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PUERTO RICO OPENMarch 8, 2015Alex CejkaRIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO Q. First of all, congratulations, a big congratulations, your first win. ALEX CEJKA: Thank you. Yes. I'm speechless, you know. It's been a tough grind, you know, having the lead, then lose it again and then with such an exciting finish. Nobody even thought that two guys could make bogey on the last, and you know, and then we're going to have a playoff like this. I'm glad it's over. It's been a grinding week, tough week, and you know, the first victory is always the toughest, you know. So I'm glad it's done. Q. I was standing out there. You'd already changed clothes. Tell us a little bit about hearing. ALEX CEJKA: Yes. You know, if that would be a long par‑4, people can make bogey, but a par‑5 with downwind, they moved the tees up, and two guys bogeyed. You know, the odds were not that good, you know, but I changed. I had everything ready to go to the airport, and you know, almost was very satisfied with a third finish. You know, and suddenly it changed, and here I am. And I'm very, very pleased. You know, I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight. Q. What was that sort of emotions of thinking you finished third to all of a sudden you gotta gather yourself and head to that 18th tee for playoff? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, you know. We had a couple of minutes. I had shorts on and a T‑shirt and I had everything packed. Luckily there was one more group, the final group coming, so I changed. But I didn't hit balls. Some of the guys were hitting balls in the rain, or putting. But I literally just put some fresh clothes on me and some dry clothes, and you know, I was ready to go. Q. Worth the wait? ALEX CEJKA: It's always worth the wait, you know. There was always a key, you know, I won in Europe. I won on the Web.com, you know, and finally now on the PGA. I'm very pleased. It's been a good career, a long career so far, and you know, it's‑‑ as I said, I'm happy, you know, first one is always the toughest, you know, until you break it, and I mean every win is tough. You know, these guys are good. I mean this is the slogan. And you know, at least I can say I played PGA TOUR for a long time and I won. So that's a good sentence I can use when I retire. Q. You've been a seasoned play. Here been here in Puerto Rico before. Have you ever thought that you would have your first win in the island? ALEX CEJKA: I didn't. You know, I loved it here. I've been coming here for many years, and I even played well here, but I kind of never, you know, played good enough, because in the past the scores were like 20‑under, you know. So it's a challenging course with the wind. So I always was playing well, but the scores were always so low, and you know, this year it's just‑‑ you know, it was the same wind, same course, but somehow the scores are not 20‑under, but 7‑under. So it was a little bit tougher. Maybe the wind was maybe a little bit stronger. They didn't move the tees up like what they normally do like on the weekends. Maybe today a couple holes. But you know, it's just‑‑ you know, we were just‑‑ we all were playing just good golf, and you know, somebody has to win, and finally it's me. Q. You played with Sam in Colombia, too, didn't you? ALEX CEJKA: Yes. Yes. He's a good omen for me. Yes. You know, it was nice. I played with him, I think on Saturday, the third round we played, and you know, he's a great player. You know, it didn't really look good after he hit the second shot on the green, I knew I had to make birdie to extend at least, you know. But that's the way it goes sometimes. Q. What's the most important thing that winning does for you? ALEX CEJKA: I think it's confidence. You know, you're finally happy that you've been grinding. I mean everybody's been‑‑ not only me, but everybody's grinding for so many years. Some guys have the privilege to win in the first year. Some guys win five tournaments. Some win 20. Some don't win at all, you know, because it's tough. So you know, all these grind and, you know, it's a lonely sport, you know. I mean so many times you miss the cut and you're on the weekend by yourself on the driving range while everybody's watching NFL, you know, with buddies and drinking beer and you're just out there and beating balls for hours. It's, I think the satisfaction of always grinding and working out and believing. And you know, all that package is finally paid off. Q. Did you think yesterday with that finish you might have got a chance here? ALEX CEJKA: Not really. Not really. I played good. I played good all week. It was a little bit disappointing, I must say, especially‑‑ I mean you can make a bogey, but the double bogey was a little bit frustrating, but you know, I held my head up, and I knew if it's going to be tough for everybody, the wind is blowing, you know, and they were‑‑ I heard there is a little bit rain in the forecast, too. So I said, being two shots‑‑ two shots in golf is a lot but nothing, you know. So I