Sumter Sports Talk - Evan Lewis, Golfer/YouTuber

Listen to Jenkins sit down with Evans Lewis as he talks about his journey from picking up golf late in his high school career and going from a walk-on D2 player all the way to playing for a national championship with the South Carolina Gamecocks and now playing on YouTube with Grant Horvat and Jason Day.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:10

This episode is brought to you by Charles Bostick with State Farm Insurance. Whether you're looking for auto, home, renters, or life insurance, Charles Bostick and his team are there to help you find coverage that fits your needs and your budget. The State Farm, you get reliable coverage and personal service you can trust. Reach out to Charles Bostik State Farm today to get a quote and make sure you're covered. And again, that's Charles Bostik. He's on the corner of Wide Strive and Boltman Drive. Go see if he's the best there is. Welcome into another episode of Sumter Sports Talk with Jenkins Dwight. I'm Jenkins. I'm your host. Glad to be here again today. Today I have Evans Lewis, former South Carolina Gamecock golfer, currently making his way on the YouTube field with the Brian Bros, just recently played with Grant, Jason Day. Evans, thanks for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yeah, you texted me about this, and I was I was really excited. I listened to all of them. So this has been, I'm really excited. It's gonna be a blast.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

So Evans, before we get into your career and stuff, well, first of all, I want to thank our sponsors, Chick-fil-A of Sumter. Uh Broad Street, y'all know where that location is, but they're more recent ones on Pinewood Road. Thanks for their support. Go get your spicy sandwich, nugget trays, whatever it may be. And Charles Bostick, State Farm Insurance, thanks to them. He's on the corner of Wise Drive and Boltman Drive. Go see Charles Bostick. My parents have seen him for 30 years. He's the guy. Go see him. Evans, do you ever, when you're in Sumner, have you been in Sumner and been to the recent Chick-fil-A location, like near Sumner High where we went to school?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Yeah, I have. It's the drive-thru and you can sit outside.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

Yeah. I actually like it. Like if I'm at if I'm at my house in Sumner and I just need to go drive through, I actually go to that one now. It's I just feel like it's quicker.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

So, Evans, uh, before we get into your career and stuff, I'm this last month you've gotten to travel the world playing golf with Wesley Bryan, George Bryan, uh your recent video that just dropped with Jason Day, major championship winner, former world number one, and Grant Horvat, who I I just I saw the other day like some Taylor made ad, and it's like Rory Scotty, uh Morikala, and then you got Grant. That just shows Grant's not doing it the pro golf way, but that just shows how famous he is, and you got to play with him, Jason Day and the Brian Bros. So, how's that experience been?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

It's um yeah, it's it's still kind of hard to grasp because like you sit there and you watch those guys. Like we grew up watching Jason Day. So like being able to go down to Florida and play TPC Saulgrass and Glenn Kern and all these great courses with him and Grant. I mean, who is blowing up through the roof, if not already blown up to his peak. I don't know. But like what he's doing is unbelievable for golf, and he's going a different avenue with it instead of just playing professionally. It was it was super awesome an experience that I'll obviously remember forever.

SPEAKER_03 3:06

Yeah, so uh y'all have two episodes that have just dropped now, correct? Or am I that's right.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

We did a scramble at Glenn Kernan, like a 2v2v2, and then we did we played 18 holes at TBC Sawgrass on two separate channels. So the first nine will be on the Brian Bros, and then the second nine, the back nine will be on the lads channel, which is Jason Day's, Ryan Ruffles, and Bats.

SPEAKER_03 3:28

Okay. And then, all right, so is it 27 holes total?

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Yeah, it's a 27-hole like pro stroke play championship.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

And you're with George, correct?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

I am playing with Wesley. George was Wesley.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

Sorry, I get them mixed up all the time. Wesley, he's on your team. So who I my question for you is all right, the first video, who was the guy playing with Jason Day? Is he someone we're supposed to know?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

So I am new to watching the lads. Like they are off them. I've heard of Ryan Ruffles, he has like a wonderful golf swing.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

I remember I haven't seen much of him either. That's why I asked.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yeah, he got like number third in like the amateur rankings. So he's really good, but I hadn't really heard of Bat, but he was one of my favorites down there. He was awesome. He was just a super cool guy to be around, kept the vibes up. But yeah, no, he's if anybody needs to go, definitely go check him out. He's he's the man. But I I had never heard of him until then.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

Yeah, was that was he Australian as well?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

He is, yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

Okay, so that makes sense. Um so this was all in how close what'd you say the first course was? Glenn Kernan. And was that near Jacksonville or wherever TPC is?

