Jim Herman Interview

The reason why I want to save it for another time. We are now being joined by the champion of the Wyndham Championship, Jim Herman. Yesterday, getting his third career PGA Tour win right in our backyard at Sedgefield Country Club.

He's joining us from Boston in what I'm sure has been a whirlwind of 48 hours or so, or really, probably 24 hours. At about this time yesterday, you were winning the Wyndham Championship, Jim. Did you, I'm just interested, be honest, did you have any plans for this week that you had to change? Yeah, I had a rental car, my rental car this week in Greensboro. I was driving home tomorrow night, or yesterday night, Sunday night. So I was just driving home about halfway and then I'd finish up on Monday morning.

I'd be home, I was going to be home to see my kids get home from school. So that was the plan. And that obviously changed.

So other than that, no, just odds and ends. I was going to get my, you know, a little brief offseason three weeks off or so. You know, get some work in, try to figure out my golf game and get it ready for the start of the season.

So definitely a little bit of a change. When did you have a feeling that you could win this tournament? Because on Friday, you were fighting just to make the cut.

Yeah, Friday was up and down. I really played well. I just had, you know, it's just some, I guess I was getting a little aggressive with some of the putts because I knew I needed to, you know, make some birdies and because I had made some bogeys and nice to finish up, make the cut. I was inside the number by a couple and, you know, they got me off first on Saturday morning.

Perfect greens. The weather held off. It was almost like unreal that we got in 18 holes on Saturday with no weather. I guess Saturday at some point, I, you know, I think I got the lead and I knew I wasn't going to be the leader at the end of the day, but I think that at that point, you know, whenever you get the lead on the weekend, I think you feel like you're in the mix. But, you know, when I posted that 61, definitely I knew I had a, I was going to be in the mix. I knew I wasn't going to have the lead, but I'll be one or two back or, you know, ended up being four back. See, we played great as well on Saturday. But yeah, going to bed Saturday night, I knew I had to get out to a good start to do, you know, just to be in the mix. You can't, you know, be even par through five or six when you start four back and expect to be in contention. It's Wyndham champion Jim Herman with us here on sports of Dryad.

I want to talk about 18. Did you really have no idea how close you got it to the pin on the approach shot? I had zero idea.

I had no idea. I could, the sun was just straight in my eyes. I had a five iron.

I couldn't see where, I knew the direction it was on, but I couldn't see where it landed. You know, I was just hoping it, you know, it hadn't gone along. You know, it was a five or a six iron coming in. You know, I wanted to choke on the five a little bit. I wanted to get it back there. You know, I knew six was going to be really difficult to release because I was going to have to hit it too hard. And I think it would have just, you know, come on, on the front of the green and left myself a really long two putt opportunity.

So we went with a five and I hit it exactly how I wanted. And, you know, but I still, I could not tell. I put my hands on my hips. Like I was like, I can't see.

I have no idea. Walking up, I still had no idea until I got up there and saw it behind the hole. So that was pretty, pretty cool to see it, see it there that close. It was a dramatic finish for sure.

It came down to the final putt, Billy Horschel there on the 18th. Television didn't do you much of a favor when they had the shots of you in the water bottle and you eventually caught yourself. You started waving at the camera a bit, but when Horschel is standing there at the putt, what is going through your mind?

What do you remember? Oh man, you just, you know, the water, I didn't even know the camera was on me, you know, in scoring. And I'm like, that's, you know, just taking some drinks and then I, the TV's in there and then they keep showing me. And I was like, oh, all right. And then I look over and the TV camera's right there. And then, you know, I thought I had just put the water bottle down and I guess I'd put the cap back on or laid it on there and who could drink with it. So that's been fun. I've had, I've gotten plenty of jokes about that.

So yeah, you don't know how you're going to act. You know, I've used, I've been in the last group the last two times I've won. So I was in the mix right there.

I knew exactly what was going on. So to finish a little, the group ahead, you know, you're just playing the waiting game. I knew I was going to win if I made that putt on 18 because I knew Billy was in the fairway one behind and, you know, to go up two, I was going to win that, going to win. And I, I thought I made the putt and then once Billy hit his approach, his great approach shot to the same spot, I was like, you know, it's, this is going to be a playoff.

I think he's going to make this. So I was just getting ready for that. You know, you never know, you still got to make the putt obviously, but I was definitely just kind of getting ready for, for a playoff.

