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BUICK LPGA SHANGHAI

October 18, 2018

Ryann O'Toole

Shanghai, China

Q. Ryann, super solid round today. What was key for breaking on this golf course for you out there?
RYAN O'TOOLE: Patience. Me and my caddie talked at the beginning and talked about how this golf course can play in many ways. It's long, the greens are big, and end up in a (indiscernible) spot, so stay patient and see what happens.

Q. Absolutely crushed the par-3s today; irons were dead on. That one on 7 was fantastic.
RYAN O'TOOLE: That one felt good. Definitely was one of those that soon as it came off the face, okay, get it the hole.

Q. Now, you work with Jorge Parada. He has quite a stable of supremely athletic players, including yourself. How does he get you to utilize that athleticism on the golf course.
RYAN O'TOOLE: I think Jorge is just great all around. I mean, he mentally gets us to be patient, not get ahead of ourselves, set realistic goals; play within who we are.

I think he's just excellent at learning the player and not trying to make our head... (Plane interference.)

Q. I know you came to get into Shanghai and you're a massive foodie. What are you looking forward to getting out and exploring this weekend?
RYAN O'TOOLE: To be honest, I want to go find (indiscernible) noodles. Like I was to see how it's done and I want to eat it. I think that's how you call it. That and some dumplings.

To be honest, anything that looks really yummy and tastes yummy and is super edible.

Q. What were some of the highlights for you today?
RYAN O'TOOLE: Definitely I think the shot on 7. That was a really good 5-iron, especially to that pin and just that hole. I made a good up and down on the other long par-3, hole in one par-3.

I just stayed patient. Only bogey I made was on the second to last hole. Tough green. I was between two clubs and in the first cut so felt like I could get a flier. I had one earlier. Over that green is dead. Just kind of took lesser of the evil and see what I would do with it.

But for the most part, I think I just stayed patient. Greens get a little bumpy towards the end. Beginning part of the round they were rolling smoother, but it's bermuda grass and traffic, so I think you have to stay patient.

Q. I think you are play better than last year. Any key of this season?
RYAN O'TOOLE: The key has been definitely some growth. I think golf dictates sometimes what's goes on in life. I moved states. A lot of just growing up and life changes. I think sometimes when you get settled into areas, change practice courses, all that, like it takes time for your body to adjust.

Any big change I think is hard for a golfer. I think a lot of times we're so set in our ways that when you throw it off takes time to mold back to what's comfortable. I also think just starting to just work -- key things I've been working on last couple years are starting to really show. Consistency has grown a lot.

I was talking to the amateur in my group and she was just saying, Oh, like you've hit a lot of greens. Ever since switched and started doing Decade Golf that's been really good. I've miss on the correct sides. Managed my club selection. Sometimes you just don't fire at every pin. Oh, it's 180 to the pin. Let's just land it five short every time. It's really analyzing around the green and understanding the whole shot and dispersion effect that you would have, and trying to make sure you're mapping out the course correctly.

Q. Uh-huh. And goal for the rest of the year?
RYAN O'TOOLE: I mean, yeah, set a couple goals. Like monetary, on the Money List goal. See if I can get within the top 30. If I can get better, great. Just little baby ones.

Also if I can get a couple Top 10s out here. Like I said, never are you not going for a win, it's just keep that consistency going. I also think just seeing if I can keep the momentum going. Even if I can get off to a good start since we have four days. I think being in Asia a little different feel.

I tend to wonder if I struggle more because it's no pressure of a cut. How can you put more into to the first couple days and have that grind feeling versus make it regardless? Seems silly to think of it that way, but I think it happens to me.

So I just try to approach this week differently than I did last week. So far so good.

Q. You said that Decade Golf. What's that?
RYAN O'TOOLE: Yeah, so Decade, so the guy that created it basically took the stats of the PGA Tour over a year's period of time. He looked at their shot dispersement. He would look at every event, and within 80 yards to 240, if you take a collection of one player's -- or he just used the whole PGA Tour's players -- like their dispersion from those yardages, so 80, 90, 100, blah, blah, blah, he would see the variance.

So like from 80 yards you got a variance of four yards. So if you have a center point, you have four yards all the way around. Say like 150 yards is seven yards all the way around. So if you have a pin from 150 yards, 140 front, and you have it tucked three yards on the right, you know you're dispersion is seven yards. You can't aim at that pin. You've got to go four yards left.

Now, if you have water on the right you give that another number, so you even shy away even more. So really gets your variance of, okay, like I really can't miss right because there is water over there. Going to add a couple more yards. It seems complicated, but when you start doing it it's super easy. It really takes the thinking out and makes you go, Okay, you know what? I trust in this and it works.

A lot of the times you're not going to hit a -- like my 8-iron goes 153. You're not going to hit it 153 every time. What is my shot dispersion? Yeah, I could probably collect that data over a year's period, but in actuality, from about 150 yards, what are the best players' dispersion?

Q. Interesting.
RYAN O'TOOLE: Really eliminates. This year my greens in regulation has been a lot better. I was top 10 for a while. Last time I checked I was 13th, so I tend to hit a lot of greens. I think that makes for lot less complicated rounds.

Q. When did you start doing that?
RYAN O'TOOLE: Probably one fourth into this year. So I really gave it heart, like I'm going to commit and do it, and it's made a big difference.

Q. Something you think you can really buckle down on in the off-season, too?
RYAN O'TOOLE: I'm super good at it. It's cool. You have an app, and like my caddie inputs my stats. I give him a set of clubs to input my stats. It analyzes your stats as you puts it in and it sends you videos. Hey, watch this. Better your accuracy for par-5s or better your accuracy from the rough or lag putting.

So gives you all these different like drills or ways to think about it. Decade works on target even for driving. So they take -- if the fairway is inside 35 yards width with trouble, kind of tells either you got to lay back of it or short of it. So you can take Google Earth and that will measure from tee box to green. You can do a cone and it will tell you where the center point is in Google Earth.

Then you can get the person view. So bird eye view and our view, and then get a specific target. From the tee you can look and go, Well, it looks like this is it, but if you really get to the center point and go, Okay, there is 20 yards this way, 20 yards that way, I'm safe. Or there is ten yards and you got trees and you're dead. You know, that over there is rough and there is plenty of room.

It really gives you -- I mean, what's a pro's variance with driver? You're not going to ever miss it more than 35 yards one direction really. That would be a huge miss. Gets your dispersion lot more consistent as well.

Q. Said you moved states.
RYAN O'TOOLE: Yeah, I went from California to Arizona. 2016 I moved. So last year was a better year than -- it was kind of like that up and down, but I just think trust in the process. I think Decade really has helped me. I think my clubs, PXGs, the new irons are phenomenal. Like my dispersion is even tighter and I think I'm just in a good place.

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