THE AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 22, 2021

Celine Herbin

Evian Resort Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. What does it mean to be here competing in this event?

CELINE HERBIN: It's quite special. I mean, obviously I'm French, and to be able to play a major in France is something very nice. It's also very nice to have some family, like my father is here and friends following. Obviously we are almost always abroad and I have not too many people following, so there was good vibes. Good vibes on this course, so yeah, I love it.

Starting with a minus 3 on the first day in a major in France is nice.

Q. You said your father is here?

CELINE HERBIN: Yes, my father could drive yesterday nine hours and stay here for the rest of the tournament.

Q. A nine-hour drive is not going to stand in his way to watch you?

CELINE HERBIN: No.

Q. What are some of the memories you have here at Evian and over the years?

CELINE HERBIN: I have good memories actually. It's a course that I kind of like, or I like it very much. It asks for a lot of creativity with different lies. I enjoy a lot playing it.

I remember very good rounds. Like it was not a bogey-free round today. Could have been; I was not that far. Obviously I missed like one one-foot putt on 14 for my first bogey and just a little miss on the 17th for also a bogey, but I think I can play this course very clean. I attack a lot of greens, and yes, I'm comfortable on this course really.

Q. Take me back to -- you've really been on a run ever since the U.S. Women's Open. You had a top-15 finish there and then a top 10 at the Volunteers of America Classic, which secured your spot here. I remember how excited you were. You were the one telling me the stats that I should know. What does this mean to have a good run in a major, to qualify for another major and now to be at this point? Where is your game at?

CELINE HERBIN: My game is in a very good state, obviously. The scores show it. I feel well on and off the course, and I think it helps me a lot.

I definitely made a lot of changes the last months and at the end of last year and helps me to feel more relaxed I would say on the course, and yeah, lots of very good things are going towards the right direction. I'm just happy.

I enjoy a lot my golf now, and just I take it easy.

Q. Have you ever played this course outside of this championship?

CELINE HERBIN: The truth is no. I always have played Evian at the event. It's my first time that I play here.

Q. You said you're nine hours from home?

CELINE HERBIN: Yeah, from where my parents live and my brother lives. I live in Spain, so not within --

Q. Where you grew up?

CELINE HERBIN: No. I grew up in Normandy, I was born in Normandy, now they live around Bordeaux. I lived much more in the south. But yeah, I'm from Normandy, but a little bit -- I moved a lot in France.

Q. Take me through the changes that you made. How many changes? I know we talked about it in Dallas but if you can just give me a refresher.

CELINE HERBIN: So I changed my swing coach, first of all. I practice now with Jose Manuel Corrales. He's a player on the European Tour Senior. He's right now playing the senior championship in Sunningdale.

Then I have a new physical trainer called Paul Dorochenko. He was taking care of the best tennis players in the world for 30 years, like the best players in the top 10, so he definitely helped me to help improve my physical state. He's also a chiropractor, so he's taking care of that part. Also with him we work a lot about -- we use a system called Allyane, and it's a very revolutionary system to help to improve the changes, to get the changes that you want to do in your swing much quicker using like sounds, like very low frequency sounds.

Q. It sounded like you said alien.

CELINE HERBIN: Yeah, Allyane. You can check on it. Yeah, and obviously my putting coach. Since last September I worked with Jean-Pierre Cixous in France. He's taking care of very good players in France like Antoine Rosner, who is one of -- he's top two in France. He plays in America sometimes and he did well. So there is my team.

Q. When you can put your name at the top of the leaderboard, near the top of the leaderboard like this and you're in your home country and you can maybe kind of feel some of that support from everybody here, is that something that can only help you throughout the rest of the week?

CELINE HERBIN: Definitely. Definitely. I feel a bit lucky really to be able to play here as a French player. Definitely I hope it's going to be like very crowded towards the end of the tournament, like lots of people are going to be here and be able to enjoy it. My goal is to make them to enjoy my golf, and hopefully I can give them some good emotions.