KROGER QUEEN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY P&G

September 8, 2022

Paula Creamer

Kenwood Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Paula Creamer. You ran the gamut today: 1 through 6 made all those numbers on the card today. Had an ace, eagle, quite a few birdies, couple bogeys, one double. Walk me through those -- let's start with the obvious. Take me through the 8th hole.

PAULA CREAMER: It was 155. It was just a nice little three quarter 7-iron, and I hit it perfect like how we wanted. Ended up going in.

You know, and then the hole-out on 5 was 104 yards and hit a 52 just right at it. I think once bounce and went in.

I hit my irons really well today. I made a lot of putting mistakes and did some mental errors here and there.

Unfortunately, my scorecard is a roller coaster. But that's golf.

Q. What has been working so well? Obviously made your first start last week.

PAULA CREAMER: Uh-huh.

Q. Coming back this week. Didn't start out so great, but backed it up on Friday and really carded a solid round. What's been the key for you, do you think? Obviously a lot of rest.

PAULA CREAMER: I haven't obviously played for a year and my body has changed. Everything has changed. I have a daughter.

It's a little different than coming back from an injury like I have in the past. But I've worked really hard and I know where my game is at. I've been playing well at home, and it's just competition is just different out here.

I have to be able to adapt to that and trust the process of what my team and I have been doing. I just need some competitive rounds under my belt really.

I feel good with where my game is at. I know it's an up and down thing, but, you know, I just need to stay on path with what we're doing.

I really do think it's going to be -- produce great things here eventually.

Q. Well, and it already has. Today is a testament to that. What's that partnership with Grant Waite been like? He works with a lot of our players out here. How much has he been critical to your success?

PAULA CREAMER: Yeah, Grant, I started working with him last September, you know, pregnant and all. He's definitely watched my body transition over a year together.

We had the time to be able to break down everything. We had the opportunity to do that since I wasn't out here, maternity leave. We took advantage of that and we have changed all aspects of my game.

I trust him and I trust what he has kind of envisioned with my golf swing and what we can do, and now it's just up to me to take it to the course.

Q. We asked you a lot about this last week, but how cool is it to be out here as a mom? Doing what you did today, those are some highlights Hilton will see in a few years, I would imagine.

PAULA CREAMER: It's exciting. I know I made a bogey on the last hole and there is bogeys all over the place, but overall I'm not only doing it for myself, but I'm doing it for her.

To be able to tell her, actually, you were here when I did that. You were at the hotel, but you were physically here. It's special.

You know, I keep thinking that when I'm out here I just want to show her that you can overcome adversity, you can overcome everything. Put your mind to it, and you're strong enough to be able to achieve what you want.

Q. With the ace you get to give a $20,000 donation to the St. Jude's Children's Hospital for cancer research. Obviously you want to come out here and play good golf, want to hit shots like that.

PAULA CREAMER: Yeah.

Q. What does it mean to be able to contribute that money to a place like St. Jude?

PAULA CREAMER: That's awesome. I actually -- that's really cool that I'm able to do that. Makes you want to go make more hole in ones.

They're hard to come about, but hopefully that helps a family, a child, anybody. I feel very honored that I'm able to do that for them.

Q. Finally, what did you learn out here today that you will carry with you into hopefully the next three rounds?

PAULA CREAMER: I've said it already, but the superintendent here just did a magnificent job of getting this golf course to what it is. These greens speeds are so much faster than what I even envisioned; clearly my putting has shown that. I had so many three-putts.

I just need to be aggressive when I can, and there are a lot of holes where par is great and you take that.

So going into tomorrow, that's kind of going to be my game plan: try to still be aggressive, but conservative in certain areas.

Q. What a day; off to a hot start. A little bit of struggle mid-round, and then the fireworks started coming. The hole-out for eagle, followed by the hole in one. What changed over that closing stretch?

PAULA CREAMER: I mean, goodness, if you look at my scorecard it was all over the place. I have to take my hat off to the superintendent and the grounds crew. They have done a miraculous job from yesterday to today.

You know, I never got adjusted to the speed of the greens. They were just so much faster than they were yesterday.

You know, I kind of struggled with my putting. It necessarily wasn't my hitting or my irons but it was my putting for sure.

Q. You said last week as you made your first return to competition in a year it was really just about shaking the rust off. How would you describe today?

PAULA CREAMER: It was a rollercoaster of good things, bad things. I have actually been playing pretty well. I just had a bit too many squares on the card; quite a few circles. Hole in one is awesome, hole-out and everything.

Just way too many three-putts today. I'll be doing some putting afterwards.

Q. Take us through the highlights, starting with the 5th, the hole-out. What did you have there?

PAULA CREAMER: It was about 104 and I hit a 52, and one bounce and I think it kind of danced around the hole and then went in.

And then the hole in one was on No. 8. It was 155 and I hit a little 7 and just was perfect shot. Both of them were straight at the flag, nice little release, and went in.

Q. You're just making your second competitive start. Got a different swing. Working with a new coach. What overall will you take from what you saw today?

PAULA CREAMER: You know, a lot of positives. I've hit a lot of really good shots. My mistakes are actually really careless mistakes, not necessarily technical golf swings or any of that. It's just actually committing to the shot or a decision that I made from the fairway.

So I'm pleased with how I'm hitting it. It's just the tournament decisions you need to make I'm a little rusty with.

That's something that we need to kind of tighten up going into tomorrow and hopefully the weekend.