PGA Tour
Andrew Novak had the perfect response to a young fan who said he bet on him
Andrew Novak is a guy who, quite simply, gets it.
We got firsthand experience of this in our interview with Novak on The Loop podcast this past February, right around the time the 30-year-old was beginning a strong run of form that lasted up to this past week. For the second straight start, Novak was firmly in contention on the back nine of a PGA Tour event, this time finding his way into a playoff with two-time major winner Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage. Unfortunately for Novak, the Goliath took that matchup over David, with Thomas claiming his 16th career tour win at Harbour Town. Novak is still in search of his first.
But, Novak did secure back-to-back top-three finishes, and his third finish inside the top three this year alone. Sunday's runner-up also came in a signature event, earning Novak $2.16 million and, perhaps more importantly, 400 FedEx Cup points, placing him 15th in the standings and on track to make it to his first-ever Tour Championship later this summer. For a journeyman like Novak, that would be special stuff.
For those who follow the sport closely, he's an extremely easy guy to root for. He loves talking ball (NFL in particular), he's not afraid to mix it up on Twitter, mainly in poking fun at himself, and he recently went viral for telling his caddie he was just going to "aim at the fat guy" at the Valero. He's the ultimate bro's bro. One thing that also stood out in our interview in February is that Novak is not afraid to use golf statistic/gambling sites to inform him on how to play certain golf courses, and he checks the field odds, too.
So it's no surprise that Novak had the perfect response to a young fan who said "I bet on you" on Sunday following his Harbour Town heartbreak.
"You bet on me?" Novak said. "I hope it was top 5 and not to win."
With the wound so fresh, it's amazing Novak is able to joke around like this. Some guys may not have handled this with such aplomb. But Novak is a guy who gets it. As for the kid, we hope it was a top 5, or an "each way," too. We're guessing so, because that lad is way too smiley to have just lost on a pre-tournament 120-1 outright who had a prime shot to win in regulation. I'd be distraught, hurling obscenities at Novak on Twitter. And he'd probably find a way to joke about that, too.