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U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN

May 18, 2019

Trish Johnson

Southern Pines, North Carolina

Q. Your goal was to get to level par by tomorrow; you got there a day early.
TRISH JOHNSON: Yeah, it was scorable today. I played very well, hit an awful lot of shots close. I think all my seven birdies were probably within four, five feet, so that was nice. A couple of errors, but to be honest, it's so hot out there. I think they're mental errors, and you've just got to accept you're going to do that because it's boiling. You know, it's quite slow and you're waiting a lot, and I'd defy anybody not to make a few sort of just simple mental errors. I certainly did that on 15. I had 78 yards to the flag and I actually hit about 178 (laughing). But holed a really good putt after that to make bogey because I had to play it again from where I was and then made a really good birdie at 17. That was an 8-iron to about a foot.

Yeah, as disappointed as I was yesterday with the way I finished, I suppose I'm really chuffed that that round has got me back in the thick of things. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and a lot of people still involved, but at least I've given myself a chance.

Q. Has your approach changed at all?
TRISH JOHNSON: I think probably I was a little bit tense the first two days really, really trying too hard. Playing with Juli and Danielle, as well, has its own sort of pressures. I sort of almost played my way out of it yesterday. So today it was just a bit of a -- I don't know, just go and play golf and see what happens, and I got off to an absolute flier. I eagled the first and birdied the second. Within half an hour I'm back involved again. Then you get a little bit excited and you think, hang on, I've been here before.

But no, I played well. I played sensibly. There are just a few holes that I don't like. I'm not going to mention which ones they are, but if you look at my scorecard, it's pretty obvious. They're not difficult, it's just for some reason I just can't see a way to play them even though they're quite short.

Yeah, I think I was just a bit more relaxed to be honest. Definitely putting. Putting was -- I don't want to say it was awful for two days. It was awful, but it was really good on the putting green, and I couldn't figure out the difference between why I was putting so well on the putting green and just dreadful on the golf course. And it's just about flow. I mean, it's just -- the greens are really quick for me. I think they are for everyone, but they're not my favorite sort of pace, and if you let them get -- if you just don't concentrate on -- you can knock one 10-foot past, and then I got really tentative. So all I did when I came in yesterday was I just hit a lot of putts with my eyes closed and it pretty much makes the putter go back the way it's supposed to go back because you're not physically doing it, and I just thought, right, I can't putt like that again. So it's almost as though the putter head is going back first. So in my practice, I just changed my practice routine a bit and have a practice stroke by the side of the ball with my eyes closed which very much made it sort of reactionary and then just tried to do exactly the same thing as I stood over it.

I missed a couple of short ones, but you're going to. These greens are not easy.

Q. Would it be cool for England to take this trophy home two years in a row?
TRISH JOHNSON: That's a long way ahead. You can't think that far ahead. The answer would be yes. It would be incredibly cool. But no, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'm just going to -- I know it's a bit of a clichÃ©, but I think probably tomorrow if I can shoot under par -- all I tried to do today was play sort of six games of three holes where you've got to shoot under par to win a game. So the first three holes, if you're 1-under, you win it, and I think I won four and maybe lost one so that's pretty good. If I can do that again tomorrow -- you know, different pressure tomorrow because obviously I'm in with a chance of winning, whereas I was kind of out of it really today. So hopefully I get a good night's sleep, hope for the best, and hope it's not this hot tomorrow.

Q. Talk a little bit more about your quick start, some of the key shots that you hit that set that up for you.
TRISH JOHNSON: Well, I hit a good drive up the first and I think I had 212 front, maybe 220-odd to the pin and knocked it to three feet, so pretty straightforward. And then the second, I hit a little 50-degree to three feet. So it wasn't -- they weren't difficult eagles or birdies, but unbelievable start really. I dropped two coming in last night and stood here and was totally miserable, and then within half an hour, I've got them back, and kind of got more than them back. I mean, this game is nuts. You just never know what -- that's why you just can't give up.

And the heat does take its toll. I don't know how hot it is out there today. Does anyone know what -- 94? That's quite warm. I was just looking at home, and it's 60 degrees and raining. I'm going to make the most of the weather. But it is mentally quite draining because we're not youngsters anymore, so it's hard work.

But I enjoyed it, obviously enjoyed playing. Everybody enjoys playing really well, and today I played well.

Q. How big was the putt at 15 after that --
TRISH JOHNSON: Yeah, it was. I was quite excited when that one went in. I didn't get that excited, but that was a big -- such a bloody awful shot in. I mean, God, I had 78 yards. I'm looking to get to 7 for the day. It's the easiest shot you'll ever have in your life, and I played it like I'm a 28-handicapper, and then had to go back and play it again. I didn't play that a lot better, but it was a big putt because it was a breaking putt, and yeah, it's not really one you expect to hole, and instead of coming off being really deflated I came off almost elated that I'd made that. So yeah, it was huge.

Q. How many tournaments are you playing a year now?
TRISH JOHNSON: Well, I play as many European Tour events as there is really that I can get in. It'll probably be 10 over there and maybe three, four Legends events. So probably about 14. But I would play -- I'd happily play 20, 25 if I could.

Q. How much of a competitive edge does that give you when you come into an Open environment like this?
TRISH JOHNSON: I'm sure it's -- the likes of myself, Laura, Juli who are still playing pretty much full time, of course it has to help, especially on a golf course like this, because it's a beauty. I played here in '96, I don't remember -- I don't know if I'd have come back if I'd remembered it. The greens are something else, they really are. So of course it helps. But then you've got your own sort of pressure, as well, because I think people kind of expect one of us to win it, and if you don't -- and we do probably, so that's a different pressure again. Make no mistake, the likes of Alfie, she's a great player. I play with her down at -- I'm going to stay with her in February at Bay Hill and play with her, and she beats me every time. She'll always shoot 5- or 6-under. Whether she can transform that into tournament golf, sometimes she can't, but clearly she is. So don't think that there's only a few people -- there's a lot of people that are capable of winning, but who knows who it's going to be in the end.

Q. You were swinging so well. Were you thinking of anything at all in your swing?
TRISH JOHNSON: Just trying to have one thought, that's the thing. Yeah, I was. I can't even remember what it was, but that's the thing, just have one. The trouble starts when you have one and then maybe you think, ooh, hang on, I've got another one. I'm just trying to keep the club face what I feel is a lot more closed on the backswing because it keeps me whipping the club inside. If the club is closed or I feel it's closed, it's almost impossible to get it behind you, and that's what I do, I get it behind me and then I bring it back this way. It's just a really strong feeling. So basically feeling like the club face is, yeah, shut the whole time. It isn't, but it feels like it.

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