July 29, 2022
Troon, Scotland, UK
Dundonald Links
Quick Quotes
Q. Another very good round for you out there today. I just said you're making this golf course look easy. I'm sure it's not, but tell me about your day.
LILIA VU: I just did the same thing I did as yesterday, just focused on the hole and the shot in front of me, and that's what I did.
Q. Still have incoming bright sunshine now, anyway. Again, a day to make the most of the weather, wasn't it?
LILIA VU: Yeah, it was a beautiful day for golf. So I enjoyed it.
Q. Growing up, how much links golf have you actually played? I know it's less common in the States, but nevertheless, there's still plenty of coastline.
LILIA VU: It's less common in the States, yes, but at my home club, Shady Canyon, it's kind of a links-style golf course. There's basically no trees. If you hit it off the fairway, you're gone, basically. So I've had a lot of practice with that.
Q. Heading into the weekend, obviously conditions are going to change a little bit, but you're in such a strong position. Is there any expectation at this halfway stage?
LILIA VU: No, I'm just going to try to enjoy myself. I know the rain is coming tomorrow, so I'm just going to expect it and be ready for that.
Q. I want to ask you a little bit more about the patience it took today. I wouldn't say you got off to a slow start per se, but you really kind of lit it up on the back nine. When you got to the back nine, how did you take advantage of these mild conditions?
LILIA VU: I think I just put myself in a good position off the tee. I think that's really important. You really make your birdies from hitting the fairways here. And each hole is different from the other hole. There's not a lot of similar holes. So you have to be really accurate off the tee. And I was able to do that off the back nine more so than the front nine, give myself more chances.
Q. You've made two bogeys in 36 holes. You talk about hitting the ball well off the tee, but what else has been the key for you to avoid those mistakes?
LILIA VU: Well, I bogeyed 17 twice, right? So that hole is a little bit -- I don't know, I hit it into the -- I know the five bunkers on that hole, and after I hit out of the bunker, just laid up to another shot, I looked back at the tee, and I was like, so how do I do this tomorrow so I can avoid bogeying this hole?
And I still haven't figured it out, so I'll let you know tomorrow.
Q. And just walk me through some of those birdies out there. I mean, obviously been putting pretty good, hitting the ball pretty well, but what stood out?
LILIA VU: Definitely ball-striking. I'm able to have a couple tap-ins per round, and I think that really helps. And then giving myself a chance, 10, 15 feet, feel pretty good.
Q. You won three times on the Epson Tour last season, so you're no stranger to being at the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend. You seem pretty calm. How do you keep yourself in check, keeping those expectations kind of level?
LILIA VU: I seem calm now, but I wasn't during the practice round. So I think I'm just trying to play my game with what I have and just move forward. I mean, not every part of my game is perfect right now, but I'm making it happen with whatever I have.
Q. How do you do that? Obviously no player comes out here having their A-game all day, every day, but how do you manage when it's kind of like, eh, some of the things are shaky?
LILIA VU: I kind of just say positive. Honestly, when I'm positive, I tend to play better.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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