U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

July 8, 2023

Aine Donegan

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Quick Quotes

Q. Talk me through your great start with three birdies through 6.

ÁINE DONEGAN: Yeah, I started off really well. I actually left myself in a tricky position on the first hole under a tree in thick rough, and I hit probably one of the best shots I've ever hit to be honest to about six feet and made birdie, so that was a great start.

Second hole, just missed out on about a 12 or 13-footer for birdie.

Then even the 3rd hole, I nearly made another one there, a really long putt and it just missed. Thankfully then on 4 I made a good putt. It was downhill. It was tricky, a slider. It was great to get that in, and the crowd were very loud there, as well.

Then the 6th, the par-5, I actually didn't hit a great first putt. Left myself with about 12 feet and made that, thankfully, which was nice.

Q. And then you had a 9 on 8. Can you walk me through what happened there?

ÁINE DONEGAN: Yeah, I hit a good tee shot and I had about 190 to the flag. The wind was really, really left to right there, and that wind often doesn't suit a right-handed golfer who plays a draw. Not that it makes a huge difference, or it's an excuse, but I just didn't hit two -- I hit two very bad shots in a row, which obviously concluded in me having a 9 on the hole.

I had to keep moving on. I had still 10 holes left to play. It was very disappointing, but I'm pleased with how I finished after that.

Q. How did you get yourself to play well throughout the rest of the round?

ÁINE DONEGAN: Yeah, my coach said it to me, so I was 3-under through 7, and then obviously I was 2-over through 9. My coach said to me, Áine, just act like you've just had seven pars and two bogeys. Forget about the fact that it's a 9. At the end of the day you've had the exact same number of shots as seven pars and two bogeys. That's what I did.

I'm really happy with how I played the back nine, especially the back nine today is playing really tough. It's really windy. It feels like home, to be honest, the back nine today.

The back nine is just the back nine at Pebble. It's very, very difficult with the added wind and then the pressure, it's tough. It's tough to play in. Yeah, I'm really happy with how I finished the back nine.

Q. You had a great birdie on 18 like you were saying. The back nine has been really tough for players here. What was the feeling being able to finish the round like you did?

ÁINE DONEGAN: It was actually a par. I hit my third shot into the bunker and then I made the putt. I made up-and-down from the bunker on the right, which was really nice, and just to hear the crowd roar, to be honest. I don't get to play in front of big crowds like this very often. There was probably 50 people around the green, so that was really nice. And to do it in front of friends and family and a lot of other Irish people out here was really nice, too, and a good way to finish. I didn't want to finish bogey-bogey.