Kevin Chappell, PGA Tour pro, hops on the train for an unforgettable hour interview. Chapp shares a never before told story from the first time Tiger hit full shots when he and Tiger co-hosted a clinic for the TW foundation a few weeks ago. He also takes us behind the scenes at the President’s Cup, shares his craziest story from his early professional days and even talks conspiracy theories. Chapp has one of the best personalities on tour and this hour is unlike any golf interview you’ve ever heard.
Bio
From Fresno, CA
Played at UCLA
32nd ranked player in the world (1161 spots ahead of Tiger Woods)
Won first PGA Tour event at Valero this past season
Played and won in his first President’s Cup in 2017
Learn more about Chapp, his foundation and other fun facts at kevinchappell.com
The Warm Up:
Q: What’s worse? Getting a phone call that your kids got arrested for shoplifting in China or your kids going to USC? A: I’m going to say kids going to USC. From the sounds of it, costs a lot less to get a kid out of China vs. sending your kid to school in Compton.
President’s Cup:
Q: First word that comes to mind for some of your President’s Cup teammates and captains: A: DJ – Athlete A: Phil – Wow. Wow is my answer A: Hoffman – Partner A: Kisner – Entertainment A: JT – Trophies A: Stricker – Captain A: Furyk – Captain A: Tiger – Good sport (I know that’s not one word, but he took a lot of heat at the President’s Cup and took it all in stride) A: Spieth – Mature
Q: How do you compare your first PGA Tour Win at Valero this year vs. winning your first President’s Cup? A: Obviously, my win at Texas was great to get that monkey off my back and because I did that I was set up to make the President’s Cup team. Golf is such an individual sport and 99% of golf we play as a pro is as an individual – so that was a big stepping stone in my career. But, when I look back at my career, I think that the President’s Cup will be the turning point in my career that kind of set off some momentum forward, kind of a jumping off point. Not necessarily the win at Valero.
Q: How much does your President’s Cup experience motivate you moving forward (i.e. Make the Ryder Cup team in Paris)? A: Well, I mean you asked me about Furyk and that’s why I answered with “Captain”. He is the captain of that team when we go to Paris next year and everyone said the President’s Cup is great. The Ryder Cup is that much bigger. To play in one in Europe with the crazy Euro fans would be quite the experience. I plan on not missing that one.
Q: Let’s talk about the moment captured on TV with your caddie Joe on Sunday at the President’s Cup, on the tee box at 18 with the chance to clinch a win for USA. The TV mics picked up Joe saying, “Aim at the American flag. Just right of the flag, with a slight draw.” As I was watching this, I lost my mind and visualized a fucking American eagle flying down on your shoulder as you flag hunted and got that W for team USA. I mean come on, “Aim at the American Flag” is your caddies advice with one shot to win your first team event? I couldn’t handle it. I assume you were thinking the same? A: Well, if I would’ve thought about it the same way you did, I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it either (Laughs). So I’m glad it was a typical conversation between Joe and I (He talks and I don’t listen). To be in that situation to have a chance to clinch the point is something I wanted and something I asked for because of the way things ended on Saturday. I felt like there was some unfinished business. Unfortunately, I only got a half. Leishman played nicely that day. We both played nicely. We each gave away too many holes to say either of us deserved to win. But, a draw is great in that situation and got the team a half point closer to winning. That scenery there on the 18th hole, unique to finish a round of golf on a par 3, but that backdrop you’re aiming at, a building in the New York skyline or an American flag, it’s very unique and I thought it was a fantastic finishing hole.
Q: We felt this awkward, funny tension in the room at the President’s Cup winning press conference every time DJ answered a question. We’ve got to ask. Over under 6.5 beers pounded by DJ before that presser? A: Well, there was about 2 hours from when DJ finished to the press conference. DJ got there quickly. I’m not one to talk because I finished first and let’s say I wasn’t drinking water while watching golf there at the end of the day. So, ya know that’s all a bit grey for me as well. I’ve heard DJ was excited to be in that press conference.
Q: How about the Boog (David Berger) calling you out in the presser for not getting the clinching point? A: Ya know, Boog got the job done, and I can’t fault him for that. I like the subtle jab he threw. Definitely will motivate me, and it might not play in his favor moving forward if we come down the stretch together. Q: Si Woo shakin’ dat ass? Tell me about this press conference classic. It’s a song you just can’t get out of your head. A: It is a song you can’t get out of your head. The fanatics, not sure how much they showed on TV, but they had some pretty clever songs for the international players and that was one of the songs they were singing. I didn’t get to play on Thursday, and I was on the tee box for everyone going off and getting to experience an atmosphere with 3 former presidents, the fanatics singing songs – what an experience. Hats off to the fanatics for some of their creativity with those songs.
