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THE EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 25, 2019

Mel Reid

Evian-les-Bains, France

Q. (Indiscernible.)
MEL REID: Yeah, it's a funny golf course for me really. I think this year had a couple lucky breaks; I felt like I had one or two. Felt like my ball striking was pretty good. I think I hit 15 greens.

So yeah, I mean, overall obviously very, very happy.

Q. Back nine, the 12th...
MEL REID: I hit it good on the front nine. Like the two bogeys I made were from the middle of the fairway, which was a bit disappointing.

I don't know really. I didn't hit it any different. I just probably holed a couple more putts. Obviously it was added bonus on 18. Wasn't expecting to make eagle there.

Yeah, just kind of went with the flow really; nothing really I changed.

Q. What are the details on 18?
MEL REID: So I had 200 pin, and for some reason I didn't feel comfortable hitting a 7-wood, even though it's a perfect 7-wood number. We are hitting a little bit longer this week probably just from the heat. I was like, just let me -- I was just trying to hit a big cut 5 and didn't, and so obviously pitched in the bunker. There is a lot of sun in these bunkers. The bunkers are not ideal.

So I was just trying to land it exactly where I did. Yeah, worked out great.

Q. You finding the course is playing firmer?
MEL REID: Yeah, for sure. Definitely better being this time of year. Rough is thicker, which is good. I think it's obviously certainly a little bit firmer. The greens are starting to firm up a little bit on the back nine as well.

So I think moving it to this time of year has made a huge difference.

Q. Is it firmer now than earlier in the week?
MEL REID: For sure. The greens were quite soft at the start of the week. I think that it's in pretty good shape. Yeah, like I said, the rough is up so you kind of need to keep it on the fairway.

Yeah, I mean, you know these greens. They're pretty undulated, so you can get screwed easily from not that much of a bad shot. The condition of it is the best I've seen it for a long, long time. It's a huge difference from making the changes. This is best I've seen it.

I think that's a huge -- I think that's obviously that's from moving it from September back into July.

Q. You look pretty fired up. Is there anything on your mind? A particular reason?
MEL REID: What are you trying to get at? It's nearly my birthday. Is that what you're talking about?

Q. Yes.
MEL REID: Well, obviously it is and it's not. I kind of want to kick on from what I did at KPMG. I've been working really, really hard. That result freed me up a little bit. Hopefully with two majors back to back, this is kind of when you want to be playing well.

Obviously it's day one, but I can take this momentum into the next couple weeks.

Q. And this is a big goal of yours. I know what it means to you.
MEL REID: What, the Solheim or this one?

Q. Well, Solheim.
MEL REID: Yeah, I mean, I can't expect anything when you're not in the team automatically, and hopefully I'm just knocking on the door a little bit and being a bit more of a headache than she's already got.

We'll see. I'm playing really, really good. I feel like I'm swinging it good. We'll see. Just keep the momentum. This week is the most important week really.

Q. (Regarding KPMG week.)
MEL REID: Huge. Just frees you up. Freed up my whole year. Freed up next year. I was talking the other day, when your on the bubble of 100 it sucks because you have to play every event, you're under pressure every single round; whereas you have one good result out here and it frees you up completely.

Managed to do it in a big event. I've been waiting for that for a long, long time. Been busting my ass for a while. Luckily results are showing.

Q. What is your mindset that helped you get these kind of results? (Indiscernible.)
MEL REID: Not really. I mean, Michigan was big for me because I didn't hit it great the first two days at Grand Rapids, and then I think I shot 10-under at the weekend.

My mindset just changed. Went from -- look, when you're thinking about -- it's very easy to say, difficult to do. It's very hard to not think about missing cuts when you're missing cuts. It's very hard to try and not make a mistake.

And just over the weekend in Michigan, I said to B. Hamilton, Let's try and shoot 10-under this weekend just to see if that changes my mindset for KPMG. It did.

So I went into KPMG thinking I could win it. I had a bet I was going to finish Top 5, which is stupid.

Q. What were you thinking coming into this?
MEL REID: Well, I'm leading. If it's your week, it's your week, isn't it? We're all good enough out here to win. The strength and depth of this tour is ridiculous. If it's your week and you hole a few putts and get lucky breaks, it's obviously anybody's week.

It's not a course that particularly suits my eye. I feel like I'm playing better this year than any other year I've played it. Hopefully that will make a difference.

Q. Goals at the start of the year, Mel?
MEL REID: Honestly, because I changed so much, it was to get in Asia at the end of the year. Solheim was a little bit on the back of my mind, but not really. I didn't expect to get in it. I couldn't get in automatically, so I knew I needed to play well.

But, yeah, because I changed so much and there was so much for me to adapt to, I kind of just wanted to get in Asia. That would've been a big goal for me, just so that I could just chill out for the next -- guarantee my card for next year and not go back to Q Series. I've kind of done that.

Q. So you ticked off a couple.
MEL REID: Yeah, exactly.

Q. Can you run through the changes? I know you changed coach.
MEL REID: Yeah, so I changed coach middle of last year to Jorge Parada. He's awesome. I've never seen someone with a work ethic like that. He's almost too much.

But he brought something out in me. He really taught me what work ethic is and how to make changes in your golf swing, to be uncomfortable and stuff.

Then obviously I moved countries. I moved to Jupiter in Florida, which takes a bit. You know how it is being British and going over there to America. It's a bit of adapting.

And then changed my trainer obviously. Cam McDonald now. He's awesome. He's made a huge difference to the team. More than I thought he would actually. He's been incredible. Changed caddie to Brittany Hamilton. She's been a great addition because she's a good friend of mine. Just been a lot more relaxed on the course.

So, yeah, that's kind of the big changes really. I've made a lot. Changed all my equipment, yep. Every single piece of equipment this year. So Callaway wedges which I always had, Muir irons, Callaway woods, PING driver, and a Piretti putter.

The putter has actually made a bit of a difference this year. Completely different design to what I normally have. Center shaft, which I've not used at any point in my career.

So, yeah, just made a whole bunch of changes. I knew it was going to take a while to kind of catch up to it, and hopefully I'm doing it at the right time of the season.

Q. And your cap?
MEL REID: No cap. Blank cap.

Q. When will that change?
MEL REID: Don't know. When someone comes up to me and wants to help me out. Not going to wear someone's hat if they're not willing to support me. I'm quite happy with it being blank.

Q. Whose hat would you like to wear?
MEL REID: I think I've got to a point in my career where it has to represent me. So I don't know. Like Greco has come on board this year. They're an incredible company. Been awesome with me. Really chill. I really enjoy doing (indiscernible) for them. I think that's huge when you're sponsoring a player and they really like my personality. We've had a really good partnership.

I'm proud to represent them, and hopefully they're proud to present me. Yeah, definitely has to fit the brand. We'll see.

Q. So whose hat wouldn't you wear?
MEL REID: A lot.

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