GAINBRIDGE LPGA AT BOCA RIO

January 27, 2022

Jennifer Kupcho

Boca Rio Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Jennifer, welcome back to the LPGA Tour. Not a bad way to start round one of take us through today.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I played really well. Hit the ball really well. The couple greens that I missed it was just on the fringe.

I think I took a lot of time off this off-season, so if I would've missed a little farther I don't know if my chipping is exactly there, but I didn't have to.

That was definitely really nice.

Q. Couple birdies on the front nine; eight par saves in a row to close out the round. How were you feeling on that back nine?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Really good. Really tired. Haven't walked 18 holes since CME. Yeah, definitely a little bit tired.

Q. You said you put the clubs down for a while. What is a while to you, and have you ever done that before when anticipating a new season, whether it was in college, amateur golf, or even now?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: No, I haven't done it. Honestly, I started practicing like a week and a half ago. Yeah, I took a lot of time off. Just I was sick for a lot of it, but I also took time off during Christmas, went home.

So that was really nice. I mean, coming out here I've never done that before, but I've also learned that you kind of have to, and that my body can take it now.

Q. What was that like when you kind of started that tired feeling, when you were like, Oh, my God, 18 holes again? What was that like when it suddenly got a little harder?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I mean, it was fine. I was at least playing well and having fun with it, so if it would have started going downhill I might have gotten really tired and frustrated.

Luckily I didn't have to worry about that.

Q. I know you had some off-season fun stuff that you did. I know I saw the ax throwing for a little bachelorette. What was that like, to kind of have some more fun this past off-season as you get ready for a wedding?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: It was really fun, yeah, just to have a great group girls. I've never done ax throwing before, so it was really fun. To be able to celebrate getting married, I mean, I didn't really think it was coming this quick, but here we are.

Q. Around the corner. As you gear up for a new season, any part of your game you look at that you would like to dial up a little bit?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Not necessarily. Last year I struggled a little bit with putting, so I was just working on that when I started practicing again.

Q. And what's the benefit of being -- you guys play so much golf. You say you took some time off, came out here. What's the benefit of just being fresh mentally?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, it's very beneficial. I think -- I mean, it's really hard to come out here and play that much golf when you're used to playing a few events every couple weeks in college.

I had never taken off more than two days before I came out here, so it's definitely a big difference.

Q. Yeah. Is it nice to see still some of the results of just the work you've done in the last week come into fruition, knowing that you that extended period off?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, for sure. I think it shows that I can take time off if I need to and there is definitely a benefit to coming out fresh mentally.

Q. A lot of positives after a bogey-free round like today. What will you take into tomorrow?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Just go out and keep playing my game. I mean, I didn't really have a whole lot of expectations coming into this week, so just going to keep going with that.