Todd Looks for Two in a Row


Following his maiden win on Tour on Sunday in the Byron Nelson Championship, Brendon Todd is staying in Texas for this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The $6.4 million event starts Thursday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 28-year-old Todd closed with a 4-under 66 at TPC-Four Seasons Resort in Irving for his first victory in 177 Tour starts. He ended up two shots ahead of 44-year-old Mike Weir, who enjoyed his highest finish since 2010.

With the victory Todd earned $1.242 million, 500 FedEx Cup points, a spot in the 2015 Masters and, most importantly for the Pittsburgh native, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

"I'm excited about the relief of feeling like I finally have a chance to play the PGA Tour for multiple years. That's a huge exemption for winning," Todd said. "No. 1, going to August for the Masters is a dream come true."

Todd is the fifth former Georgia Bulldog to win on Tour this year, joining Masters' champion Bubba Watson, Harris English, Russell Henley and Chris Kirk.

After ending up atop the tournament named after one golfing legend, Todd is looking for a repeat at a place where Ben Hogan won five times. "I'm really proud to be the Byron Nelson champion," he told reporters Tuesday. "He was a legend of the game, and obviously, now we're in Ben Hogan's court. So I think if you could get both of those in your career, you'd be doing something really special.

"But if I can get them back to back weeks, that would be probably untouchable. I don't think too many guys are going to do that. I spoke with Billy Andrade this week, he's a good friend of mine. He's one of only three guys, I believe, to win his second win the week after he won his first time on the PGA Tour. So he encouraged me to get into that rare company."

Todd will be paired in the first round with Kirk and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen. Todd and Oosthuizen shared the 54-hole lead in the Byron Nelson, but Oosthuizen had a final-round 74 to drop into a tie for 11th.

Boo Weekley is the defending champion at Colonial.

Here's what else Todd had to tell the media during his Q&A at Colonial. He talks about turning his season around at TPC-Four Seasons, such that he now dreams of having a good chance in the season-ending FedEx Cup and perhaps a shot on the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Brendon Todd into the interview room here at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, fresh off his win at the Byron Nelson last week. Brendon, first of all, just recap last week for us.

BRENDON TODD: All right. Thanks a lot. Last week was a special week. I got off to that hot start on Thursday, getting 4 under on my front nine, made the double bogey at the turn there and finished at 2 under, played an exceptional round on Friday, 64, carried a lead into the weekend, tied for the lead going into the final round. You know, the final round was special. I think there was definitely some short0game magic going on there with the hole out on two from the bunker, and then the left handed shot on 13, and awesome saves on 16 and 17. So it was definitely my best golf.

MODERATOR: You'll be making your second start in your career at this event. Just 14 players have won both the Byron Nelson and the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Talk a little about how much that would mean to become the 15th?

BRENDON TODD: That would mean a lot. I'm really proud to be the Byron Nelson champion. He was a legend of the game, and obviously, now we're in Ben Hogan's court. So I think if you could get both of those in your career, you'd be doing something really special. But if I can get them back to back weeks, that would be probably untouchable. I don't think too many guys are going to do that. I spoke with Billy Andrade this week, he's a good friend of mine. He's one of only three guys, I believe, to win his second win the week after he won his first time on the PGA Tour. So he encouraged me to get into that rare company.

MODERATOR: That's pretty impressive to know all of that.

BRENDON TODD: Well, he did it, so he told me. He knows that stuff. He told me Duval was the third, and I don't know who was the fourth.

Q. What was Sunday night like? What kind of celebration did you guys have, and how has the win affected you?

BRENDON TODD: Yeah, it was obviously elated Sunday night. My wife and I were overcome with joy. We had some friends that flew into town on Sunday and watched the back nine with my wife, and then we checked into the Four Seasons, went to dinner with our friends and just celebrated, kind of enjoyed the moment. Then the wife and I went back and actually caught the end of the re telecast on the Golf Channel and watched the last couple holes just to enjoy the moment a little bit more. It was nice.

Q. How does Colonial suit your game like the Nelson did last week?

BRENDON TODD: I think it suits it really well. It's another golf course that's tree lined, demands accuracy off the tee, forces everybody to drive the ball to the same place which has always been something I've liked because it takes distance out of the game, and it becomes who is the most efficient from 150 yards. Then, also, this golf course doesn't require a driver on every hole, which is another thing I think that suits my game as well. I've heard the course is in great shape. The greens are excellent. If I'm putting as well as I did last week, I think I'll have a good chance to contend.

Q. Your short game was incredible last week. Is it always like that, and if so, does it help you on this course?

BRENDON TODD: If you ask my friends or college teammates, they'll tell you yes, but, no. I've had ups and downs in my short game the last couple years. It got really good there when I was playing poorly in 2010 and '11. I went back to an old drill that I used to do last week where I just kind of chip off with my left foot, so I'd pick up my right foot and stand on the left one and chip a little bit. It helps my contact become a little more crisp, keeps my shoulders rotating through the shot. I can't tell you how important I think that was for me this past week.

