COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 12, 2022

Giulia Molinaro

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Giulia, how comfortable are you feeling on a new course like Upper Montclair?

GIULIA MOLINARO: At the beginning of the round I wasn't. I'll be honest. I settled in through the round. Always like first tee jitters, and that never goes away. I think everyone has them. I think they'll never go away.

Towards the middle of it, I started getting into a groove and feeling like I was controlling my shots very well, so that put me a little bit more at ease.

Q. First tee jitters, why is that? Is that just something that every single event is with you, you think?

GIULIA MOLINARO: I think so. I would be surprised if people say they don't. I think once you lose those, you might care a little bit -- you don't care enough.

Q. When you said that you were nervous at the beginning of your round, you went off, birdied three of your first six holes. Just take me through the beginning of that round.

GIULIA MOLINARO: Well, I hit a very good pitching wedge into 10. I believe it was pitching wedge. Yeah. Had, I think, a 5-, 6-footer for birdie, and it was a little shorter. I made it. That's always good when you start seeing putts drop. It's a massive confidence boost.

I had a birdie putt on 11, my second hole and hit the green in two on par-5. Things were just rolling my way, and definitely I got settled in.

Q. Despite the bogey on your back nine and being able to close with a birdie, how much was that a nice relief?

GIULIA MOLINARO: It's always nice. It's just like a cherry on the cake, right? When you finish the day with a birdie, it's just an extra smile.

Q. Take me through that closing hole for you.

GIULIA MOLINARO: Good drive. Good lay-up. I had a 50-degree wedge. I hit a pretty good 50-degree wedge. I was maybe 8, 9 yards short of the pin, and I made a very good putt coming in. Last drop. It was pretty good.

Q. This is the third course in the past three years. What was it like preparing for a course like this, and how do you think it best suits your game?

GIULIA MOLINARO: I think it's a ball striker's course, so it definitely suits the longer hitter and who is hitting it well that week and that day. Both courses have been incredible. This is an amazing golf course. I love it, and I'm glad that we're going to be here a few years.

Q. Absolutely. This is definitely we've heard from players the wind direction especially could be a factor. There was a lot of wind in the beginning this week. We didn't see that much wind as we got closer to the afternoon. How much was that a factor in the way that you prepared for today?

GIULIA MOLINARO: The wind definitely was difficult the first two days that we played. It was really strong. It's always a nice, pleasant surprise when the wind decreases instead of increases, so that's good.

Q. This is your second 6-under this season. How good is it to get a good round like that under your belt and continue to build off that the rest of this week?

GIULIA MOLINARO: 6-under rounds don't come around often unless you are probably Jin Young Ko, but not all of us are. So it's always a great feeling. It's good to see things working and after all the work that you have put in and rounds come together. Three more days, so tomorrow don't start from scratch, but that's the mentality, I believe.

Q. You told me you just kind of just missed out on the U.S. Women's Open by a couple of shots. Does that put more fire in your belly to come out here and be like I'm going to play -- I'm going to try to win this event just so I can play in that event?

GIULIA MOLINARO: Missing the U.S. Open is always a big deal and a bit of a bummer. We did tell each other, my caddie and I, we have one more chance, so let's see how it goes.

Q. What will you take away from a round like this as you head into Friday? What are you hoping keeps up as you take on from Friday's round?

GIULIA MOLINARO: I really hope I keep striking it the way I am. I was very comfortable with my swing today. I obviously was comfortable on the greens because when you shoot such scores, you are obviously putting very well, but I really hope I can keep the ball striking going.