LPGA Q-SERIES

December 11, 2021

Savannah Vilaubi

Magnolia Grove

Press Conference

Q. 5-under 67. To be at 6-under, first round in the 60s so far at Q Series, what are your emotions right now?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: I guess I finally have some relief emotions now that the round is done, but while playing you have stress of course, but I just keep telling myself like this is not foreign, this is not anything that I haven't experienced before, so I think today it was just all about kind of transcending the emotions I was feeling so I could focus on the shot. But now it's like, Oh my gosh, whew, I'm ready for a beer (laughing).

Q. What were some of your personal highlights out there?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: I made a turkey on the back nine, which is really great. So three birdies in a row. Just finally saw the line match the speed and kept my head down for once.

So I birdied the first and was like, Oh, first birdie hole curse, you know? Just so I stayed patient after that and then got three in a row on the back. So patience rewarded by a turkey was probably the highlight of the day.

Q. You've had some success out here. You're no stranger to pro golf, played Symetra Tour this season, had a couple top 10s, we've seen you a lot on the Cactus Tour. How prepared did you feel for this big of an experience with all of that kind of in your back pocket?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: Yeah, I felt really prepared. Winning the Colorado State Open this year was a huge deal as far as getting me mentally familiar with what winning feels like, playing from a lead, maintaining the lead. So regardless of -- I mean, you're always wanting to shoot well, whether it's to make a cut realistically or if it's to win a tournament. So I think the mind frame is very, very similar and I felt really prepared. Colorado State Open felt like a really big stage, I had a second place finish on Symetra this year which was the best one. I'm getting more familiar with kind of being closer to the top, which is what we want. So I feel like I'm really prepared going into these couple weeks.

Q. You've been out here grinding for quite awhile. How much of a relief does it feel like, hey, the cards are aligning, this is where I'm supposed to be, how good does that feel?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: It feels really great to have the results follow the belief. So belief is one thing that I've been working on for the last few years and I guess it's always a work in progress for us, but to have the results show and to just be patient enough to have the scores reflect the effort and all that is a really special feeling. So there's a lot of excitement, also a lot of relief, so, yeah, it's great.

Q. What's the mindset going into tomorrow, obviously a lot on the line?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: Yeah, today was moving day and I did what I needed to do and tomorrow we're just going to play steady and be patient. Patience is the absolute name of the game for Q-School weeks. It's a grind. Like you said, everyone feels it and the one who is the most patient and can stay collected to hit shots wins. So, yeah, patience is key.

Q. Are you a wind player? It got pretty windy out there today and you're probably one of the lower scores to be had at this point?

SAVANNAH VILAUBI: It's kind of funny, so back in -- so I went to UC Riverside and we are no stranger to wind over there. Right down the street is Beaumont, a/k/a Blowmont and so the wind is, I don't know, the wind has been very present all in junior golf and collegiate play, so this was, yeah, again, you're just, I'm like, I'm familiar with this, I've played in wind before, just keep it steady. So the wind doesn't affect a well-struck golf ball, so if you can keep the left and right and right and left spin-off it as much as you can, then that's the key there.