The bad thing about the [tennis] calendar is how it is made and obligates you to play tournaments all year. If you want to achieve the most you can (and) go as high up (in the rankings) as you can, you have to play from the start to the finish because there are important tournaments from the beginning to the end.
I don't play a lot of tournaments, but if I don't win a tournament in a year, people are like, 'What in the world is going on?' People don't realize how hard it is to win tournaments. You're not going to go out and play 10 tournaments and win one of them. Your odds aren't that good.
You have to understand, I don't play golf for fun. It's my business. When the mailman starts delivering mail on his off day, that's when I'll start playing golf for the hell of it. I like to play in tournaments. There are many great courses around the world that I have never played that are next door to tournaments. I have not played them because I don't play for fun.
I would like to work 50 Masters Tournaments.
In 1971, big tournaments were very new to me. I just thought Wimbledon was one of the other tournaments.
I've never been nervous. I just wanted to play and have a good time. If it didn't work, then I would get nervous. But, for the most part, I just go for it.
I've had it with the USGA and the way they run their tournaments. The USGA loves to embarrass guys who play in their tournaments.
I've played [Scrabble] tournaments for about 20 years. My daughter, Erin, who lives with me, also travels to tournaments. While I'm not a top division player, I've won a number of tournaments.
People play games seriously. People host tournaments. People watch other people play and listen to broadcasters talking about it. The kind of entire ecosystem we see around other sports and forms of entertainment has formed around games as well.
I don't follow other players or the tournaments they play. I have my own schedule and do my own thing. I never really think, 'Oh, I want to be or play like so-and-so.' I just like being myself.
I find that I get nervous before I play. Even sound checks can give me anxiety and screw with my mind. But as long as I can play a little acoustic guitar backstage if I'm feeling nervous, so I don't have to walk in there cold turkey, I'll be fine.
The Masters is not greedy. You wanna buy a Masters souvenir logo shirt? Sure, let's go over to the nearest Ralph Lauren boutique. Oops, you can only purchase Masters memorabilia at the Masters, this one week of the year.
It's all about practice and more practice. Travel to tournaments, play in them, watch other players.
I was a full time student either at Stony Brook or NYU getting my masters degree. After I graduated with my masters I was working as a nutritionist and a personal trainer. So I have always had other business or other things going on while training for a fight.
I can't think of anything in my profession that would mean as much. You can talk about Emmys or Super Bowls. Fifty Masters Tournaments, that would be the ultimate.
It's the Masters. If that doesn't get you nervous and your juices flowing, I don't know what does.