KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA DAY

April 24, 2023

Steven Alker

Paul Earnest

Tom Knapp

John Lindert

Jason Mengel

Deb O'Connor

Media Day Press Conference

PGA Frisco

JULIUS MASON: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm the PGA of America's Julius Mason, and I'd like to thank you very much for joining us as we celebrate the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship defending champion in the first of many championships visiting Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco. Settle in, sit back, relax, and enjoy the history and tradition of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

[Video shown.]

If you were counting, ladies and gentlemen, that's 83 years of history in under four minutes. That's what Don Rea, the vice president of the PGA of America, calls good pace of play.

Let's get things started today by welcoming from the great state of Michigan, the PGA Director of Golf at the Country Club of Lansing, the president of the PGA of America, Mr. John Lindert.

JOHN LINDERT: Thank you. Very well done.

JULIUS MASON: I think in just 29 days, the dream will become the reality with Fields Ranch East hosting the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. What is it specifically about this major championship that floats your boat?

JOHN LINDERT: Great question. Obviously the history to it. It started in 1937, the very first championship was held at Augusta National, which not many majors can make that claim.

Along with our relationship with KitchenAid, obviously since I'm from Michigan, great relationship, Deb over here was a member at my facility, so I've had a longstanding relationship with the company itself, and it's just been a very impactful event. One of our four key majors along with the PGA Championship, the KPMG and the Ryder Cup. So this is, as you see, very rich in history and tradition, and I'm extremely proud to be part of this.

JULIUS MASON: The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship features the strongest field in golf, but our field is also pretty unique.

JOHN LINDERT: Yeah, it is, so we have 35 PGA professionals that are part of the Corebridge Financial PGA team that have qualified for this event. We've had some historically do really well, Bob Sowers in Southern Hills finished, I think T5 or T6, which is absolutely outstanding.

We have two Texans playing in the event this year, Cameron Doan from Dallas and Eric Bogar from Houston, so it's a great opportunity for them to show their skill set and compete against some of the world's best players.

JULIUS MASON: Now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome from Benton Harbor, Michigan, KitchenAid's director of global partnerships and community relations, Deb O'Connor.

Deb, KitchenAid, iconic worldwide brand. How did you get here and why golf?

DEB O'CONNOR: Well, there's a little background. Start there. In 2010, we built the Harbor Shores golf course in Benton Harbor, Michigan, our hometown, and the golf course really revitalized an area that used to be manufacturing.

We lost about 6,000 jobs back in the 1980s. We went into that area, it was basically a ghost town of manufacturing, and we went in and pulled out 240,000 tons of factory and debris, and now we have a beautiful golf course on the shores of Lake Michigan.

That's where it starts.

If you want to bring a lot of people to your course, get international attention, why don't you have a major championship on it. So that's what we did, and that's where we are.

We look at the last 12, 13 years that we've been doing this, we're at Harbor Shores every other year, and on the alternating years, we're at amazing championship courses, thanks to the PGA of America.

When we go to those places, we talk to players, we talk to spectators, and they all think that great golf and great cooking goes together.

It's really like you're out there having a good time with your friends, your family, you're laughing a lot, you're learning a lot together, and it's just about making memories, so they really go together.

JULIUS MASON: So don't give away the farm, but can you give us a sneak peek behind the curtain on what anybody who's going to be attending the championship can expect from an activation standpoint.

DEB O'CONNOR: Yeah, well, we'll be all over the course, I'll say that, but I'm super excited about our main activation, the KitchenAid Fairway Club. We're going to be right behind the 9th green, so right in the thick of the action, and if you walk into the Fairway Club, it's like a culinary experience. It's a dream if you're in there because we have stations where we have all our small appliances and you can watch demonstrations or you can actually jump in and participate, use the products, see how you like them.

We have a cafe where we'll be serving up espresso and smoothies, of course made out of our appliances, and we have a kitchen that we actually are highlighting kitchen design in that kitchen, so that will be great.

