It's Larrazábal!” shouts a group of children from a balcony. “Give us an autograph!” they request smiling. The respondent looks up and laughs. He has a special connection with people, but the younger ones have always been his protégés. The scene takes place in the doorway of Pablo Larrázabal's house (Barcelona, 1983), where he received La Vanguardia to chat for a while after the best start to the year of his career, with two titles, and hours before flying to the US USA to play the PGA Championship in which he debuted yesterday with a round of 77 shots. It's his first major since 2017.
A lot of time has passed...
Of the last 15 majors, it is the one I face the calmest and the one I am best prepared for, I have nothing to prove.
How do you set up a course like Southern Hills that you've never played on?
I used to pay a lot of attention to fields in big tournaments but I don't do anything special anymore. I won in South Africa and knowing only nine holes, and in Infinitum without knowing the course. I know what awaits me at the PGA, but I'm not worried.
He has never done very well when he has crossed the pond...
I've always wanted to do too much. I have to learn to understand why I play so relaxed here (Europe) and put more pressure on myself there (USA).
Are the two circuits so different?
American is a parlor golf, I'd say it's a bit like futsal, you know what you're going to find. You have to hit it harder and the greens always roll the same, they are impeccable. In Europe, on the other hand, you have to play golf a little more, know how to move the ball more.
Is there a Grand Slam?
It's a bit of a mix of both. They are also very long but narrow fields, and you have to play with a lot of head.
Are you in the best moment of your career?
Personally I am in the best moment of my life, and professionally, too. I have won two tournaments in the same year for the first time. They have not been very big tournaments, but it has a lot of merit, although I would like to start fighting in the big events as well.
How do you explain your change from last year, which was one of your worst as a professional, to this one, which is still the best?
The last two years have not been good but they have been very difficult due to covid. We have played without an audience, almost imprisoned in hotels, and it is not golf that I like. I like people, I like to see children on the pitch and for the public to value your shots.
Has it been that hard?
The feeling is that we only played for money, and that, thanks to the triumphs I've had, doesn't amuse me anymore. We play to entertain people and make them happy in one way or another, and doing it without an audience was nothing like that.
But there will be something else to explain his improvement in the game...
Well, a few months ago we did a click with my team. We have been making swing changes for a few years to lengthen my career and the last one is also improving it. Now I can hit a type of shot that was really hard for me before, especially high spin shots, and that's one of the reasons I'm doing well on other types of courses.
Where does the special connection you have with the public come from?
When I came to this world I think I was smart and I got together with players who have taught me a lot, like Jiménez or Olazábal. I learned from them that without the people our work is not worth it.
What is your secret for having remained in the elite for so many years?
Have fun. The day I walk out the door and I'm not having fun I'll stay home. I am lucky because I have the best job in the world and I have fun.
It doesn't always have to be so pretty...
There are very hard moments and no one better than Álex (his brother and coach) and Adriana (his partner) know this and have to understand it. It's not easy after so many years to still get up so early to go to the gym or workout in the afternoon. But I still have the same illusion and when these downturns hit me I think I'm privileged and I take it as just another job. But they are seldom.
Is playing the Ryder Cup a goal or a dream?
If I've learned anything, it's that medium- and long-term goals don't help me much in golf. I have fulfilled almost all the dreams I had when I was little and the rest don't take away a minute of sleep either. In the Masters I was my brother's caddy and I count it as participating, and then there is the Ryder, which would obviously be cool, but my goals now are day to day.
But people see him as a pure Ryder player...
My match play record as a professional I think is 1.5 points in about 12 games... I don't think they're going to invite me, and qualifying is very difficult, even in a year as good as the one I'm having.
Greg Norman's Super League threatens to revolutionize everything...
I don't move for money but this is a lot of money. If I played on the PGA Tour for 8 million each week and not for 2 as it happens in Europe, I wouldn't consider it, but they have put a piece of candy in front of us. By ranking I can play tournaments of 48 players without a cut of 25 million and I would be ashamed to deny two people as important in my life as my caddy Raúl and my brother Álex, who charge by percentage, the possibility of changing them life.
I ask him if he will play the first tournament in London? Is it necessary?
We will see what the European Tour says, but the percentage that Pablo Larrazábal is in Centurion Club is great.
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