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Yeah, it was probably 15, 20 minutes from it.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

Was that your first time playing TPC? Sawgrass?

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Yeah, yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

That's crazy. Um okay, so we'll probably come back to that. Now let's go back in time. So, I mean, I I've known you growing up. I knew you in high school, but on my notes here, tell me if I'm wrong. All right, so you grew up playing baseball, yes, correct?

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Yeah, I did, yes.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

When did you stop and start playing golf? When did you pick up golf basically?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I had always been around it. Like my grandmother plays every day, just about my stepfather's been in the golf industry for 30 years. So I've always been around it, but I guess I started taking it very seriously in 10th grade. That's kind of when I just truly like stuck with golf and like didn't go back and play baseball and like really like fell in love with it, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Yeah, well, I've had multiple people tell me you it wasn't like, oh, you're struggling with baseball, you're gonna try something new. It was he's really good at baseball. I don't know why he stopped. Did you just get kind of tired of it and you're just like, I want to try this golf thing?

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah, I guess I just like it seemed very repetitive. I feel like I couldn't even remember when I started playing baseball, and like I definitely loved it, and like I still enjoy watching the Braves and Carolina and all these teams. So it's like I just guess I did just get burnt out of it. It just like I wish I could go back in time and like flip a switch and like see like what my thought process was doing that because it had to be kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_03 6:01

Yeah. So you start in 10th grade, and I have I hate to bring this up, but I have to. Everyone who knows you really close remembers your first competitive high school tournament. You know what I'm talking about? I talk about it all the time. And I'm having my mind's going blank. The course was in Charleston. What was this the tournament was like the Patriot, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Westcott Plantation.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

Westcott. Uh what what was the number? I mean, I don't even feel bad asking.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

I think it was a I think I shot 111 the first day. Could have been one, it could have been 113 and 92 the second day.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

I mean, that had to have been I remember when you pick like started picking it up competitively, like you weren't like you you were quick, like you weren't 90 or 110 bad. That had to have just been like holy crap, like nerves, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Oh yeah. I mean I remember I the first hole, I remember making like seven. It's like this little easy part four. Made like seven, shot probably, I mean, gosh knows, probably I think it was like sixty on the front, and I mean the gears were churning to say the least.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

Wow. And then if tell if I remember correctly, the next two you came back and shot a couple rounds in the 70s or something like that, like literally 365 days later.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

I do remember that because I think that was the first time like I had two like back-to-back rounds in the 70s. They may have been both 79s.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

Yeah, that's crazy just looking back at like how the improvement was. So you like all right, so the next year you shoot like whatever you said 7979, then you end up just improving even more and more each tournament up until your senior year, and then I I don't want to use the word late bloomer, but you see, and you know more than me, a lot of these guys playing at like power five or power four and out schools, they have to commit early because there's only so many spots. And I guess you would be someone who kind of came on the show late. So it's hard to play at any kind of school like that late because they have a lot of spots came up. So you end up playing north you end up going to North Greenville to play. And that was tell me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that pretty last minute as well on your senior year?

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Yeah, I was I was scrambling just to find, I just knew I loved golf, and I knew I just wanted an opportunity to play, and I wasn't good enough to go to any division one school, but I really just wanted an opportunity. So I was just emailing a ton of coaches, just begging for a walk-on spot, and I was lucky enough that North Greenville gave me an opportunity, and um, yeah, I kind of just went up there and I enjoyed it. I love the golf. So I mean to be able to do that in a competitive atmosphere every day is what I really think made me excel, I guess, faster than I probably should have.

SPEAKER_03 8:49

Yeah, and I I remember all of us knew you were good enough to play college golf, no matter what it was. But like my point being was like it's kind of tricky with golf if you kind of come on the scene late, just because the better the schools are, the quicker they get their spots taken. And I tell me if I'm wrong, but I just feel like that's kind of how it goes.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Absolutely. I feel like these coaches recruit two years in advance. Right. And like they get these kids in ninth and tenth grade that are developing into golf. I mean, they're still growing and they want to see how good they can get, but you have all these rankings now and you can check all these scores online. It's like if you're not looking that for the class of right now, I mean, if we're in 26 and we're probably looking at the class like 20, 29, I guess, in high school, just about.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Yeah. So you play two years in NGU, correct?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Uh three.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Oh, you played three. Okay. And so that was a good experience. You um do you have any memorable tournaments from your NGU or anything that stands out from your time there?