Q: What do the captains do? What are they doing for the 2 years prior to event week? How much of the work are pairings vs. creating an environment to help the guys feel comfortable and hopefully play their best? A: I’d say a little bit of both. That was the probably biggest shocker to me was how much they do and how much time they put in. Now, you have your traditional teams that were successful. Your Spieth and Reeds, Kuch and DJ. Now you’ll see Rickie and JT play together in these events a lot. So you have those that will be set because of their success they’ve had in the past. Azinger brought us the “pods” in these team events. They wanted us to be comfortable with everyone, and something you saw in our team (Everyone got along so well) and were friends and got along with one another so it really didn’t matter who we got paired with. You were going to adapt and go out and play. For the most part, they kept us in our pods but on Tuesday night they told us they were going to switch it up a bit. Kisner and I were originally supposed to play together and Charley and Phil were supposed to play together. They switched it up and obviously, I went with Charley and Phil played with Kisner.
Q: I saw Phil and Stricker tickle each other on their way out of the Press Conference. I assume this was happening all week? A: (Laughs) I don’t know about the tickling or what went on behind closed doors besides what was happening in my room. But definitely, a laid-back atmosphere and very happy go lucky.
Tiger:
Q: Tiger seems to make the effort to spend time with a lot of the younger players on tour, including yourself. What have you learned from him? A: So Tiger’s always been great to me. I don’t know if it’s our connection with Nike or what, but he’s always been very open with me. My first experience with him was actually at Liberty National with him in 2011. It was my second year on Tour, we get paired together, second to last group final day when he was battling through that injury. Just to hear that he’s a real guy. Loves to banter, loves to talk shit and just be one of the guys. It’s actually very comforting and shows you that despite his accomplishments in the spectrum of athletes or celebrity in the world, he just really wants to be a normal guy. He projects this in the team atmosphere. It’s a comfortable setting with all 16 guys and their significant others. So it’s comfortable. I got a glimpse of it at Liberty National in 2011, and you really got to see it at the President’s Cup and even more when I did a clinic with him a week later and saw more of it when it was just he and I – was a bit more intimate.
Q: Nice segway. Tell us everything about this clinic at the Tiger Woods Invitational in California. How was the traj? Penetrating flight? Power? We want every detail. Is Tiger back?
A: Alright so let me start on how this came about. It came a week before the President’s Cup where some of his people that run that event there from his foundation which is phenomenal by the way, they called and said Tiger’s not hitting balls yet, we know you’re from Northern California, would love to have you do the clinic with him. You’re going to hit shots. Tiger is just going to MC. Real fun. Laid back. Quick trip. Fly you in and out. It’ll be great for you. That came to me, and I was happy to do it. Monterey is close to where I grew up, and anytime Tiger asks you to do something, you should look hard at it and probably answer yes. I showed up Monday night, watched football. Had a glass of wine or two. Saw a few people from his camp. Wake up the next day and go have breakfast with Tiger. So we’re just small chatting and catching up from the week. He says he’s feeling good. I ask him what we’re doing for the clinic. I’m just going to hit some and you’ll just MC? Tiger goes, “No I’m gonna hit some too.” Let me remind you I was with him 7 days earlier and he was telling us he could barely hit it 60 yards at the President’s Cup. So I was like, oh OK? So we go out there and they introduce us. Fortunately, the MC was Danny Conway, a former Bruin (On Tiger’s board), and I lived across the hall in college from his brother Topher. So he knows me and hyped me up and beat Tiger down a bit so that was humorous. So we start hitting shots and you could hear the strike. It was nice. I was thinking to myself the whole time, you’re only 6 days into hitting balls and it sounds like this huh? So he starts talking about hitting shots. This is what I do to shape it, hit it high, hit it low. So he starts hitting one. He hits it high, I hit it a little higher. He hits one low and I hit it equally as low. He goes, it’s going to be one of these clinics I see? So the wind is blowing 20 off the right and he hits a cut shot that flies dead straight, which is pretty impressive considering the wind is blowing so hard off the right. So I hit one and it falls a little left and he goes “Not bad” heeing and hawing a bit. Then he goes, “OK can you hit this one?” He aims 60 yards right and says you have to start it over there by the tree and land right of the flag. It was a big 60-yard hook. So he hits it to like 3 feet. And I’m like OK. This is when I started questioning either how good he is or maybe he’s been practicing a bit longer than what we’ve been told. He gave it a little sarcastic laugh as a “Got ya” and I didn’t execute the shot. Enough said. We started hitting 4 irons in the same wind and hard to tell how far they were going relative to each other but his ball sounded great, changing heights and changing spins wonderfully. But he did say he couldn’t hit drivers and started answering questions once I started hitting some drives – that was the end of it. I’m as big of a fan of the game as anyone, and I look forward to competing against him int he Bahamas next week and excited to see where his game is.
