DOW GREAT LAKES BAY INVITATIONAL

July 13, 2022

Pauline Roussin

Dewi Weber

Midland Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Dewi Weber and Pauline Roussin. Did I say that right? Dewi, is there a team name for the two of you that I missed?

DEWI WEBER: We're Team French Fry and Apple Pie.

Q. I love that.

DEWI WEBER: You're welcome.

Q. Now to take a look at the round today. Pauline, a bogey-free round in alternate shot format is mighty impressive. What was going so right out there for you two?

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I think we made some pretty solid putts off the first couple of holes. Kept the momentum going.

Definitely nice to make a couple of seven-meter putts either for birdie or par. Then, I mean, I think we played very steady. It was just if we were missing shots, it was on the right side of the green or just with normal or at least easy chip shots.

Once we are on the dance floor I think it's -- I mean, we call the greens the dance floor, so we're aiming to be on the dance floor and then dance, I guess.

Yeah, it was just, how do you say that? Just steady golf or just like...

DEWI WEBER: Yeah, it was super consistent.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Didn't really think about it, I guess. We were doing our job every single shot and didn't overthink it, I think.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah, I would agree.

Q. You both are making your debut in this team format. What was the preparation like as you got ready for the foursome format?

DEWI WEBER: Honestly, it was so similar to a normal tournament because I feel like -- like I haven't known Pauline for that long so I don't know that much about her game. I know she's a solid player, obviously, but I'm not going to beat her and like micromanage her because I know how she plays.

I fully trust -- or I have full trust in how she plays, and I think she has pretty well trust in how I play.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Yeah.

DEWI WEBER: We were both, like, hey, call me if you need me, but I trust what you're doing and the decisions you are making are going to be sound. That's how we played.

I think, honestly, the texting back and forth leading up to this tournament was more about our walk-up song than anything else. (Laughing).

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Yeah.

DEWI WEBER: Besides that, it's a lot of trust.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I trusted her process with her caddie, and that's why I'm not -- we're just on the side. We're just trying to keep it as very normal, like it was just a regular tournament, regular shots and not -- almost imagine that you've hit the previous one basically.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: The only question I might have asked her is like something like is there anything that you don't like to talk about on the course, because obviously you don't want to really mess that up.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I prefer to use the same questions I use to ask when I was back in the French team for the European Team Championship where we actually have lots of foursomes. Then it was just pretty similar to just normal golf.

Q. You kind of just took my next question from me, Pauline. You both have some impressive team experience from your amateur days. When is the last time you remember playing foursomes?

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I played last year. Just last year foursomes at the European Team Championship. Yeah, it was -- I mean, I've been playing the European Team Championship eight times, so I've had some experience in foursomes. I use it a little bit.

Q. When you have a team like this, you're trying to pull together. Sometimes it's the golf; sometimes it's the friendship; sometimes it's just the personalities. What gelled between you two to know that you would make a good team?

DEWI WEBER: If I'm being super honest, I think neither one of us really planned on playing this event at the beginning of the year.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: No.

DEWI WEBER: I was supposed to play an LET event in the Netherlands.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I was supposed to go home.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah, and then this came up, and we both last minute happened to be looking for a partner. I knew her game a little bit. I knew she was quite fun to be around, so I just texted her and said, hey, I heard you're looking for a partner, and that was kind of the end of it, to be honest.

Q. In hindsight now, what did click?

PAULINE ROUSSIN: What?

DEWI WEBER: I think going back to that trust. I think -- not saying that doesn't come naturally for everyone, but being able to be pretty chill and just being, like, okay, that's the shot. I just have to go there.

That is something that we both do quite well. We're not putting pressure on each other or anything. It's just like I kind of just let you do your thing and I trust that it will all work out.

I think sometimes in a way in a format like this, quite freeing, because if I hit a shot a certain way and it ends up there I might be really upset at myself, but I don't get upset at her because I know she's not doing it on purpose.

I think she feels the same way. One of the first things she said to me when we were playing a practice round is, I don't want to hear a story or I don't want to hear you apologizing for any of this. I know you're doing your best, and that's kind of all we can do.

I think sometimes for myself, if I'm playing just with myself, I guess, I don't give myself that forgiveness that I know she's going to give me and she knows that I'm going to give her. I think that's quite nice.

It was quite freeing, honestly, for a format that can be very unexpected.

Q. Will the strategy at all change as the format changes?

DEWI WEBER: No, I don't think so, because I'm still going to be doing my thing and she's still going to be doing her thing.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I would say the only thing that changes in terms of strategy are on par-5s. I'm going to ask her on the third shot -- well, I'm going to hit the second shot, for instance, and then I'm just going to go, like, is there a shot that you want in particular? Are you fine if I go for it and you might end up with a 20-yard shot with a lob shot over the bunker, or do you want a full shot?

She knows I want full shots and I know she doesn't mind having 30-yard shots. That's one thing that we may have changed, but it was very similar, I guess, to what we're used to do.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah.

Q. Then just a few more from me just to take a look into the round. This is for either of you, but that birdiefest from 10, I think it was 12, 13, 14. What was going so right there, and who was making some of those shots? Who was making the approaches? Who was making the putts?

PAULINE ROUSSIN: First hole I made the 6-meter putt, and then on 12 you went probably, like, three feet from the hole on the par-3.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah. 12 was reachable today so she had a drive that like -- no, but like she had a really good drive. We're on the green. We had a long putt, but like it's a two-putt birdie. That's nice.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Yeah, I was talking about 13 where she hit her approach shot on the par-3 like three feet. I holed out the putt from outside the green on 14. On 14?

DEWI WEBER: Yeah. We were on a nice little streak. That was nice.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Yeah, some good putts.

Q. Before I wrap it up, what does it mean to you both to be leading an LPGA event after your first round here at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational?

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I didn't really think about it. Did you?

DEWI WEBER: What does it mean? It's the first round. We have three more to go. I think we're just going to keep doing what we've been doing. I don't feel any type of way about it, to be honest. It's fun to see your name up there, but that's where my feeling ends.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: I totally agree with you. Especially since it's foursome today, and we know it's four-ball tomorrow. It's one day at a time, I would say, and there is lots of positive to take from today, but we don't really, I guess, look at the ranking.

DEWI WEBER: No.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: The ranking won't affect how we're going to play the next couple of days. That's for sure. We're just going to do our little thing.

DEWI WEBER: Yeah, exactly.

Q. Perfect. Well, congrats to you both. Best of luck tomorrow.

DEWI WEBER: Thank you.

PAULINE ROUSSIN: Thank you.