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Definitely, I remember the first one because it was like the first time that it was the first tournament of the year, and I remember I had just snuck into the lineup, and I was extremely I wasn't like that nervous, but then when we got to the golf course that day, I remember being like extremely nervous because I mean you're just I've always just played against growing up, just against high school kids at that point, and like people my age. So then I'm playing against guys that are in college at 22, 21, 23, and it's like that was definitely nerve-wracking to see like how developed their golf games are, and I feel like mine is still advancing. At that point in my life, I felt like there was I could have shot anywhere. My margin of error was very high with a low margin to like play well, so I felt like everybody else was better than me at that time. I hadn't like gained the confidence like I should be there.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

Yeah. And real quick, just because it came to my head, I want to go backtrack one quick time. In high school, I'd say you won the Magnolia, which was at Beach Creek, basically one of our home courses. Was that your senior or junior year?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Senior year.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

Senior year. So I one of my latest guests was coach was our coach, Coach Schaefer. Uh what was the story? What did you say? You had like a two or three shot lead on 18. And for those who don't know, Beach Creek 18, it's a pretty short part five. There's no what they're driving. If you go through the fair weights, the driving range, there's no OB. What did he didn't he tell you just to like aim at the freaking clubhouse or something?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

The only way that that hole could have gone wrong for me is if I hit it left. So he told me just to aim way right and hit it right in the middle of the driving range. I remember I remember like the course, like the range was like we had those yellow practice balls. So I remember like being worried, I was like, could we lose this golf ball? And he was like, just telling me all the balls are yellow, like we'll easily find it, all these things.

SPEAKER_03 11:36

Yeah, and you end up taking the victory. I think I mentioned, I can't remember if it was on air, off air, Schaefer. Like, we have an inside joke with the Magnolias. No matter what, every year that tournament, it's gonna be the worst weather, cold and rainy every time. Brutal. Yeah, so you have a very, very successful three years at NGU, and then you get offered by South Carolina a big time Power Four program. I mean, how was that? What was that process like and what was going through your head when all that went down?

SPEAKER_00 12:06

So uh Ken Rose with my stepfather, he loved South Carolina, his dad played baseball there. So like I feel like I've always heard them talk about it. So when that opportunity came about, I jumped all over it. Bill McDonald made that process super easy, who was my head coach there. But getting on the transfer portal was I mean, I didn't know anything about it. I was just a kid that showed up to North Greenville just wanting to play golf and then got a little bit better and had the opportunity to transfer out of there. And I remember my coach like sitting me down and us having that conversation, like this could be a possibility. And just the the way the portal works is like you get to see everybody in there. It's just like all the fish in the ocean almost just in like one website, like looking for another chance. But I was very lucky that Bill McDonald reached out and we were able to get that process rolling pretty fast. It was also COVID, so I felt like we weren't traveling when I first got on the portal. So I may have had a little different experience because I felt like I had more downtime because we weren't able to travel and play.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

You mean like visits and stuff? Is that what you're saying?

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Yeah, like we couldn't, uh you couldn't take visits. Oh, okay. And even we weren't traveling for tournaments because the schools closed and everything like that.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

So was it was that pretty quick, like, oh, South Carolina's offering me here, I'm gonna talk to the coach and that's it. Were there any other schools you considered, or was it pretty straightforward with South Carolina?

SPEAKER_00 13:29

It was pretty it was pretty straightforward. There were some other schools that I talked to. The South Florida coach um used to actually coach at North Greenville, so I had some conversations with him, but really South Carolina was the best offer, so I felt like I had to get on that opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

So you go to South Carolina and you ended up playing two seasons there?

SPEAKER_00 13:50

I did my senior year and then my fifth year.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

So you got five years. Is that because COVID? You got an extra one?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Yeah, the OBC year eligibility. Got you.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

And then you obviously jumped right on the scene consistently in the lineup. And was it your first year at South Carolina where you ended up qualifying for the national championship?

