	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. BANK CHAMPIONSHIP IN MILWAUKEE

July 18, 2009

Frank Lickliter

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome Frank Lickliter to the interview room. Frank shot a 63 today and is currently in the lead of the U.S. Bank Championship. Frank, if you could start off and just talk about your round in general. And then we'll take some questions and finish up with you going over your scorecard.
FRANK LICKLITER: You know, I was really patient. And the golf course is playing extremely well. A little bit of wind out there. And, you know, the greens are in perfect condition. I rolled my ball extremely well today.

Q. You said you had a lot of fun to the Golf Channel. Are you starting to have a lot of fun? It looks like the last few years have been a little bit of a struggle for you. Maybe, go back to there, why you struggled and what's changing now for you?
FRANK LICKLITER: Well, it hadn't been a little struggle. It's been a big struggle. You know, part of it was golf swing. Part of it was you know, after I broke my arm at the end of 2006. You know, just a lot of things. Couple of things rolled together. And then not having fun on top of that.
But, you know, I've kind of gone back to fading the golf ball. We talked about this Thursday after I got done playing. But just fading, you know, hitting the fade. Not hitting the ball left.
And yesterday, I started out I had four shots left in the first five holes. You know, just horrendous. Just terrible. It makes me feel sick. So, you know, after that I was just really got back into hitting the ball down the line and making sure it was moving left or right.

Q. How did you break your arm?
FRANK LICKLITER: I fell.

Q. You know, is the whole having fun thing, it's like the chicken or the egg. You can't have fun unless you play well. But you can't play well unless you have fun. So what came first for you?
FRANK LICKLITER: I've been working hard, extremely hard. And I knew I was doing a lot of good things. You I feel like I sound like David Duval up here.
I just I was doing, I know I'm doing a lot of good things. And just started accepting, you know certain things and kind of falling into place.
I made a bunch of birdies last week and made some birdies this week. And I'm going to try to keep making birdies tomorrow.

Q. You've had two Top 10s here and in '06 you shot a 64 in the third round and finished tied for fourth that week. Just what is it about the course that you like? And with this round what you've done today, does that put you in an even better position? Do you remember going into the final round in '06?
FRANK LICKLITER: Yeah, I think I was a couple back behind Corey. In 06. And 06 was really fun because Corey and Jerry and I ended up going to Iraq together. Corey was my roommate for the most part. It was really cool, you know, playing in that group Sunday afternoon. Even though Jerry was kind of the hometown favorite.
But it was a lot of fun. Even though that's probably the most fun I've ever had not winning.
But I don't know, it's just the golf course. I enjoy the golf course. I enjoy being here. Public golf course with greens that are this good, just always impresses me. The guys do a great job. You know, even after 17 got destroyed, they've done a magnificent job repairing that.
It's just a credit to the grounds crew how good this golf course is every year for a public golf course. There are a lot of private clubs that should aspire to be like this.

Q. Your history with 54 hole leads, the first two you didn't close off and then you played pretty good to win those tournaments. What did you learn from the first one, and can you apply those same things even though it's so many years later now?
FRANK LICKLITER: Yeah, you know, I'm a different golfer than I was then. Definitely older. But, you know, I'm just going to go out and I'm going to enjoy playing well, you know. That's my focus tomorrow is to play well. And, you know, do the same things that I've been doing and enjoy the things that I've been doing.

Q. You said you had a lot of fun here when you were saying Thursday. It seems like Milwaukee is maybe your kind of town. Can you describe a little of that?
FRANK LICKLITER: Absolutely, yeah. You know, we go to River Lane Inn up here probably four, five nights out of the week every year. Because they have the best calamari in the world. You know, we travel quite a bit. And it is absolutely -- I have two orders of it every night. It is absolutely magnificent. Little things like that.
Russell Moccasin is just up the road. They make hunting boots. My favorite hunting boots. So we went up there Thursday after we got done playing, you know. Just really cool things to do.

Q. Maybe a lot of things that you don't usually see in other cities on the PGA TOUR?
FRANK LICKLITER: Well, most cities have beer. You know, it's just like I told another person. I said, this place is like coming home the people are so great, and they love golf. It's just a great place to be.

