David Ford on representing UNC men's golf at U.S. Amateur Championship

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Go to youtube.com slash presale to get $50 off. The US Amateur just wrapped up. North Carolina did not have anybody advance even past the round of 16, but they had I think three golfers in it, including David Ford who got to the round of 16 before a 19 hole loss. But his teammate Austin Greaser also got into was in the US Amateur. Remember he got to the finals a couple of years ago.

But David Ford has had a summer. He played at his first PGA Tour event, Barbasol in Kentucky, when the PGA Tour was over in the UK. I think it was the Scottish Open, either the Scottish or the Open Championship. Before that he won the Palmer Cup.

Right? He's also going to get a chance to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational coming up next year. That's a big event. And he made the Walker Cup team, which is the, I guess the amateur version of the Ryder Cup.

And David Ford joins us on the Adam Gold Show. Man, with everything that has gone on. What has this summer been like for you? Yeah, it's been a lot of a lot of traveling, a lot of different places and a lot of information.

I guess some stress regarding who's going to be teammates for the Walker Cup. But honestly, it's been like a good 10 days, even though there's been a lot of moving parts, a lot of changing places, I've got to do a lot of cool things, talk to a lot of cool people. And I mean, probably some of the best golf I've played all summer shows. I say the last 10 days have definitely been a blessing.

Busy, but definitely a blessing. Automatically qualified for the Walker Cup. And for people who do not know, that would be the amateur version of the Ryder Cup, although it is just against Great Britain and Ireland. And did you know going in? And I know you qualified, I believe, some time ago, but did you know going into this season that the Walker Cup was going to be the old course St. Andrews? Yeah, I did. I guess I knew it was probably, probably about 10 months ago, or maybe eight to 10 months ago is when I kind of started clicking that it was going to be St. Andrews and I had a chance for it.

Just just your thoughts on that. I don't know if you've ever played it before. But I'm sure you have seen it.

Maybe you have played it on a video game. My kid plays it on something called the World Golf Tour on on his phone all the time. Your thoughts about just that opportunity? Yeah, I think there's honestly no better place to go if you're going to spend a Walker Cup on the other on the other team's turf. So USA going international to St. Andrews is honestly really good because I think it's a spot that there is information on. We've been able to do all the research, I guess, on the golf course and been able to watch some of Tiger's clips when he played there. Just a lot of a lot of information we've been able to gather but also a lot of I've gotten a lot of words that there's going to be a lot of Americans there to support. So the experience in Scotland of going to the old course and seeing everything for me for the first time over there is going to be awesome.

But also, from a winning perspective, I think there's honestly no better place for the Americans to roll up and win. So you're you're about to be on the Walker Cup team. You've already played in a Palmer Cup at the Palmer Cup. You also were voted in I guess to play in next year's Arnold Palmer Invitational. You've already played your first PGA Tour event at Barbasol, which I believe was opposite the Open Championship this year.

Either that or was opposite the Scottish Open the week before. I think it's been a summer of really cool experiences. I don't feel like my game was in I felt like honestly I felt like my game was probably in the worst spot it's been in the last year. I didn't hit it as well as I did in the spring especially but also in the fall. And I felt like I left a lot of shots on the golf course. But just for the experiences that I got to have, I got to meet a lot of cool people, obviously playing the PGA Tour event, the Barbasol, got voted in by my peers to go to the Arnold Palmer Invitational in this upcoming march. And kind of looking back on it, I've seen how even in the summers where you don't play your best golf, I think I've been blessed this summer to not play my best golf but to get to do a lot of cool things and see a lot of my my closest friends and meet a lot of cool people. So I guess that's a big evaluation of my summer.

There's a lot of a lot of traveling and really busy but also really fun. We're talking with David Ford, North Carolina Rising Junior is headed to the Walker Cup in about a week and a half. He'll play at the Old Course.

You have two teammates with you. And I know you didn't get past a round of 16 at the USM but a teammate of yours, Austin Greaser, came pretty close to winning it a couple years ago, I believe at Oakmont. How much of a help has he been for you throughout this whole process? Yeah, I think he's been a huge help, not necessarily for the Walker Cup in that process but more so just being on the road with him. I room with him usually, at least I did this past year, my sophomore year. I room with him on the road when we travel to tournaments during the college season and I guess just having somebody that I can talk to about anything and then also having somebody that is really good at golf is really helpful. He works incredibly hard. He's an awesome dude. He'll shoot you straight.

