AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

March 29, 2023

Jenny Bae

Quick Quotes

Q. Give us an idea what the course conditions were like.

JENNY BAE: I feel like overall it's in good condition. I would say the winds picked up a little bit, but other than that, it was like any other golf course I've played.

Q. Having been out here before, is your experience -- is there a little bit less intimidation coming in?

JENNY BAE: Yeah, I had a lot of confidence this round. I would say more, instead of intimidation or something like that, I would say more of kind of familiarity.

Because I played last year, I felt like I knew what to learn from it, and I practiced the things I needed to do.

Q. Jenny, what would you say was most challenging about today's conditions?

JENNY BAE: I think for me, when I wasn't able to get it on in two, I think the short game and then the layout was a little bit difficult.

Aside from that, I think any other golf course I played is also just as difficult. So I think it was just good.

Q. Coming from the University of Georgia, do you feel at all like this is a home game? Some of these women have traveled across the world to be here.

JENNY BAE: To be honest, not really. To me this is also just as big of a tournament as any other player out here.

Even though I am from University of Georgia, I only feel a bit of pride, I would say, coming from Georgia and being raised in Georgia as well as attending UGA.

Q. You've had a couple days to play with Savannah, who's going to be a future Georgia Bulldog. Have you given her any advice?

JENNY BAE: I wouldn't really say advice. We talked a little bit, and she's really energetic, super positive, and we really need that on our team right now. I know she'll be a great addition.

Q. I have to ask, I heard there may have been an incident with a turtle on 16. Can you talk about that a little bit?

JENNY BAE: No, it's just like one of my personal coaches, he found a really big turtle. I didn't really know what it was. But it was really cute.

Q. Think it might go home with you to school?

JENNY BAE: I think so. A little bit, yeah.

Q. Who is caddieing for you?

JENNY BAE: Josh Brewer. He's the head coach at UGA.

Q. I've seen other women out here with their college coaches. What is it like to have your coach on the bag? Because it's not a school event, I guess you as the player are in charge, right?

JENNY BAE: Yeah, I would prefer Josh having my bag at any time compared to having like a local caddie here just because he knows me and my game and he knows what to do, what not to do.

Because I'm so familiar with him, and we travel -- obviously, he's our head coach -- I just feel really comfortable. Being able to share those decisions is a key influence.

Q. Were there any decisions out there today that he helped you with?

JENNY BAE: I think most of them, yeah. When it comes to yardage work and all that, I just kind of completely give it to him. I just follow whatever he tells me to do.

Q. How about going for it in two on a par-5? Does he weigh in on that?

JENNY BAE: Yes. He tends -- he's kind of like an aggressive player himself. Especially now that I'm a long distance player, he'll be like, just hit a 3-wood, and let's see where it goes. I'm just like, okay.

Q. Do you have the confidence to overrule him sometimes?

JENNY BAE: I do, yes. But I feel like most of the time we kind of -- we work hand in hand, so there's not much of a reason for me to do that.

Q. And do you expect the scoring to be challenging tomorrow? The scores are a little lower than a lot of people expected.

JENNY BAE: Yeah, I definitely think that the scores are going to continue to go lower, but I feel like just tomorrow's mindset is just going to be the same as today. Just take it hole by hole, and everything else is kind of like an external factor and I kind of can't control it.

Q. How do you feel sitting on minus 3 at this point?

JENNY BAE: Feels great. I feel like it's a great start to the three-day tournament that I have, and I'm just going to keep it up.