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ANA INSPIRATION

April 5, 2019

Katherine Kirk

Rancho Mirage, California

Q. Sum up your day for us.
KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, really great front nine, and then back nine got a little bit tougher. Obviously finishing bogey, bogey is a bit disappointing, but I'm happy with the score. Lots of positives, so looking forward to the weekend.

Q. When you speak to tougher conditions on the back, are you talking also about the winds coming up, too?
KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, winds picked up probably for us on about maybe 16. That had something to do with my bogey on 17. Yeah, we had wind when we finished yesterday afternoon, so might be a tad stronger right now, but this golf course is all about being patient and kind of picking and choosing your spots to be conservative, be aggressive.

The wind maybe changed that a little bit, but there are some hole locations out there today you just can't go at anyway. Yeah, I think you'll still see some okay scores, but maybe not quite as good as this morning.

Q. With how calm it was this morning, did you make a conscious effort to be more aggressive when the wind was up?
KATHERINE KIRK: No, not really. I've kind of just have a game plan in mind where I want to hit the ball off the tee, where I want to leave it on the greens.

Yeah, wind didn't change really any part of that until maybe 16, 17. But, yeah, we're used to wind. We're used to all the elements. Just part of the job.

Q. You played so strongly for 16 holes and then you had the two hiccups. What do you take away from this?
KATHERINE KIRK: Lots of positives. Yeah, I guess the first 16 holes were pretty textbook. I'm happy with the way I'm swinging it. Made probably a club error on 17, but that's part of golf. 18 was a bad swing off the tee and got unlucky on top of it. Didn't really have much of a second shot.

Again, that's golf. Sometimes you get a break and sometimes you don't. Yeah, really happy with the score. Lots of positives. Just going to focus on that.

Q. (Regarding swing difficulties.) Where are you now?
KATHERINE KIRK: I think my best golf is still ahead of me, which is nice to say at 37. I guess all the experience too that I have had. I can use to that my advantage, or at least try to use it to my advantage.

Yeah, eye I'm and still enjoying it. I still feel competitive. I haven't put any pressure on myself in terms of how many years more I'm going to do this. Just want to keep getting better. I feel like I'm doing that and I can I feel like I can still compete.

Q. I think '15 and '16 were the years that you struggled the most.
KATHERINE KIRK: Uh-huh.

Q. Was there a time there where you really started to doubt whether you were doing what you should be doing, and was there a moment when you realized... (wind interference.)
KATHERINE KIRK: I had a lot of people asking me, Are you close to retiring? It did make me think, yeah, maybe I'm closer than I think. I still think I had unfinished business.

We were going the wrong way technically in '15. Thankfully my coach back home kind of decided to change things up and we found a guy out in California who I have been working with ever since.

That was really sort of a turning point. Yeah, I'm thankful for that. Yeah, I kind of have that Aussie mentality of never give up either. I'm pretty consistent. My husband would tell you that, too. Maybe stubborn might be the word he would use.

You got to have a little of that in golf. It's a tough game. It doesn't owe you anything. You got to get up every day and keep working hard.

Q. If the winds get as high as they just were and a little bit higher, what's that going to be like out here?
KATHERINE KIRK: This afternoon, yeah, if the wind stays like this going to be a lot tougher to score than it was this morning.

With that being said, the greens are relatively receptive. They're rolling pure. It's not like you're going to see no birdies out there, but it is going to be a bit tougher to score.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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