Q: Considering what we’ve seen with one of the best ever getting the chipping yips, do you work hard to be great or do you work hard because you are afraid you’ll lose it?
A: That’s a good question. When I turned pro, I kind of said I was going to give it all I had until I was 40 years old. That was 19 years from when I turned pro, I’m was going to work as hard as I could, and if I could look at myself in the mirror at 40 years old, I probably wouldn’t have to play golf anymore if I didn’t want to. I still could but I wouldn’t have to. That’s kind of what drives me. Not necessarily the scenarios you painted, I’m self-driven. That’s my goal. I’m 31 years old now, so I got 9 years left to give it all I have and we’ll see where I’m at when I have that conversation with myself. Or if I want to play less of a schedule, coach baseball or whatever else I want to do. That’s kind of how I’ve been self-motivated. So I break it down by getting better every day. Whether that’s learning to hit a new shot today or justify getting better by drinking 6 beers tonight instead of 8. All about how you twist it.
Q: That’s interesting. We’ve heard Rory talk about this too and how the younger players aren’t going to play for as many years as the previous generation. A: Listen. Our generation, 35 and under, have played for more money than anyone has ever played for thanks to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and that generation bringing golf to the forefront. Guys don’t necessarily need to grind it out anymore into your mid 40’s. That’s when you see why guys really play the game. At times, golf is something I really enjoy but it’s also my job and everyone has bad days at work. It’s all about managing those and trying to limit them.
Q: Tiger’s arms in person. Intimidating or inspiring? A: I guess I look at them like “What’s the point?” I know he’s not hitting 330 because of his biceps, let me tell you. But the guy is in phenomenal shape. He is fit to the eye. His waist must be a 28.
Life on Tour:
Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell yourself back when you turned pro? A: Honestly, be patient. I’ve been fortunate to never take a step backward in my career. I went from having no status, to Monday qualifying, to status on the Web.com, to having a PGA Tour card, to keeping a PGA Tour card, to each year finishing ahead of the last in the FedEx Cup, to getting to top 50 in the world, to winning a golf tournament, to playing in a President’s Cup, whatever it is. I’ve done that in a very sequential order. Not as fast as I thought it would’ve happened, but it’s so cliche to say stay patient, but since I did stay true to what I believed in and stay the course I was able to accomplish those things.
Q: Kuch has talked a lot about this. Talk about your natural progression. Making more cuts as time goes on, more top finishes, close calls, then finally a win. Is it just the belief that gets stronger? Managing your 2nd round game when it isn’t quite there to still make the cut? Talk about the final round 68 at Valero to win.
A: The natural progression of the game is one we all battle. We all go through this at our pace and own rate. You see a Spieth or JT who have so much success early on. You look at a guy like Matt Kuchar, he’s a journeyman. He’s been up and down and once back down to Web.com and back to the PGA Tour. He’s a perennial top 20 player in the world now and true to himself. He’s never going to try to do something he can’t do. Everything about him is unorthodox. He will flat out go out and try to beat your ass. It’s something I can learn and have learned from. It doesn’t matter what it looks like or even what it feels like. At the end of the day, it’s about shooting a low score. So on a Friday afternoon when you don’t even feel a part of the tournament and you birdie 2 of the last 3 to make the cut by 1 and give yourself another chance to move up the leaderboard on the weekend, that’s important to have tournaments to salvage when you don’t have it. That’s one thing I’ve learned. Limit mistakes. I’ve learned I’m talented enough. If I can stay present, stay in a golf tournament, in a round, I’m gonna have my run. It’s a matter of waiting out that run and knowing that it’s going to come. You’ll have that magic hour whether that’s every day or magical round in a tournament that keeps you in it.
