CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

December 17, 2020

Carlota Ciganda

Tiburón Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Good start obviously. How good did it feel to come back from your injury and to get started on the right foot?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, I'm just happy to be playing, to be honest. I think once you get injured you just want to get out there, and I realize how much I was missing it.

So just to be here walking the fairways and being able to play and compete, I'm just happy. Yeah, I played pretty solid, really good from the tees, second shots, made a few good putts.

Yeah, very happy with my round.

Q. You mentioned your broke your elbow playing tennis back home.

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah.

Q. Take me through the injury and what happened.

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, so it's wall tennis, so it's a squash but much bigger. We play this spot back in the north of Spain. I been playing that since I was five, six years old with my dad, my brother, my cousins, everyone that plays it.

So after Lake Oconee I went home, and the day after I just went and play with my boyfriend, with James, and one of the last points I twisted my left ankle and I don't know how I fell down, but I just put my arm, elbow. I don't know what I did.

It was very painful, swollen, so I had an x-ray and little bone broke in my elbow. So, yeah, it took four or five weeks to heal. Lots of rehab. I saw a physio for three weeks. First two weeks it was just rest, and then I started doing all the rehab and treatment.

It was quite painful, but I just wanted to get to play the last two events. Yeah, I'm happy to be here.

Q. Were you worried when it happened? Any thoughts running through with your mind of, Oh, no, I might be hanging it up until 2021?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, you just don't know. Obviously I wasn't thinking that I could play the last two events, but when I met physio and started with him, I thought maybe there was a chance. He believed that I could. It was painful to do all the rehab and exercises because it was quite weak my right arm, but, yeah, we did it, and I'm just happy to be playing again. I mean, doesn't feel 100% but doesn't hurt, so that's good.

Q. Going to give it a go.

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah.

Q. A year ago at this event you captured the Aon Risk/Reward Challenge. You earned a $1 million with that.

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah.

Q. A $1.1 million winner's check this week, a chance to even up though check. What's it like to chase such big figures and to have already kind of accomplished something like the Aon Risk/Reward, have that out in front of you?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: It would be amazing. Any win I think is special, and, yeah, being one of the biggest paycheck in women's golf, you always want to be at least competing and playing for that.

I mean, I'm not thinking too much about money or winning. I'm just happy to be here walking the fairways, playing. I don't have any expectations. I'm just going to try to enjoy the last three days, and whatever happens will be good.

Q. All about perspective, right?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah. Yeah.

Q. What's the biggest difference playing in golf course in this December versus November?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: I just think the course is playing a little softer, so I think it's playing longer off the tee. But then you can be pretty aggressive to the pins, which is nice. But I think the score will be similar. Maybe couple shots lower. Depends on the wind and the pin positions next few days.

I like how it's playing. You can being pretty aggressive, and that's always fun.

Q. 4-under is a great round any day, but we've just learned that you had an elbow injury about seven weeks ago competing in a racquetball type of game. What happened?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, so I'm from the north in Spain and we play a lot it's called wall tennis, so it's just a big wall and we hit with a tennis racquet against the wall. I had a bad fall just on my left ankle and landed on my right elbow.

It was quite swollen and hurting a lot, so I decided to get an x-ray. Had a little fracture on my right elbow, which it was a little bit painful because I was supposed to play a few events in Europe. I missed Spanish Open. (Wind.)

To be honest, I'm just happy to be here. I did three weeks of rehab, lots of treatment and lots of exercises. You do anything to play golf, so I'm just happy to be here competing and playing this week.

Q. Where are you now in terms of the pain versus where you were a couple months ago?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: To be honest, it's not painful anymore. I do feel the arm is a little weak obviously after those seven weeks. I think the bone is healed properly, so I'm happy with that.

But I do think I need to do a few exercises and strengthen during the off-season to get it back to where it was.