Then we have a demonstration kitchen where we will have chefs in there all day every day, so people can come in, ask their culinary questions, swap recipes with the chefs, have a good time in there, and then on the weekend, we'll be hosting some of the local chefs from here. We have chefs from Asian Mint and Kinzo and Ernest B's BBQ, and then we'll have some celebrities over the weekend.

On Thursday we have chef Andrew Zimmern, who you'll know from "Bizarre Foods," and on Friday we have Chef Scott Conant, and you probably know him best as a judge on Food Network's "Chopped."

Then on Saturday we're going to switch it up a little bit, and we've got HGTV personality Jasmine Roth, and she's going to talk about kitchen design.

I think if you come into the Fairway Club at all over the weekend, you're going to take home some really fun stuff for your kitchen.

JULIUS MASON: KitchenAid at the end of the day just makes cooking and eating fun. Just real quick, a show of hands in the room, who has a KitchenAid appliance in their home? Oh, my God, there are some hands that did not go up. For those of you that didn't put up a hand, you know what that means, don't you? Somebody might win something right now. That's what it sort of means.

For that, Deb, can we give away something?

DEB O'CONNOR: Absolutely, let's do it.

JULIUS MASON: What are we going to give away first?

DEB O'CONNOR: Well, let's go iconic KitchenAid stand mixer in empire red, which we call KitchenAid Red. That stand mixer, not only will it whip and beat and knead; if you buy a few attachments, you could make pasta, you could make ice cream, you could make zoodles. Now, come on, everyone wants zoodles.

JULIUS MASON: I lost a bet. I actually was waiting for a flavor explosion in your mouth. I get zoodles. I don't get it, but thank you very much. Let's do that first.

Trivia question. Get this answer right, you're walking home with a KitchenAid stand mixer. Everybody ready? Have to yell the answer loud so we understand who we have to give the prize to.

How old is the KitchenAid stand mixer?

Who said 104? She's won the 104-year-old KitchenAid stand mixer. The iconic brand, 104 years old. Absolutely incredible. Deb, I like you giving away stuff. Can we do something else?

DEB O'CONNOR: Let's do it. How about a cordless hand mixer? A little lighter than the stand mixer but it's cordless. You can use it in your kitchen, you can use it in your backyard, you can use it in your basement, you can use it on the golf course if you wanted to. A cordless mixer, let's do it.

JULIUS MASON: Deb had four cups of coffee this morning, so let's do it. Everybody watched the long video we saw. Four minutes, right? Was everybody paying attention? Who owns the most KitchenAid Senior PGA titles?

Who said Sam Snead? Very good. Winner, winner, winner!

Before I forget, everybody sitting over here in the white woods, if there's an envelope under your seat, you might win something, too. Look at everybody looking. Raise your hand high. Raise your hand high. You may have won a signed autographed flag from Steven Alker or you might have won a KitchenAid appliance.

For our friends over here in left field, I'm sorry, there's nothing for you. I'm kidding! Would Julius Mason from the PGA of America do that to you? If you're sitting on a cushion I'd look underneath it if I were you. Oh, yes! They're ripping it apart, they're going deep. Very good. Very good. Prizes for everybody.

We're moving on for the rest of the program. Next up, ladies and gentlemen, from Jacksonville, Florida, please say hello to executive vice president of golf at NBC Sports, Tom Knapp.

[Applause.]

Tom, thank you very much for being with us today. We know NBC has been televising the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship since 1990. What has this meant to NBC Sports, the brand and your company's history?

TOM KNAPP: This event is so special, and you're going to hear me talk a little bit about this when I get into the announce team for this year, but 1990 for us was kind of -- when the golden age of our golf television really began, and there are so many folks that are still with us today on the crew that will be here this week because they asked to be here.

Dan Hicks -- I'll talk about him a little bit right now, but using Dan Hicks as an example of a guy who's been around for a long time, Peter Jacobsen, Roger Maltbie. Our folks don't work on every event, but they pick certain events that they want to work on; this is one of them for them. It's very special for them.

