KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 26, 2022

Kevin Sutherland

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon and welcome back to the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores.

We are joined by Kevin Sutherland, just opened with a 3-under par. 68 today. Kevin, looks like steady, good play throughout, birdies on 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, a couple bogeys but you have to feel good about your position.

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I feel very good about how I'm playing today. You know, I got off to a good start. Hit some nice iron shots today. Hit a couple bad ones but that's the way it course is. If you hit some bad iron shots, makes it tough. Hit a couple iron shots where I wanted them but ended up making bogeys. This course in good shape. It's great. You can shoot a good score. If you can keep the ball in the right spots, you can make some birdies out there. Right now, the weather's good and hopefully it stays that way. But I'm very pleased.

Q. What did you like best in your game today?

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Early on I putted very well and I drove the ball well all day. The part of the game that was very encouraged by is my iron play. My iron play the last month and a half has been a little spotty and it was better today and so kind of working on it a little bit. Just seems like I hit -- like I said I hit a couple loose iron shots but for the most part I was hitting my iron shots incredibly well today and so I'm encouraged by that. That's definitely a step in the right direction for me.

Q. An example of an iron shot?

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: It wasn't actually the pulling off of the iron shots but just hitting the ball in the middle of the face. It wasn't necessarily I hit an iron shot that went to a foot or something like that. I did do that and hit a good wedge shot on No. 11 that went to a tap-in but for the most part, what was encouraging to me was I was hitting the ball solidly and so that can grow into something really good.

So I was really pleased by that.

Q. You were leading this championship right here at Harbor Shores in 2018, 36-hole leader. So you have some symmetry with this layout.

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I like the course, I really do. It's got some interesting quirks to it on the greens and stuff but I like it. I think it's a beautiful golf course. I enjoy playing the golf course. You need to hit it well. The fairways are generous but you need to drive it well. In the past, I'm usually -- the best part of my game is usually my iron play. So hopefully I can drive what I did today into the rest of the tournament. But I have -- I just like the golf course a lot.

Q. Can you tell us some of the irons you hit in for the birdie holes?

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Yeah, I hit an 8-iron on No. 1 to ten feet. Made that.

Then I birdied 5. I hit driver 3-wood right by the Green. Chipped it up to, you know, two feet. But I birdied another hole, 6. 6 I lit a 9-iron to about 15 feet and made a nice putt there, broke a good foot. That's the way these greens are, you can get big, breaking putts on the shorter putts.

I birdied 9. I hit driver 3-wood up by the Green and hit a nice pitch to seven feet maybe. Made that. Kind of let ten get away from me. I hit a 5-iron. Probably should have hit four and made par. I hit it good. I just hit the wrong club and didn't get up-and-down. Then I hit to a tap-in on 11 and hit a wedge to a few -- a couple -- a foot, foot and a half, maybe, most. So it's always nice to have a little kick in. That was the extent of my birdies.

The back side, I just couldn't get the ball real close. Hit a lot of nice shots but it was always like a 30-footer. Three-foot putts out here are hard to make because they usually have some movement to them and usually you're putting up and over something. A lot of 2-putting is a good thing.

Q. What were they playing 7 at for you guys?

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Back tee.

Q. How difficult is it from there?

KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Well, today was a little bit easier. I only had 9-iron into the Green and that was one of the loose -- that was probably the worst shot I hit all day. I hit just a really poor iron shot there into the right bunker and didn't get it up-and-down. In fact, I was just happy to get on the Green from where I was. You know, this golf course is that way. You hit a bad shot -- take your medicine and make your bogey and get out of there. It's a beautiful golf hole. I love the hole. It's into the wind from the back tee. It's something. Tried to hit a hybrid in the practice round but couldn't do it from back there.

I know the wind is going to switch tomorrow. Whole see where they put the tee.

JOHN DEVER: Thank you for stopping in. We appreciate the candor.