Name: Mike Antolini
Position: TGR Live VP/Championships (TGR Live was previously the Tiger Woods Foundation)
Where I'm from: Boston
Where I call home: Bethesda, Md.
Focusing on right now: We’re in the middle of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in L.A., so this is a big week for us and our foundation. It’s the first year we’re managing this historic tournament. The last 10 months have been spent focusing on how we can present this tournament to help usher in the next chapter of it with our new title sponsor Genesis. Granularly, I’m really focusing on the guest experience for the tournament.
Best advice: Avoid the noise. Time is our most precious commodity and I repeat that a lot. How one spends it says a lot about what they can accomplish.
A must for a new hire: Work ethic. In our organization and industry, you need to have the proper attitude and the passion. I’m looking for commitment over compliance.
Exec I admire: PGA Tour Commissioner JAY MONAHAN. He was instrumental in my career, bringing me into the PGA Tour, which is where I was before I joined the Tiger Woods Foundation. He helped me transition into the current position I’m in now. It takes about 15 seconds to notice there's something special about him and the way he treats people and develops relationships.
Favorite author: The author that I most enjoy is MALCOLM GLADWELL. I appreciate his storytelling and how he's really able to take a complex situation and shape a narrative through storytelling.
First thing I do in the morning: I check my email, and it's probably to a fault how connected I am to my email. I know that there’s a lot of commentary on how connected one should be, but I haven’t solved the riddle on how one should detach from my smartphone.
Talking tech: Emerging and growing technology like TrackMan has really helped influence our business and we’re continuing to try to find ways to incorporate that into our tournaments.
Must-have music: It begins and ends with PEARL JAM. Rarely -- if ever -- does Pearl Jam radio leave the SiriusXM preset when I’m in a vehicle. As soon as they announce a concert, my wife and I are plotting out when and how we can attend the shows.
Food for thought: My wife and I are always looking for great restaurants. I don't want to say I'm a foodie, but it is something that is very important to me. I would say that instead of trying to qualify a type of food, there are certain restaurants for which we have a great affinity.
How I unwind: I have a hard time sitting still. So when I come home, I try as much as possible to just turn off and spend time with my wife. We love to travel but we’re much more weekend trip vacationers than we are weeklong trip. I sometimes joke that when we are set for a weeklong trip the first thing I do when we get to the destination is change the flights to leave earlier.
Day in the life: I’m an energy guy. I’m constantly trying to ask myself "what does the team need and how can I help." There is a constant stream of information that is funneled through us, and I make sure that everyone is armed to do their job. It’s important to me that everyone feels good about what they do. It should feel rewarding. If that’s not the case, I’m doing something wrong.