Q. I know you like to hunt?
FRANK LICKLITER: Love to hunt.

Q. You do bear hunting and fishing?
FRANK LICKLITER: I do it all.

Q. Tell us, do you have a good recent story about it?
FRANK LICKLITER: Recent story -- a couple weeks ago I got to go hog hunting, and it was only about 99. I was home, Florida. The guy that I hunt with quite a bit, Jim Shockey, he's got his own show, you know. I live vicariously through him.
He loves golf, and I love hunting, you know. And he calls me from Africa. You know, and I'm like, well, what did you see today? Well, we almost got trampled by an elephant. You know, charged by buffalo. You know, just crazy things like that. It's absolutely incredible the things that he does with a muzzle loader.

Q. You know, I know there are a lot of fisher men on the tour, but I don't think there are a lot of hunters. I know Stricker's a big hunter?
FRANK LICKLITER: You'd be surprised.

Q. Really?
FRANK LICKLITER: Yeah, there are just as many hunters on tour as there are fishermen.

Q. Have you done any whitetail deer hunting in Wisconsin?
FRANK LICKLITER: Not Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, but I get to hear about Stricker's deer, absolutely. Yeah, I'm jealous. He's got some nice deer.

Q. What is the biggest game animal that you've caught?
FRANK LICKLITER: Brown bear, brown bear. I've fallen in love with the bear hunting. I actually have a -- it would be big enough for the record book -- black bear, with Jim. And that's on camera which is pretty cool.
Then I have a brown bear, an Alaskan brown bear, that missed record book by about a quarter of an inch. But it was huge.

Q. How much do those weigh, 1,000?
FRANK LICKLITER: They figured that bear was pushing 900 pounds.

Q. You ever hunt any Golden Bear?
FRANK LICKLITER: No, but I've seen his trophies. I've had the chance to see his trophies, and he's an avid outdoors man and sports man. And you know, Gary and I are the same age. I kind of grew up with Gary playing college golf against him. So we've had some fun.

Q. You've been somewhat outspoken on things like drug testing on tour. Is there a misconception about maybe how your intensity level and things like that? Or is what you see what you get?
FRANK LICKLITER: People think I'm pretty intense, they're right. You know, the issue of drug testing, I think I've been proven right, you know. I don't think we've had one issue, have we? You know, big waste of time, my time. All the players' time, and a big waste of money. Someone got paid a lot. How about that.

Q. Just a slightly more somber note, there is a volunteer that I think you and your wife or your girlfriend, I'm not sure?
FRANK LICKLITER: Fiancee. Yeah, significant other.

Q. Yeah?
FRANK LICKLITER: Love of my life.

Q. You were close to, right?
FRANK LICKLITER: She's right behind you.

Q. Okay. And that person has passed away. Can you talk about why you became close?
FRANK LICKLITER: Well, you know, like I said, 14 years in a row, you get to meet some people. And it's nice. It's like coming home, because you see some of the same people year after year, you know. And they're fans and they're friends.
And to have something that tragic happen is just a shame. I hate to see it. I feel so bad for his family any other questions? We'll miss him.
THE MODERATOR: If you could go through your birdies real quick for us. And that will be it.
FRANK LICKLITER: All right, round 3. Okay. Three in a row. 4, 5, and actually, yeah, 4, 5, and 6. And I hit a great 5-iron into 4. Hit it 12 feet behind the hole there. Chipped in on 5. But I was only, you know, maybe 15 feet from the hole, just missed the green there to the left. But it was in that deep rough. And I actually hit a flop shot there that went in.
Made a nice putt from the back fringe on the par 5. And bogeyed 7 after hitting an absolutely perfect 4-iron. I cut a 4-iron up there and landed next to the pin, and went over the green ten inches to the rough.
Then 8 and 9 I made a beautiful putt from behind the hole on 8. A nice little putt from under the hole on 9.
Then, 10, I hit sand wedge two feet. Had a great drive there. 13, hit a -- that's one of the best putts I've made right there. That putt up and over and about three different breaks in it and actually read it right.
Then 15 I hit in the green side bunker on the par 5, and left it about a foot short.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks a lot, Frank, and good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297