That was a time for us, 1990, where the following year was the War By the Shore Ryder Cup where a lot of people acknowledge that golf television became what it became, and it was a coming-out party.

This event was really the start of that party for us. Tommy Roy as a producer, that's when he was getting his start with us. A lot of our guys look back at this event as a very special moment where they came together as a team, and that team, a lot of that team is still together today. Again, we'll talk a little bit more about that shortly.

The other thing that is very important about this event is how it completes the circle for us. We cover juniors, collegiate players, current PGA TOUR players, LPGA Tour players, and the PGA TOUR Champions and Senior, and it completes that circle of life for us. It sits in a very special place at our company.

Again, as I said, you'll see some people that are here who aren't with us every week that want to be here.

JULIUS MASON: You've talked a little bit about some of your Emmy-award-winning talent. They're also some of the best story tellers in the game. Who else can we expect to see during this week?

TOM KNAPP: So I mentioned Dan before. When people talk to TV guys, we all think of pictures and video, but I'm big on audio and the stories, as you said.

Look, I'm a homer; I work for NBC Sports and Golf Channel. I get it. But when I think of televised golf, the voices that I hear are Roger Maltbie and Mark Rolfing and Dan Hicks. To me, that's golf television in the United States.

Roger is starting to wind it down, but this, as I said, was one of the events that he said, as I start to do fewer and fewer, I've got three or four a year that I want to make sure I keep going to. Roger will be here.

Mark Rolfing is also slowing down a little bit and doing fewer events. Wants to be here, will be here.

Jimmy Roberts is going to be on the crew this year. Wanted to be here.

Peter Jacobsen in the tower as our analyst, two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner, will be here, PGA TOUR Champions major champion will be here.

Dan will be on the call.

Then I think one of the other special nuggets that we have is four years ago, Bones Mackay started walking for us when he retired from Phil's bag, worked for us for a couple of years, became what I believe to be the best new modern-day walking announcer on the golf course until Justin Thomas called him and asked him to stop doing that. We will have Bones back with us with more frequency in the future, but he's going to be doing a few events for us as he stays current because he will hopefully come back.

He wanted to be here. Bones will be here calling the action, as well.

What I believe to be is the best walking announcer of all time in Roger Maltbie will be walking with Bones here for the event. So we're very, very pleased with the team, and as I said, they're here because they want to be here. It's great.

JULIUS MASON: Thanks so much, Tom. Really appreciate that. If it's been one thing I've been asked, I've been asked a hundred times: How do I get tickets to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship? And for that information and some operational details, please welcome the championship director, Jason Mengel.

[Applause.]

Jason, I think it's fair to say that you more than anyone are excited to call PGA Frisco home simply because of your nomadic journey over the last several years, which is quite amazing.

JASON MENGEL: It is, and I'll keep the Michigan theme going on this side of the dais, but not only did I grow up in Michigan, but my first event with the PGA of America was the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, so my first event as a championship director was our 2013 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in St. Louis, so a lot of ties up here.

Not that we're counting, but our family has moved six times over 14 years. Over 4500 cumulative miles, so we're excited to plant some roots here.

And a side note, all of our children have been born in different states as we've gone on our PGA journey, so Michigan and Wisconsin and Georgia. So good run.

JULIUS MASON: Very nice. Very nice. What's important for spectators to know about attending this championship next month?

JASON MENGEL: Yeah, we've heard it already up here today, but it is a major championship, which means something different, certainly to the contestants that are in it but also to the spectators to get a chance to see it, many of us, in our own backyard.

So really excited how we're going to use the property out here that many of you got a chance to see today. We're entering everybody in through the Monument Realty PGA District, which will be like going into Disney World down Main Street USA.

Then once you're out there, the dance floor is going to be activated, and then of course you'll get out on the golf course, and I'm really excited to hear feedback from our patrons that will be out there about how undulating the property is, which isn't the norm in this part of Texas.

