Interview

Cabrera with Hernán Rey as caddie at Bay Hill: “He was thinking about the card. I wasn’t.”

Wegolf 08 Jul 2020

In this IG Live, we relive with Pato some of his most unforgettable moments at Bay Hill and Augusta. “How could I be afraid of a little ball on a fairway?”

You can also listen to it here:

These were his most prominent phrases:

“Golf doesn’t give you anything for free; it puts you exactly where you belong. If you believe you can, you can. And if you don’t believe it, stay home.”

About the final day at Bay Hill, with Hernan Rey as caddie, when he needed to secure his PGA card in 2002:

“I remember we had a talk on the 16th hole, a par 5. I hit a drive, but it landed just in the rough, next to the cross bunker.

- Pato: ‘Hernán, it’s going to have to be a 4-iron. I’m going for the green.’

- Hernán: ‘No, it’s in the rough. Here, hit it 100 yards. We have 200, hit 100 and leave 100...’

He gave me the wedge and walked away. So I played it safe, and after the third shot—short pin, water in front, and downwind. There was no way. I landed it 3 meters short of the hole and it went 10 meters past. I two-putted.

- Hernán: ‘We made par.’

- Pato: ‘Yes. And if I’d hit the iron, I would have cleared it, holed out, and made a 3...’

- Hernán: ‘And what if it went in the water?’

- Pato: ‘But I wasn’t thinking about going in the water, I was thinking about going to the green.’

“He was thinking about the card. I wasn’t thinking about the card.”

When he reached the 18th hole, in second place, 2 shots behind Tiger:

“I’m a fade player, the pin was far right, in a little corner, right there, crosswind to the left. I aim at the stick with an eight, the wind brings it back. I ballooned it a little. Boom, in the water. 7. And the other guy was fuming... I told him: ‘Don’t worry.’ ‘Why?’ ‘If I’m in the same situation, I’d do it again.’

“There are shots and then there are shots. One thing is wanting to do it and another is having the guts. From behind that bunker, I didn’t have another choice... What was I going to do? Play it safe? To make a 6, to make a 5... If I hit it in the water, I still make a 6. I mean, if you do the math... I was behind the bunker. If I go in the water, 3, 4 drop, 2 putts, I make a 6. If I play it safe, chip it up and miss, I make a 6. It’s the same thing. I’ll take the risk. If you think about it... But the other way I could make a 3. I always think I can do the least possible. If I have 250 yards, even if there’s 20 meters of water... I can hole it. If the ball is smaller than the hole... I’m taking the shot, right?”

“When you see the problems, that’s when you get scared. You have to look at the hole. If you’re scared, buy a dog. Not fear. You know when I was scared? When I stole a chicken and the owner was chasing me. How could I be afraid of a little ball on a fairway?”