MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 16, 2022

Gerina Mendoza

Blythefield Country Club

Press Conference

Q. Here with Gerina Mendoza. 8-under 64. Had one bogey on the card. Went off. I mean, finished birdie, eagle on 17 and 18. Just walk me through the last couple holes.

GERINA MENDOZA: Yeah, you know, the wind picked up a little bit so playing a little tougher.

17 is a tougher driving hole. Hit a good drive and kind of between clubs. You know, especially it gets tough when you're between clubs and the wind is picking up, and so I think that me and my caddie did a good job on that all day.

Probably hit it to 18 feet and just hit a good putt and went in, so that was nice to see a longer one go in.

And then 18 hit a really good drive. Had 7-iron in. Again, hit a really good putt and made it.

It was good to get an eagle today because I hit it pretty good, and on 8 I think I had like a six-footer for eagle and missed that.

So it's good to finish on that note.

Q. I mean, hitting 17 of 18 agrees, 11 of 13 fairways, how key has your ball striking been, and what have you been working on to get this low number?

GERINA MENDOZA: Yeah, I've just been trying to work on being more consistent. That's kind of been my mantra my whole career. It's been kind of all over the map recently, but I just really tried to focus on a spot in front of my ball and really commit to that line and to my swing.

I think I did that all day today, minus maybe one shot, but it was a drive that didn't kill me. So, yeah, I just kind of ham and egged it and just kept it in front of me, and that's kind of what you got to do out here.

The course is in amazing shape. They did a really good job. Can't ask for better scores, so...

Q. As you've been building and trying to work through becoming more consistent, how good does it feel to go this low? That's a heck of a number.

GERINA MENDOZA: Yeah, because I haven't really been posting many numbers as of late, so it just really gave me a big confidence boost and I kind of felt like my old self, just kind of plunking away and not thinking about the number or one more or calculating.

I just really stayed present in every shot. I know it's very cliche to say, but it's really what you have to do. Kind of just keep your head down. Had a great group. Jan and Lang, they're always fin to play with, so definitely lightened the day.

I had a terrible rain session before I tee'd off, but I just told myself I'm just going to pick a line in front of my ball and just be committed on my putting and my ball striking.

Q. How much does simplifying it like that help you?

GERINA MENDOZA: I mean, it helps. I think it would help anybody. I think that's the hard part about golf, is trying to find what that recipe is to simplify things.

You know, you can always say like one shot at a time, but it's very hard to do. Once you find kind of that groove of doing that, it's a great place to be.

Q. How does a start like today just set the tone for you for the rest of the weekend?

GERINA MENDOZA: Getting off to a great start is always good, and, yeah, you know, golf course is playing a little softer and you can attack a lot of the pins.

But at the end of the day you still have to hit the shots, you still got to make the putts, so definitely giving me a confidence boost of I've played well here in the past, and just going to try to keep that going. Just keep my head down and focusing on that one shot at hand.

Q. So does the mindset change at all or do you just want to keep it exactly the same as it was today, because you were pretty good today? Anything you want to change up?

GERINA MENDOZA: What I've learned over my career is no two days are the same, so tomorrow is going to be a new day. I'm probably going to wake up with new feels, so just kind of take the day as it comes and whatever it hands me, just do the best I can at that one shot.

Like I said, just put my head down and be committed and have confidence.

Q. Just to be at the top of the leaderboard, how does it feel?

GERINA MENDOZA: Feels awesome. It's been a while. (Laughter.)

Yeah, I mean, the golf out here is getting so good. The girls are amazing golfers, and this old mom has still got it, so I'm pretty excited.

Q. On that note, as you get a little bit later in your career, obviously a mom now, and your priorities have shifted. Golf I'm sure took a back seat to a lot of that. Are you getting to the point now as your kids get a little bit older that golf can move a little bit forward again?

GERINA MENDOZA: Yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of a double-edged sword there. Like you have other priorities, but at the same side, you still want to play good golf. You don't want to just come out here going through the motions.

So that definitely takes a while to find that balance. It does put into perspective when you have kids that a bad round is not the end of the world, and my son doesn't know whether good or bad.

I think he once told our baby-sitter that I teach golf, so he doesn't even know I play golf, which is great. (Laughter.)

But, yeah, it's just -- it's just given me perspective, but I think also I have to try a little harder to be more focused. You become a mom, you're a little scatterbrained, and so I got to put a little extra effort into my focus when I'm out here.

Q. Final question: Getting off to such a hot start, how do you rein in the emotions and keep the expectations I'm sticking to the game plan; I've got three more days?

GERINA MENDOZA: You know, I never thought I would be thankful for my lack of memory, and so hopefully that will kick in tonight and I can just kind of start over.

But like I said, tomorrow is a new day. You know, that's the great thing about golf, is if it was the same every day, your same feels would work day in and day out and the same person would win every week, but that's not the case.

I am probably going to be a little nervous tomorrow, but just going to focus on -- like process-wise. Like you can't focus on the results. I've learned over the years if you stick with the process the results kind of take care of themselves. And so there is only one thing I can control, and that's my thoughts and my commitment and that's what I'll do tomorrow.