Q. The idea behind that just balance, keep yourself balanced?

BRENDON TODD: It's a contact thing. It keeps the club driving down, left and through the ball. So you're never going to hit it heavy, basically. You're always going to have that crisp contact that puts spin on the ball.

Q. We talked about Scott Hamilton and what he added to Boo's game. What has he done for you that has allowed you to get to this position?

BRENDON TODD: Scott's been great for me. He's really helped me become a consistent, accurate ball striker. I think even if you just look at my stats, they're not overpowering. I'm not a long hitter, so accuracy is a premium for me. He got my golf swing on plain, repeatable, and has allowed my short game now to get me under par instead of keep me around par.

Q. You had mentioned earlier that this course takes distance out of the game. Do you think longer hitters actually have maybe somewhat of a disadvantage at this course? Could that be possible?

BRENDON TODD: I think if there is anywhere, it might be here. I don't really ever think having distance is a disadvantage, but because if you're accurate and long that week, you're going to give yourself a greater chance of scoring lower from hitting closer to the hole. But this golf course is going to require them to constantly hit clubs less than driver, and if they're not comfortable with that, then it's going to be a challenge for them.

Q. How many times have you seen the backhanded chip?

BRENDON TODD: Not many. I've seen guys actually stand facing away from the hole and whack it with one hand. I guess that one came into my head too. But the left handed putting stroke seemed a lot more efficient to me.

Q. How many times have you seen it since Sunday night?

BRENDON TODD: Oh, that actual shot?

Q. Yeah.

BRENDON TODD: Twice.

Q. Continues to impress you?

BRENDON TODD: It does, yeah. The fact that it went the perfect distance is the most amazing part to me. Getting on line to me, that was pretty simple. That part was pretty simple. But I never thought of how hard to hit it. It never crossed my mind because all I cared about was getting away from the tree in somewhat of the proper direction and see where it goes, and it just happened to be perfect.

Q. Pretty tight knit group of Bulldogs on Tour. Get any interesting messages or hear from those guys Sunday night?

BRENDON TODD: I did. I heard from most of them. We all keep it pretty simple. Lots of great work, real happy for you, congrats on the W, but lots positive stuff. I think we are a close knit group, and we do pull for each other genuinely.

Q. After winning, what kind of a balance do you have to have in terms of how much celebrating? Do you take a deep breath, do you relax this week, or do you just keep your foot down?

BRENDON TODD: You take a deep breath on Monday and you try to relax and catch up on your rest a little bit. The tough thing is sleeping wasn't very easy the last two nights either. I don't know just still kind of pumped up. So many thoughts going through your head, so much opportunity ahead of me. But I think that my game is good right now. All the areas are pretty strong. When I do pick up the clubs this afternoon and Thursday when I tee off, everything's going to still feel pretty good. I want to go out there and have a chance to win again, because that's what we try to do every week.

Q. Obviously, after you win there are a lot of things that fall into place to secure that Tour card and everything. I would think there might be some natural tendency to take the foot off the pedal a little bit. How do you prevent that from happening and continue to be aggressive and go for it and kind of have that hunger to win again?

BRENDON TODD: I think it's pretty easy in our game because it's so difficult to dominate, so there's always something to be gained from playing well. Maybe it's another win, maybe it's the FedEx Cup, maybe it's the Ryder Cup, whatever is motivating you that month. There is always something to motivate you. I think the journey I've been on the last three or four years has really prepared me to know how to practice for each event. I think the biggest difficulty right now is going to be scheduling and not playing all the events, because there are so many good events and so many places I've played well in the past that I actually probably won't go to now because maybe I'm getting into a place like here or Memorial or U.S. Open or British.

Q. You talked a little bit about the FedEx Cup. Is that a victory there with the big shot in the arm on points? Does that change your goals or your scheduling going forward to make a playoff run?

BRENDON TODD: It definitely does. I think the win guarantees I'll get to Denver, the third event, which is awesome. I'm going to want to be fresh and hungry for those events, because the FedEx Cup is the pinnacle of this Tour. It's what we play for on the PGA Tour. I think if I can make a great run in the FedEx Cup in my first year of keeping exempt status, that would speak volumes about me as a player. I think there is so much opportunity financially as well. The money is huge in that event, so you should probably focus your efforts on playing the best in those events.

Q. Just wanted to ask you, have you thought at all about Ryder Cup, or is that any kind of -

BRENDON TODD: That's just come into play in the last 24 hours. I really didn't think I would have moved up that much because I only played ten times out here last year, so I didn't feel like I earned very many points out here last year. But I do understand the points double this year; is that correct? So a win this year, obviously, is huge. I found that I'm 19th. Yeah, it's still a long ways to go. Still a lot of great players ahead of me and behind me, and I'm just going to try to stick to the game plan. Play as well as I can, and if I have a chance to make that team, I'd be honored to play for Captain Tom Watson.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.