ANA INSPIRATION

September 10, 2020

Mel Reid

Mission Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. A nice 3-under day, four birdies. How did it feel to get in major competition mode?

MEL REID: Yeah, obviously the course is playing very different to what we normally do in March. It's kind of -- the greens are getting very firm, kind of looks like they're going to die any minute, but yeah, did put in a lot of good work kind of in my off week and did some good work this week with Jorge, my coach, and yeah, obviously very happy to shoot 69 in an afternoon round.

Q. Is it a completely different course than what you play in the spring?

MEL REID: Yeah, kind of off the eye it doesn't look as intimidating. Like the fairways have definitely been cut in, but the rough is gnarly, especially for us like because not many of us are that strong to kind of get out. We're not like the guys. Yeah, and it's just these bunkers, they're tricky. They've got a lot of sand in them. They kind of just stay on the lips and it's just very, very heavy. You need to keep out of these kind of penalty areas. But yeah, I think the course is in great shape other than that. I think it needs the rough to protect it, otherwise the scores would be very low, and I think it's kind of in perfect condition for a major championship.

Q. A lot of talk coming into the week was the extreme heat. How was it today?

MEL REID: Everyone is kind of talking about it. It's not that bad. I live in Jupiter, Florida, right now, and I think the heat is way worse there because of the humidity. So everyone is like moaning about it, but I'm like, it's fine. No complaints here. People are taking carts and stuff, which I totally understand, but we're not doing that, we're kind of -- I feel like we're used to it. I honestly feel like this is not as bad as what the Florida heat gets in the summer. There's no point in moaning on it, you've just got to get on with it, so definitely I've been doing that.

Q. The humidity has prepared you for the dry heat?

MEL REID: Yeah, for sure. Honestly, we went out and practiced on Saturday morning before we flew out here. We got up at 6:00, 6:30, went and practiced, and I'm telling you it was a lot hotter than it is here. My knees were sweating and there was all kinds of sweat everywhere. Yeah, honestly, this isn't anywhere near as bad. It's obviously a little bit of a drier heat. Of course it's hot but it's not -- it's kind of not what the girls are kind of moaning about. I'll probably get in trouble for that.

Q. Obviously so much about this tournament is the walk up 18 and high-fiving fans, the grandstands and that atmosphere that's created here. How has the restart without the fans prepared you for a tournament specifically where you feed off the adrenaline?

MEL REID: Yeah, I mean, it's tough. I obviously love playing in front of fans. That's obviously what we dream of doing when we're little girls. Especially here, we always get very big support here, especially down 18, the atmosphere, the energy is obviously very different to what it is when there's no fans, which obviously is a huge shame, but we're just thankful that we're playing tournaments.

I think Mike Whan and the staff have done a great job and ANA Inspiration for kind of putting on this event during these obviously weird times, and yeah, we're just grateful that we're playing, but we're certainly missing all the fans.

Q. How do you anticipate, if at all, the course to be just a hair different in the morning with a morning tee time tomorrow?

MEL REID: I mean, it doesn't go as far in the morning, that's for sure. We were hitting 8-irons -- I normally hit my 8-iron 150, 152, and it was going like 160. The other day it was even going a little further when it was a little bit hotter. It won't go as far for sure. I think the greens will be a little bit softer. They were definitely very, very firm there towards the end. They were kind of burnt out. Yeah, I think definitely the morning is where you take advantage of your score. Just got the afternoon round kind of out of the way.

Q. What's the mindset for round 2 when you've put yourself in a good position like this?

MEL REID: Just the same. I've been working really hard with a sports psychologist, Howard Falco, and we've only been working for a month and I can kind of see some huge gains in that, no matter what happens this week, whether I play well or play bad, I feel like I'm learning a lot about myself. Just the same mentality.

You know, I've got a lot -- me and Des, my caddie, now have been working together since the start of the year, so we've got a few events under our bag, and so the trust is there now. He's doing a great job, and yeah, I'm just very happy the way things are going in my world.