U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 4, 2021

Sarah Burnham

The Olympic Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Sarah Burnham, great round. The low round of the tournament so far; back to even par for the championship. That's got to be exciting for you.

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, super exciting. I didn't have many birdies yesterday, I only had one, so I was able to make a lot today and make up for yesterday's round.

So it felt great.

Q. Were these long putts or did you hit them close?

SARAH BURNHAM: I hit them close. I think I hit them close. Yeah, I don't know if I made any super long putts today. All within like 12 feet I would say.

Q. And you birdied several of the hard ones, 2, 6, 14 some of the tougher golf holes out here.

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, I mean, I stuck it really close on 2. I kind of pushed it out to the right, but like the wind was blowing left so it curved in there pretty nice.

Q. Nice. You were out early. What are players going to expect today out there? You an expert at the golf course now?

SARAH BURNHAM: I think the wind is going to pick up, but, I mean, overall if you're in the fairway you can have definitely shots at the green, but you have to just hit the center of the greens. I mean, that's key.

If you're in the rough, I mean, it's just how do you make it into a bogey or par potentially instead of making big numbers.

Q. The hole locations looked reasonable today. Did you find that is the case?

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, there is a few out there that were tougher, but I thought they were pretty reasonable, and maybe you'll see some more low scores today.

Q. Sarah, it's your second U.S. Women's Open, your second one since 2015. What has this experience been like for you going into this week?

SARAH BURNHAM: It's been great. I was a little nervous yesterday. It's only my second U.S. Open and it was six years ago since my last one, but my game has definitely grown.

It's my third year on the LPGA Tour now, so I have a lot more experience. You know, I was right on the cut line to start out the day and I kind of was just like I'm just going to get after it and give it all I could, and I didn't leave any shots out there, so I was really happy with my round.

Q. You qualified for this event. You were the medalist to get into this event. What was that experience like for you and how much was it worth it to get to where you are right now?

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, so my dad caddied for me in the qualifier, and it was about 45 minutes from my hometown, so it was kind of like a local event and stuff. It was cool to be back home.

And yeah, 36 holes is a grind in one day, so you just have to be patient and know it's a marathon. I was happy to pull it off there and then play great today, as well.

Q. You mentioned it earlier, but you said it was your second one, your first one since 2015. How much do you think you've grown as a player looking over the last couple of years to be on this stage?

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, I've grown a ton. Like my experience is I think what's helped me grow overall. I was a freshman in college and now I'm 25. Just like even going through college and getting better there has helped tremendously get me to where I am today.

Q. Yesterday you come out plus 5. I feel like it's always frustrating, but it's a U.S. Women's Open, you know it's going to be challenging. What did you learn about your game yesterday that you really think you improved on going into today?

SARAH BURNHAM: I hit a lot more greens. I struggled yesterday to start out with. I didn't hit many fairways, so it was tough to hit the greens. If you're even in the first cut, you can almost have such a bad lie that you are not getting to the green.

So I just really focused in on hitting fairways, and then when I was there to that point, hitting the green. That's kind of just what I did, was just hit the green and hopefully it'll get close or maybe a putt will drop.

Q. What does it mean for you to be with your parents here watching over you, but also to be doing so well at one of the most prestigious major championships of the year?

SARAH BURNHAM: Yeah, it means a lot. I never thought I would shoot 5-under at a U.S. Open, and so far I guess it's the lowest round. It feels great because last night I was just like talking to my boyfriend and he was just telling me, Don't leave any shots out there, just give it all you have, and that's exactly what I did today.