KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2022

Stephen Ames

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: We are with Stephen Ames who carded a 1-under par 70 and finished runner-up in our championship. Really good start to the day. Two birdies in the first three holes but Steven caught fire near the turn and you weren't able to keep pace.

STEPHEN AMES: Obviously. Steven played obviously very well, 8-under around here today was good scoring. I'm sure he rolled a few putts in. I didn't roll too many but overall I'm not very disappointed with my result and the way I handled myself, especially considering the ways of play was extraordinarily fast out there (rolling eyes dramatically). Five hours and 20 minutes, if anybody was counting.

JOHN DEVER: We're all aware.

STEPHEN AMES: It's ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. Nothing done any week. Every week, it's the same thing.

JOHN DEVER: About yourself, you didn't play back --

STEPHEN AMES: No.

JOHN DEVER: -- that's why you're somewhat pleased.

STEPHEN AMES: The momentum and playing golf, you get a rhythm going and you start, you stop, you start, you stop, it's hard to get into that nice little rhythm. If you're constantly in a slow rhythm that you constantly play with, that's your rhythm. I have to change my whole pace of walking, everything, to be able to adjust to playing at the PGA Championship that we play out here, which is fine. I've learned to adapt with it. Like I said, I'm not disappointed in my result at all.

Q. Can you talk about conditions? Obviously it was warmer but certainly windy.

STEPHEN AMES: Very windy and obviously in a different direction as well. It was down and 7, which is not on to the lake, obviously a south wind, which why the temperature was as high as it was today.

Golf course played different. Lines and clubs different off the tee but I think everybody adjusted well. Obviously others, some others better than others. You know, I think overall the golf course handled itself very well and played nicely.

Q. Did you know much about Steven before he came out?

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, I did. Korn Ferry. I watched Steven play on The European Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and all of the sudden out here, wow, it's fantastic, great to see.

Q. How much does that help this tour when a guy is on that kind of run?

STEPHEN AMES: I think overall, any person that's an un-name player coming out, is getting a name for himself. I think the way he's been doing it this year is phenomenal, three wins this year so far, he's now at 1.6 or 1.7 on the Money List. He's running away with the Schwab Cup right now. We still have more than half a year to go so we'll see what happens.

JOHN DEVER: You said you didn't relish the notice of being chased. Bernhard caught you first and then Steven, but did anything change there for you or were you still pretty confident when they caught you as he was approaching the turn?

STEPHEN AMES: It just became more of a ballgame. My lines off the tee, my shot pattern, nothing had changed. I just started playing the way I had been playing the last three days and funny enough, Bernhard was the one he faulted on 12, 13 and 14, which is unusual for him because he is usually like a machine. But he is getting on in age (laughing) giving us a break, which is nice.

Q. How do you take this into the U.S. Open?

STEPHEN AMES: It's a nice momentum. I had a nice finish last year as well, finished eighth and was in the last group as well, here I am another major, finishing second. It's a step in the right direction, moving closer to No. 1.