U.S SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 25, 2022

Pat Hurst

Brooklawn Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Pat Hurst, 3-under 70. Last year you were a rookie and it was the first time you had played in something this major in a while. How does it feel coming back this year?

PAT HURST: Yeah, we've played the last -- two out of the last three weeks, three and a half weeks, so that definitely helps with tournament play, right, and getting those feelings, and then also just playing under pressure. It's a whole different ballgame than just going out and playing with the guys at home.

Q. How did your game feel coming into the week? What was working well today?

PAT HURST: Yeah, I've been practicing more since probably the middle of last year, since after Solheim, spent a lot of time in the desert starting in probably December, so that helped quite a bit. Just been working a little bit more on my game. I can't say it's all good, but most of it's pretty good. I had a little oops on one of the holes, but overall I feel pretty good about my game.

Q. Do you practice with Juli in the desert?

PAT HURST: We do mostly dinners and going out at night in the desert. (Laughter.)

No, this year we didn't. We didn't practice that much together, just there was a lot of things going on. She was in and out, I was in and out. So we didn't practice as much as we normally do. But doesn't mean we didn't see each other.

Q. What's the hardest part of your game to get into competition-ready mode?

PAT HURST: Oh, I think mental, just getting those bad thoughts out of your head and thinking positive. I'm trying to just go out like I used to and be happy that someone is setting up a tee time and I'm just showing up and trying not to put too much pressure on myself. This is supposed to be fun. When you don't practice as much, it kind of -- it can get tough, because the confidence isn't as high. You don't know if you can really hit this shot.

But the more you play, the more it feels like it's coming back.

Q. I'm asking everybody for their best JoAnne Carner story.

PAT HURST: Oh, my goodness. I remember playing in Youngstown with her. This is going way back, Youngstown. My ball ended up in a tree. It would be a baseball swing to get it out. Of course I take my unplayable, and I want to say my husband was on the bag that week, and I think she told Jeff, back in the day I'd have hit that shot, and I totally believed she would have. To me that is her to a tee.

Q. You didn't think at all about hitting it, did you?

PAT HURST: I was trying to be smart. But sometimes when you're trying to be smart, it's not the right play, right. But no, she's been there, done it, so she knows what she would want to do.

Q. What does it mean to have her in the field this week?

PAT HURST: I think it's awesome. When I'm 83, I hope to tee it up just like her and be able to get it around. I think it's great for the game. She's just someone that I look up to, someone that I enjoy seeing out. I would love for her to shoot her age because that's just an awesome thing to do, but whatever she shoots, it just makes me happy to see her out.