MARATHON CLASSIC PRESENTED BY DANA

July 9, 2021

Elizabeth Szokol

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Elizabeth Szokol. I just want to start at the beginning of your round. Talk me through those first three holes.

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Not the best start. I had two three-putts to start, 2-over through 3, which wasn't the best start, but had two bounce-back birdies on 13, 14, which was great, and got the round going from there.

Definitely a bit of a shaky start, but I was happy I could recover so well.

Q. You did say something to yourself or were you just trying to push those three holes out of your mind?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: I was just trying to push them out of my mind. I knew there was so many good opportunities coming in. It was only the first three holes and I started on the back nine, so I knew 17 and 18 were reachable par-5s for me, so I knew there were birdies out there.

Made a bunch of birdies yesterday, so I felt pretty good that I would get some putts to drop.

Q. You made a bunch yesterday, and then before you made the turn you made three consecutive. Talk me through those three birdies before you made the turn.

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Yeah, on 16 I just had a 9-iron in. Hit it to about 12 feet and made the putt for birdie.

17 I got to the greenside bunker in two; made a good up and down for birdie.

18 hit a 3-wood left of the green; made a good 12-foot putt for birdie there. Definitely a good end to that nine.

Q. That front nine, were you just feeling some sort of mojo? How comfortable were you feeling in your game?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: I felt pretty comfortable. My putting was really good after those first few holes, so I felt good about my putting. I was putting a good stroke on it and got some putts to fall.

Q. Yesterday Nasa seemed to run away with it with that first-round 61. Then as you're coming down the final stretch you're up there tied for the lead at the moment. For you, we talked about you said you look at leaderboards. How much were you looking at leaderboards as you continued to play well?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: So I was first out this afternoon, so after I played my first few holes I don't think Nasa had even tee'd off yet, so I wasn't paying too much attention to the leaderboard, and especially with that kind of shaky start. Wasn't really looking.

Didn't see a whole lot of leaderboards the first few holes when I made a couple birdies on the front nine, my second nine today. But saw it on the back nine and I wanted to keep making birdies and dropping some putts, which was nice.

Q. You talked about it yesterday, but as a Midwest girl yourself you feel really confident, comfortable at this course. How much more confident are you feeling after today?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Definitely I feel great. I feel like my game has been pretty close, so it's nice to see some good scores today. Yeah, I love this golf course. It's so nice. It's so nice staying with the same host family for three years now.

So I feel really comfortable here and it's nice to be back. Nice to have fans back.

Q. Some of your rounds earlier in the year you missed some cuts and that, but can this tournament here really make things, I mean, just jump start you for the rest of the season?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Definitely, yeah. I've had some good finishes this year, too. So I feel like my game has been pretty close, so it's nice to definitely see some results now.

Q. For me, you say that you're getting more and more, you've clicked it with your game it really feels like. When did you really feel like your game started clicking?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Probably the last couple weeks. At Meijer a few weeks ago I shot 7-under I think on Friday, which was great. Nice to see a low score. Didn't finish that well, but it was nice to have some momentum.

And last week I played in Dallas. Had kind of one rough round. Felt like I played really well the other three rounds.

So I was just looking forward to getting here and putting some good rounds together.

Q. How satisfying is it to come into this tournament and be confident and comfortable in your game and be able to post what you believe in?

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: Very. It's nice to see those numbers showing up and the results. But I felt good about my game, so it's nice to see those numbers.

Q. What will you take into the weekend? Right now you're toward the top of the leaderboard. It could stay like that depending on what happens this afternoon.

ELIZABETH SZOKOL: I'm just really looking forward to it. 36 more holes. I really like this golf course, so just see what the weekend brings. I'm excited to have fans back. There have definitely been a lot, so hopefully more out this weekend. I'm looking forward to that.