LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

February 5, 2022

Sarah Schmelzel

Crown Colony Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Sarah, bogey-free 8-under par 64 in the final round of the Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf Club. Sarah, I would imagine that was a fun, fun round for you to close things out in Fort Myers. How fun was it, and how did the round feel?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, it was great. Obviously it's really nice to play well in the final round and move up the leaderboard, something I've been working on a lot last few years on tour, so it was nice to see that come together.

Been playing well all week. Been hitting really good shots and had a lot of good looks, so I think the key was to stay really patient, and finally some putts started to go in on the back nine.

Glad I kept it rolling.

Q. It's your second lowest career score, only behind a second round 62 at the 2019 Cambia Portland Classic. What did you have going right specifically today to get that number?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: I think just controlling distances really well in the wind into greens, so I just consistently had looks so I could get into a rhythm of hitting 20-footers, 15-footers over and over again until finally a few of them ended up dropping on the back nine.

I think I stayed in a pretty good rhythm all day with that and I was able to capitalize on it towards the end.

Q. You had birdies at No. 2 and 9; didn't start off super warm. Really turned it on with two consecutive three-straight birdie streaks 12 through 14, 16 through 18. What was running through your mind on the front nine? What kind of day did you think it was going to be when you made the turn?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: To be honest, I thought it was going to be like last two days where I didn't make a ton of putts but I had a lot of looks, which is kind of how the front nine went today.

Making the turn I was just trying to make as many birdies as possible because I know the rest of the girls are out there trying to do the same thing. I wasn't sure that I was going to get six out of last seven or whatever it was, so I'm happy with that.

All in all, pretty good.

Q. Yeah. Do you remember a heater like that, six out of the last seven?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: No, not six out of the last seven at the end of a round. I think when I shot 62 I birdied the first five, but that had a little more momentum going into the rest of the day, so that was probably another heater I can remember.

Yeah, to birdie six out of the last seven, it's great coming out of the off-season do that and see a bunch of hard work pay off.

Q. Still a little bit of golf to play, but you're in the clubhouse T4. Career best finish is 6 on the LPGA Tour. Either way, a top 10 here in Fort Myers. Got to feel good to get a top 10 early in the season. Does that provide some momentum and something that you can build on, especially early in the year?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, definitely. I think when I've had my Top 10s in the past years it's kind of been towards the middle of the season or the end, so it's nice to come out of the gates hot.

Like I said, with a bunch of work that I did in the off-season it's nice to see a lot of that pay off. It's nice to kind of get started early and keep the pedal down and keep going.

Q. Anything you specifically focused on in your off-season work?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: I honestly did a bunch of mental work. You know, obviously it's a grind out here. You're away from home for probably eight months out of the year. Trying to be nice to myself, enjoy the process, enjoy the places we go, go a little easier on myself.

So I would say that was the biggest thing. I had a great time the last two weeks and looking forward to the rest of the year.

Q. Anything specific? Yoga? Any program? Did you work with anybody?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, I was actually working with my mental coach from a college. I had some success with him when I was in school. Helped me get through a tough time.

So it was nice to start working with him again because we kind of had established that relationship already. He knew me pretty well and my tendencies.

So we were just able to kind of take the perfectionist mentality out of it. That's hard to maintain through weeks and weeks on the road, let alone four rounds in a row.

Yeah, that was the main thing, so I'm happy that that paid off for this week.

Q. What's his name?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Bill Nelson.

Q. Nice. What's the plan for the time off? Are you playing Asia? If not, what's the schedule look like in terms of practice, travel?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, I'm playing both in Asia. Looking forward to that. I'll be home for the next three weeks in Arizona with my family. Really just maybe a few days off and just kind of keep the pedal down and keep grinding.