Graham DeLaet is ready for his inaugural Masters Tournament, which will be held at the Augusta Golf Course on April 10 to 13. DeLaet is the first-ever Saskatchewan golfer to be invited to the prestigious event.
Graham DeLaet is ready for his inaugural Masters Tournament, which will be held at the Augusta Golf Course on April 10 to 13.
DeLaet is the first-ever Saskatchewan golfer to be invited to the prestigious event.
Already DeLaet toured the Augusta Golf Course, which he thought was a worthwhile opportunity. "It really helped to get the wow factor out of the way. The course was pretty much everything that I had imagined."
"At first, it didn't seem real to me that I was there," said DeLaet, who held a teleconference with media on Wednesday.
After many years of watching the Masters on TV, Delaet felt like he knew the golf course already. Although bad weather prevented him from playing a full round, DeLaet did walk the par-72, 7,435-yard layout and made mental notes regarding the lay of the land.
"It was drizzly rain and cold the first day and it was pretty tough on my body to swing in that kind of cold with that many layers on," explained DeLaet.
"The next day I was supposed to tee off and it was 33 degrees Fahrenheit, so I just grabbed a couple of wedges and a putter and walked the golf course and chipped and putted because I knew it wasn't going to be good for my body to play."
He felt that the course suits his game. "It's long it's a beast of a golf course. So having some length is a huge advantage around that place," said DeLaet.
As for the course itself, DeLaet feels that it's basically in perfect shape despite the fact that Georgia had a pretty rough winter. It was a little soft when he played, but of course it rained at that time as well.
There were a couple of holes that looked uncomfortable to DeLaet. He talked about the 18th hole, which was lengthened significantly over the years and requires golfers to drive the ball through a narrow chute to a fairway that bends uphill to the right. "It's probably a three-wood off that tee, but I like to turn my three-wood and it doesn't really fit that shot and then a driver is a lot of club there and you almost have to cut it."
The treacherous greens at Augusta will challenge DeLaet, as there are lightning fast downhills and slower than expected uphills. An Augusta caddy also went with DeLaet and his caddy, Julien Trudeau, when they toured the course. DeLaet said it helped him get a better understanding of what awaits him in the Masters tournament.
"You have to drive it well and hit your irons precisely. When it comes down to it, the guys who are winning and finishing 10th, it's all about holing putts out there," said DeLaet. "If I feel like I can hit it as good as I can and have one of those weeks with my putter, I feel like it may be a real special week."
DeLaet is a little nervous about golfing at the Masters, but he also admitted that he gets first-tee nerves every single week. He recalled the nerves he felt at the President's Cup, saying he anticipates his first appearance at Augusta to be something similar.
"The most important thing is to have fun out there, and enjoy the fact that I am golfing at the Masters," said DeLaet. He said that the Augusta is a course that at times can challenge a player, so it will be important to control his emotions and concentrate on hitting his shots.
He also spoke about how those emotions get more and more intense the further a golfer goes into the tournament. "It starts to feed the fire and I hope to find that fire while I am at the Masters."
Expert advice is very valuable to DeLaet, and he has already spoken to 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir about the course. He is hopeful to get a practice round with Weir during tournament week.
"Obviously Mike is a guy who's won (at the Masters). He has played enough Masters that he knows where to miss and what the sucker pins are. He knows where guys tend to make mistakes and how to control your emotions," said DeLaet.
It was easy for DeLaet to remember exactly where he was when Weir won the Masters in 2003. "I can remember getting goosebumps and butterflies," he said. "Mike is a great supporter of me and I can lean on him for advice from time to time."
"Obviously to pick a past champion's brain could be super valuable out there."
Mike Weir had some positive words himself, when he was interviewed by media on the upcoming Masters tournament. "I think Graham obviously has the type of game that can do very well there. He hits it long, he hits it very high. He's a powerful guy. He's worked hard on his short game, which has gotten so much better."
After competing on the PGA Tour for four years, DeLaet automatically qualifies for all four major tournaments. He was very selective about his schedule this year, choosing to miss tournaments that he played in previous years, just to be prepared for the more major events.
"It is a good problem to have, I am playing in great events that I have never played at before," said DeLaet. Many of the tournaments that he has competed in give him more points on the Official World Golf rankings.
He has also made a lot of friendships during his time on the PGA Tour. "I find that I get along with everyone really well. There are lots of players that you have things with common with."
"I really had to prove myself as a player, which is true for any rookie on the course," said DeLaet. "In your rookie year, you find out quickly how hard it is to stay out there, in the Tour."
"It is a little crazy to know all these legends now, and to feel that I belong," said DeLaet. He added that many of the other players who competed at the Masters have given him information or advice on the event.
He has picked the brain of his President's Cup captain Nick Price, and that of 1992 champion Fred Couples.
DeLaet is very aware of the effect his success has on junior golfers in Saskatchewan, especially Weyburn where DeLaet started his own junior career. "It is really amazing to see the ambition of the junior golfers who are out there on the course now."
It will also be an amazing week for his family, since both his parents, and wife Ruby's parents, will support Graham during his Masters debut.
"Dad has dreamed about this moment getting to watch the Masters in person," said DeLaet. "It is a bucket list item for any golfer to play here, so I think he is pretty excited that his son is playing at the event."
DeLaet even feels that his next tournament, the Shell Houston Open, will help prepare him for the Masters. "I feel that I have a good chance at the Shell Houston Open," said DeLaet. "They build it similar to Augusta, in regards to the speed of the greens, so it will be a good way to prepare for the Masters."
The Shell Houston will be held at the Golf Club of Houston in Texas. It will be a tight week for DeLaet, as he will fly out to Augusta on Monday, April 7.
DeLaet said he's also been working on fine-tuning his game to suit the conditions he expects to see at Augusta.
"I've been hitting off a lot more tight lies and trying to hit some higher, softer shots with my irons," he said. "I've really been trying to work the ball on the range even more so than I normally do, because you can really use a lot of slopes and kind of kill balls into slopes and ride balls with the slope, so I've been trying to do a lot of that on the driving range."
