HONDA CLASSIC

February 25, 2023

Sepp Straka

PGA National Resort

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice round, 66 today, including a hot start there with four in a row to start off with. If we can get some comments on your round.

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, like you said, a hot start, 4-under through four, and just got hot early, and then it's a tough golf course, so even par the rest of the way. Still a really good score.

Yeah, overall I'm very happy with the round and thankful for the hot start.

Q. Did last year's final round here kind of show you that a lot of stuff can happen here on a Sunday?

SEPP STRAKA: I already knew that because I was the person that usually happened to, a few big numbers a few times on Sundays. Just playing this course one time, you know there's carnage everywhere. Yeah, it's a tough test, but if you're hitting it good, you can score.

Q. You mentioned the difficulty of the course. The scores are really low this week. Is it simply the wind, or is there anything else going on that you've seen that has made this a little bit more forgiving than typical?

SEPP STRAKA: Definitely the wind. It's definitely level windy than it has been the past couple years. But yeah, the greens were a little softer I think the last couple days. Starting to firm up a little bit today, but maybe a little softer than last year. Overall I think it's just the wind. You've got to be so precise on this course, and when it's blowing 15, 20 miles an hour that's really hard to do, so the wind being down a little bit just makes it a little more scorable.

Q. Last year Chris was one of the first ones to hang around and congratulate you. You guys spend a lot of time on the road, and do you see his good play coming this week?

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, we stay together all the time. He's usually the guy that gets us a house. So yeah, I've gotten to know Chris very well over the last few years, one of my best friends, and yeah, we spend a lot of time, and he's been playing great golf for a couple years now. It's not surprising to me, especially around this course.

Q. A lot of practice rounds together and stuff?

SEPP STRAKA: Oh, yeah, every Tuesday is usually a Tuesday game. Yeah, gotten to know him really well the last few years, and he's a good friend.

Q. When he's going well, what do you see as the strength of his game?

SEPP STRAKA: His iron play is spectacular. He's one of the best iron players that I've played with. Bunker play, it's a small thing, but he's probably the best bunker player I've ever played with. Yeah, when that putter gets hot, too, he can keep making them. There's definitely not a lot of fear in him. He's got an all-around really good game.