KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 23, 2022

Jennifer Kupcho

Congressional Country Club (Blue Course)

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Jennifer Kupcho. Just opened with a 1-under 17. Continued the strong play. You hit all 14 fairways today. Overall what was the strength of your game today, do you think?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: It's definitely important to hit fairways. My driver was definitely going a little wayward at the end of the week last week, so to be able to hit all the fairways is pretty good, and I hit a lot of the greens as well in pretty close proximity.

THE MODERATOR: Brooke was joking right before you she hasn't played this early in a long time. What was the first nine holes like? We heard a lot of wind, a lot of rain. How does the course change throughout the day? Did it change? Just what was the experience today?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: It was certainly an interesting wake-up call. It was definitely really windy. I mean, fairly windy with a lot of mist and rain. I haven't played in rain either in a while.

It was definitely interesting and a tough challenge out there in the front nine.

THE MODERATOR: But overall, again, you finished 1-under 71. Always a strong way to start a major. Overall how do you feel you played today?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I feel like I played really well. The course is really hard. I don't really know how In Gee is 8-under right now. That's definitely an outlier.

Q. Every player comes into a major and says: You know, I can't look at the board; I'm going to stick to my game plan; a lot of holes left. How do you have the discipline to do that when you look at the board and see an 8-under up?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Honestly, I looked at when she was 8-under -- I think she was 7-under when I last saw the board out on the course, and I had missed actually a couple of short putts. At that point I was 2-under, so I could have been up there at 5 just as easily.

I think it's definitely out there. I don't know if 8-under is out there, but I think 4-, 5-under is definitely very realistic.

Q. What was the biggest key in getting your driver figured out?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Just working with my swing coach and the Ping rep here just figuring out exactly what the issue was, and it was really just me standing too far from the ball. I just moved a little closer, and it worked.

Q. What were some of the longer clubs that you had in on the par-4s today?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Certainly on the front nine I had two of my big hybrid, which is essentially like a 3-iron-ish.

Q. Did you think it would be set up shorter today when you saw the forecast?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah. Not necessarily the forecast, but just how much rain we got and how much they said that we got. In a text this morning I kind of thought a lot of tees would be moved up.

My driver is hitting and stopping within a yard, so it's definitely playing really long.

Q. Did you think it was a fair test?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I mean, everyone is playing on the same thing. Obviously, there's going to be people complaining, but we're all playing on the same course. It's not like they're moving it up for the afternoon, so it's still going to be wet out there.

Q. Jennifer, how much does your thought process change, if it does at all, when In Gee is posting such a low number, and you have to kind of chase her tomorrow and maybe into the weekend?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: It's just like I did last week. I went out there and tore up the course on the first day, and I didn't play as well the last three days.

So I think just going out there and playing my best. If she continues to play really well during the rest of the week and the weekend, then good for her, and she deserves it.

Q. Given the length and some of the clubs that you hit today, how did the test here compare to some of the other major championships?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I think it's very similar to a U.S. Open setup. Yeah, other than it's soft, the greens are really soft. The length and the rough length is also very similar to a U.S. Open.

Q. You braced yourself last week after that great first round that you knew might not go quite as well the second day. As a top-level player, what's your theory on why it is so hard to follow up those sizzling rounds?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I'm not really sure. I think it's you get out and you just go and get really hot, and then you expect yourself to play that well all the time. Then you start getting frustrated, and then it just goes downhill from there.

I think that it's really just a mental thing. You go out and everything is perfect, and then you show up the next day, and it's -- realistically, golf is never going to be perfect like that the day after. (Laughing).

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, Jennifer.