U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 2, 2023

Steve Stricker

SentryWorld

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Steve Stricker, 2-under, second place here at the U.S. Senior Open. Could you just bring us through the front nine and kind of how you turned it around into the back nine.

STEVE STRICKER: I just didn't get off to the start I needed to get off to today. I was really excited to get out there and play. I was feeling good.

I just didn't hit very many quality shots to start with. Drove it well at the 1st hole and hit kind of a mediocre 7-iron. My tempo seemed a little off. I was a little quick just because I guess I was so excited, I felt like I had a good round in me. Just didn't hit some good shots.

Then really the shot at the par-5 No. 5 kind of -- that was a killer really. We got the wind wrong, and then I overhooked it. Hindsight, I should have just been aiming way to the right and chip it across the green.

Yeah, righted the ship. Even had some birdie opportunities on the front nine on the last few holes that just burned the edges, and just nothing really was going right to start with. Then found a nice rhythm on the back side and made some birdies, hit some nice shots. But a little bit of too little, too late.

Q. Steve, what level of anticipation and excitement did you bring to the golf course today? And as you leave here today, what level of disappointment, if any, do you have as you head out of here?

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I was very excited about today. I thought 8 -- and it turned out 7, I guess -- I told Nicki today we're going to have to shoot a good one. 5-under was my goal, to get to 8-under.

Yeah, so that's disappointing really because I've been playing it well, hitting it well. I never really put two good nine holes together this week, and that really ended up being the killer. First day, get off to a good start and then play a poor back side.

It seemed like I had a poor nine holes in there every day, and that just ended up costing me the tournament.

Q. Steve, I know you're disappointed, but can you just speak to what Bernhard has accomplished?

STEVE STRICKER: It's amazing, isn't it? Yeah, all time win record, and now 12 majors. He's going strong at -- what is he, 65 or 66?

Q. 65.

STEVE STRICKER: 65. It gives all of us hope, I guess, that are out here still playing that we can continue to play as good as he's played for such a long time. It's really impressive.

I knew he wasn't going to back off today, and that's why I thought I needed to shoot a 5-under round, get it to 8 or 7 or something like that. And he didn't. He came out strong and made some birdies and got it to 10 really quick. I don't know what he birdied, but he got it to 10 really quick.

Q. What was it like to walk up 18? Obviously Nicki was behind you. You kind of waved her up and stuff like that. Just the reception.

STEVE STRICKER: The crowds were unbelievable here this week. Way more people than what I expected. They were so gracious, so supportive, showing me so much love and support. It was really cool. It really was. It was something we don't experience, like I've said before, very often.

For them to all show up like they did this week was a testament to Wisconsin golf, Wisconsin people, and they really put on a good show. It was a well-run event, and the crowd, the volunteers, they all make that happen.

Q. Steve, you mentioned feeling like your tempo was a little bit off. Do you remember a shot or a hole where you kind of maybe snapped back into it?

STEVE STRICKER: Not really. I think I just started to string together some better shots. I wasn't stringing too many good shots together on the first five or six holes. I would hit some good ones, and then I'd end up in some bad spots. I hit some good putts that just didn't go in, just nothing was going right.

It's easy to do sometimes when you're grinding and trying to put a score up. So I imagine -- you know, it was out of reach on the back side. I wanted to finish strong. Then you kind of get into a better flow, a better rhythm, and some putts started going in.

That's the part I'm really happy about. I putted the ball really nicely again this week and did a lot of good things under pressure because I definitely felt more pressure here this week than I normally do at any other tournament.

Q. Steve, going back to your father-daughter weekend with Izzi down at Frisco and then winning the Am Fam, watching Bobbi come close at the State Open, can you describe what the last month has been like for you emotionally, physically?

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I was tired out there today. I felt like it's been a long stretch again, and this takes a lot out of you. The golf course takes a lot out of you.

It's normal for us. We're playing a lot of golf. We get to follow a lot of golf. It's fun to watch our kids develop and get better. They've got tournaments coming up. So we'll turn our attention to a week off in Northern Wisconsin to have some fun, and then it's back to work for me and Bobbi. Izzi plays again. Yeah, we're back at it.

But it's all good. It's summertime, and there's a lot of golf. It's fun to watch everybody get better and play.

Q. As you leave here, what do you think you're going to take from all this? I know it's kind of immediate as you just walked off your last hole, but what will you take from this week here and the experiences you had?

STEVE STRICKER: I just think the receptions that I've got, the support that I've got and received from this week, it blows me away really. We played a long time, Jerry and I, through our career. To see the support that we get here is really something special.

We came up a little bit short, but all in all, we had a ball yesterday, the two of us yesterday had a great time. Just another feather in Wisconsin's cap really, to have a major championship here. We've had other major championships here on the regular TOUR, but Wisconsin shows up.

It's cool to see. I'm lacking a word, but it's just neat to see the support they give, not only Jerry and I but the whole field, and is how they show up and support. They've done it from day one here in our state. It's cool to see.