdieing two of the last three, or four of the last six, or however many I needed to get it done. I've done it before and going back to the seventeenth hole there, I had nearly an impossible shot and I kind of got lucky, I’ll admit that. I knew that if I could just get one more, I'd be in a good position. As far as the confidence goes and building on it, I think that hopefully down the road it will help me, but it wasn't there the week after, I can tell you that. Andy, tell us a little bit about what happened on seventeen. I know standing on the tee, Gregg Jones had already posted 11-under-par 202 and you were a shot back at ten under. You hit your drive right. What happened next?

Andy Bare: I was pretty much in jail, as much as you could be. I was down there to the right about 208 yards, I think it was, and there was a big hole down there. I had to either chip it out and hope to get it up an down from 150 yards for par, knowing that I would have to birdie eighteen to get in the play-off, which probably was the smarter thing to do. But I’ve played enough golf that I'm really not out here just to try to make money any more. I'm trying to win golf tournaments, and I felt like I had a pretty good feeling that I could pull that shot off. So I pulled off a miraculous shot and made the putt, but unfortunately didn't make the putt on eighteen to win.

Let’s talk about that. After you birdied seventeen you’re tied with Jones, going into the par five eighteenth. You gave yourself a six-foot birdie putt to win but you don’t make it. Going into the play-off, like you said, you had the same putt – does it give you more confidence because you’ve already had the putt and you know which way it’s going to break, or does it give you less confidence because you know that you’ve already missed it? What are you thinking over that putt?

Andy Bare: I knew I was going to make it the second time around. I couldn’t believe that in the play-off I had the same putt. That time I knew it was left edge and I just banged it in.

You’ve done a lot of great things in your career – playing professional golf, the PGA Tour top 20 finish, you’ve made cuts on the Nationwide Tour, and you’ve won on just about every mini tour you’ve played on. What would you say is the best moment of your professional career?

Andy Bare: I'd have to say the best moment is battling back and finishing up strong at the Wyndham Championship last fall. I think I birdied five of the last six, and pretty much that made the check for me. My teacher called me and said have you ever had a putt for $20,000 before because that birdie on 18 made you $20,000.

Looking at your results last year you had that incredible stretch where you didn't shoot over par for four or five months. It was unbelievable. We've been looking at scoring average and third-round scoring average and it looks like that’s the only part that’s changed a fraction in your game. Your third round scoring average before Sapona was 73.5. Do you think perhaps you might be pushing yourself, having such high expectations of your game?

Andy Bare: Yeah, I don't know. We’ve had some tough conditions the last round. It’s not like you can just get up there and mark yourself down for 68 or 69; it’s been really tough the final rounds. However, if I could have shot 68 or 69 the last round I’d probably have a couple more wins. I don't know if it’s putting too much pressure on myself or maybe I’m not playing my game. The week at Sapona, I never once worried about what anybody else was doing. I just played my own game and when things weren’t going my way, I think I got down on myself a little bit and started having some doubts. Switching gears a little bit, if you weren’t a professional golfer what would you do?

Andy Bare: I don't know. I've never even once thought about a career other than playing golf for a living. I love it, but if I had to move on I’d like to stay in the golf business. The tour reps out there look like they have a pretty good job. I'm planning to keep playing as long as I can and I know I'm going to get there one day. Do you have any plans to Monday qualify at all?

Andy Bare: Yes, I actually just put together a little schedule and booked it. I spent all day yesterday booking trips and getting all that ironed out. I'm going to Monday this week in Maryland for the Nationwide and then Raleigh. I’m going out to the heartland and the west coast this summer and fall to try eight or nine Monday qualifiers out there. I’m also writing a letter to the Greensboro committee trying to get an invitation into the Wyndham Championship. I’m also going to try the PGA Tour event in Hartford at the end of June.

Well Andy, thank you very much and best of luck with all of your Monday qualifying. We look forward to seeing your results, and once again thank you for giving us some time today.

Andy Bare: Oh no problem. Thank you guys. We’ll see you this week.