VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17, 2023

Kramer Hickok

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you assess the week so far and what's been clicking for you, Kramer?

KRAMER HICKOK: I've been putting really nice. Really just seeing the lines really well and hitting some good putts. I don't really feel like I'm playing that well tee to green, but just keeping the ball in front of me and really just scoring pretty well.

So I like this golf course a lot. It suits my game. You don't have to have a lot of power, just kind of fetch it around and hit it pretty straight. I like the way I'm sitting right now, but need to go work on the swing a little bit and kind of get back to how it was feeling back on Wednesday and Tuesday.

Q. How do you attribute -- you mentioned not being fully comfortable with your swing, what it takes to really -- what does it mentally -- or just with your game plan adjusting at all that allows you to stay up near the top despite not feeling a hundred percent?

KRAMER HICKOK: It's just a process. I switched coaches back in the fall and I'm just making some swing changes, and so when I get in tournaments, it's sort of reverts back to my bad habits. So I can do it really well on the range, but when I get the golf course, things sort of go back to the old pattern. So it's just kind of trusting those feels and just really almost feeling like I need to exaggerate some of the feels to get to where I want to be.

But it's just a process. It gets more comfortable for me every week. It's certainly better than it was last week and it's better than it was a week before. So it's just coming along.

Q. Who are you working with now?

KRAMER HICKOK: Mark Blackburn.

Q. What was the connection of deciding to start working with him?

KRAMER HICKOK: His guys were playing really well. So Max Homa has been playing great. Chez Reavie seems to win every other year. Trey Mullinax won last year. He's got Justin Rose, he won this year. So I just tried to follow the hot hand and he's really helped me a lot, so I'm really excited about our path together.

Q. 68 round 1, 68 round 2. The stats look similar on those rounds, but how would you describe each of them? Were they different or very similar?

KRAMER HICKOK: I felt like I hit it a little bit worse today. But I really felt like I managed my game a lot better. So the misses left me in decent spots to where I felt like I could have easy up-and-downs. But all in all I think the putter was the story this week or so far this week, just making some putts. I had one 3-putt, but making some nice 30- to 40-footers that's kind of just gifts, really. But making a lot of those 6- to 12-footers that you just need to make to have those momentum swings and keep the round going.