MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 15, 2023

Rachel Kuehn

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Rachel Kuehn, just second LPGA Tour event. Walk us through what today was like for you?

RACHEL KUEHN: It was so much fun. I had my boyfriend, Alex, on the bag, which kept me really loose. He's a golfer so he was able to help me around the golf course.

Got to play with Sophia and Frida and we had a really good time. I didn't quite have my "A" game in the ball-striking department, but my putter got hot through the middle of the round so I was thankful to see a couple long ones drop. Definitely.

A couple management decisions that I would do differently, but it's going to be every round of golf, so I'm definitely excited to continue the momentum tomorrow.

Q. Six birdies on the round; does that help your confidence heading into the next couple days?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, it was really nice to see a couple long ones drop, a couple from off the green. I've been struggling with my putter recently, so it was definitely good for the confidence, and nice to feel a little bit of my putter starting to heat up.

Q. Was there a moment any time in your round where the nerves kind of settled and you're like, all right, I can compete out here?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, I was definitely a little nervous on the first tee. The first hole in general. I didn't play it great.

By the time I got to the second tee, I had settled a little bit and piped one down the fairway, and I think by that point that kind of kicked me off. I played better the rest of the round.

Q. With the temperature dropping so drastically and quickly in the afternoon, were there any adjustments you made in your game?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, I think obviously the ball doesn't fly quite as far when it gets a little colder, but I think more the wind picked up, so you have to play a little more conservatively I think when it's a little windier.

But I also think what's really hard because the wind was swirling through the trees, so Alex and I were never quite sure which way the wind was blowing. We tried to trust the compass, but it's a little bit of a guessing game sometimes, and I think that kind of contributed to one of my bogeys or a couple here, just judging the wind incorrectly. But that's going to happen.

Q. Having a round under your belt, what is it about this course overall that you think can help your game thrive?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, I think I tend to hit it pretty straight off the tee, and I think it's really important to be in the fairway here. The rough is really thick, and it's obviously tree-lined.

I think if I can continue putting like I did today, I should be all right because obviously it's hard to hit it close when the greens are this firm, so you need to roll a couple in, and I did today, so hopefully that can continue.

Q. I have a question about Rose Zhang. Obviously she's not here today, but you guys are similar in age. Can you talk to me a little bit about that? What are your thoughts about what she's done?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, Rose is a really good friend of mine. We played a lot of junior golf and college golf against each other. I tell everyone she's a nicer person than she is like a good golfer. To see her come out here -- I know the timing was right for her to turn pro, and to see her have that immediate success, we were all cheering her on from back home. She's just incredible.

There is no weakness in her golf game, and it's definitely inspiring because it's the girl that I played against. She can come out here and win, gives me some hope and some optimism. But always cheering Rose on. I know she's in the middle of finals right now, so she can use the good vibes.

Q. I was going to go off that a little bit. What kind of confidence does seeing her win right out of the gate give all players at that level?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, I think it kind of lets everyone know, okay, just because you're an amateur, just because you're a college player doesn't mean that your game can be that far off from being able to compete out here.

Obviously the players out here, they're incredible. They play week in and week out. But if Rose can come out here and do it -- no one is quite in Rose's league, but it means when you have your "A" game you can come out here and compete, and it kind of just puts everything in perspective. But she is incredible.

Q. The player-caddie dynamic is interesting. How did you guys feel that out? Was there a lot of discussion on shots? Did he talk you into shots or out of shots?

RACHEL KUEHN: Yeah, I think we worked really well. He takes a little more time kind of deciding on a golf club than I do, so there was a couple of times I was ready to pull the trigger and he was still calculating, so I had to slow down.

We had a good time. We reads putts nicely together and he was obviously great with club selection. And all props to him, because it's so different than playing, so for him to be able to switch off player mode and to come into caddie mode, he really was incredible today. I don't know if I'll say that to his face, but he was great.