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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2015

Steve Stricker

Kohler, Wisconsin, USA

Q. How good was that putt on 18?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, that was important. That hole is playing so long. It's into the wind. Darren Clark had 260 to the hole. I don't think he hit his best, but I hit -- I took a more direct line, hit it in the bunkers and had 240 to the hole. So, it's all you want. It's a tough hole.

I could have gone for it, but I had a clump of, it looked like dirt, maybe a stone, behind my ball. And I couldn't risk moving it and if it was dirt, I would get a penalty. So I had to kind of just leave it there and hack it out and talk my medicine. And luckily I made a nice putt to make a 4. That feels like birdie there today. I'm sure that's playing quite a bit over par.

Q. You were quite the show both on the finishing holes. You made a long par putt on 9?
STEVE STRICKER: I did, didn't I? I made some putts today, which I haven't been doing this year at all. It was fun to see the ball go in for a change. I put a lot of nice strokes on it, the ball rolled nice, so it was fun. I hadn't seen that this year at all. So it was a good day on the greens.

Q. Was it a problem to hang on this afternoon for the guys playing here?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, it was a tough afternoon. It's very difficult. The wind is gusty. Even on some putts it was tough to keep your balance. It gusted there at the turn for us, when we were making the turn at 10 through 13, in through there. So it was difficult. It was a tough afternoon to play.

Q. Do you like your score overall though after the first round?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, very much so. I'm very happy what happened after the first round. It was tough out there, and to get away under par is a good start. And hopefully we have some good conditions tomorrow morning and we'll be back here real early to get after it again and hopefully get off to a good start.

Q. How was your caddie?
STEVE STRICKER: She hung in there. She's doing good. We have a great time out there. She enjoys coming out there and toting the bag. And I had lost my caddie to Justin Thomas, so instead of trying to find somebody new at the end of the year, Nicki has caddied the last couple events, so it's been fun. It kind of brings us back to the days when we first started. So it brings back some good memories.

Q. To have her caddie in a Major though, too. Talk about that. When she's not caddieing, do you guys still talk about golf? Is she amongst the top caddies that you've had in terms of her knowledge of the game?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I think she does other things -- I don't want to say better, but just as well as other caddies. She knows me better than anybody. She knows what to say to me when things are either going well or going poorly. Where it takes awhile, if you have a guy, to build up that relationship. And still then that guy may not want to say those things that a wife can say to you. So, there's that special relationship that she's able to get away with saying some different things a regular guy can't.

But on the other hand, she won't pull any clubs. I don't ask her really too much about wind direction or club selection or anything like that. She's out there on the mental approach side, I think, more than anything. And it helps me because I'm comfortable having her out there. That's the main thing as a player. You want to feel comfortable with whoever is on your bag, and she definitely makes me feel comfortable.

Q. What was it like being with two Ryder Cup guys, captains, did you pick their brains on anything?
STEVE STRICKER: I was asking them a little bit about what was going on. It was fun. They're both true gentlemen of the game. They're both great to be with, easy to be around. Davis is a friend of mine and Darren, I haven't played a bunch with, but we have always had a great time playing. So it was a special pairing and it was a fun pairing and look forward again to it tomorrow.

Q. Does it mean anything? I mean obviously you probably like to be in that position some day?
STEVE STRICKER: Some day it will be nice. I don't know if it will happen or not. But, yeah, it would be nice. I was an assistant last year, which was a great experience. I'm going to be an assistant this year, which will be a lot of fun. So I'm learning a lot about that end of things. So, it's in the back of my mind that some day it would be fun to do.

Q. Any advice today on -- anything that your wife could tell you today in terms of advice that another caddie couldn't tell you?
STEVE STRICKER: Not really. We didn't really -- nothing too stressful today. I didn't get wound up and we worked well together, and it was pretty -- I don't want to say it was an easy day, but we communicated well with one another and it was a good talks back and forth. Like I said, that usually falls back on me. If I'm uptight and ornery and not playing well, then the caddie needs to step in there and say something.

But today, because some of the putts were going in, I had a little bounce in my step finally that some things were starting to drop.

Q. What's the game plan for tomorrow with a morning tee time and how much do you feel you have to take advantage of tomorrow?
STEVE STRICKER: I got to try to come out here and try to put a more than 1-under on the board and maybe a 3- or 4- under round on the board tomorrow. And hopefully we get some calm conditions tomorrow that we can try to take advantage of that. But it's a tough course. Even when it's calm, you got to pay attention and holes can jump up and grab you any time. So you just got to plod your way around and be patient.

Q. How were those Wisconsin crowds? Did you feel the Cheeseheads?
STEVE STRICKER: Oh, yeah, I feel the Cheesehead love all the way around here. It's great support that I'm getting.

Q. Are your daughters here or not?
STEVE STRICKER: Hopefully this weekend. Starting high school tennis this week, they have a match in Hartland maybe, somewhere in Milwaukee, this Saturday already. So she had to stay home, so the little one had to stay home too, then. So hopefully if I make the cut and play well, they will be here Saturday.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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