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FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSICJune 11, 2015Steve AlkerMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Q. Great round today, nine birdies, Steven, wow, four bogies. STEVEN ALKER: Well, I just kind of -- I hit it close. I made a couple good putts, made a bunker shot. Just a mix of a round. And I hit it pretty solid the front, little bit scratchy coming in, but a nice finish. Made a great putt on the last. Q. 46 feet. That's a lot of putt. Boy, the greens are good. STEVEN ALKER: They sure are. You get it on line, 10, 15 feet, you kind of know it's -- where it's going. Q. You birdied 11, 12, 13, and 14. You had a four-hole run there that really got you going? STEVEN ALKER: It sure did. I got it to a couple under early and then dropped a couple, and then that run just kind of got me going and I finished with that one on 18. Nice feeling. I really haven't gotten any decent runs this year. I think this might be my lowest round of the year. It's just nice to kind of get it done. Q. Lot of players talked about the heat. There is no cloud cover today. It is hot. Being from New Zealand, does this have any effect on you at all? STEVEN ALKER: I live in Phoenix now. Heat is not really a problem. Different heat. We don't get this heat back home. But I'm just glad there was some breeze out there. If there was no breeze, it's tough. Q. Would you take three more rounds like this one today? STEVEN ALKER: Sure. I got a few there to touch up on, but I think the way I'm rolling it and just short game is tidy, give yourself some chances, I think that's -- you do that around this golf course, you have a chance to win. Q. Just talk about the 65. You birdied the last hole and kind of kept the momentum going through the entire round? STEVEN ALKER: I got off to a nice start and then dropped a couple and I had a run sort of 11 through 14, made a run of birdies there. Kind of kept the round going. Made a nice one at 18. So, just nice to have so many birdies. That's the big thing out here. It's tough to come by birdies if you're in the fairway, not giving yourself chances around the golf course. Q. When you look up and realize you're a shot off the lead, the golfer's mantra, you can't win the golf tournament on the first day but you can definitely lose it. In a golf course where usually 2, 3-under everyday through four rounds people would take to post a 65 has to give you some serious confidence heading into tomorrow. STEVEN ALKER: For sure. Tough golf course. Got to be in the fairway and hit some greens and give yourselves chances. I did that today. If I can keep doing that and keep the short game sharp, you never know. Q. You even mentioned that you made a lot of birdies and this isn't a course conducive to a lot of birdies. Were you playing that well, one of those days? STEVEN ALKER: I hit some close shots and made a nice putt on 18 and a bunker shot. Kept my nose clean most of the day apart from a couple 3-putts. Just pleasing to make that many. And I wasn't really -- I didn't realize I made that many birdies until I signed the scorecard, which was nice. I must have been doing something nice. Q. What do you take from today as you get ready to tee it up in the afternoon tomorrow where the weather and conditions are supposed to be almost identical as they were today? STEVEN ALKER: It was nice to have some wind this morning to get a feel of what the golf course is doing. Tomorrow will be similar. Even if the wind is different, you know that playing in this strength wind, you can kind of get a feel for it, and I kind of felt like I hit some good yardages today. Q. When you have a round like this, does it tell you -- it shows you that you can do it? Is it now just putting rounds together, not just having one, now building on putting them back to back? STEVEN ALKER: Exactly. Exactly. This is the type of golf course you got to hit fairways and greens and give yourself chances. If I do that, I hit a lot of fairways, that's a good thing. The golf course has got a good feel for me. It fits my eye pretty good. Q. How close do you watch the weather the first two rounds? Are you looking ahead to see? STEVEN ALKER: Little bit. Couple days. The first two rounds. You kind of see what's out there, how it's going to be and wind direction. My caddy gives me wind directions everyday on the range. That may change, but we tend to keep an eye on it. Q. Did you come out with a number today? Like when you teed it up this morning, were you going to be happy with X? Was this better than you thought? STEVEN ALKER: You know, as I say, you mentioned a couple under a day. If you can kind of just chip away at that, you know you're going to be around the lead. The course is dried out from the practice rounds, so I think as the week goes on, things dry out, it's going to be trickier. Got to take your chances. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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