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Yeah, it was the first year. Yeah. Kind of got definitely I got off to an okay start in the year, and um the nerves there are different than North Greenville because like the level of competition was definitely better. But once I kind of got settled in, I felt like I got to play a little better and a little more comfortable. I feel like anything that I've ever done with golf, it definitely takes me a little while to like settle into what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Was it kind of like when you showed up in North Greenville, you're like, okay, I know I can I'm as good as these guys, but like it's still just different from high school to college. So it takes a minute. Was that similar to like going from NGU D2 to D1? You're like, I know I'm just as good as these guys, but like, wow, this is kind of like holy crap.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Yeah, exactly. Because it's like this, the names that you see all the times on the leaderboards over the summers and amateur events and stuff like that. So yeah, that definitely was a shock.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

Quick shout out to Chick-fil-A with two convenient locations right here in Sumter, South Carolina. Got one on Pinewood Road, and we got the old reliable one on Broad Street. Whether you're grabbing breakfast on the way to work, lunch, during the day, or dinner, or for the whole family, Chick-fil-A's got you covered with fresh food and top-tier service. From the classic Chick-fil-A sandwich to waffle fries and nuggets, it's always a win. Stop by one of their two locations, again, Pinewood Road and Broad Street in Sumter, and get on the Chick-fil-A app and get you a fast, easy pickup. Here, here's a question I have. And I've I know you, I know Christian who played at NC State, Walker played at Walford, I've known a few guys who played D1, and I have my friend Carter Rains, who was my teammate, ended up going to Gardner Webb play. I never even asked him this. Was there any and I guess every team's different. Was there any difference practice and like qualifying-wise between like South Carolina and Northern Greenville? Did y'all qualify more at someplace, practice more? Like, how did that work? Or what was the difference, if there was any?

SPEAKER_00 16:10

We definitely, I feel like our schedule at South Carolina was more on top of each other with events. So I felt like we'd come home for a couple days. But both schools we qualified a lot. I would say Carolina's qualifying structure was a little more detailed to where we knew what we had to do. Like if you top 25 the event, you got into the following week. And if you didn't, you were pretty much thrown back into qualifying unless you were ranked high on golf stat, which was the ranking system.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Yeah, okay, that makes sense. I remember we, and I guess every school's different because if you I mean if you have 10 guys who are all equal with each other, you need to qualify. If you have five guys who are just playing well in a tournament, another five who aren't ready yet, you don't even need to qualify. So I guess it no matter what division or whatever it is, it kind of just depends on the team.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

So yeah, and and all these coaches, they know who their best player is in an instance. Like we had Ryan Hall on our team my first year. So I mean, he was the third best player in the country. So if he didn't come in the top 25, which it wasn't a lot, if any, but he was always going to travel. There's no way we could have gone without him.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

I actually got, I think, were you I don't remember if you were playing with us at Coyote. I think I played like nine holes with Ryan Hall. I can't was it me, you, Walker, and him, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 17:17

I don't it was, yeah, because he moved there right when he graduated and played out of Coyote for a while.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

I remember he hit like his tee shot on number one in the fair, like I can't remember where he hit his t-shot, but he just hit like a randomly like out of character second shot, hit the tree and kicked in like the wood chips on the left. And I'm just like, I know he's good, but what the heck was that? And it was like a top left pin, and that green slanted right, and he hit it to like a foot. And I was like, that's not possible.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, it sounds about right with him.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

Yeah, that's funny. So how your journey to the national championship, take me through that process. Like, does like how do you how do you qualify for the national championship? What did it take for you to do that?

SPEAKER_00 18:04

So to make re it starts at regionals, and it or I guess it starts at the end of the year. You have to be over 500 to qualify for regionals, and then I'm pretty sure you have to be ranked a certain um ranked a certain number. I don't know what that number is, but the team or individual? The team, the team.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

So, or you can win your conference and also get into regionals that way. So you have to play well all throughout out to the year, all throughout the year. And once you get to regionals, you every team that's there has an opportunity. It's like they take the top five teams from six locations that go to the national championship. But the top five players or the top player not on a qualifying team at that regional goes and gets to play in the national championship as an individual. So I there's six individuals throughout the country that get to go play in the national championship, and that's how that's how I did it. Luckily, we went to Oklahoma, their regional site, and I think I came in fifth, but I was lucky enough that the four guys ahead of me were on a qualifying team.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

Oh wow. I see. Okay, I see how that works. And what was where was the course? Was it Arizona somewhere?

