THE LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

October 22, 2020

Celine Boutier

Reynolds Lake Oconee

Quick Quotes

Q. Celine, what a great finish to round one. Do you mind talking to us about the eagle you had on 18 to start. It seems like you also started with, on the 2nd hole, a birdie. So what was the back nine for you, the front nine for you today like?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, it was really good. I feel like they're pretty tough greens out there, so you don't get that many birdie chances because you can't really hit it that close. I feel like the couple of shots that I were able to hit it close I took advantage of them.

And then on 18 the wind was helping a little bit, so then I could reach it in two. Had like a hybrid and then I holed out like 15 feet, so that was nice.

And I just feel like throughout the round my game was pretty good, but when I was missing shots I was able to recover with my short game, so that kind of really saved me out there.

Q. So the front nine versus the back nine, do you think even playing the practice rounds is one easier than the other?

CELINE BOUTIER: Not really. I feel like they're both pretty tough. I mean, there is -- like on both sides there is like a couple holes where you have to be really careful with where you put your first shot, or even if it's a par-3 like be cautious where to be on the green or even if you miss on the right side.

I feel like you have to be very smart.

Q. We had a week off before this. Do you mind telling us what you did? Did you relax? Work on a particular part of your game?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yes, I was at home in Dallas and I just was able to practice and see my coach a little bit just trying to get ready for this week.

Q. Did you do anything to relax, watch Netflix and catch up on anything, or did you eat really good food?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, definitely a bit of everything. I was pretty tired after KPMG. Definitely took a couple of days for me to recover. Like I slept quite a bit.

I feel ready for this week. And then we have like a three-week break, so that will be nice, too.

Q. I can't believe that it's been a couple of months since the first Drive On where you played so well. Are you thinking back to that moment at all?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yes, a little bit, but then I feel like the circumstances are kind of different because the first one he we hadn't played in three, four months, so it was really like -- I mean, I didn't know what to expect. This week I feel like we've been playing quite a bit, so just feels like a little bit different.

But I definitely like that it's the first time on this course. I like that no one else has played it before and just discovering the course and the challenge of it in general.

Q. The last question I have, we talk about expectations. Do you mind if I ask what goals do you have for the remainder of this year?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of big events left, even though we don't have that many events. I would love to finish strong and hopefully get myself in position to be in contention and hopefully take advantage of it and maybe come up with a win or something would be nice.

Q. You seem to play well at new events or events that are at golf courses that no one has seen before, here or at Inverness or even at the Vic Open. Tell me a little bit about what your mindset is when you go into a golf course that you've never seen.

CELINE BOUTIER: I think for me it's better because you just don't really know what to expect. You don't really know what the scores are going to be like. You don't know what the pin positions are going to be like. So you just go and stay in the present, and especially when the course is tough like this. I feel like it just helps me focus on shot by shot and not really worry too much about scoring or like what -- just the future. Helps me to stay focused on the present.

Q. And when you talk about golf courses that you've never seen, the thing people have talked about this week is how long this course is playing. Has that been the most difficult thing or are the greens more challenging or is it a course that tests every aspect of your game?

CELINE BOUTIER: I definitely think it's a little bit longer than what we usually play. I feel like there is also a lot of shorter holes that you can take advantage of, especially the par-5s that are reachable and then couple of par 4s that are a little bit shorter with a wedge in hand.

So I think that's a good combination. But I feel like for me the difficulty is more the greens, and especially on the approach shots. I feel like the greens are very slopey and narrow because there is a lot slopes, so if you hit it on the wrong side it can roll down and stuff like that.

For me it's more of a second-shot course. But overall I think it's great course definitely.

Q. And you spoke earlier about the long break that we took. Do you feel as though you're back into a normal rhythm of a season or still trying to catch up from being off so long?

CELINE BOUTIER: For sure I feel like I was back in the season after the second or third week. I was like, Okay.

For me it was just really easy for me to get back into it. Feels definitely great, and I almost feel like we had a pretty actually long season -- I mean, it was kind of intense because we just didn't have much of a break up to now.

We just kept playing and playing, so it feels a little bit longer. But when you think back it hasn't been that long, so it's kind of strange.