KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2023

Alex Cejka

Quick Quotes

PGA Frisco

Q. 4-under 68 for you today, what was working out there for you?

ALEX CEJKA: I was pleased overall with my game. I hit a lot of great shots off the tee. Hit a lot of great shots, played pretty smart, a lot of great shots to the pins. Kind of the front nine was a little bit easier without the wind blowing. It kind of picked up right when we were on 9, when we were just making the turn.

Then obviously 10, 11, 12, straight into the wind was a little bit tricky and tough. So I dropped a shot on 10 with a 3-putt. That's a little bit disappointing. But overall I really played good, I hit a lot of great shots. The greens are good so if you read it well, make a good stroke you can make putts out here.

Q. You and this golf tournament have been a nice fit. Is it something that Kerry Haigh consistently asks of you that seems to fit in with how you play?

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I've been playing pretty solid for a long time now. It's just hard to, I don't know how to put it in words, it's hard to win out here. There's so many great players and everybody plays well. No matter how tough the conditions are or the course, there's always somebody who shoots 5-under, 6-under, 7-under. So there's just so many great players.

But I'm playing well for a long, long time. It's just tough to finish it. I just got to keep playing well and trying to be there on the last day somewhere around where I get another chance. In the past it's been like this, a couple disappointing like Sundays in the past couple months, but it's golf. It's just tough, as I said. So many great players, everybody's playing great. You wish like, oh, Sunday, oh, the guys are going to shoot 2-, 3-over. But, no, our courses are set up pretty okay, the guys are so great, it's always somebody who is shooting low on each day. So you got to keep with 'em and shoot 3-, 4-, 5-under each kind of day to have a chance at the end of the tournament.

Q. Maybe one of those Sundays you're alluding to at Los Colinas here last month, I guess. You played well the whole tournament. Was wondering if you were one of the guys that came over and looked at this place the day after?

ALEX CEJKA: No, I didn't come over. I didn't come over. I heard it from the other boys. But it's an incredible setup here. I mean, I like it. I came here end of last week, I started hitting balls here on Friday, Saturday. So I got the idea a little bit. I like it. It kind of suits my game and we'll see what happens the next couple days.

Q. What is it that you like about it?

ALEX CEJKA: Oh, it's just generous, wide fairways, you know (laughing.) No, as I said, it's good off the tee, wide fairways if you really hit good drives. It's mostly trouble only on one side, so if you avoid that side you kind of always kind of are in play. So you got to make a strategy. You got to still execute. Everybody has a strategy, but great players execute the strategy. So the game plan. So this is what I was doing today. I could have maybe had one or two more shots less, but I'm really pleased with my opening round.

Q. You got Padraig up there. He's been playing well with some nice finishes, but as far as winning everyone is still waiting for him to kind of fire up. Is this something we've been waiting for here to see him go low like this?

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I mean, the course is there for the taking. He's so long, he like overpowers -- it doesn't matter what tour he's playing or what holes or what golf course, he's pretty long, he's overpowering most of the golf courses. When he's on, he can go low. So that's the thing.

But we have four rounds, there's a lot of guys who can go low. It all depends on the wind. It's kind of there when it's mellow wind it's good. Once it's going to start blowing 20, 30 miles an hour, then it's a different beast.