Say What

Editor's note: A two-time winner on the European Tour, Thomas Levet is playing the PGA TOUR this year for the second time in his career. Most American fans probably remember him for reaching the four-man playoff at the British Open last year. He advanced out of the four-hole playoff and into sudden death with Ernie Els, who won on the first hole. The affable Frenchman sat down recently with PGA TOUR media official Joel Schuchmann for another edition of Say What?

Levet: My grandfather. He started the game in the family and got me started when I was around 6. In the 1970s and early '80s, when I was growing up, players like Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson and Lee Trevino in the United States and Bernhard Langer in Europe provided great motivation for me.

Levet: My favorite would be oldies like the Beatles. Of the new groups, I like the Dixie Chicks and Anastacia. But mostly the old guys like Stevie Wonder and my favorites, the Beatles.

Levet: Golf balls with corporate logos on them. If a player on TOUR has a ball with his name logoed on it I will ask for one. Between my wife, my dad and myself, we probably have 600 or 700 golf balls.

Levet: Be a billionaire on an island, fishing and playing golf sometimes for fun. If it was a real job, when I was younger, I wanted to be a veterinarian and take care of animals.

PGATOUR.COM: If they were to film a movie about your life, which actor would portray you?

Thomas Levet's best finish on the PGA TOUR was second at the 2002 British Open. (Getty Images) Levet: A mixture of three -- Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Levet: Winning tournaments, even the small ones. And finishing second at the British Open last year -- something I didn't think about when I was in school or just starting the game. You never think you'll be on the other side of the ropes. When I was (on the other side of the ropes) I would see players and think, 'these guys are completely out of here.' I never thought I would reach that level, to compete at that level. It was unreal.

Levet: Mostly to receive e-mail from family and friends. I also check PGATOUR.COM and the European Tour Web site to check out how friends of mine are playing.

PGATOUR.COM: What's the biggest thing you've ever splurged on after cashing a big check?

Levet: I've got a little story for you here. Last year, I was playing with Carl Pettersson on the last day of the last tournament of the year. He was 25th and I was 26th on the European Order of Merit, and all my contracts and bonuses were based on the top 25. On the last hole, I was one behind Carl and holed out with a wedge from 120 yards and beat Carl by one shot to get into the top 25. I bought two plasma televisions with a portion of my bonus money and named them both 'Carl.' They remind me of Carl.

PGATOUR.COM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what personal item would you most like to have?

Levet: I'm pretty good at surviving. Fire? Matches? I guess matches run out quick. A fishing stick.

PGATOUR.COM: If you are not playing well during a round, what do you do to try and get yourself on track?

Levet: I think about things that could happen. I have friends who work for a company where they have their boss (on them all the time). Golf is tough when you play bad, but when you stop and think about it, I'm playing golf and it's a sport I like. It puts me back on track.

When I went to play a tournament near Omaha Beach (in France), I went to the (military) cemetery honoring the dead soldiers. When you look at the crosses, thousands of them, dead people from America, England, Canada, from everywhere in the world. People that didn't know why they were over here, where Omaha Beach even was. But they came here to free France. If those guys would not have done that, I wouldn't be here (playing golf) either. I put myself in their position and realize that sometimes you're really lucky.

A Frenchman who gets it

Now I wish he had defeated Els in the British Open playoff.

Please read the bold.

1 posted on 04/25/2003 8:29:17 PM PDT by Archie Bunker on steroids

Had I known, I would have pulled for this little wine drinker in last years open.

2 posted on 04/25/2003 8:34:17 PM PDT by Archie Bunker on steroids

Levet: My favorite would be oldies like the Beatles. Of the new groups, I like the Dixie Chicks......

In this case, I'm willing to overlook that tiny detail.

Thanks for the heads up, Arch!

Geesh Hole...I'm not willing to overlook it. I was so keyed in on the last quote that I spaced the Fonda Chicks comment. Now I'm glad the drunken Frenchman got his arse kicked.

4 posted on 04/25/2003 9:12:08 PM PDT by Archie Bunker on steroids

Now I'm glad the drunken Frenchman got his arse kicked.

LMAO!

However, it is possible that edited out of the interview was Levet's comment that, "Just so you know, we're ashamed Chirac comes from France."

Chirac was probably the one spraying grafiti on the British graves.

7 posted on 04/26/2003 2:15:15 PM PDT by Archie Bunker on steroids

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