Of course we've heard rumors that it may get hot here during the summer. We're not quite in the summer, but we are including complimentary access to bottled water for everybody on site.

JULIUS MASON: If I haven't purchased my tickets yet, am I out of luck?

JASON MENGEL: You are not. We do have a limited amount of remaining tickets, hospitality and pro-am opportunities available.

One interesting thing that we're able to do here with the myriad of events that we have in the future is if you are a volunteer or a ticket holder or a corporate client for this event, you'll get priority access to our championships in the future, including the '25 KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the 2027 PGA Championship.

JULIUS MASON: Beautiful. Thank you, Jason. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, for those of you that aren't that familiar with what happened last year at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan, this might refresh your memory.

[Video shown.]

Now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, all the way from New Zealand, with a little layover in Fountain Hills, Arizona, our KitchenAid Senior PGA defending champion, Steven Alker!

Mr. Alker, welcome to PGA Frisco, and thank you very much for being with us today. I guess the first question out of the box was when was the last time you had Freddie Mercury screaming your favorite song as you entered the stage?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, actually my son was in a show, just a youth community show in Fountain Hills, so we had the music for like two weeks straight. I think my wife and I saw every show, so it was like, by the end of two weeks, it was like, oh, my gosh, I'm not sure how much we can put up with this. But I think it was the last time.

JULIUS MASON: You were watching the video in the back. Bring back some pretty good memories?

STEVEN ALKER: Sure did. Some of those shots I hit down the stretch that last day, it was kind of a mixed week. I started well, and then the middle of the week was kind of so-so, and I had to sort some stuff out on the range on Saturday night, and then Sunday happened, and the rest is history.

JULIUS MASON: We're going to go into detail about that a little bit, but I think before we go there, I want you to sit back, take a look at this next slide. I'm going to ask you the toughest question you're going to get today: Who is Steven Alker?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, I'm pretty much an open book, to be honest. I'm a guy from New Zealand. I think the fifth biggest city now in New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. I grew up, my dad played -- we played a lot of sports as youngsters growing up. We played cricket and soccer and we played everything, and Dad played golf. Eventually I took it up, and that's how I got into it, really.

Then from there, I finished my high school, and then my first job kind of out of school kind of tried to play golf, tried to work as well and get some money together to play golf.

I got this amazing job as a petroleum engineer, and it took me years to get qualifications for that, but so I did that for a couple of years. I don't know if anybody knows what a petroleum engineer is.

JULIUS MASON: I don't think we had anybody that won a championship that was a petroleum engineer.

STEVEN ALKER: Now I feel special. It's actually a gas attendant, pumping gas. Yeah, that was one of my jobs for -- carpet cleaning. My dad had a carpet cleaning business, so I did all these sorts of jobs. I didn't go to college, but I had the opportunity to go over here in the States. I had some contacts at Oklahoma State. I was pretty close to coming over and doing some college.

But stayed in New Zealand, and kind of worked out well with the timing.

I just kept playing golf. I grinded for a long time, just doing the small mini-tours, started in Australasia and then come over here, and probably not until -- it was, geez, late '90s, mid to late '90s before I started coming over to the States and playing some.

JULIUS MASON: I'm curious about the superstition, the No. 5 ball.

STEVEN ALKER: The No. 5? Yeah, I don't like number 5s. 5s on the scorecard isn't that good. The No. 5 ball, yeah, the whole No. 5 doesn't do it for me, really.

But yeah, that's one of my superstitions. As golfers we're not meant to have superstitions apparently, but coins I use, like I don't like to use the same number ball as the round I'm playing. Just things like that. Wearing black on a Friday and just stupid --

JULIUS MASON: Petroleum engineer complicated.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, yeah. And life goes on.

So I met my wife down in New Zealand. She's an English girl. I met her in New Zealand through mutual friends, and we've got an 18- and 16-year-old now, so got some good kids. My son is just going to college in September in Scotland, so that's pretty exciting. He's a fighter. My wife is not impressed about it. But life goes on.

