MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 17, 2021

Lauren Stephenson

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you describe the round?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: On the first nine it felt like my ball had like a magnet to the hole. It was like I couldn't miss.

I made probably a 35-footer on one of the par-3s, which is super abnormal for me. But just felt like everything was kind of going my way, so I took advantage of that today.

Q. Couple months ago you took a putter from a host family and you obviously found some great success with it. How do you feel like that added addition to your bag has impacted your game?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: I felt like before that was the only piece missing. I just couldn't get the ball in the hole fast enough. With this new putter I found a new confidence I guess. Super comfortable on the greens, had no three-putts today, so felt like I was rolling it good.

Q. Awesome, Lauren, a 7-under 65 in round one of the 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. You had it rolling. You said you felt like the ball was a magnet to the hole on the front nine. Take us through that hot start and what it was like to shoot that 30.

LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah, you know, I started the first hole with a birdie, so that's always a good feeling. I made like a 15-footer so it was like, Putter might feel good today.

But, yeah, then I made a short one on the second hole, and then my fourth hole I made like a 35-footer. That's pretty abnormal for me, so it's like, This might be a good day.

But, yeah, I just kind of kept the momentum going. I felt like I took advantage of all the scorable holes. I think I was 5-under on the par-5s, so that's always the goal.

Q. You made the turn and the only blemish on the scorecard was at No. 1, your 10th hole. What did you say to yourself to rebound so quickly?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: I mean, I was pretty mad because I was playing so well. But I actually had a nice up and down for bogey and kind of like avoided double, so I was like, Just brush it off. There are plenty of birdie holes left, so I didn't want to let one bad hole kill the rest of my round.

Q. When you get so many birdies on the front nine, I know say it's going to a good day, but does that ease a lot of the pressure in that second half of your round where you know you don't have to be absolutely perfect?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah, I think actually sometimes it puts more pressure on you because you know this course is so scorable. You're like, Oh, I could shoot 8- or 10-under because you know you're playing well.

I think that's what happened to me on my 10th hole. Made a bogey and I was just kind of trying to be too aggressive. So then after that just kind of regrouped, tried to get more pars, and then let the birdies come to me.

Q. This course has routinely turned in scores of 8-, 9-, 10-under, so to get off to such a strong start, how important is that to you?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah, it's definitely important. I think more of the scorable holes are on the back nine for some reason. There are a few hard holes coming in on the front nine, so to start off super well I knew that was key for me.

Then I had to ease my way around the back nine and take advantage of the par-5s, so that's kind of what I did.

Q. Obviously golf is a sport where it can change day-to-day. What does this do for the confidence for the next three days?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah it's great. I felt really tired at the end of last week. I didn't have my best finish on the weekend, so I was kind of disappointed with that.

But I took it and realized I needed to rest and recover, so I didn't really practice too much this week and tried to just have fun today. I laughed on one hole because I was like, I haven't even hit out of a bunker yet.

But sometimes I feel like you just have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. This is my fifth week, so tried to make sure I was recovered is rested and enjoy the week.

I love this golf course, so I feel like starting off today I have confidence for the rest of the weekend.

Q. And you mentioned the golf course. What's it like, I know you played a practice round, but this is the first year they did a bunch of renovations. How different is the course from a competition perspective?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: Yeah, it's really not too different. I think you just have to think your way a little bit more around the course. Like they've added some bunkers, so off 18 I hit 3-wood off the tee even though like it's still a reachable par-5. I just wanted to make sure I was in the fairway because they added that new bunker.

So I feel like all the changes have been good. It just makes you think a little bit more.

Q. How confident are you with your putter right now?

LAUREN STEPHENSON: I feel really good. I feel good in like all of my game. I'm starting to feel super comfortable out here and I know that every week I should be competing at the top. So I'm getting more comfortable in that. This is almost my third year, so trying to start trending more to the top is the goal.