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Yeah, we played Greyhawk Golf Club and uh maybe just outside of Scottsdale.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Yeah. I heard that place is hard from what I remember. I remember someone or like seeing on Twitter like how hard that course is.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Yeah, it's just you get there and like we got there a couple days early, so like we'd go out there and look at it. We couldn't really practice out there, just put the NCAA rules. We go look at it, and it was all this green grass, and they were watering it. And the practice round day was that we played the practice round, I think, the day before the women played their final round of the national championship. So the course was and for their national championship, they didn't water it at all. And then they also didn't water it for ours. So by the time we finished that that final round, it was almost unplayable how firm and just dead the grass was. It was brutally hard.

unknown 19:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:58

Who ended up who ended up winning it that year? Do you remember?

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Uh Gordon Sargent.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Gordon, oh, I forgot. Was he Vanderbilt?

SPEAKER_00 20:06

He was, he was a freshman.

SPEAKER_03 20:07

That's right. I remember him. That's crazy. So you play another year at South Carolina, and then you played pro for a little bit. What like I I'm still not completely sure exactly how like mini tours or pro works. I know you like the Ultimate Goals Q school, but how long did you try and play pro golf for and how did that or how was that experience overall?

SPEAKER_00 20:30

It was a lot of fun. It's completely different than college golf because you're traveling pretty much by yourself. Right. And you get your group of guys that are also doing the same thing you are. And I was lucky enough that one of my teammates in North Greenville was doing it. And then I also had some from Carolina. So we had a little group that we could travel with. But it's uh it's just completely individualized. And I know like golf is an individual sport, but like in college, like you're rooting for your teammates because you want to win as a team. But it was uh it was a fun process. I loved it. It's just so unbelievably hard because guys are so good. Everybody's good these days.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

Well, these every time I look at like Monday qualifiers scores, you shoot dang near 59, it seems like.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Yeah, if you don't shoot seven under, you could probably pack your bags and head home. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 21:14

I mean, yeah. Seeing, yeah, I I mean it's so hard. I feel like, I mean, tell me if I'm wrong. Like, it seems to me like getting to the top pro level in golf and like baseball seems like the hardest. It feels like you have to just go through so much.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

It's just like there's thousands of guys that are playing on the mini tours, and then you have like with conditional status on the Corn Ferry tour and full status, there's probably what two hundred people maybe. Yeah. And then you have the PJ Tour, now it's pretty much just top a hundred. So it's like you're in this pool of so many guys, and to reach the top, it's selecting the a hundred players at the end of the year. It's like that's brutal.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Yeah, and just think about everybody who plays golf, like that's insane. So Yeah. But it was a good experience and all for you. And now, so back to where we kind of started this episode. Um you know so you know Wesley and George basically just through bit playing at South Carolina, correct?

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Yeah, I remember they used to come out to our facility and just like practice out there and like they both really helped the guys and everybody loved them. Wesley's obviously an unbelievable player, and so is George, but Wesley would always help me with my putting. I wasn't never scared to ask a question, so he was always very hands-on and showing me how I needed to go about my practice and all this stuff, and I feel like we've kind of grown a decent friendship up to now.

SPEAKER_03 22:33

Yeah, and I'm not a huge, I don't hate it at all. In fact, I still enjoy watching it. I'm not huge, like I don't sit there and watch YouTube golf all the time, but I feel like Wesley I feel like the Brian Bros kind of started it all. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_00 22:47

Yeah, I think it was back in like 2014, 2015. George was still playing in elite level, but just kind of at the mini tours, and they just kind of I think their story was they saw somebody on like the ESPN top 10 one Saturday morning at their parents' house and like bouncing a ball in a club and then would hoop it in the air, and somebody else would hit it out of the air with the driver. And Wesley looked at George and was like, we can do this. And I'm pretty much that's what they went outside and did it a couple times, and that kind of took them off.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

Yeah, and now I mean it's opened up a whole new thing. So, because now did both of them play at South Carolina?

SPEAKER_00 23:21

They did, yeah. George is two years older. I think they I think he played from 2008 to 2012, maybe, or either Wesley was those years and George was 2006 to 2010.

