Q&A with Illinois golf legend Steve Stricker
URBANA - Illinois legend Steve Stricker, ranked No. 8 in the world golf rankings, was in town this week for the annual Steve Stricker Golf Outing, which benefits the Illini golf program. He hosted a reception at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium Sunday night and gave a 30-minute clinic to the players at Stone Creek Golf Club on Monday. Stricker took a few minutes to answer the media's questions, which ranged from his pride in Illini golf to the upcoming Ryder Cup. Here is a transcript of the interview.
Q: What is your mindset going into the Ryder Cup? SS: I'm very excited. Obviously it's a great honor to be picked for that team. I've got a week off. I have four or five days where I can get away a couple of days without playing and then get back working hard trying to get ready for next week. I'll probably sneak down to Valhalla later this week and get a lay of the land and take a look at the course. I'm very much looking forward to next week.
Q: With this being your first Ryder Cup and with United States not faring well of late, any extra pressure? SS: It is just another golf event, but it's on a bigger stage. I figured if I can get my game ready and feel good about it, that will alleviate some of the pressure. That's what I want to try to do. When we get there and feel the hype with all of big crowd, it will tough, but it should be a lot of fun at the same time.
Q: How special is it for you to come back and be part of this golf outing, especially with the way this program has evolved?
SS: I'm giving back in a small way. I'm taking a day and a half out of my year to help out a good friend of mine, Mike Small. To come back and just to relive some of the great memories we had here as a team, is neat. It continues to be a big part of who I am. I get to see a lot of familiar faces and helps Mike out in a big way. To see the kids and put a face with a name is also a lot of fun?
Q: Do you keep tabs on the success of the program? SS: I do. I talk to Mike probably two or three times a month and find out how the season is going and how the kids are playing. We caught up yesterday a little bit. He told me about the qualifying and how that shaped up. I'm very much interested in how they perform.
Q: Does this team remind you of the 'hey day' when you and Coach Small were playing together? SS: It does. We keep living it. I guess the nice part is we keep that alive. Smally's doing a great job here. I couldn't be happier for him. He's a hometown boy basically. He has a young team and the future looks promising. To be able to help out in a small way is very rewarding?
Q: What is your schedule like after the Ryder Cup? SS: I'll be playing the Tour Championship the week after and packing it in the rest of the year. I'm very much looking forward to that. It's a long year and the ending is long. We play a lot of weeks in a row and there are a lot of pressure events. You want to play well in the playoffs, then the Ryder Cup. To end it with the Tour Championship is a bonus. It shows what kind of year you've had. After that I'll be able to set the clubs aside for a couple of months and get back at it in December.