ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS LADIES SCOTTISH OPEN

August 13, 2020

Azahara Munoz

The Renaissance Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome our tournament leader, if you can talk about how you opened the round this morning, what was meant to be 6.30 but ended up being 8.30 and rather spectacularly.

AZAHARA MUNOZ: Yeah, it was really nice. We had a bit of a delay but once we got out there it was perfect out. I hit a perfect drive, and the pin is on the back and I couldn't see it, so I knew I hit a really good shot, when I got there, Gemma had hit it really close, too, and she was maybe three feet away so I thought that was my shot.

Then when I saw hers, then I looked into the hole and I got a nice surprise, so that was really nice to start the day like that.

THE MODERATOR: Have you ever started a tournament quite in that way before?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: No, never.

THE MODERATOR: How amazing. And so then you went on with Gemma, the two of you having a great day and you managed to keep your round very consistent. Can you talk about what happened on 6 and 8?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: I played really well all day. I hit pretty much every fairway, every green, and on No. 6, I hit a really good shot in, and then made probably a 15-, 20-footer for birdie.

Then No. 8, actually, I hit a really good shot into the green but it was -- was a bit too firm and went over the green. Same thing happened on the other bogey I made. I hit a really good shot but it went over the green, as well. Sometimes in links golf, that kind of happens. So I'm still really happy. You just have to accept those bad bounces sometimes.

THE MODERATOR: And when your confidence is up, which clearly it is at the moment, you don't feel concerned or you don't wobble as much; you just carry on.

AZAHARA MUNOZ: Yeah, exactly. You just have to be very accepting. You are going to hit some good shots that are not going to turn good, and then sometimes it's the opposite. You don't hit a great shot and it bounces a bit more.

You know, I've been working a lot on my attitude and about being patient, and I think today I did really well. I made those two bogeys and I just didn't get upset. It is what it is. It's going to happen, so you just have to keep plugging along.

THE MODERATOR: And are you a fan of links golf as a whole?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: I am. You know, I grew up obviously when I was a junior playing all the British girls and British Amateur, and I've been quite successful in them. I've always enjoyed playing, so as long as the weather is good, I enjoy it. When it starts raining and windy, then not so much. But I really like it.

Q. And having had the two-hour delay, what did you do, and to come out so sharp?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: I was actually fine. I think I did a pretty good job about not warming up too much again. I think actually the whole quarantine, I actually thought about it, because I played so many times just going straight to the tee because the driving ranges were closed. I think we all sometimes overdo our warmup, so I just went back to the rain, hit 15, 20 balls, hit a couple putts and went to the tee. Through the whole delay, I was just inside, a little bit outside, because there was too many of us inside. Went to the physio and got a stretch again because I was a little tight, and that was it. It was time to go again.

Q. Has all the COVID protocols made you more relaxed before each round?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. Before that I used to warmup for an hour, hour and 15 minutes and at home I went straight to the tee and it was fine. Lately I've been doing probably an hour, not even, and that's what I did today. Obviously I cut my first warmup short and then the second one was just a short warmup. Just get loose again and get going.

Q. How far out were you for eagle?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: I wanted to bounce it 142. I think the pin was 48.

Q. And during the shutdown of quarantine, how long were you not able to practise or play or do anything?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: Actually, I was able to practise the whole time because where I live, my county close everything, but my golf course is just the county north of me, and it was open. I didn't practise at all but what I did is probably two or three times a week, I go and play nine holes with my husband, or just to do something, because also being at home all day, it's a bit much. I got lucky that I was able to do that the whole I'm.

Q. So did you feel ready to go then when the restart in Toledo happened or were you at all feeling rusty?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: No, I was actually -- I think I it really well because sometimes I can over-practise and then I start thinking too much about my swing and all that, and through the whole quarantine, I barely practised. I played a lot. So you know, when it was time to go, I felt that I've played so much that I -- I haven't felt rusty at all. I just felt I've been playing so much, so I just kept going.

Q. I saw your Tweet from the scorecard incident. How long did it take to you get over that? How long did you beat yourself up over that?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: It was rough. Now I'm laughing. I think I took it so bad that that's now -- that's why now I think it's so funny. You know, instantly I knew I had not signed it. You know, when you know you haven't done it, so when she called me and said, you haven't signed your scorecard, I'm like, shoot, I haven't. I remember just turning it in.

I did beat myself up a lot because I just can't believe I did it. It's the first thing I always do, I sign the scorecard. I had a total brain fart. My husband was there, he said, it doesn't matter, it's not going to change our life. Sue was really nice. I'm very thankful she called me and told me and she just said, just get over it and play well in Scotland. It is what it is. It's better that it happened last week than next week. It won't happen again.

Q. Is my understanding, the scorecard is a little bit different this week? Can you take us through what you guys are doing with the COVID-19?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: Yeah, so we sign our own score, and then -- so normally, you write the other person's score and then you write your score at the bottom, so here you do the opposite. You write your own score here and then you mark another player down the bottom, and then when you finish, you sign your own scorecard and then Clare goes through the scores with you and then she signs it as your marker. It's different. It is simple, but it is different, definitely.

Q. But you feel safer that way, I guess, because you're not exchanging, I guess?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: I think it's very safe, but you know, in Scotland, they are being very safe here and that's why they are doing so good. They barely have any cases and they want to keep it that way. I think we have to be thankful enough that we are allowed in the country, and if that's what we need to do to do it, it's what we need to do. It definitely -- I just want to play. I'm just thankful that whatever we have to do is what we have to do.

Q. How was the course playing out there today, apart from the fact that you had a slightly lesser wind?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: It was playing really nice. I actually like the course because I feel it's not so tight off the tee. You know, sometimes links courses are really tight off the tee. I don't enjoy that very much.

This one, I think it's -- I thought it was playing great. I also hit the ball really well, so I might be a bit biased. The greens are rolling really nice and the fairways are really good. It's very fair.

Q. Did you play last year?

AZAHARA MUNOZ: This is my first time.