At 45, Scott Gutschewski registered his best finish on the PGA Tour with the sole fifth at the Barracuda Championship. Excerpts from an interview:
Scott, a good closing birdie and a great week here. How would you assess the week overall here at Barracuda?
Scott Gutschewski: I hit it pretty good this week. I gave myself a lot of chances, stayed out of trouble, took care of most of the par-5s. Just kind of gave myself a lot of chances. Hit it pretty good this week, so can’t complain about that.
Is there any difference in the vibe as you prepare for a week in the Stableford format as opposed to a stroke-play event?
Scott: Yeah, you’re not worried about pulling a Van de Velde on a hole where you just can’t
finish. If it gets out of control you just pick it up. Fortunately I only had to do that once this week yesterday. But I mean, I suppose it kind of — you can’t have that nightmare hole, right.
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What was kind of the inspiration this week? You had missed a few cuts in a row and seemed like results-wise your game was…
Scott: Just feeling healthy again. I mean, I’m old. It’s tough to be out here week after week. I haven’t been playing bad, but it’s not — I’ve been playing okay, but okay is not good enough. I had a good day Monday, saw my chiropractor, went and got some cryo,
went and got a cortisone shot in my toe, so kind of got to feeling a little bit better, and that’s just a big part of trying to be out here and be competitive at 45.
Had that top 200 number been in your mind at all or was it too early to think about that?
Scott: I mean, I try not to worry about numbers anymore. I just kind of try to keep playing. That’s what I tell my kids when things aren’t going great, just keep playing, so just try to do that.
What’s it meant in general just to be out here this year?
Scott: Yeah, it’s been a few years. It’s fun to be out here. Everyone playing professional golf, they want to play here or the British Open, but they want to play a PGA TOUR event. Yeah, that’s what you grew up wanting to do, playing against the best, and just because
I’m older doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it anymore. I’m a little bit more limited because of how old I am, but the dream is still there, and still chasing it, and I’ll chase it as
long as I can.
It might be your best finish on the PGA TOUR. What’s that mean to be able to show your kids and yourself that after a few years on TOUR you’ve had your best finish?
Scott: Oh, I think my kids are probably thrilled because they probably beat me half the time at home. I mean, they give me a ton of support, and it’s fun. They get to come out every once in a while. But they’re busy with their own stuff, so they have their own careers
they’re chasing, high school and college and stuff. Yeah, it’s absolutely — it’s fun. Yeah, I don’t know, I can’t think of the best word to describe it, but yeah, they come out and
follow, they come out and caddie. It’s just kind of a family deal for us.
Does this kind of show that you still have the ability to win on this TOUR or did you kind of know that anyway?
Scott: I mean, you never really know you can win until you actually win, right? I mean, I’ve never thought — I’ve always thought I could be competitive out here. It’s just a matter of getting enough starts and playing well when it’s important. Obviously with the way this year has went, I haven’t probably gotten quite the starts I wanted and haven’t been
100 percent healthy all year. But that just kind of — that’s everybody. Nobody out here feels sorry for you. Everybody is clawing. You just strap them up and work harder.
