COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 10, 2024

Roberta Liti

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here are with Robbi Liti after her second round here at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Pretty solid round, all things considered. Tough conditions. What went into today?

ROBERTA LITI: You know, I started the day knowing that conditions were going to be tough and actually they ended up being a little bit better than we anticipated. I just stayed patient and knew the course was going to play tougher than yesterday and I just had to, you know, play one hole at a time. It was going to play tougher than yesterday you're going to hit some bad shots in these conditions, but you just need to stay patient and stay in the present as much as possible.

Q. Second year on the tour. What have you learned about yourself from '23 to '24 and all the experience you have on the Epson Tour as well?

ROBERTA LITI: Yeah, I think it was really important for me to have a transition year last year. I got to play a few tournaments out here and I got to gain a lot of confidence playing well on the Epson Tour, and just understanding what it was like out here. I think it really prepared me to have a full seen out here and just know what I had to do to compete at my best.

So I think it was a great transition year.

Q. You had to make a choice, too. I know you had a little bit of status; not super great status, and were trying to play and see if you got reshuffled. What went into the decision to play a full schedule of Epson when some others might stuck with the LPGA?

ROBERTA LITI: Yeah, it was tough, because as soon as I start getting into events I had to make the decision on what to play, and I felt I didn't really had my shot out here.

But I thought for my first year on tour in order to have the best chance to play well and just keep my card mostly, I had to have a full year and I had to have a shot at playing every event and put every week one week after the other.

I didn't have that opportunity on the LPGA, so I thought playing well on the Epson Tour was going to be the right thing. At the time I made that decision it was probably one third through the season on the Epson Tour, too. It was a little bit of a gamble and it was very relieving to know it paid off at the end of the year.

Q. When you're in positions like today, obviously a lot of golf to be played, but to play this well this season and this event, does it validate that decision for you? Do you ever let yourself reflect or do you focus on what's at hand?

ROBERTA LITI: You know, I think, again, the most important thing for me is to just go into the season knowing that I have a lot of opportunities and that I don't have one shot.

I think I had a lot of pressure like last year to compete well -- play well in the few tournaments I had.

I think my heart is in a better place and more at peace knowing I get a shot every week. Some weeks are going to be better than others.

And I love this course. I Monday qualified into this event last year. So I have good memories from this place. So I'm just excited to play the weekend.

Q. When the conditions are this difficult, obviously had some birdies on the card, few bogeys because that's going to happen, how do you maintain your patience level and give yourself some grace?

ROBERTA LITI: Yeah, you know, it's tough because, again, you have to have a lot of patience and you truly have to stay in the present and to allow yourself to make mistakes. You start the day knowing that some shots are not going to be that good because it's raining, because your hands are wet and it's cold.

I think going into this day with the mindset just allow myself to make mistakes truly allowed me to stay patient until the last hole.

Q. Near the top of the leaderboard. Probably inside Top 10, Top 15 at the end of the day. What's the mindset heading into the weekend with this kind of opportunity knocking on your door?

ROBERTA LITI: I think tomorrow is the first day of the tournament again. I went into today with the same mentality that it was the first day again. I tend to fall too much into it's day one, day two, the weekend, the cut. So I think my main focus this week is to truly play every day as it's the first.