New Game, New Thinking: Derek Fathauer profile

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Editor's note: Derek Fathauer earned his PGA TOUR card when he tied for second at q-school in December. The University of Louisville grad starts his rookie season at this week's Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club, where he took time from his preparations for this Q&A.

PGATOUR.COM: How did you get interested in the game?

FATHAUER: My grandmother got us started playing golf. I have an identical twin brother, and for a birthday present, she got us lessons and a set of clubs. We were 11 at the time. It took us probably a year to get the hang of it, and we didn't play competitive golf until we were 15. But we haven't looked back.

PGATOUR.COM: Which one of you picked up the game the fastest?

FATHAUER: It's off and on. I'll play good for a few tournaments, and then he'll play good. I think we're both about the same. He didn't do q-school this year, but he will next year. No telling how he'll do, but I think he's got the game to play, too. I wouldn't say one of us is better than the other.

PGATOUR.COM: Were you competitive as kids?

FATHAUER: Not against each other. We always wanted the other one to play well. If I didn't play well, I always wanted him to play well, and he wanted me to be playing good.

PGATOUR.COM: Have you ever tried to change places and fool people?

FATHAUER: Not really. We did it once at school, and it didn't work. We tried to change desks, but the teacher caught on.

PGATOUR.COM: What do you like about playing golf?

FATHAUER: I just enjoy traveling and playing new golf courses and meeting new people. It's a challenging game, and you can always get better.

PGATOUR.COM: Is it the only sport you and your brother played?

FATHAUER: We played basketball for about a year and soccer when we were little, but we never really stuck with it. I love fishing, though -- I like anything being on the water. It's not really a sport, though.

PGATOUR.COM: You must be loving it out here in Hawaii, then.

FATHAUER: I haven't been to the beach or anything. I've taken pictures from the course. This is a golf week. I surf a little, but I'm better at wakeboarding. I was going to go to the North Shore, but they say it takes a while to get there, and it's busy, so I'll just stick to golf.

PGATOUR.COM: What kind of fishing do you do?

FATHAUER: I'm from Florida, so we fish for snook in the river and go offshore for dolphin, wahoo, kingfish, whatever.

PGATOUR.COM: What's the biggest fish you've ever caught?

FATHAUER: I've caught a couple of sharks off the beach before, like, 4-footers. Maybe a sailfish or something.

PGATOUR.COM: Anything you have mounted?

FATHAUER: No, we don't keep them usually. Just throw them back.

PGATOUR.COM: Is it hard to be out here without your brother? You played together all through high school and college.

FATHAUER: He took an extra semester at school, so I've been away from him for the last six months or so. We talk every couple of days, and I'll text or send him some pictures every day.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you think he's envious this week?

FATHAUER: He's motivated to play well. I just bought a new truck and got it real nice. It's sitting in the garage, and he sees it every day. That's what he gets if he works hard. It was my gift to myself after q-school, and I got all those logos on my shirt. I spent it all on a new truck and putting wheels on it.

PGATOUR.COM: What kind of truck is it? Does it have those big wheels on it or what?

FATHAUER: It's a Tahoe. I put 26s. The truck's white, and I got the rims to match, white with a big chrome lip on the rims. I put, like, a sound system in it. No one has a truck like it. I've had it, maybe, a couple of weeks. So it's not done yet. The wheels aren't on it yet, but they will be by Honda. I'll drive it to the Florida tournaments. I own that and a coffee table -- that's it.

PGATOUR.COM: Why did you buy a coffee table?

FATHAUER: Yeah, the guys at McArthur, my club in Hobe Sound, give me a hard time for buying a coffee table. But I liked it. They were remodeling the upstairs at the clubhouse and they were selling the coffee table for like 50 bucks and I liked it, so I just bought it. And that's before I even had a car. My brother and I shared a Tahoe. But I gave it to him so I was down in Florida for a couple of months, and I didn't even have a car. Then I bought the coffee table, and I didn't have anywhere to put it, so I put it in the back of a friend's truck, and the guys made a big deal about it. So it's pretty fun.

PGATOUR.COM: When are you going to buy a house to put it in?

FATHAUER: I don't really need a house now because I'll be on the road. If I have a good year this year, then I can think about houses.

PGATOUR.COM: What kind of goals do you set for yourself?

FATHAUER: I'd love to win, but getting in the majors and THE PLAYERS would be great.

PGATOUR.COM: What has the week been like?

FATHAUER: It's been fun so far -- meeting everybody and just relaxing. I'm just hanging out today. I don't grind very hard when I'm out here. They're long weeks, so get a good few days of practice in and then go hang out at the house and watch movies.

PGATOUR.COM: Are you nervous?

FATHAUER: I've played in some tournaments before and q-school. So I kind of learned from q-school how to relax and not put any pressure on it. I'm out here. That's fun. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You usually play better when you're having fun, so we'll see how it goes.