Quick Chat: Connor Creasy

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Connor Creasy is in the final stretch of his Georgia men's golf career. Creasy and the Bulldogs will compete in the NCAA Austin Regional starting Monday and hopefully will qualify for the 30-team NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif., later this month.

A fifth-year player and graduate from Abingdon, Va., Creasy has been one of the Bulldogs' top performers throughout the season. He has four top-10 finishes and seven in the top 20. Creasy was the SEC Golfer of the Week in February, after leading Georgia to a win at the Puerto Rico Classic. He shot a three-round score of 14-under that week, posting three straight rounds in the 60s, finishing tied for third, and followed that with another top-10 finish in Georgia's next event.

During a Quick Chat, talked about his evolving mental approach to the game, savoring his final events as a Bulldog, if he has a favorite moment from his Georgia career, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:

Frierson: I saw the table tennis setup in your locker room. How competitive are those games getting?

Creasy: We actually just got that after we won in Puerto Rico. We've been in there playing every day. It's a ton of fun.

Frierson: Is one guy on the team clearly the standout player?

Creasy: (Assistant coach Mookie DeMoss) is the best, by far.

Frierson: How would you assess the season you're having?

Creasy: This spring has definitely been much better than the fall. I did some nice work over the break, got into a better mindset, a lot more process-oriented, and I can attribute a lot of the results over the past few months to that.

I'm not paying any attention to the result of any shot, just assessing my frame of mind after shot, and then just going and hitting it again.

Frierson: How hard is it to get yourself to maybe care more about the process than the result?

Creasy: It's tough, and, obviously, when you're not playing well it can get even tougher. But you really just have to train your mind each and every day to committing to your routine. As soon as you hit the shot, it's not thinking about the result, just assessing your frame of mind and then moving on. It's something you have to work on every single day.

You have to practice your mental game just like you do your chipping and your putting. It's a very underrated aspect of the game, and the farther you get into it and the more you play it, the more you realize that.

Frierson: Is there a fine line between that and getting way too in your head about everything?

Creasy: There's a very fine line, which is why I'm trying to become more instinctive. As soon as I get to the ball, make a decision (on the type of shot to play), go through my process, go through my routine, and then just go. I'm still working on it, still got a ways to go to get that down, but it's definitely helped.

Frierson: It feels like golfers, maybe more than most athletes, are always tinkering with things, whether it's their swing, their equipment, or whatever new thing comes along. Do you enjoy that part of the game, constantly trying new things?

Creasy: Yeah, totally. I try not to tinker too much with my clubs. Once I find something that's consistent and that I like, I like to stick with it. But it's always fun to try a new wedge, try a new putter or driver.

Frierson: At the Puerto Rico Classic in February, you shot 14-under, with all three rounds in the 60s. What does it feel like to be in the 60s three days in a row?

Creasy: It's just fewer mistakes. I play a high percentage into the greens, playing to the fat part of the green a lot. I'm aiming at hardly any flags. There are very few green-light flags that I'm actually going at, so I'm just trying to play the percentages and execute what I see, and then add it all up at the end of the day.

Frierson: Do you have to talk yourself out of aiming for a lot of pins?

Creasy: I'm pretty disciplined, for the most part. Mookie has helped me a lot — picking good targets and committing to them. He's helped me learn the wind and how to adjust different shots for that, which has been awesome. It's just something that you're always going to keep learning, and no matter how long you play, you keep learning and adjusting.

Frierson: The first time we did one of these was back in November 2020, at the start of your sophomore year, so you've been here a long time now. What does it feel like to have been here this long? And are you cherishing this final stretch of your Bulldog career?

Creasy: Totally. When I went home over break, I got home and I was sad because I sat there thinking, this is going to be my last semester. I'm definitely cherishing teammates, coaches, all the memories — just trying to take it all in because I don't want it to end. I'd do anything to be able to come back again for another year.

Frierson: You have been able to play a lot of amazing, legendary courses in your career. Is there one place or one tournament that stands out above the rest?

Creasy: Of course the team wins are the ones that stand out. Last year at Regionals, we played great as a team all spring and went to Regionals and won. This year at Puerto Rico, I'd say that might have been my favorite. Eh, I don't know if I can say my favorite, but it was definitely among my top favorite memories at UGA.

I remember one of our coaches saying we were probably 10 or 12 shots back with nine holes to go, and we came back and won. That was really cool to see, and that was super satisfying.

Frierson: You and (fellow graduate) Ben van Wyk have been teammates for a long time now. What has your time here together been like?

Creasy: I can't say enough good things about Benny, to be honest. He's been my roommate for the past two years and we're super close. I've learned a ton from him. He's very strong mentally, and his golf IQ is very high. He just knows how to play; he can get the ball in the hole.

We sit down and talk a lot about every aspect of the game, and he's been super helpful and super fun to play with and be teammates with.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.

Players Mentioned

Connor Creasy

Ben van Wyk

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