DANA OPEN PRESENTED BY MARATHON

July 13, 2023

Emily Kristine Pedersen

Highland Meadows Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. We welcome in current leader in the clubhouse, Emily Pedersen. Take us through your first round here at the Dana Open.

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: Yeah, pretty solid. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, got up and down two out of the three times I missed the greens. So seven birdies; pretty stress-free.

Q. I was about to say, seven birdies; what was working so well for you?

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: I was obviously hitting a lot of shots from the fairway and in position, and then my wedges were quite good.

I had a lot of between six- and ten-feet putts for birdie. I holed quite a few of those.

Q. We're seeing a lot of low scores. How crucial is it to find those fairways and kind of be on like you were today?

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: I think it's very crucial, because once you hit the fairway it's a lot of wedges, and with it playing this soft you can kind of pretty much go at the pin and it'll stop right there.

So if you're in the fairway, I feel like you have an opportunity to make a lot of birdies.

Q. What was something that today you are going to take away and really put on emphasis on as we go forward the rest of the week?

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: Just try to do the same things. I was just trying to stay patient. I've not been hitting the ball great with my irons, so I was kind of prepared for whenever I wasn't going to hit a good one, I would just have to go over and get it up and down.

That kind of mindset kept me very calm all day.

Q. How beneficial is it to be in the lead right now heading into tomorrow?

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: It's always nice leading, I think, but there is still a lot of golf to play and still the afternoon groups, a lot of great players out there still to come in and then more golf, but it's a good start.

Q. Does it change your mindset at all given the round you just put together going into tomorrow given what you've been able to do already on this course?

EMILY KRISTINE PEDERSEN: No, not at all. I'm going to try and take the same mindset.

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