KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 28, 2022

Steven Alker

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon. Welcome back to the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship here at Harbor Shores. We are in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and we are with Steven Alker, who just carded a third round 69, 8-under for the championship.

Steven, a day maybe unlike some you've had recently, a couple doubles, but you did answer the bell after the second one on the back nine and went birdie-birdie. To rebound like that must have made you feel good.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, it was pleasing. I just said to my caddie, obviously made some bad swings there, and said to him, let's just make a couple of birdies and not get too far away from the lead. So just coming in it made dinner taste a little bit better, you know.

But it was pleasing to finish like that. You can take that into tomorrow and just roll with it, so it was good.

Q. Do you feel you're in a good place to chase tomorrow?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, for sure. Around this golf course, if you're just off, you struggle, but if you just attack it a little bit more -- I've found that attacking the golf course a little bit more actually helps, some pins in a good spot and have a good putt. I think the wind is meant to change around tomorrow and be a little bit windier, so it'll be interesting to see. If it gets real windy, then who knows, 2-, 3-, 4-under could be a good score.

Q. Do you find the more you're putting yourself there in contention just a growing comfort level and confidence level?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, I think so. Just kind of showed today a little bit. I obviously had a mind blank there on a couple of holes and come back with a couple of birdies to finish strong, so that was pleasing. I guess, yeah, sure, being in that situation more often. Stay calm; we've still got, what, 22 holes to go, so let's knuckle down and stick at it.

Q. That was an incredibly awkward shot on No. 7. You're really hitting it up over that big thing and the hole is down below. That was a heck of a challenge to try to get it up, and you didn't get it up all the way, but that was not your normal shot.

STEVEN ALKER: No, I was unlucky. It was plugged in the bunker, too. I shouldn't have been in the fairway bunker to start with, and then I had a good, and then just didn't come off, and then plugged. Yeah, it made the shot even harder. I was just hoping to make 5 from there.

Yeah, that shot kind of come up -- I saw it plugged, and I was like, I could struggle to get this out.

Q. Is there a number that might be going for tomorrow in your mind that you've got to make up four strokes in 18 holes?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, so I mean, it kind of depends when you get out here and see the conditions and see what's going on. If it's going to be windier -- I don't tend to do that personally. I don't tend to go, okay, I've got to shoot -- I want to shoot 64 today or 65. It's just kind of, okay, let's feel it as we go around and just be aggressive. I've got to be aggressive; I'm four behind, so I've got to make something happen. Just kind of get in that mentality and I'll be all right.

Q. 7 and 14 are probably two of the tougher par-4s out here, aren't they?

STEVEN ALKER: They are. They're very tough holes, really tough.

Q. What started the problems at 14?

STEVEN ALKER: Well, obviously the tee shot. I hit two great tee shots there the last two days. It wasn't that I was not confident on the tee, I just had a bad swing. Just blocked it. I wanted to cut it but started it way right of the right line.

When I was there I was deciding, well, should I have a come, and I come out all right and then just caught a wedge fat, 130 yards and caught my mid wedge fat. Yeah, things excelled and got worse and nearly made 5. But as I said, just got to -- still had 22 holes to go, so let's try and finish strong.

Q. You had the bounce back there at 15 and 16; can you take us through those two birdies?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, again, I didn't hit a very good drive on -- I hit it right on 15 two days in a row in the hazard, in the long grass, so I could play it out. So I double-crossed and went left. Then just kind of -- I could have had a go at the green, but I guess I just wasn't feeling great, so it was probably a good decision just to lay up. Made a nice wedge in there.

Q. Hit it close there?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah. And then 16 just hit my 3-wood like I've been doing and hit a really nice 8-iron into six, eight feet. Then I made a nice putt on 18 for par, too. Had a bad lie in the rough on the left there and kind of shanked it and come up short?

Q. How far was the putt there?

STEVEN ALKER: It was probably a good 10 feet down the hill there.

Q. Just big momentum keepers, right, when you're finding yourself a distance from the lead?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, I can sleep a little bit better tonight.

Q. Talk about playing with Bernhard and what he shows you.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, he's such a technician and perfectionist. He started hitting it better actually today than he did the first two days. You could see he was just kind of rolling it better and hitting it closer. He just picks his targets, and he knows how he's feeling, and you can see him just heading to certain parts of the green, certain targets, aggressive when he needs to be and conservative when he needs to be. There's a lot to learn from that.

Q. Can you watch a guy like that and learn a little bit more about course management?

STEVEN ALKER: Totally, absolutely. It's hard not to watch when you're playing, when you're out there. But I've played enough with him and played a couple of practice rounds, and it's always a pleasure to play with him and just kind of learn something. Learning at 50; that's cool.

Q. He likes your game, too.

STEVEN ALKER: Well, that's good to know.