KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

October 9, 2020

Ellen Ceresko

Aronimink Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Ellen, thanks for joining us. You finished off with a 79 today, three shots better than yesterday. Was the golf course more forgiving or did you tone up a little bit with your game?

ELLEN CERESKO: I would say Aronimink definitely was still a beast, and respectfully so, this is a major championship, major championship venue. It was awesome to play again under these conditions. I would say it would be harder. The course was firming up a lot, and I knew coming in that we had to look at the hole locations and see, okay, what paces do I need to land the ball based on this pin position, and today just knowing and having a better game plan and planning out my shots a little bit more disciplined really helped me just have a lot better quality shots out there.

Q. When you come from where you come from and come and play in a championship like this with the best female players in the world, is it tougher to trust your own game, to kind of keep that focus, or is there enough of that there, or was that lacking?

ELLEN CERESKO: That was I would say lacking. The trust was definitely lacking for sure, yeah, because everything is on the line. You're in a major championship, you want to do well. The pressure that I put on myself is definitely there, and it was just continuously just shifting and having that trust and having just those nice swing thoughts and planning everything out. Everything today I would say just marinated and just settled in a little bit more. I would definitely say, yeah, it was harder to trust myself in these conditions.

Q. You're somewhat local, Penn State.

ELLEN CERESKO: We are.

Q. That adds another layer to this. You should feel great about your accomplishment before that, but to do it in kind of like your neck of the woods here must be extra special. How was your whole experience this week?

ELLEN CERESKO: Yeah, my whole experience here was fantastic. Once I knew that the KPMG was going to be in Philadelphia, at Aronimink Golf Club, number one, it's always been on my bucket list to play. I always love playing top 100 courses in America, and just playing here with the support, and Penn State proud and representing the clubs that I work at, it was a great experience. Just really proud of myself with how I handled it out there under these conditions. It was a great learning experience. Learned a ton, and I can't wait to come back and grow on that.

Q. I would think the club pros, teaching pros built a camaraderie here this week. It looks like Alison is going to make the cut and play on the weekend. What's the sense of pride there to see her make it to the weekend?

ELLEN CERESKO: Yeah, I mean, kudos to Alison. She's worked so hard. I know she's playing in a lot of events during this COVID time and really working on her game. To make the cut as a club professional, that's saying a lot. That is amazing, congrats to Alison, and I'm rooting for her 100 percent. The entire LPGA and PGA of America is behind her, and something to kind of look up to. Alison has been a great coach, great teacher, and to see her and know that you can make it, you can make the cut and do well out here, it inspires me, and I can't wait to keep growing that experience for myself because this is my first major, and this is, I think, her seventh, and just to see how she's grown into these majors says a lot.

Q. Do you feel when you said back and play a section event, you'll just be that much better a player from this experience?

ELLEN CERESKO: Absolutely. I think playing in these conditions, playing in a major championship bettered my game, bettered my mentality, my emotional side, so I would say all aspects of the game are a lot stronger after this entire week, and I can just get better from here and keep growing.