Q. What's it like when you go seven birdies in a row and at what point do you start thinking about it or are you not thinking about it?
SEPP STRAKA: Well, I love a turkey, so I made three in a row on 12, and was pretty happy about that. Then birdied 13, 14, 15, which were pretty gettable, so I was thinking about six in a row, I never got do seven, but, yeah, I got kind of hot there with the irons and hit some nice shots as was able to make the putts.
Q. Do you just block everything out, and is Duane not talking to you or, I mean, is it like a guy throwing a no hitter, nobody is talking to him in the dugout?
SEPP STRAKA: No, I wouldn't go that far, no. Especially on a course like this where a lot of birdies are out there, you just got to keep your foot on the pedal. Had a good group today with Jaeger and Patton, and we just had a good time out there.
Q. You know those guys. Talk about playing this kind of golf course though, this is like the only kind of course you play all year like this in a lot of ways, the hills, the valleys, there's a lot of birdies out there.
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, there's a lot of birdies out there, but you still have to hit some good shots. It's a fun place to start the year. You hit some good shots, there's some slopes that you can use to take advantage of it, and, yeah, it's always fun to make some birdies.
Q. Are you disappointed with the par, par finish?
SEPP STRAKA: Oh, yeah, Patton is more disappointed than I am. I had a putt on 17 and missed it, and he immediately told me that he was pissed at me. So, yeah, no, a little disappointed with that.
Q. What about the weekend now though, because obviously you're playing great and you know you got to go low, keep going low.
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, exactly. This is the type of course where, by the time I tee off, I might be in 15th place or something. So you got to keep your foot on the pedal out here and keep trying to give yourself looks and keep trying to make putts.
Q. We noticed that you went with the short haircut. You shaved it, right?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, yeah, no guard. I went no guard. Nature was kind of getting in the way there, so I figured I might as well just help it out a little bit. I like it, hopefully more rounds like this with it.
Q. What did you do on 17?
SEPP STRAKA: I hit it like 20 feet and missed the putt.
Q. Was that devastating?
SEPP STRAKA: It was devastating. It was a tough scene, but I'll get by.
Q. Did your boys give you grief?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, yeah. Patton immediately did.
Q. What did he say?
SEPP STRAKA: They were both pretty disappointed in my finish (laughing).
Q. What's the secret to scoring out here? This isn't a putting contest.
SEPP STRAKA: I would say iron shots. Iron shots are very important. Putting is important. Obviously you got to make the putts when you hit a good iron shot. Yeah, number one I would say iron shots. Off the tee it's not very demanding. It's pretty wide fairways. You have to hit the fairway, if you miss the fairway you're in trouble, but probably iron shots are No. 1.
Q. Did you miss any?
SEPP STRAKA: I missed No. 4 which is about 60 yards wide. I made bogey there, so that was tough. I missed a few, there's a few fairways that are just hard to hit like 1 or stuff like that.
Q. 1?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, 1's brutal to hit. It's impossible to stop, it just goes all the way down into the rough. Yeah, no, it's a second-shot golf course for sure.
Q. What clicked all of a sudden though when you made the turn?
SEPP STRAKA: I was hitting my iron shots really close. 10 I hit it to five feet. 11 I hit it to 10 feet. I just getting inside 10 feet. That can be tough with the wind out here, it wasn't as windy today, but it's also kind of hard to figure out exactly where it's coming from, so it's hard to really get it inside 10 feet, and I was able to do that for a little stretch there.
Q. What was the best of the seven?
SEPP STRAKA: Well, probably the 6-iron I hit on 17 was better than any of the other ones on the seven. I think the shot on 10 was probably my best shot. Hit a 7-iron in there about five feet from the top of the fairway on the right with the ball way above my feet.
Q. Where is the flag on 13 today?
SEPP STRAKA: 13 is front left.
Q. Throw it in the middle?
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, I kind of hit a wedge in there, not as much wind so you can get it into the up slope off the tee, so hit a soft wedge into the right and used the slope to get it close.
Q. Is that the most birdies you made in a row?
SEPP STRAKA: I think so, yeah. I don't think I've ever -- I definitely haven't gotten eight so I think seven is definitely my max.
Q. What did you do on 9?
SEPP STRAKA: I missed a short putt. And on 8 had semi-short putt too. So, yeah, what could have been.
Q. You must be devastated.
SEPP STRAKA: Yeah, it's terrible.
Q. How tight is it up top?
SEPP STRAKA: It's tight. It's a no guard. Yeah, yeah it's a few days old here, but it's high and tight.
Q. What was the thinking?
SEPP STRAKA: I was losing it already, so I figured I might as well just help it out a little bit.
Q. Did you have any encouragement?
SEPP STRAKA: Harman's been kind of guiding me through it, yeah, he's been giving me some tips here and there, so, yeah, he's kind of the guy I've been leaning on.
Q. Did you have to run this by the wife?
SEPP STRAKA: For sure, she was the number one, the only person that would have nixed it, but she likes it so, yeah, all good.
Q. Who speaks better German between the two of you?
SEPP STRAKA: Me and Jaeger? Pretty similar, I would say.
Q. Would real Germans know you both have an accent?
SEPP STRAKA: No, no, we're both fluent. I mean, he has an accent to me. He's got a German accent. I got a bit of a Viennese one. But, no, yeah, we're both fluent so, yeah, either one.
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