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MANULIFE LPGA CLASSIC

June 9, 2017

Alena Sharp

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Q. 12-under. What was working for you today?
ALENA SHARP: I felt good starting the day. I got up and had a nice little run. Just got the nervous energy out. Had a good warmup and just felt -- I don't know. This week has been different. I just walked up to the golf course yesterday and today just feeling like it was going to be a good day. Just had these good vibes coming out.

I struck it really well today. I had a lot good chances. I played better today than yesterday and rolled my putter really well.

Q. You think playing your home country has anything to do with that?
ALENA SHARP: Sometimes it's tougher to play at home. I always seem to play well at this tournament. I think having knowledge of the course helps, too. I'm striking it well, so...

I think I can read these greens pretty well. I feel comfortable on them. That's very helpful.

Q. I heard you had to put a call out to the gallery for some ibuprofen. What was that?
ALENA SHARP: I just had a headache. Probably dehydration. It was on No. 11. It's gone now, so just need to drink more water, I guess.

Q. You picked up a double bogey on the front somewhere. There was a rule infraction.
ALENA SHARP: I had to call the rules official, because when I addressed my chip shot on 3 the ball moved. I mean, I don't think I completely grounded my club, but the way the rule reads, like my -- I was going to ground my club and the ball moved, so he said that because it wasn't sitting up on top of the grass it was probably likely that I caused it to move.

Just a funny rule, but it's the rules of golf and I didn't want it just let that go. I needed to call it on myself, because I was going to be thinking about it all day. I thought I did the right thing. Went out and birdied the next hole and really just forgot about it. Just kept playing the way I was.

I'm not going to look back at that at the end of this tournament and say, Oh, I shouldn't have gotten that penalty. It happens. The rough is thick out here and my ball ran against the collar. I think if I would've grounded my club I probably would've moved it just the way it was sitting. It ran up and got stuck in the collar, so...

Unless I hover the club, but how do you know?

Q. You called it on yourself basically.
ALENA SHARP: Yeah. Moved like two dimples, but it moved. I'm totally all about the rules and etiquette and would never want to not -- I just would never not call it on myself when the ball moves like that.

Q. How proud are you of yourself for putting that right behind you immediately and moving on?
ALENA SHARP: Yeah, I mean, I have done a lot of mental work over the last three years, so I'm glad it paid off today. I am proud of myself, because I birdied the next hole and could have birdied 5, also.

By the time I walked off No.4 green I wasn't thinking about it anymore.

Q. Was it two strokes?
ALENA SHARP: It was one stroke, and then I went to go hit the shot and I was worried it was going to move because I put it back to the spot that it was in. Kind of just took a quick chop at it and didn't hit a good chip so I missed the putt and made double.

Q. I haven't seen that instance. Was your club just above it?
ALENA SHARP: My ball was really into the collar. The rough is thick here so I had to like hit almost like a chop bunker shot to hit it out.

I was practicing it next to it just trying to feel what kind of shot I had to hit. When I went to go put my club down the ball just kind of -- two dimples to the right it moved.

It was going to be a tricky shot anyway. I had to move it back and I'm like, Oh, if this moves again this is going to be awful. I wasn't really focused on what I should have been doing. I was worried about the ball moving.

Q. So you did ground it on the practice stroke, but not on the actual stroke?
ALENA SHARP: Well, I was going to ground it and it moved.

Q. I see.
ALENA SHARP: He said that more than likely my actions that made it move, so that's why I got to the stroke.

Q. You on top of the leaderboard going into the weekend. Got to put a smile on your face. What are your thoughts going into tomorrow?
ALENA SHARP: Well, pretty sure I need to do probably about another six each day to have chance at winning. The golf course is in such great shape. Wind isn't really a huge factor. Greens are rolling so true. They're pure, so you got to make putts.

We have ball-in-hand because of the verticut fairways. You have a good lie all the time when you're in the fairway, so that's also helpful.

Got to go low.

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