JULIUS MASON: We had a little bit of fun with you when we found out what your favorite movie was in "Old School," but we're not going to go there.

STEVEN ALKER: Oh, yeah, Will Ferrell, classic. Everybody loves Will Ferrell.

JULIUS MASON: Take us back to Harbor Shores in Michigan last year. How were you playing coming into that major championship?

STEVEN ALKER: Pretty good. So mid-May, I think the Regions might have been a couple weeks before, our first major. Actually I won Insperity maybe three weeks before the KitchenAid. Come in and played at the Regions, didn't quite get it done there, but game was feeling good.

It can go either way. It can go, you put too much pressure on yourself to play great, I should play well, or just let it all out, hang out and just keep it going, keep it flowing.

JULIUS MASON: So at what point when you come to town are you saying, I'm kind of hitting it well, I've got a good chance at this?

STEVEN ALKER: I guess not really until you kind of get into the tournament. You get a new golf course, you're kind of feeling your way around, and straight away first round I was a co-leader or something after the first day.

JULIUS MASON: You don't remember that? You shot a 64. Yes, you were leading the championship on the first day, so the first time you played in this event, you're leading.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah. I don't remember all my 64s. But yeah, so I guess as the tournament went on -- obviously after the first day, yeah, that's a good round, I'm in there. Then some weather come in, and all of a sudden come Sunday, I'm four behind.

JULIUS MASON: How do you handle the weather? It was cold and --

STEVEN ALKER: It was cold, we got the rain. It was like New Zealand weather actually. I should have played well, but I didn't really.

JULIUS MASON: Does that get into your head, you're in the lead the first day in an event you've never played before, the wind comes --

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, I think I played with Bernhard was it the third day maybe, and he played great and he was right in contention, and he outplayed me that day.

Going into Sunday, I've got some work to do. But it's amazing kind of what comes over you in those situations, and I think I was very -- I was just very calm.

I think that's what happens when -- we've been in situations, all of us, whether we're in business or golf or whatever it is, any type of sport, you just get that calmness and you're not thinking about the result, you're not thinking about the money, you're not thinking about where you are, what you're doing. You're just kind of like get into that calm zone.

As long as you execute, then things just kind of take care of itself, and things --

JULIUS MASON: You're four back going into the final day and you shoot a 63, tying the best score ever in this championship in the final round to win this thing. That kind of stuff doesn't happen every day, especially to a first-timer in this championship.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, yeah. It just goes back to like no expectation, you're just out there doing your business, and you take care of your business, and you can't control everybody else. But you do that, and then the rest kind of falls into place and you kind of hope for the best sort of thing.

Yeah, it worked out. I was very proud to be KitchenAid Senior PGA champion last year. Certainly one of the highlights of my career for sure.

JULIUS MASON: I think what's really kind of cool is that you are sitting here now as a major champion, but two years ago you had no status on the PGA TOUR Champions. Last year you competed against Hall-of-Famers, and in 23 starts, you racked up four wins, four seconds, five thirds, 18 top 10s, and you were awarded with the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup. Are you the perfect definition of a Cinderella story?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, I think so. I think so, if you'd like to call it that.

Yeah, you know, it's out there if you believe and you do the small things well and you just dream a little bit, anything is possible. I'm not just talking about golf, just life in general. That's just kind of how it works.

I peaked a little bit later than I wanted to, but hey, life has treated me well since I've turned 50, and I'm very, very grateful.

JULIUS MASON: Let's change scenes a little bit here. You played a golf course this morning that you're going to have to defend your championship on, and inquiring minds want to know. What did you think of Fields Ranch East?

STEVEN ALKER: Well, first of all, it kicked my ass today. That was the first thing I'll say. It took a little while just to get into the groove. But actually I'm not sure if I got into a groove at all today. But first impression was I'd seen some aerials of the property, and I thought, wow, this looks like a big golf course, like is there a golf course out there? This is something else.

