It has been an exciting few years in the United States, but it was time to return to his sporting home, the European Tour, the circuit where he became huge with seven victories. He is not closing the door on a return to the PGA Tour, far from it. In fact, he is working to find a place among the top 50 golfers in the world and, in this way, earn a return to the biggest circuit on the planet.
He will succeed or not, but whatever happens, it will be without losing his way of being and acting, because Gonzalo is authentic, genius and figure. A chat with him, even with the difficulties posed by transoceanic communication, is always a pleasure. He thinks, analyzes and leaves nothing unanswered.
This year you are focusing on the European Tour calendar, can we say that you are closing your stage in the United States?
I am going to focus this year completely on the ET, it is true, but I would not say so much that I am closing a stage. As you know I still live in the United States, we are based in Florida, and the idea is to stay there as long as possible. It is also true that despite not playing the PGA Tour and the Web, you never know. If things go well in Europe, which hopefully they will, you can always think about returning to the PGA Tour via the Top 50 in the world, as I did in 2013. For the moment, rather than closing a stage, we can say that we left it on ‘stand by’.
In these American years you’ve played PGA Tour and Web.com. En global, ¿cómo ha sido la experiencia en USA?
It has been very enriching, even though I have not played at the level I expected or that I know I can give. But I have learned a lot by playing in the best circuit in the world and with the best players. The Web also brings you. In fact, it helps you see how much talent and grassroots golf there is in the United States. It’s very competitive, and only the top 25 go to the PGA Tour, so it forces you to get your act together. It makes you see how golf is changing, what it is becoming, a much more athletic sport for hitters, which has little to do with what it was 15 years ago. It has been a very formative stage from which I have learned both personally and professionally.
Is there much difference between the European and American circuits, at what levels are these differences found?
Yes there are, and they are noticeable. On the one hand, the ET travels around the world and there is more variety of courses, people and cultures, while in the U.S. everything is very similar. The courses, the people… it is more monotonous, but it is an incredible circuit where making a bogey is very expensive. The top golfers are very good in both circuits, but the average is a little bit stronger in the PGA, and the base is also stronger there.
On the other hand, golf is played differently. There, the courses are a bit wider and the ball has to fly a lot, hit it hard. In Europe, because of the courses and the weather, the ball flies differently, and there is a type of golf that I think is better suited to my conditions.
Do you recommend a circuit like the Web.com?
Of course. It’s a super competitive circuit where you have to play very well to get a place on the PGA Tour. It is the only way to reach the Top 50 in the world. Any young guy with aspirations to play on the PGA should know that the Web is the way, but it is true that it is not easy because it is a very complicated circuit.
Last year you played for 34 weeks, combining Web.com How was the experience of playing and traveling so much?
It was a bit crazy. I’m not 25 anymore and being away from home for so many weeks, without seeing the kids, is not a good idea. In total it was about 200,000 kilometers by plane, but it was worth it. I got the European card in that last week in Valderrama, but the bad thing was that I was left at the gates in the Web, in 76th place. So it was not as positive as I would have liked, but still the effort was well worth it. Physically and mentally it is a beating, that’s for sure. This year I hope that everything will be calmer and that I will be able to dose myself for the last few years I have left at a competitive level. I want to maximize them as much as possible.
Have you missed competing regularly on the European Tour during this time?
Yes, very much so. There is no doubt that this is where I feel most comfortable and where my friends are. I have a better time. In the U.S. you spend a lot of time alone, everyone is more on their own. Although they welcomed me with a lot of affection, it is true that Americans are more individualistic. In the ET there’s more of a group, and that makes missing a cut more pleasant. You know that later you’ll go out to dinner, have a few laughs with your friends and forget a little about what happened on the field. Everything is more complicated when you’re alone. Besides, I’ve also missed the staff, referees… In this circuit I have been a professional for ten years, and that makes a difference.
With the calendar in hand, which tournaments are you most looking forward to in 2019?
I was really looking forward to the desert tour, and especially the Qatar tournament, which I have always liked a lot because of the course, the conditions in which they play… but I missed the cut. Looking at the calendar, I’m looking forward to Valderrama, which is going to be a great tournament and which also gives places for the British Open, and the Spanish Open, which if it is finally played at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid will be another plus, as it is where I grew up as a player.
In short, it is a curious calendar that has been left with the movement of the PGA Championship to May and The Players to March. It seems that our main courses will be in June-July and September-October, so we will have to be well organized to arrive with strength to those stretches of the season. Besides, I would love to play a major, especially the US Open, which is held at Pebble Beach. I will play the qualifying rounds to try to get a place.
How do you see the young batch of Spanish professional golfers?
There is no doubt that there are young players who are coming on strong. I can’t tell you much about Otaegui because I haven’t been able to play with him, but in view of the results there is no doubt that he is a great player, he is especially good at Match Play and he will have a brilliant future. As for Adriá Arnaus, he is a spectacular golfer, with tremendous power and a great natural talent, I hope he does phenomenally well. Both are possibly the two young Spaniards with the best future. I also have a lot of faith in Jorge Campillo. He has been very solid for a couple of years and looks like he is about to break the shell, as we call winning for the first time.
In your blog you make reference to the new Rules of Golf, what is your opinion of them?
I like the new Rules very much in general, but it is like everything, we have been playing with some Rules for 35 years and when you change it feels strange. The first reaction is always of rejection, but I have read them carefully, I have been able to study them, and the truth is that I like them.
They change things like the issue of dropping at knee height, which at first glance sounds ridiculous. I understand that someone is penalized for dropping badly, for trying to take advantage by dropping, but in the case of Rickie Fowler in one of the last tournaments, dropping over the shoulder, I doubt that he could get any advantage. It would be rather the opposite.
But it is not a criticism, eh. The Rules are there for everyone and our duty is to comply with them, and if we do not comply with them, we will be penalized, and that’s it.
We have also read that you are working with the Focus Band system to manage concentration states.
Psychology is fundamental, especially when things are not going well. In those moments the head starts to spin too much and it is easy to get into vicious circles. Just as we work on the physical or technical part, we also have to train the psychological part on a daily basis. When things were going well for me on the golf course, I hardly gave any importance to my head, because just as there are vicious circles, there are also virtuous ones. Now I have started with Focus Band, specifically with Jason Goldsmith, who once worked with Jason Day and now works with Justin Rose. It’s a very interesting method to achieve that state of present awareness, so to speak, where you use your right brain and not your left brain to think as little as possible and let the athlete perform. That would be the goal of the Focus Band, to develop a routine that makes that athlete, that child, play and not think too much.
Changing the subject, you are a popular and active person on Social Networks, where you are not afraid to show your opinions on different current issues, have you ever thought about ‘cutting yourself off’ on Twitter?
You don’t know what I cut myself! Yes, I like the RRSS and I am not politically correct, you already know that. I like to give my opinion and I bite my tongue, and a lot.
What is your opinion of social networks in general?
Except for Twitter, I’m not very involved. I don’t have Facebook or Instagram. Twitter keeps you informed and you have some interaction with fans. I imagine that sponsors and others will take into account how many thousands or millions of followers you have, although in my case they were not going to find many. You have to be careful, as a lot of hoaxes are spread, but well, it keeps me entertained, especially in those moments when I’m alone.
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