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KIA CLASSICMarch 27, 2015Morgan PresselCARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA Q. Morgan ties the course record today, 64. Was it a day with everything just going right or was it something in the works that made you feel like a round like this was going to happen? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, it was kind of stress‑free golf out there today, so it was nice. I had a lot opportunities, and still, even with eight birdies, opportunities that I left out there, I missed or lipped out. But I just played really, really solidly out there. I'm happy with the result. Q. Are the greens that much better in the morning versus the afternoon? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think it makes a big difference. I think that they're just poa greens. They can bounce off‑line, and it started to happen a little bit more even as my day went on, as opposed to the front nine, everything was rolling really, really nicely with only a quarter of the field having gone through it. It does make a difference. The afternoon greens are a little bit more challenging, and that's why out here you see definitely better scores in the morning. Q. Is there a different mindset or mental preparation going into the weekend with a good chance to win as opposed to just maybe hoping for a good finish, having barely made the cut? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, it's nice to not have to worry. I've been fighting the cut for a little while, so it's nice to be in a different position heading into tomorrow. I feel comfortable with the way that I'm hitting it, and I've got to keep working on the things that I've been doing and just‑‑ I was really good at staying patient out there, even though I was playing well, not getting too far ahead of myself, and I think I need to do more of that in the next couple days. Q. 8‑under today, Morgan, what an amazing round. Give us a little recap because it had to be some amazing, stress‑free golf, which I just heard you say. MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, it was definitely stress‑free. I hit almost every fairway, and I think I hit 16 or 17 greens and just had a chance for birdie on almost every hole. I think there was only one hole I had a par putt of over two feet, so that was nice. I just hit it where I wanted to hit it today. It's been a while since I've kind of been confident knowing where the golf ball would go, and so it was nice to kind of swing freely out there today and have the result that I did. Q. One of the caddies came off saying, "Pressel had 150 feet of birdie putts today." He just couldn't believe your work on the greens. How critical is putting on this course with such tricky greens? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, definitely. The greens are difficult. They're tough to read, and then they're bumpy, especially later in the day. That kind of puts it all in perspective as to how difficult the greens are out here. But early I made a couple really long putts, and you kind of feel like you're stealing them when they go in. So that was nice, and then later on, I mean‑‑ I was hitting it close, too, so I gave myself a lot of opportunities, and certainly some of them went in, and that was nice. I had one that was like a kick‑in, so that was nice, too. Q. I know you had a busy week kind of early on in the week. Your rep, Callaway, is in the area, did a photo shoot on Monday, they came out on Tuesday. Does a week like that in pre‑tournament kind of take your mind off things? Does that help a little bit? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think‑‑ it was a very busy week. We had a lot of fun with Callaway, so that was pretty cool. But in order to get my practice in, I had to work a little bit harder or longer, I guess, than I normally would have during a tournament week and had a lot of evening functions, as well. So between the two of those, finally Wednesday afternoon I kind of sat down and got my nails done, and that was the first time I could sit down all week because I was just running around all over the place. I like to get my nails done. Q. Now that you mentioned it, let's see the nails. MORGAN PRESSEL: I've got some like purple iridescent, and I know everybody is really interested in that, but‑‑ Q. When you have a round like you did today, it kind of makes you want to come out tomorrow big‑time, right? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, definitely. I'm going to go to the range this afternoon and just kind of keep grooving what I've been working on. I really feel good about the position that my club is in, especially at the top of my swing, which I've been really working hard on, and not swinging too hard at it, which is hard for me to do because I like to jump at the golf ball. Those couple things combined together I think are the reasons why I played so well today and of course made some nice putts. Q. When did you start working on this swing or this part of the swing? MORGAN PRESSEL: Probably I started just before Phoenix, really, so only just like two weeks. I was kind of on my own for a little bit in terms of my swing and just trying to work through things by myself, and then I called my long‑time coach Ron Stockton back into the mix, and I really like what we've been working on. I knew where I needed to get the club, but I was having a lot of trouble actually getting it there, so a couple of hard days with him followed by the week last week and trying to take it out on the golf course kind of helped put it into play for this week. He's here this week, which is great, so I have that checks and balances and make sure that I'm doing everything properly and keeping me‑‑ slowing me down basically. Q. What did the Callaway stuff entail?  What did you guys do? MORGAN PRESSEL: We did a lot of different stuff. We did some tips for Callawaygolf.com, and we did some social media hits, and we did a photo shoot basically with some of the new product and all that different kind of stuff. They had me doing cartwheels across the green. It was a fun day. They have a lot of creativity with their marketing, and I really, really enjoyed the day. I think all the girls did. We had that XR speed competition, too, with five of us, which was a lot of fun. We all get a little competitive out there, so it got a little heated. Q. Are the greens rolling any differently today than yesterday? They seemed to be rolling a little bit quicker? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I thought this morning they were just smoother. We finished at, what, 6:00 yesterday, so they got quite bumpy in the afternoon, and less people had walked on them this morning. I think the greens this year are the best they've ever been in the years we've played here. Even in the afternoon they were still‑‑ I think a couple years in the past, they would have been quite a bit bumpier. This year they look fabulous. Q. Back to Callaway for just a second. They've been very innovative the last couple years; they are ahead of the curve as far as technology goes? MORGAN PRESSEL: Definitely, and I felt that way on Monday working with the team, both in social media and marketing departments. They are right out in the forefront of all of that, and it's fun to be a part of that and for them to push us as LPGA Tour players and ambassadors of the brand, I've been with Callaway now for 10 years. It's an honor to be a part of the team. It's fun for them to use us and to see them promote us, as well. Q. You're going to get the GWAA award in just a couple of weeks. It's evidence of all the work you've done. How much does it mean to be recognized for that and how do you feel about it? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, it's really unbelievable. I was kind of blown away when I found out. I still don't really know what to expect. Really my first trip to Augusta. I haven't written my speech yet, but it's such an incredible list of recipients of that award, so it's just‑‑ it's going to be really neat to go and be a part of the Masters and of course to be recognized‑‑ it's one thing to be recognized for your play on the golf course, but my proudest accomplishment is definitely my foundation and the work that we've done for breast cancer. Q. I was going to ask you about that. You've had to balance that throughout your career. Has it been a good balance? Obviously it's taken time away from golf. MORGAN PRESSEL: I think it's been a good balance. I don't want to say it's the most important thing to me, but it pretty much is. It's something that I work very hard with our team at home. We have such a great support group at St. Andrews Country Club where I live in Boca Raton, and they just have backed me from day one. We've grown it‑‑ we've raised over $4 million in eight years, and it's just‑‑ to think that we've been able to give back to our community is just so cool. It's a cool feeling, and to hear people come to me and say I saw your van on the road or I just went and visited the doctor at the genetic testing center, those things are really neat to hear. Q. It must be nice to know that you're getting out the message to others and women younger than yourself are getting exams and getting the message rather than thinking it can't happen to me, I'm only 21 years old? MORGAN PRESSEL: That's the biggest thing to me in my position is I do have the platform and I'd like to say I have a megaphone where I have travel around the world and kind of share my message and encourage those young women to get screened earlier and to just be proactive really, whether you have a family history or not. You still need to stay on top of it because it's a sneaky disease, and I don't wish it on anybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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