STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Always great with the Wisconsin media, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly spoke with reporters on Tuesday.
And for Stricker? We all know he's trying to go 3 for 3 in majors on the Champions Tour. As well as playing here at SentryWorld, in 1984 he won the state WIAA individual golf championship. Does it even relate?
"Yeah I remember the flowers. I mean that's what I remember. And I remember shooting 76, 76. Now that's not going to get it done this week here," Stricker says. "So yeah, beyond that, I remember my friends coming up. It was the state high school event here, the state championship. So I remember my family and friends obviously being here. Beyond that, a couple scores that I shot. That's about it. And to win here would mean a lot. I mean it's a major championship first of all. It's right here in our backyard and I've had history on this golf course. So it would be a really cool, really cool spot to win. I'm kind of just enjoying things a little bit more. Back in those days when we were playing at Whistling Straits or Erin Hills, I felt probably more pressure. Now it's kind of like, ok let's just go have fun with this and I've got a different perspective on life and golf lately so it's just, it's just, let's go have fun and see where it goes you know, kind of thing and that's kind of the way I'm playing."
"It's huge," Kelly says. "I mean we always called the GMO. We always called the Am Fam, you know that's our, well out here it's our sixth major apparently. But it's our fifth major type mentality. And now we've got a major in the state. So is it a double major? I don't know. Maybe."
Whether it was the old GMO or the current Am Fam Championship, Stricker and Kelly know Badger fans love their own and the home state heroes.
