CHUBB CLASSIC PRESENTED BY SERVPRO

February 17, 2024

Steve Stricker

Tiburón Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You had a great start. Tell us a little bit about the eagle and to make a birdie on top of it.

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, just a really good start really. I had a couple opportunities early at 2 and then holed that out at I think No. 5, and had another eagle putt that just went over the edge at 6. So I was 4-under through those seven holes.

Hit some good shots, and conditions were a little breezy at times, and the pins were tough, and then all of a sudden I drove it at -- hit a poor shot into the green trying to go for it in two at 13 and escaped with a par there. I played both those par-5s on that side awful, 12 and 18.

13, drove it in a divot, and the pin is right over the water, so not much of a play there.

Then drove it in a cruddy area on the next hole. All of a sudden you're just instead of trying to get aggressive and trying to hit it in there close, you're trying to get it on the green kind of thing. That kind of derailed me a little bit there.

Had a couple good opportunities at 16 and 17 and rolled them right over the edge. I hadn't made a lot of putts the first couple days, but hit the ball better today. Just didn't get it in the hole when I should have.

Q. If you do get to play golf tomorrow, what's the mentality?

STEVE STRICKER: Well, I'm going to be -- he's 13 going down the last, so he'll probably birdie the last, so I'll be six back. I'm going to have to put up a good score tomorrow and hopefully he comes back a little bit. But yeah, we're going to have to wait and see what those conditions are going to be like. Hopefully we get out there to play nine holes.

Q. Was today a little bit of a Sunday mentality?

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, yeah. You felt like -- and I put myself behind the 8-ball yesterday after shooting 3-under so was a long ways back. But then got off to that hot start, and I just couldn't keep her going.

Q. No one won more than you last year, but Stephen had four wins.

STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I had a very consistent year. I didn't seem to play with him all that much. I know I played with him in Iowa coming down the stretch, had an opportunity to beat him there and didn't. But yeah, he played well. He's obviously playing well this week. Alker, Ames, when they play well, they're tough to beat.