Because I'm a blogger with no connections and no real influence in the golf world, most of my internal knowledge is from a second-party. This week, on Golf.com, they have an interview with Hunter Mahan. A couple of the better stuff below.
Q: Most of you guys still aren't household names. If Tiger pulled an Annika and decided to retire, the Tour would be in deep trouble, no?
A: Monumental trouble. The Tour would never admit it but they need Tiger way more than Tiger needs the Tour. It's tough — people don't know the younger players. If you ask most fans following a tournament to write down who they know, they'll write Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
So shouldn't the Tour do more to promote up-and-comers like you?
Personally I think they do a lot more for the international players. They try to get Camilo [Villegas] out there as much as any player I've ever seen, basically because while he's good-looking and young, he's also Colombian. He's Latin. They don't do the Americans many favors.
The Presidents Cup sounds like fun. Has the Ryder Cup become a chore?
Phil Mickelson and Tiger — their time is worth money. And for the PGA of America, the Ryder Cup is a moneymaker like no other. They don't have to pay anything. I think when [Mark] O'Meara said players should get paid for it or some of the money given to their charities, I think [he said that] because the PGA takes so much out of the event that the players don't really get anything. Is it an honor to play? Yes, it is. But their time is valuable. This is a business.
With the constant traveling, how does a guy like you find a girlfriend?
Truly it's difficult. It's not a big concern, though. It's the last thing I want to worry about. It's just going to happen. I'm very happy being single and doing whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it, and not have to ask permission to do anything. Golf is still No. 1 to me.
This is the main reason a big magazine would never hire me. I'd follow that last question up with, "But you're getting tons of ass, right?"