And then when he missed, it was kind of just like, wow, that just happened. And you know, I won. Jim Herman with us here. He is the Wyndham champion from yesterday, getting set for the playoff this week, taking the biggest jump in the history of the FedEx cup standings. Doing some homework on you, Jim, I'm interested in the angle with you and your relationship with the president of the United States, Donald Trump. I've even read you've gone as far to give him credit for fueling your professional career. How accurate is that statement?

No, for sure. You know, I was playing mini tours and, you know, going to PJ tour cue school four years, five years and couldn't, couldn't get through, couldn't get through to the tour. Missing out at second stage every year. Very, very depressing, you know, choking it away.

And you know, when you don't get through, you don't have any status and that's it. So after about four years of that, I kind of gave up on the mini tours and things like that. I got in the club professional business. I was an assistant professional at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for two seasons, two years. And I got an opportunity to take an assistant's position in New Jersey. My college roommate was working for Mickey Gallagher and he took the job at Trump National Bedminster and he recommended me to be an assistant after he was going to be the assistant. And then he had taken another position with Titleist and recommended me to come up and, you know, I was wanting to be a golf professional.

And you got to be in that New Jersey, New York Mets section, you know, to, I think, to learn from the best and, you know, there's a lot more playing opportunities in the section up there for assistance. And so took the job up there, worked two seasons and my first interaction with, you know, just Donald Trump at the time, I made a really good impression on him. I played really well, you know, shot in the mid-60s, I'm sure. I don't remember the exact score, but I really impressed him. And we, you know, from then on, he's all about first impressions and, you know, I impressed him right away.

And, you know, whenever I'd be around him, he was always, you know, giving me positive ideas. And, you know, you're really good, you know, you're really good. You got to make it on tour.

I play with tour players and, you know, you can do it. And, you know, I went to Q school again that fall and I missed out. But then another year of working at the club and, you know, we just played a lot of golf and just was a very positive influence. You know, it's all a lot in my game and, you know, I made it through finally that year in 2007.

It was my eighth Q school. I finally got web, it was web.com at the time or nationwide tour, now the Corn Fairy tour. Finally got status out there and I've been playing professionally ever since.

I won three years later on that tour to get my way onto the PJ tour in 2011. I've been playing ever since and, you know, with my third win. So, it's pretty amazing, pretty amazing little timeline.

And there's so many stories, you know, of guys and that's my story and I think it's pretty cool. Have you heard from the president in the last 24 hours? Just through a text through the head professional at Trump National and he just wished along his well wishes for Sunday and then he got a tweet from him. So, it's always nice when you get a tweet. It's always nice.

Jim Herman with us here, the Wyndham champion, before I let you go. During a pandemic, how do you celebrate a PGA Tour win? Well, you FaceTime your family, you FaceTime your mom, you FaceTime your in-laws, that's it. You know, that's all you can do.

Send, I've got a load of the text messages and emails I've got to return. So, you know, it's not like it was and things will be hopefully back to normal next year sometime or sooner than later. But, you know, we're just very fortunate we were able to get back out and play and entertain and give the people something to watch. So, we're very fortunate with that.

A lot of testing, I'm here at testing now, so there's a lot going on with that. But, you know, you still celebrate, it's just a little different. Congratulations, Jim. Thanks for spending the time in the Triad today. Just a really tremendous story and a terrific win. We look forward to seeing you next year. Yep, can't wait to come back. Thanks, guys.

There you go. That's Jim Herman. He's the champion of the Wyndham Championship with that terrific final round and barely making the cut on Friday.

Just outstanding play throughout the final round. Great drama at the Wyndham Championship. I didn't see that he got a Trump tweet.

Must have missed that earlier today. I'd like to think anytime he talks about sports, it's going to appear on my radar, especially if he's talking about, you know, somebody winning the Wyndham Championship. But I don't think I saw the tweet. But, yeah, it is neat, the relationship that he had there. Apparently, based on what I've read as well, Jim Herman played with the president three weeks ago. And he went further to say that he's a bit of a luck charm. Most times when he plays with the president, it results in just a month or so later, him getting a PGA Tour win. I do see that he retweeted something. Oh, here we go. Great going, Jim. Proud of you. Sorry, I don't follow politics as closely as I should.