Q: Were you channeling past successes and talent from your amateur days and Web.com win to make it happen at Valero this year and capture your first PGA Tour win? A: You hear this all the time when people have a breakthrough. They were so calm and everything was so clear, and it really was that day. I kinda felt like I was totally in control that day and it was mine to win. But then I make bogey on 15. To fall back into a 1 shot lead. I told my caddie, we’re the only ones to finish at -12. Brooks and Finau were both on 18 and no one was going to get there in two, pin in the back and likely wouldn’t give them an eagle (Even those guys). So we’re the only guys that can finish -12. If we give ourselves looks the last 3 holes, odds are I’ll probably make one of the three. So we immediately set a goal and tried to accomplish that goal. Get 3 looks and see what happens. I hit a great shot into 16, I actually thought it was closer to the hole it was, right on line. The closer we got to the green the farther the ball went away from the hole ya know? I was like dammit! Thought it was 2 feet ended up a 20 footer. So just missed the 20 footer. 17 is a unique hole there, driveable hole, real goofy green, 3 tiers and gotta get it on the right spot. I hit it on the right fringe but really didn’t have a play to get it close in two. I could’ve chipped it, off a tight lie, basically chipping it off the green, downwind and if you mishit it can go off the green. My caddie Joe and I finally made a good decision and said to stick to the plan and just get a look. So I hit a putt and really just didn’t hit it hard enough so it got taken left and had a 15 footer and barely missed that one. And 18’s tee shot is something I had hit before under the same circumstances, something I was comfortable with and knew I didn’t have to smash it so I just threw a little heel cut out there in the fairway. Laid it up further than I did on Saturday where I almost laid it up in the hazard. So we made sure to hit it further and had a good number. When I hit the wedge shot it looked a little long to me, and the crowd reacted a bit goofy. Now that I’ve seen the highlights, the ball hit the fringe and spun and was a good look. A putt that is often made, kinda knew the read after Charley made that putt a year before to win. I told myself just to hit a good putt and see what happens. It looked good the whole way and you got to see a raw reaction to a bunch of close calls.
Q: Walk us through your practice routine. Is there a recent change or drill that’s changed your game or something you spend the most time on that the hackers can benefit from? A: Good question. For me currently, as I’m doing this podcast, my focus is on the short game. I have a focus for the offseason, and I found a lot of distance last year off the tee and when I broke down my year statistically I didn’t take advantage of that. Getting closer to the hole didn’t necessarily equate to making more birdies. There were two reasons for that. I didn’t wedge it as well in the past and when I did wedge it well I didn’t convert putting. I purchased a trackman which I swore I would never do. Not for the sake of the numbers with the golf swing but more so tracking the golf ball and how far it’s going. I’ve created tests for myself or combines as Trackman calls it to challenge my wedge game and iron play. So the goal for the year putting it is to create a plan and stick with it for the 25 tournaments I play. Never change, never change putters, never change what I’m practicing, stick to the process and see how the results tally up at the end of the year. One thing I’d do in the past is if you have a bad day, you blow it up and try something new. For someone who historically hasn’t putted as good as others, I need to try something different and this is something I believe in and am committed to.
Q: We noticed you have a mix set since Nike stopped making equipment. How often are you testing new equipment throughout the season and what’s that been like? A: It’s hard to answer that question honestly because I don’t really even know what I’m playing at the moment. I had to put some thought into that. I play TaylorMade woods, a Titleist golf ball, and a Scotty Cameron putter. That’s what I’m committed to and will play for sure this year. As far as irons and wedges, I’m still looking to find something to replace the Nike stuff I played. I have played some other stuff in competition last year and as of late. Still not sold on anything but have worked with other manufacturers and tried to enjoy the experience. It’s unique in our business to be a free agent and get to test things. It’s fun, but it’s also difficult because if you hit a bad shot you can suddenly blame that on the golf club. So my wife isn’t too happy with my garage right now because of the all the equipment, but I’ve always said I’m going to play what’s best for me. Right now, that’s still playing Nike irons, TaylorMade woods, Scotty Cameron putter and a Titleist ball.
Q: Speaking of your garage, where the hell do you put all the balls you stop playing after you make a birdie? (Chapp’s only superstition is to switch to a new ball after every birdie because he believes a ball only has one birdie in it) A: That question needs to be asked to Joe. They may fund his golfing addiction. I don’t know where they are. Joe does have a solid swing. He played in Canada for a few years. We played golf recently at Whisper Rock here in Arizona and played with two other pros and Joe was the low man in the group.
