AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 1, 2021

Lauren Hartlage

Quick Quotes

Q. Lauren, big birdie there on 18. Just take us through your approach on the tee, your mindset on the tee, and how you chose to play that hole.

LAUREN HARTLAGE: Yeah, I just wanted to hit a good drive and see where that put me because it was definitely more into the wind today so I wasn't for sure it was going to be reachable. But I hit a good drive, and I had about 215 to the pin, which was about a perfect 4 wood. I hit it pretty well up to the front of the green and almost made putt for eagle. So set myself up in a good spot.

Q. Did you know where you sat on the leaderboard?

LAUREN HARTLAGE: No, I didn't look on the last hole, I knew I probably needed to make a birdie, but I didn't look for sure.

Q. How much scoreboard watching was there throughout the course of the day today?

LAUREN HARTLAGE: I looked a couple times on the back nine, around 10 and 12, and I kind of had a few bad holes in that stretch, so then I was like, I'm not looking anymore. So I kept my own game and finished well.

Q. So a birdie puts you at 7, which right now is for a playoff. Talk about that position, what you're focusing now, what you'll do in the next hour, two hours here to stay sharp.

LAUREN HARTLAGE: Yeah, for sure. I'll definitely go to the putting green and hit a few putts, and a couple tee shots kind of got me off today, so I'll get that fixed up. Then we'll just kind of wait and see, and hopefully I'll have a good opportunity.

Q. Did you feel any pressure today, pressure, nerves that you were kind of flirting with that cut line?

LAUREN HARTLAGE: I'm definitely always nervous, but I didn't put any extra pressure on myself because I knew, if I did that, I wouldn't play well and wouldn't hit the shots I needed to. So I just tried to stay in my own game, especially towards the end.

Q. What would being able to play a competitive round at Augusta National mean?

LAUREN HARTLAGE: That would mean the world to me. I've been watching the Masters on TV all the time. I got to play the practice round last year and missed the cut. So it would be a great experience to make the cut this year and play a competitive round there.

Q. You missed the cut last time. How will you draw on the experience of 2019, especially coming down the stretch. Your round probably didn't start how you anticipated, but you were able to right the ship and really steady things and finish strong.

LAUREN HARTLAGE: Yeah, I mean, it definitely hurt missing the cut last year, and I knew I had put myself in a good position to make the cut this year. I just wanted to give myself a good chance coming in, which I did.