ASCENSION CHARITY CLASSIC

September 9, 2023

Ken Duke

Norwood Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You've got to tell us about the shot at 16.

KEN DUKE: I closed my eyes really. No, I had 143. We knew that that pin was on that downslope, so we were just trying to land something before it and let it just trickle down there, and obviously it jumped down there pretty good and rolled right in the hole. I didn't know it was going to go in, but it was great.

Q. Before the tournament began this week, you said it's time to get another one. How has your mindset changed since you won the Shaw?

KEN DUKE: It's a little more free. As you know, you win and you feel like you can belong out here, and you just keep plugging along, and you feel like the shots come a little bit easier instead of stressing over every little shot. Just trying to take day by day as my caddie and I work hard and just try and keep everything in front of us. That's the main thing.

Q. You made that shot at the 16th, and you followed up with two poor swings with short irons, but as Jake said, you've got to remember the good and forget the bad. How are you going to do that here going to bed tonight getting ready for tomorrow? You've got a chance to win again.

KEN DUKE: He's got some words for wisdom for everybody for sure. But no, we've done this enough. I've hit plenty of good shots, plenty of bad shots, and we're just going to take what tomorrow gives us and see what happens and try to have some fun.

Q. Talk about the yardage and the club you used on 16.

KEN DUKE: I had 143 yards into 16. The pin is kind of sitting on a downslope so we were trying to hit it 135 or so and hopefully just roll down, and obviously got lucky and the ball went a bit further and went right in the hole.

Q. Got your first win a couple weeks ago. You're in contention again tomorrow. What does that mean to you, putting in all this work and to be back to try to get your second win?

KEN DUKE: Yeah, when you're playing good, things go your way sometimes. I'm sure I got a few good bounces today. Just had good numbers. My caddie and I are on the same page, which is always a good thing. I've had the speed of the greens pretty good this week and doing some good on the par-5s. That's where I need to keep pushing forward, and looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what it brings.

Q. Not the way you wanted to finish but a heck of a day.

KEN DUKE: It was a great day, yeah. I guess I can throw this out there. My longtime caddie, Chris Carpenter, who passed away a few years ago, it's his birthday today, so I know he was out there.

But we had fun, and just made a couple bad swings coming down the stretch, but like I said, we're here, we're going to battle tomorrow and see what happens.

Q. You're where you need to be --

KEN DUKE: That's the thing out here. You've got to go good early in the week. You've got to get off to a good start, and I did that yesterday. If you can follow it up with that second round, then you can be in contention.

Just excited to be here. It's great.

Q. Can you put into words what it was like for you today to just be that on fire almost the entire day?

KEN DUKE: Yeah, we had a lot of good numbers out there today, and my tempo, my swing was really nice, except the last couple holes. But besides that, when you're that way, it's like riding a bike. You just grab the club and hit it like you're on the range. You just try to have fun and be focused on where you want to end up.

Q. You seem to connect well with the St. Louis fans. Tell me about your connection with St. Louis here.

KEN DUKE: I've got them fooled, I guess. I don't know what it is.

No, I grew up in Arkansas, so a lot of my friends, a lot of people from Arkansas are up here and vice versa, so I guess just the connection that works out. But had a lot of good pro-am guys around here that follow me, and they've been out here every day, and it's been great.

Q. Can you put into words what it would mean to you tomorrow to be in the winner's circle?

KEN DUKE: Yeah, it's great. I won a few weeks ago, and when you get a chance, you just have to perform. You've got to put yourself in that position, and that's where we are right now. We'll see what tomorrow brings, and whatever that is is whatever it is.