COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 12, 2022

Ally Ewing

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. What a great shot. Did you think after your practice rounds there were that many great shots out there on this very difficult course?

ALLY EWING: I think it's such a driving course. You have to keep it in the fairways, and the fairways were really, really tight, so I think from square one I was setting myself up with a lot of really good drives, but it's still a very demanding approach-shot type course.

After the practice rounds, I don't know that I saw that many, but I executed some really good shots, so I have a lot of good to take away.

Q. It's a major championship quality course, unquestionably, and it's the hugest purse of the regular season. (Inaudible). It's got a really big feel to it. Does that give you a little more adrenaline, a little momentum when you are coming into a week like this?

ALLY EWING: I think it's great. It's a great event. I probably would say that in terms of preparation and how I feel about the event, I'm trying to make myself just feel like it's a normal event for me because it's a long day.

It's a long week from Thursday to Sunday, so it requires a lot of patience, a lot of shot-making to get you through to a Sunday. It's not a "get ahead of yourself" type week, but it certainly is great to have events like this and sponsors that put up such a great tournament.

Q. Just take me through what this first day at the Cognizant Founders Cup was like for you.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, it was great. The start was as good as it could be with two birdies. The third hole I just kind of had basically a near impossible up-and-down and just took what I could, but overall I am really excited.

I struck the ball much better, which is closer to expectation for me, and then it certainly helps to see some putts go in. From the whole day I take away really good things, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Like you said, two birdies in your first two holes. How much was that a momentum kicker for you for the rest of the day?

ALLY EWING: It was a great start. I would say for me when I started birdie, birdie, bogey, birdie, at some point I was kind of, like, okay, let's just kind of steady this ship, and I actually had over 40 feet on No. 5 and didn't have great speed on the putt, so I still had an 8-footer to make, and I rolled that in, which I think was a good kind of cool me out and just really felt like I kind of kept the momentum making a big par putt for me.

Q. Also want to talk through before opening it up that eagle that you had there. Just what was going so well for you, and what was the look?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I hit a great drive. I think I had 196 to the pin, and I rolled in a 62- or 63-footer, so certainly wasn't thinking eagle once I got to the green, but every now and then you have the right speed and the right line, and from that distance it goes in.

Q. Have you ever shot 67 with a shank?

ALLY EWING: Actually, I can say that I did because in Sioux Falls on Symetra Tour I did it on a par-3, but I actually shot 7- or 8-under that day. I got up and down for a par from a par-3 tee shot. It is what it is. I laughed it off.

Q. For all of the other golfers out there who do this on a regular basis, how do you even hit the next one?

ALLY EWING: Well, you try to execute a little bit better technique. We always say that it's not far from being a really good shot, but I had -- it was sitting down a little bit, but it was close enough to the edge of the green that I could putt it. Yeah, just kind of put it out of your mind and laugh it off and move on with the rest of the day.

Q. What is it about you and new venues? I mean, your two wins have been on courses we hadn't played before.

ALLY EWING: I think some of it's an expectation. You don't really know what the expectation is. You have no idea what the winning score is going to be, what the conditions have played like. We played just down the road here last year, but it was a different time of year.

I think I come in here or to new courses with a little bit of expectation freedom, so to speak. Just really feel like I maybe stay within myself and work more on executing shot by shot, hole by hole, and it's obviously done well for me for some events, but long way to go. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. When you have a round which has six birdies, an eagle, and three bogeys, are you satisfied, or are you looking for cut out the bogeys or what?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, a couple of the bogeys were pretty good bogeys, but I think for me it's just exciting to see that many under par holes. I feel like I can clean up some of the shots, but I also made some really good par saves today, so when I take a look back at the day as a whole, there is a lot of really good -- a couple of things I can clean up, but overall if you would have told me starting the round I was going to shoot 5-under, I would be like, okay, cool.

Q. One quick question. On the birdies, what were the lengths like from 5 to 10 feet, or you said, what, the eagle was 3 feet?

ALLY EWING: 62 foot.

Q. 63.

ALLY EWING: Yeah.

Q. And the others were I assume shorter, the birdies?

ALLY EWING: I think I rolled in a variety. I think I had kind of a 2-putt birdie on hole 2. The first hole was a short putt, but I really did. I made putts from a good amount of distances. It could have been anywhere from 10, and probably more common the 10- to 20-foot range.

Q. What about this course do you think suits your game the best?

ALLY EWING: I think it takes patience. I think it takes good strategy, but you can have great strategy, but you still have to execute the shots, so getting around today and having the good strategy, but also executing on top of it I think is why I shot 5-under, but it is a shot-maker type golf course.

You can be tempted by some of the pins and maybe cutting some corners. It's just really staying disciplined out there and trying to execute as many shots as you can.

Q. On that 63-foot eagle putt are you just trying to look to get that putt close and then it was just kind of luck that it went in?

ALLY EWING: Absolutely. You get to a putt of that distance. I would probably even say putts over 30 feet you're really just trying to dial in your speed. Especially at the length of 62, 63 feet. I'm just kind of seeing where the ball is going to track and end somewhere within close proximity of the hole. And like you said, every once in a while you match up the line and the speed, and putt goes in.

Q. Being in the morning wave today, what do you plan to do with the rest of the day as you prepare for tomorrow?

ALLY EWING: Get some lunch. Get some rest. Yeah, I don't really know. We'll just see what turns out for the day.

Q. Two more questions from me. One, this event as a player, director, and representative of the LPGA, this event really celebrates the past, present, and the future. What does it mean to be able to come and see the elevation of this event over the last couple of years?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I think it's a way that we can show appreciation to all the past players, pioneers, Founders of the LPGA, and it's really cool to walk off the 18th green and see some of those. Even see some youngsters today.

Just to kind of give back to those who really paved the way for us because without them, there would be no Cognizant Founders Cup this week. So it's an appreciation week, but it's also a really fun week to get to honor them with.

Q. And a really fun night last night for Mississippi State. What does it mean to you to see that team move on?

ALLY EWING: I was so excited. I'm thankful that they were finished on a Wednesday instead of mid-round having to worry. I was a little nervous, but they were gutsy. They hung in there, and I'm really excited to see that they -- all the hard work that they've put in. They deserve it. They've had a couple of chances with COVID and last year, unfortunately, being a regional that got completely washed out. They were eager, and it paid off. They're going to play nationals at Grayhawk.

Thank you.