COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

October 7, 2021

Maria Fassi

Mountain Ridge Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Maria Fassi. 3-under 68 today. How did you find Mountain Ridge?

MARIA FASSI: I love this place. I think it's a great golf course. It's in amazing shape. I think it suits my eye as well, which helps a lot.

So happy for the opportunity to get to know this amazing golf course, for them to host us. It's been such a fun week already.

Pretty happy with the round today.

Q. A lot of people have been saying it has a major championship feel. Would you agree and why do you agree?

MARIA FASSI: I do. It has long holes and holes where you can maybe take on a little bit more and walk away with a birdie pretty easily.

But then there are so many others where a mistake can cost you a bogey or even a double.

So I think it is a very fun golf course. The setup, I think it's very major-like as well. I'm just happy that we're here, happy that I like the course, and that I got off to a good start today.

Q. You've had kind of a big few weeks on the course and off the course. Obviously Top 5 at the ShopRite last week. Is it kind of nice to come in and be able to just kind of relax coming into the Founders Cup this week?

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, it's a little bit different because now, especially after last week, I know my game is where I want it to be. I know I'm very close to my ultimate goal of of course winning a tournament.

So while maybe this week I don't have the pressure that I had the weeks prior with keeping my card and all that, now I think I've smelled the win last week. I got very close.

So now it's different. Now I'm kind of chasing that. I mean, I was 3-under today and I think I left a lot out there, too. So it's kind of -- I mean, I'm happy, but at the same time, I know I could have done better. So it's different but it's definitely a nicer feeling this week.

Q. How do you keep those expectations in control when you've got so much on your mind in that regard?

MARIA FASSI: I mean, even the weeks prior and this one, like I just -- I been really focusing on myself, on my game, on sticking to my game plan and executing it.

Like it's been working out for me the last five weeks. I'm not going to do anything different now. Like I of course in the back of my head I am thinking about those things, I'm dreaming about hopefully lifting a trophy sometime soon, but at the end of the day, when I'm on the golf course I'm here to just play golf, hit my targets, and try to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes.

Q. Any adjustments heading into Friday or stick to the same game plan?

MARIA FASSI: No. I think we have a great game plan. I think we played the course very well. We played smart. We attacked when we could and held back when we needed to.

So I trust that myself and my caddie are in good shape for tomorrow. We're going to go and work on a couple things today, but I think just gas pedal down like I was today.