U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 4, 2021

Mel Reid

The Olympic Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Just talk about the differences between yesterday and today.

MEL REID: It was tough today. It was cold. It was definitely colder. It kind of I just felt a little bit of a nick in my back a little bit on the back nine. I was just trying to make the best swing possible. Didn't hit it as good today. I know exactly what I'm doing, so that's fine.

I just was struggling to kind of rotate a little bit. A little bit of a disappointing finish, but you're going to have a stretch of four or five holes like that in a major where you just have to grind out pars, and I did the best I could, but in a great position going into the weekend. If someone would have said I was three back going into the weekend I would have taken it.

Yeah, perfect position, and hopefully I'm really looking forward to the weekend actually.

Q. The perspective that you have right now, would you have had the same perspective in this position like a year ago coming off the golf course like that?

MEL REID: Yeah, I mean, it's just tough. Like I said, you're going to have a couple of stretches where you're going to have four or five holes where you're going to struggle to make par. Everyone is going to go through it.

I'm just glad I got it out of the way on a Friday honestly. Like I hope I don't need to go through that stretch again.

Yeah, like I said, it's a really tough golf course. It was really tough today. It was cold. It was windy. Pins were tucked a little bit more than yesterday. It definitely wasn't as gettable today I didn't think.

Yeah, all in all, I think that overall I'm pretty happy. I don't think 2-over is a disastrous score. So yeah, like I said, three back is the perfect position going into the weekend.

Q. At what point in the back nine did you feel that back pain flare up?

MEL REID: Probably -- it was probably the 9th tee. I just started to shiver a little bit, and when I start shivering is when it kind of jars up a little bit. But I've got my physio here. I'm probably going to see her tonight. But it's fine. I just need to stretch is it out. It's just because I'm getting older, thanks. So yeah, never a good sign.

I'm sure Rachel doesn't have them problems that I was playing with today. She probably doesn't even stretch.

Q. You mentioned the back flaring up on the back nine. Is there a change in strategy when you lose (indiscernible)?

MEL REID: You've just got to try and not make doubles. You've just got to try and save it as much as possible.

I actually hit a great swing on 14. I was really lucky the way it was lying in the rough. Poor swing on 15; not a great pitch on 16; played 17 pretty good; 18, just a bad swing on 18 just a little bit tight and dug into it a little bit.

All in all, I didn't make any doubles. It could have been a lot worse. You're just trying to grind through it. You're just trying to limit the damage as much as possible. You know, it's just a tough golf course. Like I said, if you don't pay attention to it, if you're not hitting great shots, it punishes you.

Q. How much of a factor is the cold for this week?

MEL REID: It is cold. I mean, you've got to stay warm. But I mean, it is, it's certainly affecting the distance, for one. It affects your body. It depends who's got issues with their body. It affects my back a little bit. Like my hands I have Raynaud's, so I lose a little bit of feel with that.

Again, living in Florida it's made me soft, obviously, because if I was in England I probably wouldn't be having these issues, so I've become a bit of a Floridian softy.

But yeah, you've just got to get through it. There's no point moaning about it or talking about it. I've dealt with it before. We had the same last year at U.S. Open, and in Texas the week before that, that was probably the coldest I've ever been on the golf course.

Yeah, you've just got to deal with it. I've got to probably just try and stretch a little bit more on the course. I don't know.