It took me by surprise, and a very nice surprise. What Gil has done with the golf course, you know you're going to get wind out here, you know there's going to be variables, and he's done a great job of giving yourself enough room off the tee, not too much going on around the greens. It's not going to be crazy. It's very, very fair, and I think the best compliment I can give the golf course is that the more holes I played, the more I enjoyed it, and that's a sign of a good golf course.

Credit to the PGA and the whole team here that have put this facility together, and I think it's very, very worthy of holding some major championships, which I know are coming up.

JULIUS MASON: Are you a Gil fan?

STEVEN ALKER: I am.

JULIUS MASON: Familiar with his work?

STEVEN ALKER: I am, yes. Obviously the Rio -- the golf course I had there for the Olympics. Streamsong is another one. There's a lot of good stuff. Straight away I started playing some holes, and the visuals of the golf course was like, yeah, this is Gil Hanse, this has got a nice visual.

As I said, the more I played it, the more I liked it.

JULIUS MASON: Paul Ernest, the director of golf and operations at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco was with you for all of your 18 holes today. Paul, would you mind just standing up real quick and give us all some insight as to what you were able to witness in the front row today?

PAUL EARNEST: Well, it was a pleasure, and you can see what a great champion, what a great man, first and foremost. To be able to play a 2-ball with that was such a joy, and congratulations on your defense there.

STEVEN ALKER: Go easy on me, Paul.

PAUL EARNEST: I think I drug him down, but I think what I saw was somebody that could keep the ball in front of him and in those playable areas and how to manage the golf course properly, and while he might not have had his best stuff, I think he certainly had a skin on 12. It played from those tees 450 into the wind and hit a driver and a 4-iron and made about a 30-footer for a birdie there. It was a skin today for sure.

He said he finally found his range on the greens that way.

But made three birdies, and despite my company, was able to get around the golf course very well.

JULIUS MASON: Thank you very much. Anything else surprise you about his game when he was out there?

PAUL EARNEST: I think I've played now three rounds on East, and you get yourself in some very dreadful situations if you mis-hit it. I didn't see that from him.

Again, he was able to, first time seeing it, keep the ball in front of him and always had a play. Was never really out of position. He made some beautiful up-and-downs. I think collectively we hit 10 greens in regulation, and he hit nine. (Laughter.)

That's not a great total, and he was still able to score fairly well. Probably a couple over today is all, and maybe a dreadful round for him, but I got to see him firsthand at the Woodlands and certainly the highlights here. He can turn it on when the gun is on.

JULIUS MASON: Were you surprised by any of the wind out there today, the direction?

PAUL EARNEST: So I've been in Texas all my life, and it's supposed to blow out of the south-southwest, especially in, and I've played three rounds, two out of the north, and today the oddest was out of the east, so I haven't seen the prevailing wind yet. So it was a very unusual wind today. 10, 11 and 12 were directly into the teeth of it.

I think that's what's great is Gil put a course on the ground that has great variability, and when you have the best in the business at setting up a golf course in Kerry Haigh, he's going to have a lot of options to set it up properly for what's going to be a great championship.

JULIUS MASON: Paul, thank you very much, and Steven, I guess back on the golf course, you were talking about the aerial views that you saw, but it's really tough to see the elevation. Did any of the elevation out there surprise you?

STEVEN ALKER: It did surprise me, yeah, some of the holes on the back there. The par-4, 15 is it? You're coming back down the hill, 16, and yeah, even -- there's a couple holes -- it did surprise me. I was coming up short all day obviously trying to deal with the wind and get a feel for the golf course. Yeah, it did surprise me.

But I just want to say that the golf course was amazingly in good condition for how raw it is. The surfaces were fantastic to hit off of. The greens were just rolling nicely, maybe about 10 today. I know they'll speed them up for the PGA. But as I say, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my day. Thanks for having me.

JULIUS MASON: Thank you very much. Do you have a couple minutes to stay around and answer some questions?

