The Tarheel Tour Interview with Jay McLuen

We are here with Manor Classic champ, Jay McLuen. Jay shot a final round 63 to finish the event at 11 under par. He beat Dustin Bray, Scott Weatherly and Joel Hendry, who all tied for second, by two shots. Jay’s final round 63 was the best round of the day by four shots. Jay how have you been since the win?

Jay McLuen: I’ve been good. I’ve been back in town and played in the Nationwide Monday qualifier yesterday and missed it, so I’m just enjoying my week off.

Well Jay it’s been 20 years since a player starting on the tenth hole in the final round has gone on to win a PGA Tour event and this is the first time it’s ever happened on the Tarheel Tour. How does this change the way that you intend to approach future final rounds? What’s the routine going to be from here on out?

Jay McLuen: I like the no expectations part of the final round. It’s a lot easier to do it when your eight shots back, versus in the last group. But I think I learned a little bit about how to handle the last day.

It was just absolutely incredible golf out there. Obviously 63 at any stage of a tournament is amazing, let alone in the hardest conditions. All three of your Tarheel Tour wins have been from behind. What are some strengths in your game that help you make up ground on players in front of you?

Jay McLuen: Once I get in the position where I’m contention I really feel like I don’t have anything to lose. I just feel like it’s easier for me just to go out there and play and try to post a good number and hope somebody comes back to me.

A lot of what we talk about week after week is the mental side of a game. When some guys start taking it deep at some point they get out of their comfort zone. Once you’ve played 10, 11, 12 holes and you’re six or seven under, you start to think you might be doing something special, and sometimes that’s when it gets away. How did you keep yourself focused down the stretch?

Jay McLuen: One of my best friends growing up was caddying for me and we just kept talking all day long about taking it one shot at a time. I made the turn at 5 under and I told myself, I can either stay at 5 under and finish top 10 or I can keep it going and have a chance to win this thing. I just decided to keep taking it one shot at a time and put myself in good position, and that’s basically what I did all day. I never was out of position, I always had a good putt at birdie and they just started falling in the middle of the round.

What was the difference in your play between the first two rounds and the final round? Was it putting? You went out there and shot 72, 70, and 63. It’s not difficult to spot the great round there.

Jay McLuen: Putting was definitely a big thing. The first two rounds I was just sloppy. I wasn’t putting myself in the right spots and I had to scramble a little bit. It seemed like every day I was over par to start and then I always had to bring it back. The final day I just hit some good shots early and made a couple of putts. From there on out, it was just a matter of going low enough to give myself a chance to win.

Jay you finished 14th at Rivertowne, and you finished fourth at the TPGG Classic at Oldfield. Obviously your play was trending upward. Based on your recent results, did you have any inclination that you might win this week? Was there something about the golf course that made it more comfortable for you, or was this kind of out of the blue?

Jay McLuen: I knew I was playing well. I had a chance to win at Oldfield. I didn’t play well the final round, but I still gave myself an eagle putt on 18 which I three putted like I normally do in that situation. I just knew that I was playing well enough and I just had to put some good rounds together. And I was definitely not expecting the win after my first two rounds. I was trying to get a good round under my belt coming into this week for the Monday qualifier.

Jay after the round I heard you being interviewed and you commented that you were trying to win two, maybe three more events this season. Looking at our schedule what are some golf courses that you think suit your game and why?

Jay McLuen: I definitely like the more difficult golf courses. I think it limits the people that can really play well. It’s not just a putting contest anymore and as you know a putting contest is not something that I’m that good at. I like to be able to shoot 10, 11, 12 under on golf courses and be in contention. I think Walnut Creek is a course that’s like that as is Spring Creek. I think River Run is going to be beautiful now that they renovated it. It was good before but with new greens I think that course could really be fun to play.

Obviously this week we played bent fairways. You grew up playing golf in Georgia, so you are used to playing a lot of bermuda. Are there any things that you have to do to adjust to playing a different grass, or do you feel fairly comfortable? I know you’ve just mentioned Spring Creek as well which is also bent.

Jay McLuen: I would much rather play on bent grass. I grew up in North Georgia which was mostly bent grass. But I played a lot in South Georgia and South Carolina and gotten used to Bermuda but, I think it’s a lot easier to putt and chip on bent grass because you don’t have to play the grain as much and things like that. I feel comfortable on either one, but I would prefer bent.

Jay this is your third year playing the Tarheel Tour and although you’ve won all three years, clearly your play has gotten a lot better in 2007 and now it seems like it’s getting a lot better in 2008. What are the things that you’ve been working on in the off-season and as the season progresses? What are your goals for the rest of 2008?

Jay McLuen: I’ve always been kind of a long hitter, but I’ve been a little sporadic. I think the thing that’s helped me the most in the last six to eight months is my driver. I’m hitting it as far and as straight as I’ve ever hit it and that just gives me the opportunity to have short irons and scoring clubs in my hands. Also my putting has really improved. I feel like I’m a lot better with the putter. I don’t feel like I’m as consistent as I need to be, but I feel like I’m a little better with it as far as eliminating three putts. I just feel like overall everything’s gotten a little better and mentally I feel a lot better. I don’t feel like I get nervous any more. I feel like it’s just another day on the golf course where I go out there and try to shoot as low as I can.

What do you work on when you’re on the putting green. Do you work on your stroke or on your distance control? What’s your routine out there?

Jay McLuen: The biggest thing that I’ve worked on is speed control. I feel like you don’t have to read greens, especially with long putts. You don’t have to be that good of a putter as far as reading the greens if you get your speed right. You can misread a putt by a foot, two feet and still have a two footer or a three footer coming back for par even if you don’t read it right. So I think the biggest thing is speed control, just eliminating the stupid mistakes of three putting. Three putts are the worst momentum killer in golf I feel.

We were at the tournament scoring and we noticed the scores the second day increased fairly significantly from day one. It was about a half a shot harder than it was the first day. The golf course changed a lot and dried out throughout the week. What were some things that you guys were having to deal with out there to adjust your game to the golf course?

Jay McLuen: The greens the first day were real soft. The ball was pretty much stopping wherever it hit and then the second day they got a little drier and a little quicker, and the last day they were really firm. I think that was the biggest difference in the scoring. People were probably flying the ball the same distances and not realizing that the greens were a little bit firmer. But other than that, the wind picked up a little bit late in the afternoon on the second round and then it was blowing about 20 to 25 mph all day on the final round.

Jay you recently signed on with the host of the TPGG Classic, The Tour Players Golf Group. They’re your management company now. How has signing with them and their interest and support for you changed the way that you play? What kind of a positive effect has it had on you?

Jay McLuen: It’s a huge effect. The last two years I haven’t really had anybody sponsor me at all. I had one guy give me a little bit of cash in my first year out and then after that I pretty much played on my own money. That’s difficult when you’re coming down the stretch and you may have a bad putting round and you miss the cut. It’s just one of those things where every shot wasted is money wasted basically. This year’s been a lot less stressful, just being able to free up and just play golf and not have to worry about making house payments and car payments and things like that. I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s allowed me to just go out and play golf, which has taken a huge financial burden off of me where I can just free wheel it and not necessarily worry about whether I make a cut or not. It’s just easier to play that way.

Well Jay, congratulations again on winning. That was a fantastic closing round. It’s been nice talking to you and I’m pretty sure that we’ll be having this same chat at some time further down the round this year. Thanks for joining us.

Jay McLuen: Well I hope so. Thanks a lot. Goodbye.