SPEAKER_03 23:30

Got you. So Wesley, I mean, he I sometimes I forget. He's a former PJ Tour winner. He won at Harbor Town.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Yeah, back in, I think it was 2017, maybe.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Yeah, I mean, that wasn't uh that wasn't that long ago. So through your friendship with them, uh you've been on a couple of their videos, and that I just starting there with a couple of videos, knowing how famous they are, uh, what was that like? Just like the first couple, nothing not to where you are now yet. We'll get there, but what was it like being on the first few?

SPEAKER_00 24:08

The first few was different than the last because the first few I didn't ever think that I would do YouTube golf. I didn't think that I would maybe start a channel like I'm going to in June and uh or start having videos out come come out in June. So it's like I was just kind of just playing and I was having a good time. Like the camera guy was there, it was awesome. We were just like the camaraderie was great and it was a it was fun. So like I just felt like it was really cool just to be involved in that, I guess, is a good way to say it.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

And then one of their again, I can't remember the name of the video. I can't even remember if y'all were playing at Selena or somewhere else. Uh y'all, I can't even remember the format, but you kind of blew up a little bit in the comments. Like you were kind of not afraid, you were kind of giving it to Wesley a little bit, like talking a little fun trash, and people loved it. Um, which video, like, tell me about that video. You know which one I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah, that's the one that came out in uh January, I think it was. We filmed that in like November, but that shows exactly like the relationship like Wesley and I have. I mean, it's no different than us playing at sunset back in 2015, 2016, 2017. We were going out there. But it's just like just us having a good time, and like it's just very relaxed, and I feel like we just get to be who we are and go have fun doing golf.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

Is part of it like when you're sitting there when you say that, so it's kind of just like ignoring, like, yeah, there's a camera, but who cares? Why act any different? Like, these are my friends playing. Is that kind of the mindset?

SPEAKER_00 25:33

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I want to we played like a sudden death match play thing to kind of explain like how like match play works on like the PJ Tour and stuff. And um, I played Wesley in the first one, and like we went to like three holes, and I think he won on the third hole with Birdie.

SPEAKER_03 25:47

Yeah, he kept making a bunch of putts. I remember that.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Oh my gosh. Yeah, he was rolling in, but like at the same time, it's like you're so focused. Like, I wanted to beat him so bad. So it's like you kind of forget the cameras there, and like I'm friends with their camera guys, uh Carney and Cam. So it's like yeah, they're kind of like picking fun at you too, like when things happen, they keep it very light.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Yeah. So was that the start of you having the idea of opening up your own channel?

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Yeah, so the comments kind of were like overwhelming, I guess. Like I didn't, I mean, I didn't think one comment would be about me. Then I there was probably a couple hundred of just positive comments, and it was like, wow, like we were talking to Wesley, and he was like, I was like, should I maybe try this? And he was like, Yeah, I definitely think you could have something here, and he's been nothing but supportive and helping me go about this process and showing me what I should do and all that.

SPEAKER_03 26:34

So, I mean, my my thing is like you might as well try, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:39

I mean Yeah, yeah. I mean, what's the worst that happens if it doesn't work?

SPEAKER_03 26:43

It's exactly, and they already I mean they know who you are. So I mean, if you try and it hits, great. And for if for some reason it doesn't, oh well, I'll go do something else. But like, I mean, I I don't want to jinx it. I'd be shocked if it didn't work because I mean the way you play and stuff, and the way they like how you just like as because you're friends, like you stand uh stand up to Wesley, you're not afraid to talk some trash to him. I think that's why a lot of people like watching you in that one. But so the recent videos though, I mean, that that had to have felt different. I mean, you're playing with Jason Day, Grant Horvat. I mean, Jason Day 10 years ago was number one in the world. I mean, he's very famous. I mean, what was it like meeting him, playing with him, and just how that whole trip and experience? I know we talked about it earlier, but just how was that?

SPEAKER_00 27:35

It was it was insane. So we drove down there like on a Sunday and we were gonna play it. It was the Sunday of the players, and um we were gonna wake up Monday and go to Glenn Kern and film this video, and like they were saying this like just so nonchalantly, and I'm sitting there in the car driving down. I'm like, oh my gosh, like I gotta like, I'm getting nervous, and like the closer I got, the more nervous I got. And like the next morning, we're on the way to the golf course, and like we don't see anybody when we pull in. It was early, and they were like, Jason Day is on the back range, and then it kind of like hit me. I was like, Alright, like this is getting pretty real. Like, I really didn't have much words, but then I met him and we talked for a second, and like just like you do when you meet somebody new, and he was the most down-to-earth person ever. He was asking me where I'm from, where my girlfriend's from, did I grow up playing with friends? Like, all these things. Like, he was just so down-to-earth. I mean, he is impossible not to root for. That's the same. Oh, it was it was truly awesome. And then the same thing with Grant Horvet. I mean, they are just like, I mean, they're they're superstars, but it's hard to see them as real people, or at least for me, it was at first, and then I meet him and I'm like, okay, like this is like really cool how nice these guys are to me.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