He'll tell you exactly what you need to hear just because if he loves you then he will tell you the truth. And I feel like that's an awesome thing to have in a teammate and he's been a huge help not only in my golf game but also in my life. David Ford is joining us here. So I know your brother who was also, if I have this correct, weren't you guys like maybe scheduled to square off against each other? How would that have gone? I'm sure you played a few matches against your brother who apparently is going to transfer to North Carolina if all things go well from Georgia.

What are your thoughts on that potential matchup? Yeah it would have been cool. I think it would have been the quarter finals of the USM which was, it would have been sweet.

I would have actually really enjoyed it. There's probably nobody I'd rather see go on from a match than I lose. So if we have to play each other then if I'm not winning I kind of want him winning.

So I think it would be a lot of positives. I obviously want to beat him but that would kind of give me the ability to play freely just knowing that even if he wins then it's not the worst thing in the world. But yeah he actually transferred to UNC so he's on campus now. Yeah I think we had the first day of class today so he's all settled in. I'm sure you guys have had grudge matches. Oh yeah, oh yeah we have. Definitely when we were younger I'd say it was definitely, every match was a grudge match. Nobody wanted to lose and that's kind of how it was when we were younger. And then as we matured and went to college we kind of saw that golf isn't everything. Sometimes it's more important to love my brother and to show him that golf isn't everything than it is to try to beat him and I guess punch him in the face. So yeah I think when we were younger it was more of a we were taking swings at each other on the golf course trying to win. Not literally but we were really trying to win and then now I feel like as we've gone to college and kind of seen that golf is important but golf isn't our lives.

It kind of gives us the ability to still be competitive and still want to win as badly but not make it a grudge match. Here's what's interesting to me. First of all for people who don't know, David Ford is joining us, North Carolina rising junior. Actually you're a junior now.

You said classes already began. Is that this is only the third time in history I believe that the Walker Cup has had three players on it all from the same college. Happened at the University of Alabama when Justin Thomas I think it was 2013. Cal the same year, Max Homa, they both were on the Walker Cup along with a couple of teammates and North Carolina's got three players going. So how did you convince your brother who is transferring from the University of Georgia because like 27% of the PGA tour seems to be former Georgia Bulldogs.

Did he lose a bet? How did he transfer to North Carolina? Yeah, I think he really liked Georgia. Georgia is a great program as you said they've had a lot of success in the past. They have a strong team but I think my brother, he saw, I guess, maybe what I was doing at UNC and just kind of the people around me and I guess the coaches that we had at UNC and it's not to say that UNC coaches are better than UGA coaches and not to say that UNC players are better than Georgia players by any means but I think every school in every university has something different to offer.

And so I think my brother was ready for a change and he liked what he saw at UNC and there's just a lot of awesome people at Georgia and a lot of awesome people at UNC and I'm really happy he's joining me at UNC and I think that the coaches here and the players that we have will really push him and just like at Georgia make him better. What's for you, what is the difference between stroke play and match play and which do you like better? I like them both. I think I've thought about it. I used to like stroke play more but as I've played more match play I really like match play but I'd say the next tournament I'm playing is match play so for the next two weeks I like match play the best.

But I really do like stroke play and match play but it kind of just depends on what tournament I've got coming up and where my focus is going to be so the next two weeks it's match play. Have you ever made a hole in one? I have. I've made four. Four? How many has your brother made? I'm not sure actually.

Somewhere around there he's made his fair share I'm sure but yeah I guess we haven't discussed it. Alright David Ford. Hey good luck at the old course. Good luck wearing a red, white and blue. I appreciate your time. I know this is going to be an absolute blast for you over there and we'll be rooting for you watching from back here. Yeah I appreciate it.

Thank you for your time too. As David Ford from the University of North Carolina two teammates will be going with him and it is as I said only the third time that a Walker Cup team would have three players from the same college golf team. 2013 Justin Thomas led three Alabama golfers. On the same team Max Homa led three golfers from the University of California.

Go ACC and North Carolina. So that's awesome. It's not this weekend but the following weekend over Labor Day weekend at the old course at St. Andrews. So it's only a two day event. It's only I think a Saturday Sunday of that week.