TEXAS GOLFER: How will the Byron Nelson tournament be different this year without its namesake who passed away last fall?
DAVID FEHERTY: There will be an empty chair at the 18th green this year and an empty void in all of golf which can never be filled. Byron Nelson was one of the greatest gifts to golf the game was ever given. He was the 500-year flood for great players and great people.
TG: It sounds like it will be tough for everybody?
DF: It’s a new challenge of us. It’s going to be very poignant for everybody, not that we need any reminders. I’ll do everything I can to help this tournament without the great man here.
TG: One thing most people recognize when they turn on a CBS broadcast is that it seems like you are having a lot of fun together. Is that true?
DF: I certainly think it is. I loved being around Ken Venturi, he made me laugh. Of course, if you didn’t want a straight answer don’t ask Kenny a question because he would always give you a straight answer. I’m going to miss Lanny (Wadkins), but now we have Nick Faldo who I’ve known for 25 years.
TG: How is that going to be working with Nick?
DF: Well, I’ve already cornered the market on a British accent, so we’re going to have to make that clear. I played in the 1991 Ryder Cup with Nick and he was actually a nice, normal person the entire week. Of course, he spent the whole week calling me Doug.
TG: It sounds like 2007 is going to be another interesting CBS Broadcast.
DF: Nick is really going to be fun with the cast of characters we have. One thing at CBS, we don’t let anybody take themselves too seriously. We’ve also got Ian Baker Finch to break in, and he was the worst looking good player I’ve ever seen. You’d play with Ian and he chop a few and top a few and at the end of the day he’s beat you by three shots. You didn’t know how that happened.
TG: Do you consider yourself a real Texan now?
DF: This is my hometown. Of course, I wasn’t born here, but I got here as soon as I could.
TG: How did you first get to Texas?
DF: Working with (former TPC Four Seasons pro) Mike Abbott was one of the things. Being here was one of the logical things to do. I couldn’t stand Florida. Dallas is in the middle of the country, only 2-3 hours from each coast. I also met my wife (Anita) here so that was another logical thing.
TG: What else brought you here?
DF: I had known (Irving’s) Tommy Armour for a long time and he actually introduced me to Mike Abbott. Tommy was a big influence as well. I moved here in 1993 and met my wife, Anita, who had moved here from Mississippi.
TG: After seeing the way your TV career has turned out, are you almost glad Mike Abbott wasn’t able to revitalize your career and get you continuing to playing pro golf?
DF: Even when he was working with me, and I was playing well, Mike said this (TV) is what I should be doing. I was still trying to play. I was only 36-37 at the time and even though I imagined this career, it was at a much later time.
TG: Are you surprised how well your TV career has taken off?
DF: I’m somewhat surprised, but in this sport there is so much leeway for myself and (Gary) McCord who broke the mold. This sport has always had a somewhat stuffy image with (Caddyshack) Judge Smails and the like. Nothing is worse than taking a sport too seriously. It’s a sport, only a diversion.
TG: Do the players get your sense of humor, or do they ever come up to you and say you were too harsh?
DF: Only Monty (Colin Montgomery). He’s the only one.
TG: So they understand where you’re coming from?
DF: They know I was harder on myself as a player than I am on them. I know how to mess up. I know about failure. I’m not a broadcaster because I was a great player. I know what it was like to be almost there and mess up. I am an expert on that. I did win and play at the highest level, but golf is ultimately about losing and I did plenty of that.
TG: Watching you on TV or giving a speech, your lines are so quick and so well-timed, do you ever script anything or is it just whatever comes to your mind?
DF: No. I probably should prepare and script ahead of time, but I think the entire time I’ve been at CBS I’ve only used one stat that Nick Price only smoked one cigarette during the final round when he won the Colonial tournament, that was remarkable. I just describe what I see; you can’t prepare for that.
TG: I think a lot of people may have been surprised when you came out last year in Golf Magazine and admitted you had a drinking problem. You didn’t have to do that publicly, but was that almost part of a healing process for you?
DF: Oh yes. It was for me. The fact it reached a lot of other people was a fortunate occurrence, but that was for me. I was dying and needed help.
TG: How are things now for you?
DF: They’re fine. I ride my bike a lot and I’ve been doing great. But last week in Dallas, I was almost run over on the streets by a beer truck. I mean how ironic would that have been with the problems I’ve had with alcohol. People would have said, the beer finally got him in the end.
TG: You’ve seen almost every great player over the last three decades and played with most of them. In your opinion, what separates Tiger from the rest of the Tour players?
DF. Everything. I was hired at CBS because I was an expert and had seen all the great players and had played with most of them, but when I saw Tiger Woods I thought,“I have no idea how he does it or what he will do next.” He has continued to astonish me.
TG: Is he first among equals on the Tour or just first alone?
DF: People are still in denial about him. They want to say Mickelson can’t play or Els is no good. The second level players today are the greatest players who have ever lived. If Tiger Woods plays well he wins, if he plays very well he’ll win by 10 shots. He won the U.S. Open by 15, he won the Masters by 12, and it’s remarkable. You can say a lot of things about Tiger, but he’s not stupid. He’s the type of person if he was doing yodeling for a living, he’d be making millions.
TG: You watch a lot of golf and know about reviving careers from former top players. Who is more to likely come back, David Duval or John Daly?
DF: Hmm, good question. John Daly might eat David Duval. But don’t count out Big John. One thing, he’s a survivor with two major championships, so don’t count him out yet.
TG: Do the players seem different now than when you played?
DF: The players are always different in every sport, mainly because of the money. The players are just harder to deal with.
TG: How would you categorize your golf career?
DF: It’s a 20-year preparation for the career I have now.
TG: You didn’t ever think you’d be the best golfer in Europe with the Faldo’s and Seve’s, etc.?
DF: No. I knew I wasn’t going to be there. I didn’t wait to the last hole to choke, I started choking on the back nine so it wasn’t so obvious
TG: Do you still like to play?
DF: I don’t play at all. I haven’t even owned a set of clubs for last 6-7 years.
TG: Why is that?
DF: My back is so bad and I just don’t play at all. I don’t need to do that. I know how it’s done. I’m from Texas now. I got a 20-gage shotgun by my side and I go and shoot plenty of things if I want to.
TG: Do you now think people expect you to be funny and are disappointed if you’re not?
DF: All I’m trying to do is amuse myself and if somebody else is as well, it’s just a byproduct. I don’t worry about that. Generally people have very low standards, this is just golf and it’s not that difficult. I have the advantage of being Irish, so if I’m stupid they just think,“Oh well, that’s expected.”
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Among CBS Golf Commentator David Feherty’s many funny books is 
