U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 3, 2021

Megha Ganne

The Olympic Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Megha, you were just saying over there, you've played in a U.S. Open before. This week feels different. Seems like you have a little bit more confidence. Walk us through that.

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, I think the first time is nerve-racking for anybody and meeting your idols and being on the stage for the first time.

But the second time around, even the practice rounds, I wasn't as nervous. I felt like I could come here and just play my game instead of soaking that all in. So I got that out of the way the first time around. Definitely a little bit easier this time.

Q. When you saw the course for the first time, what were your expectations?

MEGHA GANNE: For some high scores and not a lot of recovery when you leave the fairway. It was kind of terrifying to see it for the first time, but I got some rounds in and gained a little bit of confidence.

Q. You played the par-3s in 2-under, which seems really good for how difficult they are. In the practice rounds, did you get any sense that, for whatever reason, they were gettable for you?

MEGHA GANNE: Well, I didn't have to try to keep it in the fairway on the par-3s, which made them a little bit easier. I had a flat lie on the tee boxes, which you don't have anywhere else on this golf course. Definitely, I think the par-3s are a little bit easier compared to the rest of the course.

Q. How long were you kept from the courses last year during lockdown, and what did you do to keep from just getting rusty, stale? What did you do with all your excess energy?

MEGHA GANNE: The courses didn't actually close down for that long, and because I switched to online school because of COVID, I actually had way more time in my schedule than I've ever had to practice and play golf and spend more time on the course.

So it was kind of a bit of an advantage for me to take my game further.

Q. Great round today, Megha.

MEGHA GANNE: Thank you.

Q. 3-under on the front nine is extremely impressive with how hard the holes are playing out there. What did you feel was the most solid part of your game today?

MEGHA GANNE: I think just my ability to play smart and not take any unnecessary risks, and I didn't panic when I got into the rough a couple of times out there because there are definitely holes I wasn't keeping in the fairway, and it's easy to panic out there, and I didn't do that. So I think that was it.

Q. Is there an example of an unnecessary risk that you didn't take out there?

MEGHA GANNE: Well, I have an example of one I did take. The one on 18 I just -- I was talking to my caddie, and I was like, Is this dumb? Is it not dumb? And I ended up going for it, but I probably should have just laid back there given my lie.

I'm going to try to avoid that given the rest of the week.

Q. How did your time at Augusta National help prepare you for this stage?

MEGHA GANNE: A lot. It's really similar, you know, really prestigious and a lot of cameras and a lot of attention on you. So it was really good preparation.

And I think I might have been more nervous to play the ANWA at Augusta than I was to play here. So I thought it was great preparation for the pressure.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your Stanford decision. Obviously, a local here, and what prompted that?

MEGHA GANNE: Sure, Stanford's always been my dream school ever since I was 10. I think I visited there for the first time for a camp and I knew that's where I wanted to go. I really didn't look at any other schools, and I commuted the end of my sophomore year.

Academically, I've always been really driven, and the golf team is obviously one of the top programs in the country. So it felt like an obvious choice for me, and I was really happy it worked out.

Q. Have you connected with any of them while you're here? Just being in northern California, the Bay Area, how is that?

MEGHA GANNE: There's four Stanford girls in the field, and we've all -- it's nice to have each other out here. My coaches were able to come watch me, and they haven't seen me play since 2019, so I hope they like this first round.

Q. Can you talk about kind of the crazy nature of this National Championship where you are in a playoff to get into this, right?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah.

Q. I'd like you to talk about just the playoff aspect. But then you go from barely getting in to you're standing here in front of us as one of the near leaders. How crazy is that when you think about it?

MEGHA GANNE: I don't know. It just all seems really fun and a better story to tell than I got in without a playoff. I wasn't worried when I was in a playoff because usually sudden death situations like that usually work out for me.

So it was exciting, and it made qualifying even more --

Q. Why do they usually work out for you? Are you just a lucky person?

MEGHA GANNE: I couldn't tell you. I don't know.

Q. It sounds like you even did this math in your head about your chances, all of that.

MEGHA GANNE: I did.

Q. So you felt really comfortable going into that?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, I had this downhill birdie putt in my qualifier on 18, and I was calculating the chances of me missing this versus the chances of me winning this playoff. And I was like, Okay, let's just baby it down here and see what happens in the playoff.

So I was pretty confident I was going to do well in the playoff.

Q. So this week, we're spotlighting our LPGA USGA Girls Golf alums, and so excited to keep following your journey from your first U.S. Women's Open to now. So what has Girls Golf and increased opportunities for girls that help you prepare you own your journey, what does that mean to you?

MEGHA GANNE: It means so much because that's where I started. I don't think I'd be put on the track I was without Girls Golf and the First Tee and LPGA.

I think focusing on Girls Golf alone is really important because it's a sport that opens so many doors for kids out there, and I think I'm a great example of that. That's all it takes to start. Just sign up for Girls Golf.

Q. How did you pass the morning before your tee off time?

MEGHA GANNE: I just lounged around in bed until like 9:00, and then just talked to my sister, bothered her while she was doing online school, and then got over to the course, had some lunch, and warmed up.

Q. And then you said, when you got in the rough, the key was not to panic.

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah.

Q. What did you do or say to yourself to calm yourself?

MEGHA GANNE: I think just knowing that everyone in the field has to deal with it, and whoever makes the smartest choices out of there and picks the best lines and doesn't take unnecessary risks is going to be the person who ends up better off.

So I was like, just be that person.

Q. You talked about how terrifying it was at first, and a lot of players talked about how hard it was going to be. Yet the scores are pretty good. Certainly the top of the leaderboard, several players under par. Why do you think that is? Was it lack of wind? What led to better scores today?

MEGHA GANNE: I think they cut the rough just a little bit overnight. It was still thick, obviously, but there were places around -- I was in the rough yesterday and there's just no shot. I had to wedge out.

Today I had a great chance of advancing the ball. The first cut was a little bit lower, so when you missed the fairway just by a little bit, it wasn't as penalizing, I think.