JM EAGLE LA CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 28, 2023

Aditi Ashok

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice round today. I know kind of up and down after that really solid start, but tell me about those three holes, birdie, birdie, eagle from what I saw.

ADITI ASHOK: Yeah, 13 was playing a bit shorter today, so I got close to the front in two, so it was a good up-and-down, I guess. 14 I holed like a 15-footer, but yeah, 15 was really cool. I just holed out with like sand wedge from like 85 yards, so that was pretty cool.

Q. Have you had any hole-outs yet this year?

ADITI ASHOK: No, I haven't actually, no. That was the first one.

Q. What was your reaction when it hit the bottom of the cup?

ADITI ASHOK: Actually me and my dad, we were talking, like going back and forth because it was kind of an in-between number, so we were almost trying to hit the next wedge because there's water short of the green, but I decided to hit that one a little more full, and we got the number exactly right because it landed in the hole, so we're like, okay, maybe it's not a bad number.

Q. Chat a little bit about your management today. I know there's going to be mistakes out here, this is a challenging golf course. You never made worse than bogey, were able to clean those up and get those shots back --

ADITI ASHOK: Yeah, definitely. I think some of the misses here can be really brutal. A couple of the par-3s I missed them on the long side, like left on 18 today, and I basically had no shot. I was basically making up-and-down for bogey. Same on 4, I was I think stuck against the wall of a bunker, so yeah, it was tough to make par from those situations.

I think it's more just focusing on making good swings. I just know I made a couple bad swings, and you drop shots when you do that. Like you said, making no worse than bogey was good.

I still feel like a couple other bogeys on the back nine, which was the front nine for me, that was not really ideal. I feel like I bogeyed 7 with a wedge, which wasn't really -- with wedge you're looking at birdie, so that was a bit of a shot to -- I guess giving away a shot, but apart from that, it was good.

Q. How have you managed on the greens this week? That poa annua always bumps up this time of day. How did you manage that today?

ADITI ASHOK: Yeah, definitely. I think as the day progressed, the greens just got slower, and I didn't really catch on, so I left a few putts short, a couple birdie putts which probably would have gone in, but I left them short. Missed a couple short ones. I think I missed two five-footers today, so just stuff like that. I mean, it happens, especially being one of the last groups. You're playing -- the greens are going to be pretty slow, and a lot of people have walked on these greens and they get a little bumpy sometimes. I think it's part of the challenge. I think it's the same for everybody, so I try not to think about it too much.

Q. How do you trust your lines through that bumpiness? When you get over the five-footers and you've seen them bump it's a little nerve-racking.

ADITI ASHOK: Yeah, it is, but I think the last three weeks I didn't actually putt very good, so I have a new putter this week that's giving me some confidence. I'm just focusing on making a good stroke, and I am kind of hitting my lines most of the time, so yeah, it's just getting the speed right out here.

Q. Got the lead heading into the weekend. What's the mindset looking ahead the next two days? Obviously you found something out there the first two rounds.

ADITI ASHOK: Yeah, I think both the days I made a lot of birdies, and I think it's never enough, but I think five or six birdies around this place is pretty good for a round, but just trying to focus on not dropping as many shots, and especially the par-3s today, I think I bogeyed three par-3s, so maybe just focus on hitting the middle of the green on the par-3s and staying in position.