KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2021

Alena Sharp

Atlanta Athletic Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Alena Sharp who sits at 7-under after a second-round 68. You had three birdies in a row on your back nine, which is the front nine there on 4, 5 and 6. Can you walk us through those holes?

ALENA SHARP: Yeah, so on No. 4, the pin was kind of tucked by the water so I just played safe to the right and I had about 35 feet, and I rolled it in. Had perfect speed and went dead center, so that was nice.

Then on the next hole, it was a par-5. Went for it in two, chipped it to like eight feet and made the putt.

And then 6, hit a 3-wood on the green and two-putted for birdie. It was nice to get those coming in. Stayed patient all day.

Q. You mentioned yesterday sometimes felt the anxiety coming up and had to talk to Sarah, had to go through your exercises. How was today out there for you?

ALENA SHARP: Definitely was amped up to start. Just not being in this position in a long time and not seeing off until 2:00, that didn't help. But I ran this morning and got a good night's sleep. My Whoop was in the green, so that's always a good thing.

Just talked a lot to Sarah out there. I made a birdie early, and that kind of calmed me down a little bit, so that was helpful.

Q. What's it like having the fans back out there? It seems to be a good feeling for everybody.

ALENA SHARP: I love it. There's a bunch of fans, a couple groups in front of us, so you could hear the roar. It's a nice sound. It's nice to be somewhat getting back to normal.

Q. Were you watching the leaderboards? Did you know where you were in relation to the leaders during your round?

ALENA SHARP: At the start I saw that there were some low scores, but that wasn't my main focus. I just was just trying to be present on that first nine just to get through because I was really amped up. Then on the back side when I made three in a row, I saw where I was. I did glance at it, but it didn't change anything that I was doing out there.

Q. You're going to be in one of the final groups, one of the final two groups on Saturday at a major; how does that feel?

ALENA SHARP: Well, I mean, all the hard work I've been doing is paying off, so I'm looking forward to it.

I think this is where everybody wants to be, so just take it in stride and stay present and enjoy it.

Q. Just following up on my first question that Christina asked, specifically I was wondering if you saw sort of what Nelly was shooting today, 63 or what Celine was shooting, 64. To know that the golf course was gettable, did that play a role in your approach today?

ALENA SHARP: Honestly, no. Nelly is playing really well right now, and I saw Celine shot 8-under, and I was like, wow, that's a really good score. I think I was on 6 green and I saw Nelly shot 9-under, and I was like, wow, that's great playing. I just did my own thing because I just have to stay on my own path. I didn't really let it affect me too much.