Q: Here’s a fun scenario for you. Let’s say you reach your goal and retire at 40 years old. You’re now 41 with your core group of buddies from Tour. You’re all sitting around a fire pit, stogie in hand, maybe some scotch, and you’re telling Tour stories about how dumb you all used to be back in the day. What story is being told? A: Wow (laughs). How dumb I used to be. The Web.com Tour was may more fun than the PGA Tour. I met my wife shortly after securing my PGA Tour card on the Web.com Tour. I had 9-10 months of fun traveling with a buddy doing some strange things. One thing that comes to mind that’s pretty clean, and I wouldn’t be embarrassed if my kids ever heard this. We decided to drive from Columbus, OH to Omaha, NE. It was me, my caddie (Who was a college roommate of mine Brandon Christensen), Zach Williamson who caddies for Bud Cauley now (Used to work for Jonas Blixt) and Brandon Destefano who at the time was working for Colt Knost and last worked for Andres Gonzalez. We’d literally gamble on anything and everything. So we’re driving, and we decide to see who would tap out first with the car’s heater on as high as it can go. Quickly, clothes started coming off and pretty soon the 4 of us are in our boxers in a Jeep driving through middle America. The guys not driving are drinking beers, warm beer by now. And this was probably a $20 bet. Ya know, just stupid stuff like that. I think we stopped at Isle Capri, a casino near where the John Deere is played and pretty sure I got stopped from gambling that night, needed a timeout. That trip itself probably ended at a strip club somewhere along the way. That type of stuff is probably up there. There are a few stories I probably shouldn’t tell and won’t, but this is one that’s pretty clean and I’m not too embarrassed by. I’m just glad we didn’t get pulled over. That would’ve been weird.
Q: What are some of the things the media gets wrong when covering the Tour or anything they should cover more?
A: With social media, people’s personalities get to be shown more because you can control what people can say. The problem is, you’re at the mercy of other people’s interpretations. Things like sarcasm get lost through social media and everything gets taken so literal, and I’m sarcastic, so that’s frustrating for me. As far as golf goes, I think a lot of the writers or talking heads tend to forget what it’s like to hit a shot or grind out a score and that golf is a difficult game. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s trying and some days when it’s good it seems really easy. And when it’s hard you question if you’ll ever find it again. I think people lose sight of that and forget that we’re human beings and have raw, emotional feelings.
Q: You were a top collegiate player. What are some key differences between being at the top of the college/amateur ranks vs. a tour player in the top 125 on the money list?
A: The hardest thing I had to go through was managing time. When you’re in college, someone accounted for probably 18 hours of your day. Whether that was class, practice, workouts, study hall, whatever it was, you have a lot of your time accounted for. When you turn pro or not a part of a team anymore, you have 24 hours where you need to get everything done and no one’s doing it for you. That was my first growing pain. I need to do all these things, need to be in the gym, need to practice, eating well, social and have a balance or you’ll grind yourself out. The biggest difference golf-wise is just the discipline. There’s nothing that kills a round or tournaments like 3 putts, bogeys inside 150 yards and 6’s on par 5’s. You’ll see a successful tour professional do those things a LOT less than a college player. You can call those unforced errors, and if you can keep just that category itself off your scorecard for 72 holes, you’re probably going to be in contention regardless of what you do on the other holes. That’s got to be the biggest difference.
Q: Real talk for a second. Let’s do another hypothetical scenario. Let’s say you snap hook the shit out of the ball and in classic Tour Pro fashion, you look down at the turf and clubface in confusion? What is this? It’s all an act, right?
A: Ok so the ground look is I’m looking at the divot to see what the divot looked like. Then you look at the face to see if there was something on the face or something in between the face and the ball. Mostly though, I’ll say it’s an act. We’re being dramatic. Remember, we are entertainers man.
Q: Mic’d up caddies – why hasn’t it happened?
A: What is the positive in it for the player and the caddie, that’s what I want to know – I’m going to ask you a question. There’s nothing to gain for the player. It would be entertaining, I agree. But, you open up a can of worms that doesn’t necessarily need to be opened for the player and caddie and intrude on that relationship and the privacy that we can have at times. If that’s the case, where they’re editing out things the player wouldn’t like, I’d love to see the bloopers from the NFL and NFL Films mic’d up.
