AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

August 21, 2020

Dani Holmqvist

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Thank you so much for joining us. A wonderful round at the AIG Women's Open. Can you talk us through how it went?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Conditions were really tough. I felt like it was brutal out there but happy to get in under par. Had a lot of crosswinds and front nine played pretty long and yeah just happy to be in.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Conditions have been incredibly tough and we've seen high scores, but not from you over the two days. Playing in these conditions, do you enjoy it?

DANI HOLMQVIST: I definitely enjoy it. I played Scottish last week, too, and it's just two different weeks from anything else out of the year. I grew up playing British Am, and also played the Helen Holm at this course, only one round at this course, though, but at the property, and yeah, it's fun. This is different, very different, but I enjoy it.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Can you talk to us about your birdies out there and your club selection and talk us through those.

DANI HOLMQVIST: Let's see, I feel like it's such a long day, I can't even remember what holes I birdied. It's a bit, tough, too, you have to count with the wind. It's going to hurt quite a bit on some holes and also help a lot. I mean, I had I think about 180, 185 on the last hole and I hit an 8-iron and that's probably not the norm for me. Definitely not. So the wind is definitely a big factor. Also putting, some of the lines where the wind is just taking it.

Q. Looks highly likely that you'll be in one of the last groups tomorrow. What will be your mind-set going into Saturday's round if you are in one of the last groups?

DANI HOLMQVIST: That would be a really cool experience, first of all, but I think just sticking to my game plan. You can't really do more on this course and with these conditions and just trying to pick a line and pick a target and just do my own thing.

Q. So it will be more of the same regardless of the position on the leaderboard?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah, exactly. I feel like the conditions are so tough. They have been so tough these two days. It's kind of hard to look at what anyone else is doing. I've just got to focus on my own thing and try to make the best out of it.

Q. They were talking on the broadcast a little bit about some work you've done with Brad Faxon. I was hoping maybe you could tell us a little bit about how that started and how he helped?

DANI HOLMQVIST: So I've known Brad through some mutual friends. We all live in Jupiter. So yeah, just been talking to him a bit and we started playing a little bit, and yeah, we've been working quite a bit on the course together. Just mind-set and short game, as well, too. But yeah, he's a great coach but he's also a great friend to have in Jupiter.

Q. Was that new over this break or had you worked with him prior to the corona break?

DANI HOLMQVIST: No, it's new over this break and yeah, I've seen him quite a bit. I met him at dinners before with mutual friends, but this is the first time we started actually working together.

Q. You've had a lot of very good rounds throughout your career. How would you rate being 1-under through 36 holes compared to some of the scores that you might have shot that were a lot lower?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah, I mean, like it's -- thank you for acknowledging that. It was tough out there. Yeah, 1-under feels like a lot lower than what it is, and yeah, just every hole and every shot is kind of a challenge. So whenever you actually pull a good shot off, you're kind of happy.

Q. And in a year where we've had one thing happen after another, has the mind-set that we are just trying to adapt and hang on throughout all of the things that have happened, does that help you when conditions turn as sour as they have the last couple of days?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah, I think so. It definitely has been a strange year. I mean, I'm coming off an injury and still injured, so for me this break has been kind of good to just be able to focus more rehab and kind of just heal and get a little bit stronger so I can be out here to perform again.

Q. Have you ever sought any advice or had any input from Annika?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah, Annika has been a great roam for I think all of the Swedish girls, and apparently other international girls, too, growing up. She's also from Stockholm like I am. Yeah, she's been great. She's been -- we had her coming in to national team things where it's been just me and here. Yeah, she's been a great roam and a great help throughout my career.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: First time the AIG Women's Open is being played at Royal Troon and last Men's champion was Henrik Stenson. What kind of added importance does that give to you knowing that there's so much Swedish heritage here.

DANI HOLMQVIST: I think it's really cool. I just remember watching the last 18 holes there with Phil and Henrik playing, and I think that was probably one of the best showdowns I've ever seen in major championship golf.

Q. Can you give us an update on injury, background, when you felt 100 percent again?

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah, so I don't know if you have the background when it happened, but I got injured in a shuttle between two holes when I was playing Blue Bay at the end of 2018 in a cart crash. So I had a disk, which is leaking, and also really inflamed facet joint. So I injected that many times, and then it's just been rehab and ice and kind of rest and you know how it is with backs, it's a long process and very tedious. It's an everyday thing. Just hopefully it's getting better and better.

Q. So like two carts collided, or what?

DANI HOLMQVIST: It was kind of a steep hill between two holes and the cart kind of lost control and slammed into a wall.

Q. Oh, dear. How dramatic.

DANI HOLMQVIST: Yeah.

Q. One more if I could before I stop. You had kind of a slower start to the year way back when in January, February. How much were you itching to get back out here and kind of make good on that, or were you relishing the extra time that you had to work?

DANI HOLMQVIST: I mean, obviously, I think we are all itching to get back out there playing. Especially in front of all the fans, too, which is unfortunate that we can't right now.

But you know, for me, it was good personally just with the injury just to give me some time off, not to travel so much, and just be home and doing rehab a little bit more and just getting stronger so I can be out here to perform again.