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Exclusive Interview with Forgan Pro DJ Russell
Home > News > December 2011 >Exclusive Interview with Forgan Pro DJ Russell
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We spoke to Forgan of St. Andrews staff player David J Russell this week to congratulate him on his career high prize fund at the Fuji Film Senior Championship in Japan last month.
In this exclusive interview we also asked "DJ" about his struggles in 2011, his experiences being Chairman of the Senior Tour Committee and just what he'll be doing with the brand new Mercedes Benz he received as part of the prize from the Fuji Film Senior Championship.
Hi David, congratulations on your win in Japan last month - a fantastic achievement. Yes, I’m delighted. It was a good tournament to win, especially as I hadn’t had a good season or been playing particularly well.
What was it about this tournament that just seemed to click with you? The golf course itself [The Country Club Japan Chiba], it was just right for me. You had to flight the ball pretty well, it was very up and down – a course that suited my eye.
After my practice round, I thought I’ve got a good chance here. Modern courses don’t give you a challenge like I like, but here there were a lot of fades, a lot of shots you had to take the spin off - most courses nowadays you have to just hit straight and long.
How did you prepare for the tournament? Well, I’d only played in Japan twice before, as a guest of [golf-loving businessman and philanthropist] Dr Haruhisa Handa, and this time out the PGA Tour of Japan were generous enough to offer exemptions to three players from the European Tour’s top 10 in 2010, so I joined up.
The week before the tournament, I played in the Japan Senior Open in Hiroshima. It was set up like the U.S. Open: open fairways and thick rough - it didn’t suit me at all. Although I didn’t play too badly, I couldn’t get it into the fairway. I wasn’t really showing anything coming into the Fuji Film Championship, and then everything went right.
Of course your Forgan mate Ian Woosnam won it in 2009, did he have any tips for you? I SMS'd him for some advice on how to win, I won’t say what he said but it worked! It’s a great tournament for Forgan, hopefully we can win it again next year too.
You seemed to have had a good time out there in Japan, will you be going back? They’ve haven’t brought the schedule out yet, but it’ll be around July/August time. I’ll be going back though for sure, I’m exempt for the next two seasons after winning it this year, and it’s an incredible country.
On the European Tour website, you mentioned you felt the European Tour could work more closely with the PGA Tour of Japan. As a European Tour Board member and Chairman of the Senior Tour committee this year – how would you like to see this done? That’s right, we had a committee meeting yesterday, in fact. The PGA Tour of Japan gave us access to their tour, and we should reciprocate. I really feel that the tours outside the Champions Tour in America should work together and become stronger. I’m hopeful that something might happen and equal access be given, it would be great to see more Japanese players coming in and playing in Europe.
What else did your role as Chairman of the Senior Tour Committee entail? Basically it’s about allowing the Seniors Tour to look forward and to the future, trying to get the Tour to be a better place in the future, and work with the executives to take us forward. Essentially, making sure we leave a good legacy.
Of course, we’ll be having [Colin] Montgomery and [Jose Maria] Olazabal joining the tour soon, so that’s pretty exciting.
What has proved to be the biggest challenge during your time on the Committee? The toughest thing was finding sponsors. Next year is going to prove reasonably difficult with the 2012 Olympic Games and potential companies turning their eyes that way instead, and the other sports events struggle. We’ll still have 20 tournaments though, and still get to visit some great places.
While you’ve had other good performances this year, recently at Casa Serena and the Portugal Open, as you mentioned earlier this season could have been better. Yes, I’ve been playing with an injury to my left knee effectively all year. It’s been particularly difficult to transfer weight on to the left-side. In these three to four round tournaments on the Senior Tour eventually something gives, certainly my knee did. Hopefully now I’ll get a few weeks of rest.
Last year by contrast was really nice, particularly winning the De Vere [De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship], I played consistently well, but this year I’ve not been confident enough to produce, partly due to the injury. In Japan something just inspired me and off I went. Hopefully, I can get my knee in good enough shape for next season and make winning a more regular occurrence!
Speaking of which, what are your goals for next year? I’d like to win in Europe; I feel I have the game to win. This year was a bit of a let-down. Put it down to that niggling injury!
It’s been over three years since you signed up with Forgan [in August 2008], how has the experience been? My relationship with Forgan has been very good, the products has been excellent.
In particular, I’ve been using the new Forgan irons. They are very good especially for the price – it’s quite incredible they’ve managed to be so competitive with the quality of the product.
Overall, it’s been a very happy relationship; Forgan is a company that’s destined for even greater things in the future!
And finally, did the Mercedes Benz find a good home? I haven’t got it yet, but I'll let you know when it arrives. It’s already been bagged by the missus, I might get to drive it once or twice – if she let’s me!
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