KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 26, 2022

Joakim Haeggman

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: We are pleased to be joined by Joakim Haeggman who just put up a 67, tied for second. Feeling pretty good about how you positioned yourself 18 holes.

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: Of course, early days, and I got off a good start as well. Was 2-under after three holes, and it's been steady golf all day really. It's been a couple bogeys, a couple of birdies here and will and a really great finish on the last where I managed to eagle 9 and it helps the whole day.

JOHN DEVER: Tell us about the eagle on 9.

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: Wind was slightly off the right. Not much wind out there now. I had to get there already from the tee, I decided a long draw ball off the tee and hit a really solid shot. Got lucky. Got 247 meters, whatever that in yards, we'll find out, and from there I just had a little upslope, good shooting position, and I just decided to aim it to the right and hit it as hard as I could and had 247 meters again to the front and managed to pitch it at the front edge and got up to about 8 feet and holed the putt.

JOHN DEVER: You're from Sweden.

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: I am.

JOHN DEVER: We're pretty far north in the United States. What's it like growing up playing golf in Sweden and are there any similarities to this time of year as we are experiencing here in Michigan?

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: Very much so. Spring is turning into summer days. Obviously the difficulty is starting off the year. We normally get started on grass end of March, really, if you're staying at home and that is the trouble. But at the same time it gives you a chance to work in the gym or work on your swing and maybe not think so much about the scoring.

So that it's got its good and bad, but the growing up, I think it had some good things about it as well. You had a chance to get yourself into good techniques and get your right things going and you build on that, you can keep it or the rest of your life, really.

JOHN DEVER: What do you think of this golf course? Is this your first visit here.

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: First visit here, yes. I played Tulsa last year and it's my second PGA as a senior.

Obviously the golf course is small margins. You have to stay aggressive. Otherwise you're going to fool yourself. You're going to hit it safe somewhere or you're going to roll it way 40, 50 feet and you're going to have difficult two putts from there. You have to stay aggressive. There are very clear targets on the greens. They look big as they are, but there are three or four plateaus that you need to get to and once you can do that, obviously the golf course is accessible.

JOHN DEVER: What about your game fits here? Are you a good iron player, heck of a putter --

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: I wish I was a heck of a putter, we all do. Having said that, we all do. Because if we can't putt, we couldn't make a living playing golf.

Over the years, my game I'm pretty steady all around golfer. I wouldn't say I'm bad at anything and that's probably my strength. Having said that, there's a lot of things that you could get better at.

But at my age, you're just trying to take what you've got and try to do the best you can with what you've got. I'm a pretty decent driver of the ball and pretty decent iron play and I can putt and I can chip, yes.

JOHN DEVER: So you feel like you can have a chance to win by the end of week.

JOAKIM HAEGGMAN: That's what I'm plan to go do like everybody else. 156 thinking the same thing.