went out and, you know, I was grinding 18 holes. Q. You had a lot of kids here trying to get a first win, younger guys. Do you feel experience gives you a little edge? ALEX CEJKA: You know, sometimes‑‑ experience maybe, yes, but you know, sometimes it's going your way, sometimes not, you know. So that's the way it is in this game, and you know, I've been many, many times on the other side, you know, where I had a chance and I was beaten by a guy who had a great finish, you know, eagled or birdied the last couple holes. So you know, for a change it's nice that it's going my way a little bit and I'm very pleased. Q. You did well on that last putt because you didn't have the chance to have the greens with the rain. So you come back after waiting, going back the different conditions that you experienced? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, it was a little bit slower, you know. It was playing‑‑ the 18th hole definitely was playing different than in regular play, you know, because of the wind dropped. It started raining, and I hit a good drive and I was, I think, 70 yards shorter than in regulation, you know. So I knew it was going to be a three‑shotter, so I laid up to a good number, and you know, I knew I had to make up‑and‑down, and I had a good pitch. And kind of luckily I was very similar to the line I had on the 72nd hole. I was maybe a little bit further left and a little bit longer. But you know, I believe when I stood over the putt, I told me I can do the putt, and the confidence was there. And you know, I hit it where I want to, and it broke the way I saw it, you know, and it was nice to kind of put the other guy under pressure, you know. Q. How far was that? ALEX CEJKA: Maybe 15 feet or so, yeah. Roughly. Q. Tell us about the experience of being right in the game for so long. ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, you know, luckily I can say my career was‑‑ well, it's still going, obviously, and you know, I've been playing, I don't know, 15 years on the European Tour, you know. Then it's been already here I think 11 years on this tour. You know, there's not many guys in the 40s, the mid 40s, they have a tour card or winning tournaments, you know, so it dramatically changed this game the last couple of years. You know, there's a lot of good competition, and you know, you have to believe and grind it, and you know, as I said earlier, you know, some guys never win. Some guys win one. Some guys win six, you know. So I got one behind me, so you know, now we'll see what happens in the next couple of years till I retire, you know. I don't plan on retiring soon, but you know, eventually it's going to happen in a couple of years, and you know, I can look back and say I'm pleased and I've done it. Q. You're going to be also playing next year Hawaii. ALEX CEJKA: I love Hawaii. I love Hawaii. I love Hawaii. Obviously, you know, I've been a couple of times on‑‑ obviously only for the Sony, you know, so I always wanted to go a week earlier. So you know, it's great that I accomplished it, and you know, it's going to be a little bit different schedule next year. This year with me coming from the Web.com and being in that rerank or reshuffle, you never know what's going to happen. You know, I was in Tampa on my number next week, and you know, with these Top 10 finishes you suddenly get bumped out. So you know, it's not that easy. Obviously that changed the planning, the scheduling, the playing the next couple of years, you know, what's good for me. And you know, I still can't believe it. I don't know. Q. Do you have some family here? ALEX CEJKA: No. Unfortunately I'm by myself here. You know, my wife was with me two days at Honda last week, but she has to go home and feed the dogs and work, too, you know, so I was by myself, and you know, I was sharing a room with a great friend of mine, Mathias Grönberg, who I know from Europe. And he kind of helped me a little bit. I approached him last week because I missed the cut stupidly on the third last hole with a triple bogey, so we had a little bit of talking. And you know, he inspired me a little bit, and you know, he gave me good vibe by sharing the room with him. And you know, I think he's waiting for a commission right now. I don't know. (Laughs). Q. Or a beer. ALEX CEJKA: Beer. That's it. Pair of sneakers. That's it. Q. You had a pretty good surgery not that far back. ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, a couple of years ago. Six years ago I had a fusion in my neck, I think C‑6, C‑7. So that could have been‑‑ luckily it's been going well, and you know, good doctor in Vegas. And you know, you never know with surgeries. It doesn't matter if it's anything, you know. You don't know what the problems will eventually be, but you know, I must knock on wood, it's been good so far. And you know, I'm playing and I'm feeling well, and you know, so it's good for right now. Q. All right. Thank you very much. Congratulations again. ALEX CEJKA: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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