AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

August 10, 2023

Ally Ewing

Mixed Zone

Q Great playing out there today. You're leading the Women's Open. Give us your thoughts and feelings.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, obviously it was exciting to get in with a good first round. A long way to go from Sunday.

It's great to put a good first round together, but major championship golf, you can never -- you know, you can never really lose focus. So I'll get some food and get a good night's sleep and come back and take on the next day.

Q And you probably had arguably the worst of the conditions today. A bit windier this afternoon than it was this morning. Does that make it a little bit better for you that you know your shot --

ALLY EWING: Yeah, you know, I was kind of unaware of that, but last week at the Scottish, I dealt with a pretty decent amount of wind. I had a pretty tough wave I think in terms of the weather conditions on Thursday.

So I was expecting wind. When you come to Europe, you expect wind. So it's not like a shock to the system or anything.

But, yeah, getting around in 4-under, regardless of the conditions, I'm very happy.

Q You mentioned that experience last week in Scotland. How important was it for you to go there a week before to also prepare for this?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I think it's really important. I think we're a little bit inland here in Surrey, but regardless, European golf is different. You use I think a little bit more creativity, imagination, different shot selections.

So it was good for me to go challenge myself with that test of golf at Dundonald, and, yeah, it made me feel really prepared. I've played really solid golf, finished with a top 10. So that's also a really good feeling coming into the major.

Q And of course just talk us through 16, one of quite a few golfers today to have an eagle there today. Obviously that was what propelled you to 4-under and into the lead.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, it's kind of funny, I missed my drive just a little bit right, it got hung up in the rough, and it was a situation where the ball was sitting down a little bit. But I happened to see both my playing competitors hit shots and noticed how firm it was up in front of the green. So I actually was able to learn a little bit there.

And it was kind of gouge-type shot and just let it chase, and it just so happened to chase to like five feet. It's one of those where you just -- you're trying to give yourself an eagle chance, and it just so happened to be a five-footer.

So definitely happy to walk away with an eagle.

Q And obviously finishing 4-under today, was there a target you had in mind before starting the round, like something you wanted to post today?

ALLY EWING: Not necessarily a score. I definitely had, you know, intention to be patient. But I also wanted to go out and take care of my business, focus on what I could.

And, you know, I kind of set myself a little bit of a target -- although this is probably conservative, I feel like it gives myself a chance -- finish in the first round top 30 or better. That's kind of just what I had in mind, going into a major.

That doesn't mean that the top 30 is where I'm trying to shoot for, but, you know, at that least that's kind of where I was wanting to be.

So definitely happy to be in the lead at this time, yeah.

Q Just looking a few weeks ahead to the Solheim Cup, I'm sure that's in the back of your mind a little bit, but how far would a good performance this week help both your confidence and form going into that?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, it's huge. It's a tournament that once you play in, you never want to miss another one. And I think that goes for any player that's ever played in one.

So, yeah, it's in the back of the mind. But nothing that I do lingering in thoughts of whether I do this or whether I do that can propel me into Solheim.

So it's just -- it's a shot-by-shot, day-by-day basis. And if I take care of my business, focus on the task and the shot at hand, then I feel like I'll have a pretty good chance to make the team.