Majors
Q: What was your 2017 Masters Experience like? Great weekend to finish T-7 and having your family out there for the par 3 contest. A: So up until the Masters, 2017 had been a trying year professionally. I hadn’t really found any form. My daughter was born in January and speaking from experience from when my son was born in ’15, I kinda had the child hangover for a little while. Once the family started traveling, I tended to break out of my funk a little bit. That week was when they kind of started traveling. The Masters was a fun week having them. We stayed with the Kisners who have kids around the same age and we’re really close. Lot of wine at night and being parents and just relaxing and getting away from the stress of Augusta. So that side of it made it extremely enjoyable and obviously playing well and seeing my game come into form and to play a solid back 9 on Sunday to finish T-7 was great and created some momentum to go out and win my next event. That really showed what the Masters did for me mentally.
Q: You have had a T-23, T-10, T-3 already in your career at the U.S. Open. What is it about the US Open setup that seems to fit your eye? A: It’s a good question and gives a bit of insight into how I am as a person and how I look at things. I’ve always looked at the majors as “The guy who fucks up less is going to win.” In those events, you’re going to mess up and make bogeys and even make a double. It’s about doing that less. So there, when you’re in trouble, it’s about getting out of trouble and salvaging things. In a normal tour event, -20 is going to win so you’ve got to take more risks to try and stay in the golf tournament. But having this attitude in a US Open has given me more of a peace of mind and led to some success. Home Life
Q: Why do all golfers eventually get into fishing? Is it the zen factor? A: So I do enjoy fishing. Something I probably talk about doing more than I actually do. I grew up practicing at a par 3 course and driving range in Fresno called Riverpark, still there. Shout out. They had some lakes on the par 3 course so I’d go practice for a few hours and then go bass fish for a few hours. So that’s where I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it was really fishing. I didn’t study how to catch the bass, it was more these fish wanting to be caught because no one was fishing them. Even me as an amateur fisherman, I could catch fish there. It was the name of the game, should really be called catching, not fishing because a lot of time you go out there and don’t catch anything. But overall, golfers are outdoorsy similar to fishing and hunting. I’d love to fish more and have a better understanding of it, but definitely, a novice when it comes to that.
Q: Chapp loves conspiracy theories. Best conspiracy theory – go A: One of my favorites is the Denver airport and what’s being hidden there and all the subplots behind the Denver airport. I am a conspiracy theorist in the sense of I don’t think we always hear the true story. I’m not trying to take away lives that have been lost in some of these traditional conspiracy stories, but I do get infatuated with trying to figure out what the truth is. I’ve been known to stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching conspiracy theory videos and pay for it the next day. It’s involving art, if you have 45 minutes, go watch the Denver Airport conspiracy theory. The 9/11 has some entertaining theories to get into and even the Las Vegas shootings, which is awful, but there have been some pretty interesting ones out there on that which have caught my eye. It’s more about entertainment vs. disproving anything obviously.
Q: Tell us about your charity/oncology foundation and past work with Special Olympics. How can folks get involved or donate? A: So my wife and I have a foundation called Kevin Chappell’s Champions for Children. We raise money for the Oncology department at the Valley’s Children’s Hospital just outside Fresno, CA. They approached me, and we were just getting ready to get married and didn’t have a philanthropic direction. One Christmas, instead of getting each other stuff, we went to Toys ‘R Us and went to the hospital and every ward there spending time with the kids and their families. The one place that hit home for us was the Oncology department where you’d see multiple 10 or 12-year-olds by themselves getting chemotherapy because their parents couldn’t afford to miss work that day. We’ve been fortunate to be healthy but just wanted to do what we could. That’s been going on for 5 years and raised about a half million dollars. The giraffe head cover on my driver is something we sell on my website at kevinchappell.com and all proceeds go to the kids in the oncology department. As far as special olympics, my Godmother Michelle Carmichael, she taught special ed at Hoover High in Fresno, CA for 40 years and had an awesome summer program for the kids so I’d go to the summer program with her as an 8-year-old and saw them as my peers. They could do things I could do, we’d laugh and play. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were that summer camp with my Godmother, and we still try and help out where we can and you may see us turn our focus a bit in the future to that.
Q: Goal for 2018? A: One is a goal that I didn’t accomplish last year and that is the low 16 round total in the majors. You figure that one out.
Closing:
Q: Putting this on you as our current guest. Who on tour do you think would be the best guest on our next show? A: You’d be surprised by how entertaining Matt Kuchar is. Getting to know Matt on a more personal level at the President’s Cup. He is one of the funnier human beings I’ve ever met. Especially going to Georgia Tech, you wouldn’t expect a personality there. He’d tell you some good stories, talk some ping pong. I think Harold Varner would be another good get. Little under the radar compared to Kuch, but Harold is hilarious, he’s lived and a hell of a golfer.