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KINGSMILL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY JTBC

May 20, 2016

Ryann O'Toole

Williamsburg, Virginia

RYANN O'TOOLE: I had a bad lie in the bunker, then I hit it in the rough and it was buried and I had to hack out of there, and I just felt like after I walked off that green, I go, well, that ended up quickly.

But stayed patient, and I was striking it well the next few holes, and putts started dropping. Then the eagle was kind of a momentum changer. I just played from there. I think out here, fairways and greens and kind of keep it simple and keep it consistent, I think. If you can keep it out of the rough, it helps.

Q. You started rough today but rebounded. How big were those four holes for you?
RYANN O'TOOLE: They were big, definitely. I mean, I got back to even, so it wasn't like -- I didn't shoot myself out of it or anything, but it was kind of like, oh, good morning. But I think those four holes were good momentum turners. I had been knocking at the door the holes prior to that. I just was waiting for putts to drop. I think yesterday was a bogey-free round. I only made two birdies, but I was just waiting. You have to get the correct speeds out here. If you hit it too firm, then you blow your lines. If you hit it too soft, it kind of tails off early. I think it's just really committing to the speed you want and going from there.

Q. When you have a rough start like you did on the first hole today, how do you kind of get away from that?
RYANN O'TOOLE: Well, it's one hole out of how many we're playing, and so, you know, someone once said, if you were going to take your round and draw it out of a hat randomly and had no idea, they all are going to add up the same, you just don't know the order they're going to come in. I remember saying to my caddie, well, if we're going to bogey the first to holes, I guess it's better to double the first one instead and try to birdie the next. I go, you've always got to look at the positives. It's golf. I think I've learned the most that you're going to have your ups and downs, but staying in the moment has been the best thing for me.

Q. You had a good finish in your last tournament. Were you able to carry it over?
RYANN O'TOOLE: I just think it's where my game is at right now. It's consistent, and I can trust that it's there and that I may have a bad hole or a bad swing, but it doesn't mean that that's going to dictate the rest of the round. So really, it's just been something that I've noticed, the more I can stay in the moment, the more I can just settle into the round. Usually my objective is to kind of take the first three holes pretty non-aggressive and mellow and just allow myself to settle into that round and allow myself to get comfortable. Sometimes you're going to birdie the first hole, sometimes you're going to double it. You don't know.

Q. You mentioned staying in the moment, but is there anything you're doing on the course to kind of help you stay in the moment, or is it just something that has evolved?
RYANN O'TOOLE: Well, I think just practice, like anything, like a swing or your putting. You have to practice a mind game, too, and you have to train yourself. I think you have to call yourself off a shot when it doesn't feel comfortable. You have to remind yourself, hey, bring it back to what's present now. You can't think about what's coming. You have to just think about where you want to hit this and commit to that. I think the better you get at that, then the better it is.

Q. Can you take me through that 18th hole and your thought when you were especially in the rough there and trying to get it back on the green?
RYANN O'TOOLE: You know, I hit a really good 9-iron. I actually hit it further -- I hit it six yards further than I usually do, so it came out hot, and really just got to take it for what it is. I thought I hit a great chip shot out, and I just missed the putt. I might have hammered it through the break I took. I thought it was going to break a little bit more, but oops. There's 36 more holes. Just kind of taking a break now, I can't really get mad now, and stopping on a bogey is what it is.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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