WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

February 7, 2021

Steve Stricker

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. How much fun was that on nine, and what do you take from this week?

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. You know, that's the reason why I come to play in these still. I haven't shown that in the pat, but I've been playing better lately. Feeling a little bit better physically, too.

So it's nice to see some of that work is paying off. It was a lot of fun. I catch myself though rooting for guys, like Brooks, and then I've got to pull myself back and say, Wait a second, I'm trying to win this thing, too.

And so I want to see him play well because I think he can be a huge help to this team in September. So I told him on the first tee, I said, It's good to see you playing good this week.

I been watching and I knew he missed three cuts in a row coming in here. That was the struggle I had out there today. It was good to see him play well, but yet I got to say, Hey, wait a second, I'm trying to play well too and win.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, just, you know, and myself, too. It's just like hanging around. You just keep hanging around, and that's what he did on the front nine.

The course was a little bit tougher today. Pins were in some real tough locations. It's Sunday. Trying to win is always hard. He just hung in there, and then all of a sudden he started finding it and hit a couple great shots in there. Two good shots at 13, and 14, birdie; two good shots at 15. You know, obviously the chip-in on 17.

So, yeah, he just hung around, and all of a sudden he caught fire and ended up leading the tournament and maybe winning.

Q. (Regarding Jordan.)

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, he's always on my radar because of what he's capable of doing. He's not that far down the points list. He's playing a little bit better.

It's going to take some time probably for him. We've all been there where you struggle a little bit. This is a baby step for him probably. He can pull some positives from this and go on and probably improve.

So, yeah, I'm always looking at Jordan.

Q. Brooks said that he really responded having fans this week. It was a big thing for him. Got him pumped up. Have you always seen him as that type of player who needs the tension or the big moment to really perform his best?

STEVE STRICKER: You know, all these guys top of the world of the rankings, they're used to playing with a lot of people. That energy, I'm sure they feed off.

Then when that's taken away, you know, it's been a different year and a half. It's been really weird. At times you feel like you're just out there playing with your buddies.

This week was not that way. This week you felt like you were playing in a tournament and there was some energy from the crowd. Not like a normal Waste Management Open, but definitely different than what we been doing.

I can see where that's going to help a lot of the players, especially guys that have continued and played in front of a lot of people over a period of time.