Throughout the TOUR Championship, a team of student correspondents from Drew Charter School are providing their perspectives from the tournament. This piece is written by Bryce Zelazoski, a senior at Drew Charter School.
Since a young age, the TOUR Championship has been a huge part of my life. It was always a big deal because it occurred right in the backyard of my school. Whenever the tournament started we’d always have visitors, incorporate golf into our curriculum, and even decorate our classroom doors.
Being a golfer this was my favorite time of the year because I knew I’d be given the opportunity to attend the PGA TOUR with my fellow peers. Attending a PGA TOUR event was always inspiring to me because it gave me the opportunity to see some of the best golfers in the world literally right down the street from my home. Being able to stand alongside them and watch them play inspired me to want to become a professional golfer and gave me the push to practice and dedicate my time to playing golf. I continued to play golf for a couple more years and learned that it was so much more than just a sport. Golf taught me a plethora of important life skills, built character, and taught me that to be able to get good at something you must practice. Although I stopped playing golf, the skills and lessons still stuck with me.
When I first heard about the opportunity to be able to serve as a media correspondent for the TOUR Championship, I was ecstatic. It was an opportunity to not only rekindle my passion for golf but also to be able to be behind the scenes and really get to see all the moving parts and the technological side. I was able to see what goes into reporting and what it takes to cover a golf tournament. As soon as I arrived we jumped into things, and I got briefed on my assignment. I was responsible for covering a press conference with Justin Thomas, who is currently number one in the Fed-Ex Cup. I then began thinking through what possible question I might ask.
In the interview with Justin, it was amazing to be able to sit with the other media correspondents from all around the world who were covering for all the different news outlets. Seeing all the cameras and having such exclusive access was amazing to me. In the interview I was able to learn a little more about Justin than just his stats. It was a good time to be able to understand him on a personal level.
When it was my turn to pose a question I really wanted to know what he wished he would’ve known when he was playing in high school. He said he wished that he would have learned patience because if he were to know what he knows now, he could have been even more successful.
Justin’s interview was a real inspiring moment for me since I really got to understand him as a person. I aspire to take his advice into consideration and be able to incorporate patience in helping me become who I want to be. Justin taught me that through the ups and downs that you must use it to be able to recoup after a downfall and find out what ways you must improve and how you’re going to do it. I want to thank everyone who was involved in coordinating this amazing opportunity including the East Lake Foundation and Drew Charter School.
