Andrew Landry Q&A: On fatherhood, cowboy boots, and the Hurricane Harvey fallout

At 30 years old and with a newborn son, Andrew Landry doesn't quite fit the "young gun" description that has dominated the PGA Tour over the last few years in the post-Tiger Woods era.

But Landry - the Cinderella story of the 2016 U.S. Open, holding the third-round lead as the 624th-ranked player after firing the lowest-ever opening round at a U.S. Open hosted at Oakmont Country Club (66) - has paid his dues and climbed golf's ranks.

Two weeks ago, he became a PGA Tour winner for the first time, taking the Valero Texas Open by two shots.

Landry earned his PGA Tour card for the first time in 2015 but struggled and had to return to the Web.com Tour the following year. But he won for the second time on the Web.com Tour in 2017 and comfortably earned a PGA Tour spot once again.

Now, there's no turning back. His victory gives him an exemption on Tour for the next two years and a tidy $1.16-million payday.

theScore talked to Landry about his maiden PGA Tour win, how the hurricanes that ripped through the Houston area a year ago impacted the native Texan's family, and how excited he is to play in next year's Masters.

The first serious question: What are you going to do with those cowboy boots you got as a prize for winning in Texas?

I'm just going to keep them as a souvenir (laughs). But they're a pretty nice souvenir.

Being from Texas yourself, did you already have a pair?

I've got a few pairs. It's fun to have them and we've gone (to a rodeo) a couple different times. Rodeos are a good time.

I know you're an avid fisherman. Any chance you're buying a new boat with that big paycheck?

No (laughs). We bought a house and we just had a baby, so we were looking to upgrade on the home - that's what we're up to right now. Nothing too special but it's going to be a big one-storey home.

But there's got to be a celebratory fishing trip at the end of the year?

For sure! For sure.

Your whole family, including your newborn son, was there for the win. How was it to have so much support, especially considering how much that core group has been with you on your golf journey?

It was one of those weeks where I honestly, it can be stressful. There was a bunch of people there and I was trying to organize things and not only do that but try to stay focused on playing golf. That was one of the weeks where I said I was going to try to have some fun with it. Everyone was coming to support me, and I needed to understand that.

Sometimes it can get a little overwhelming but it's funny how that one particular week, where everyone was there ... I mean it was hard to get everyone to go to dinner. There were so many people at the resort. We had 70 people. It was just a special day and a win I will never forget, hands down.

How many tournaments had your son (born Brooks Ryan Landry on March 23) been to?

That was his first one! So he's one for one.

Speaking of family, did Hurricane Harvey affect you guys last year? Your hometown (Port Neches, Texas) is only about 90 minutes away from Houston.

It did. My brother lost everything in the flood. He is slowly but surely getting everything back.

We're very fortunate because my dad is just a handyman. He knows how to do everything and he helped my brother and I growing up and taught us to work hard. He taught us so much on building things and putting stuff back together. He's trying to teach us still to this day. It's nice to have him there and help my brother out and get his house redone.

There are so many people there who are paying so many contractors and then the contractors are getting overwhelmed because they can only do so much at one time.

People are honestly just living in trailers in their front driveway. It's really sad. But we're very fortunate that he has been able to help my brother out and have them get back into their house.

Between that and your son being born, did you realize this past year or so that there is a lot more to life than just golf?

Absolutely. Honestly, everyone thinks this is a dream job, and it is a dream job. It's something I've worked hard for since I was 10 years old. Things like that happen and you take a step back and you realize that is the most important part.

When that hurricane came through, my family was at a golf tournament in Portland (Oregon) watching me get my PGA Tour card. It's pretty hard to have such a special moment when, on the other hand, their house is absolutely getting wiped out. It just shows how special family is and how important it is. It's crazy how (things) work because if I wasn't getting my PGA Tour card that exact week of that exact year, they would have probably stayed in their home and been really affected, and maybe loss of life.

It's pretty crazy how every little piece of your journey is in a perfect place. It's wild.

I assume you're a fan of the Houston Astros?

I am. Huge fan of the Astros.

You just mentioned how life worked in funny ways, and how sometimes the stars need to align, time-wise. Is the Astros' World Series victory with what happened in Houston that year one of those things?

For sure. Between that and what J.J. Watt did with raising so much money, it's just crazy how Houston came together. My neighbor across the street went down to Houston and was rescuing people. He brought his boat down. My parents and everyone were staying at my house because they didn't have anywhere to go. My parents' house was fine but getting from Austin to Beaumont, you have to go through Houston. There was no way home.

(My neighbor) came over and gave my brother $180. It was all the money he had in his wallet, and he just said, "Here, I hope this helps." It was just people coming together. It's crazy how much easier life would be if people would just help each other out. That's always been my philosophy from the get-go.

I'm not going to be the one to change the world, but if I can change one person then it's a positive thing.

You had a great quote after your win a couple weeks ago where you said a "PGA Tour pro could get beat by a guy wearing Crocs" on the course you grew up playing. Is it really like that?

It's just one of those golf courses where the conditions were so bad. People really don't understand what we grew up on (laughs). The conditions were so bad. Phil Mickelson could go out there, legitimately, and get beat by a guy in Crocs. I'm just throwing Phil's name out there, but it's true. It's one of those things. We had Dawie van der Walt out there (two-time Web.com Tour and two-time European Tour winner), Lamar University guys out there ... and they know. It's really, really bad (laughs). That was the reason I said that. It's funny, because we'd go out there and we'd get beat. It was fun, we could take it.

Your PGA Tour season has been a little feast or famine. You've missed seven cuts but had three top-10 finishes and the win. How would you describe the last eight months or so?

Incredible. It's been something I've worked hard for, for a really long time, and I'm finally seeing some results from it.

In 2015, you mentioned the tournament you were most looking forward to was the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Did that tournament live up to the hype?

It did! That tournament is so big and it was definitely different than the first year I went, to get to the 16th hole and have some fun with it ... and now 17 and 18 are so big as well ... it was awesome.

That was hands down the coolest hole and a great conditioned golf course.

And of course, along with your win, you'll get into the field of the Masters in 2019. Have the emotions for that set in yet?

It's going to be one of the coolest experiences of my life, for sure. It's always been a dream of mine.

I'm going to have my brother probably caddie for me in the Par-3. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think we're going to do that. We've walked every path together from my first Web.com Tour event to my first PGA Tour event, and he's caddied for me. Getting to those situations where he can be out there with me is going to be another special moment.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)