STEVEN ALKER: Absolutely.

JULIUS MASON: If anyone has a question for our defending champion, raise your hand.

Q. You had a chance to see not only the course today but the new home of golf and the new epicenter of the future of golf. Can you share your thoughts on this facility?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, just spectacular, that's all I can say. You've got everything here, right on one campus. I have never seen anything like that before playing golf, and I've been around the world.

Number one. You can't beat it for what's here.

I love the community and public involvement that is here, as well, with the short nine-hole course, the restaurants, the TV, the putting greens. It's a nice added fixture to the facility, which is great. That's what it's all about, right? Just bringing in the community and the public being part of it. It's great.

JULIUS MASON: That's a great question. I hope you win a KitchenAid stand mixer. (Laughter.)

Q. Obviously we can't wait to have the championship on our air here in town. Players always ask other players, what did you think? How many players do you think are going to try and pepper you and get information on the course?

STEVEN ALKER: Oh, there will be a lot. I've got some yardage books. I'm not going to show them the yardage book. That's the bible right there. There will be a lot.

I believe there's some Champions Tour players out there today having a look, as well, getting a feel for it. Yeah, I'm glad I played it today just to see it, get a feel for what it's all about, and yeah, I think I might have a little edge just playing today.

Yeah, there will be a lot of people asking for sure.

Q. I was wondering if you'll have a chance to play it before the championship, like another chance to play it.

STEVEN ALKER: Yes, I will. I'll probably get at least another 27 holes. I think it's the type of golf course that needs at least an extra round or nine holes just to -- I think conditions might be slightly -- could play a little firmer and greens might be a little quicker. Yeah, I'm going to need that time to do it. But I'm playing the PGA the week before, as well, so it's a pretty quick turnaround to get down here and get some more practice.

But I think, as I said, having this extra round today has definitely helped kind of get my lines off some tees for sure.

Q. (No microphone.)

STEVEN ALKER: Oh, yeah, absolutely. You know, saying that, I think just having that added major practice, I think, is going to be huge for booting up the Senior PGA and defending. It's always a little bit difficult to come back somewhere you're trying to defend, as well. I think that will hopefully kind of take my mind off all that, as well.

I'm looking forward to both. I really am. It's going to be special.

JULIUS MASON: We know you're going to be busy tonight at your Champions Dinner taste testing. Do you want to let anybody know what your main course will be.

STEVEN ALKER: Very traditional New Zealand, lamb. I think we've got some roast potatoes, and we actually have a -- it's actually Australia/New Zealand, though don't tell anybody that, but you guys know. It's an Australia/New Zealand dessert. It's called a pavlova, which is like a meringue and cream and fruit. It's fantastic.

JULIUS MASON: Are we good, ladies and gentlemen?

STEVEN ALKER: We've done a pretty good job.

JULIUS MASON: It's going to be really good. Any more questions?

STEVEN ALKER: Should we give a mixer away to -- how heavy is this? Does anybody know how heavy the trophy is? I'll give you a dozen golf balls if you can guess.

JULIUS MASON: We've resorted to our defending champion giving stuff away to beg for a question. You all should be ashamed of yourselves.

STEVEN ALKER: Here's my question for you. My daughter actually Googled this, and I asked before what was heavier, the actual Wanamaker or this one. I don't know how heavy the Wanamaker is, but I actually know how heavy this is. So does anybody know?

JULIUS MASON: I'm not going to make you give them golf balls. We're going to give another hole flag by you.

38 is the answer? Does he get the sleeve of balls, a box of balls or a Cadillac, which is the official car of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship?

STEVEN ALKER: Take the Cadillac!

JULIUS MASON: All right, ladies and gentlemen, we do invite the media now to join us down on the first tee for the official opening of the golf course, and I would like to remind everybody that Fields Ranch East and West will host 26 championships over the next 12 years, and we hope to see you at every one of them.

Thank you for joining us, ladies and gentlemen.