THE 151ST OPEN

July 21, 2023

Sepp Straka

Mixed Zone

Q. One of the best rounds of the day. Tell us a little bit -- hole-in-one, too.

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, played really nice. Gave myself a lot of birdie putts, which is key, and then putter got hot on the back nine. Really couldn't have asked for more.

Q. What was working for you out there in your own game?

SEPP STRAKA: It was kind of a full effort. Ball-striking was really good. I gave myself a lot of putts. If I was in the fairway, I pretty much had a putt I think almost I think almost every time, and that's key out there.

You've got to give yourself looks, and it's not easy to come by looks. On top of that the putter was hot, so it was a nice combination.

Q. How was it keeping the ball from spiraling out of the wind? Is that something you're thinking about when you're out there?

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, for sure, especially into the wind. You've got to take whatever club you can hit with still having a controlled flight. You can't always just go full bore at it.

I think I did a pretty good job of that today.

Q. Did you have a method you used for doing that, keeping the ball out of the wind and under control?

SEPP STRAKA: Just take more club for the most part. My caddie does a great job, Duey, with the wind, and giving me a number that the shot will play, and then trying to hit that number with kind of a controlled flight.

Q. Would you have taken six shots back at halfway if someone offered you that?

SEPP STRAKA: With only a few people in front of me, yes, absolutely. It's a good position to be in going into the weekend, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Q. Your second week with your new caddie, right?

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah.

Q. First week you won; this week you're in contention. Tell me how it works.

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, pretty good I'd say. So far, so good. He's a great caddie and very fortunate to have him on the back.

Q. Are you just peaking at the right time of the season with the Ryder Cup not too far away?

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, for sure. Game is coming into shape nicely. I've been hitting the ball pretty well and then starting a couple weeks ago the putter came around, too, and hopefully I can keep that momentum going.

Q. Is this tournament something that you're kind of targeting with quite a few points on the line?

SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, for sure. It's always big to play well in the big events, try to get as many points as possible to put yourself in a good position come September.

Q. 31 on the back nine; was the wind dropping a little bit there?

SEPP STRAKA: A little bit, yeah, but it still played really tough. The temperature dropped, too, a little bit, and it's tough, especially that back nine. There's a lot of crosswinds. Trying to hit fairways is really key, and fortunately I was able to hit a lot of those.

Q. I've never seen so many bunkers hit, and they are severe, right?

SEPP STRAKA: Very. And they're not that big. Everything just kind of funnels right into them, and it usually doesn't go down to the middle. I was fortunate to avoid the bunker lips today. I didn't do as good a job yesterday, but hopefully I can avoid those tomorrow.

Q. At the 54-hole mark do you start thinking about things? Are you the kind of person that looks ahead?

SEPP STRAKA: It's hard to because it doesn't mean a whole lot right now. The final standings will be set on Sunday.

Yeah, it's a great position to be in, and you've just got to keep trying to shoot some good scores.