It was easy to just get comfortable on that, like, just like if you were playing with me, basically.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Absolutely, yeah. It was it felt the exact same. Now, on the first T the first T-shot of the when that camera came out and it was on Grant Orvat's channel, I was the most nervous of probably ever done a big off ball.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Well, I feel like uh you were did you go a little left on that t-shot? Is that what it was?

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Yeah, there was it looked like I couldn't, I didn't think I could cover the trees on the right. So it was like just don't hit it right.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

They were all going right though, weren't they? Like, I don't I don't think I remember seeing a lot of good t-shots on the opening hole.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

No, Jason obviously striped one, and then Wesley hit a good one, but other than that, yeah, that was that was it. The rest of us were probably pretty nervous.

SPEAKER_03 29:21

And y'all and y'all recorded about a month ago, you said, around the players?

SPEAKER_00 29:28

It was the day after the players.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

Okay. Um, so yeah, I mean, Jason Day also just got like 12th in the masters, and he was in contention for basically three days. He didn't play, didn't have his best stuff on Sunday, but I mean, like, he's still playing really good golf. Like, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Yeah, I mean, he's the top top player in the world.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

Yeah, I mean, he's still way up there. Um what I noticed when I watched on the first T is like, I mean, I know you're not gonna sit there and pat yourself on the back, but everyone knows how far you can hit the ball and how much speed you have, and you hit it, and they were all, including Jason Day, were like, oh wow, like I mean, y'all are firing the hips and stuff. And it was just like like if I if me and you were about to go play somewhere and I brought two friends that you've never met, like that I they're just reaction like Jason Day, who's literally seen played with the best golfers in the world, Grants played with Scotty Scheffler and all these guys too, and it was just like they had the same reaction as my two friends would. I thought that was so cool, and that showed how nice those guys were.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yeah, and it shows it really shows how cool like the game of golf is. Because like I mean, I'm not on the level, any of those guys are on PJ Tour. So for Jason Day to go play with the best players in the world on a Sunday at the players and then go have a fun reaction and a good time with us, just shows like I mean, we you can't do that in the NFL. I mean, you can't do that in the MLB, really. So, I mean, it really just shows how good of a game it is.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

So, before we go, what I mean, what can you tell us about your channel? What's your next steps with this YouTube golf stuff?

SPEAKER_00 30:56

So I am going to try to get a series of like stroke play events, and this could change. This is still right, I mean, this is early, but I am going to play a bunch of people, hopefully at a very high level of golf, and hopefully a lot of the YouTubers, and have these videos come out in June. We'll be the first one and just continue that. I mean, I hope it has some success and I get to do it for a long time. But I mean, if I can, I'm gonna have fun doing it for fun on the side too. So I mean it's it's gonna be a blast to do. I'm I'm really excited, but I have a channel, it's like Evans Lewis Golf, I think it's called right now. I don't have anything on it, I just created it just to Wesley just helped me set it up, so it's just like something to have, so it'll be easy for me to upload these videos when I get them.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

Well, the advantage for you, I don't think you could have anybody better in your corner with this stuff than Wesley Bryan.

SPEAKER_00 31:41

So yeah, I'm I'm very fortunate. I definitely don't take it for granted.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Yeah, but I mean that's all awesome. I hope it goes well, Evans. I'd be shocked if it didn't. Uh that's cool. I mean, that this experience, I mean, I would have never thought you were playing with Jason Day and stuff like that. So I that's still surreal to me. So I still remember us being at lunch when you were playing baseball and we were talking about you trying golf, and then here you are. It's crazy to think about that. But I appreciate you coming on, Evans, and hopefully I'll have you on here again down the road and we're talking about how successful your YouTube channel is.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

And I'd like to do the same with this podcast. But yeah, I definitely want to come back on. This is awesome.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

Yeah. Well, Evans, thank you for taking the time and good luck with everything else.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Absolutely you too. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

All right, bro.