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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM

February 10, 2018

Steve Stricker

Pebble Beach, California

Q. Your thoughts on day three at Pebble?
STEVE STRICKER: I got off to a slow start, kind of didn't make very good adjustments early on. The greens were a little bit firmer. I sent it over a couple greens early on. I struggled, I hung in there, and then kind of righted the ship on that back side. It was a difficult day today, more difficult I should say than the other days. Just, I was proud of the way I hung in there and I wish I could have made a couple putts coming in. I had three good looks at 16, 17, 18, and couldn't get any of them to go. But happy with the round, I guess.

Q. As you ease your way into 2018, what excites you the most about having a chance to try to win tomorrow?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, just to have the chance. I haven't won for awhile out here. I still feel like I'm capable of winning out here, obviously I got to do a lot of good things to do it. I don't have length like some of these guys have, but I've been around long enough to know what works for me and I try to lean on those things, and I'm going to have to do the same thing tomorrow. And hopefully -- I'm going to have to play a good round. It looks like I'm going to be four shots back. It's going to have to be a good one.

Q. We talked back at Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill, you said you look someone in the eye, you sign a legible autograph. How much do you think about that when you sign after a round?
STEVE STRICKER: Oh, yeah, I pride myself on my signature and I think a lot of pros do, just from what Arnie has said over the years, just being polite and treating everybody nicely and just like you want to be treated. So, yeah, Arnold Palmer was the best at that and I think we all feed off him in the way we go about our business out here.

Q. You haven't had a ton of rounds out here on your career. You went through a stretch where you didn't play here. Why this week? Why is it clicking for you this week, do you think?
STEVE STRICKER: The weather's good. It's enjoyable to play. I've been partnering with Toby Keith the last three years and that's been fun and relaxing and it's been a treat to do that. So yeah, it's just my game's pretty good, I spent a lot of time in the off-season working at it. Right after the holidays, I was down in Florida for awhile and played Phoenix last week. I did some good things there that I normally don't do there. I had one bad round, really, that cost me to have a top-15 or so finish. I'm excited about what I'm doing so far and it's showing out on the golf course. And it's early, but it's good to feel like I have been out there.

Q. When you didn't play here, was it just a scheduling thing?
STEVE STRICKER: It wasn't just -- yeah, and conditions, soft, bumpy greens, cold weather, not really my cup of tea. But the last three years, like I said, I'm just looking forward to coming out here playing with Toby. I've gotten to be a friend of his and we have gotten to know each other over the years and it's been fun doing that. So that's why I'm here, basically. I don't know if I would have come back if it wasn't for him playing, and so it's, that's why.

Q. What would a win mean to you at this point? Being over 50, it just doesn't happen that often out here.
STEVE STRICKER: Well, it would mean a lot. That's why I continue to play out here. I still feel like I've got the game to compete out here. I've got to do everything right, just like anybody else who is going to win for the week, they have got to have a lot of good things happen. But I think that when a guy gets up to be my age, I think, even more so. But I still have a lot of confidence in what I'm doing, confidence in my game, and I still enjoy playing out here, bottom line. I enjoy being on this bigger stage than I do on the Champions Tour.

Q. You talked about the off season. Did you practice more this off season than say the last two or three off seasons? Would you say that?
STEVE STRICKER: No, probably not. I usually go down to Florida or we go someplace warm with the kids and usually play a lot of golf right after the holidays. I'll hit balls and I played Shark Shoot-out, like I do every year. So it's pretty much the same schedule that I've done every other year. And last year I don't think, I think this was my first event last year. This year I threw in Phoenix because the weather was good and my brother-in-law lives out there, he caddied. And it was a great place to get some rounds under my belt and stuff like that. So this is pretty typical, I think, what I've been doing.

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