KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 27, 2022

Stephen Ames

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship here at Harbor Shores. We're in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and we're with Stephen Ames, who is tied for the lead, posted a second-round 66. He is 8-under par for the championship. Looking at your card here, maybe a rough start the 4th hole, but beyond that some really good golf. You must feel really good.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, happy with it. It was the same as yesterday. I had some other doubles that I threw in there, as well. But that's golf. Two bad swings, and it cost me two doubles, unfortunately, but overall I'm happy with the way things have progressed.

Q. What was going nicely on that back nine with the birdie runs?

STEPHEN AMES: Hitting it close. That helped. Yeah, for sure.

Putting has been a bit of an issue the six events that I've played. I've had opportunities but I couldn't make the putts to close things out. I've been working a little bit on that, mentally more than the stroke itself. Those things I've put in place this week that I've been working on, and it's coming out, which is nice. It's freed me up quite a bit.

Q. How is the payoff when you're working hard like that? You say it's mental more than a technical stroke. What's it like when you're seeing results?

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, it's gratifying, obviously. Yeah, without a doubt. The things I work on with the psychologist at this stage right now of my career, it's always about the mental part, not the physical part. That's what we try to get out. Just to try to get out of our own way, basically.

Q. Any long putts for you today? And what did you hit in on those four birdies on the back?

STEPHEN AMES: First was 10; I hit it like six inches on my third shot.

I missed a four-footer on 11.

Missed a five-footer on 12.

13 was my longest one for the day; I hit 6-iron pin high left and it was about 20 feet, 15, 20 feet and made that.

14 I missed another eight-footer.

15 I hit it pin high right in two, got it up-and-down.

16 was a long one. That was about 25, 30 feet, up the hill, right to left, and I made a nice long one.

Q. What did you hit in there?

STEPHEN AMES: We had an upslope lie right to left, upslope, and wind hard off the right, so we kind of cut a little 7-iron just to keep it back onto the green.

Q. A different course today because of the weather?

STEPHEN AMES: Oh, completely.

Q. Wind changing and everything?

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, different course, weather, it's cold. Not my cup of tea, literally. I'm not a fan of the cold weather even though I lived in Canada. But I never went out and played golf in this.

You've got to deal with the elements, and again, that's a mental -- that's always a mental challenge, so it's something that I've been working on, as well, but we all do as individuals. That was my goal today was to battle that out.