U.S SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 2023

Kathy Hartwiger

Waverley Country Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Here with Kathy Hartwiger from Pinehurst, North Carolina, currently tied second. You had three birdies, one bogey, and you're currently one of two amateurs that's under par. Could you walk me through your round today.

KATHY HARTWIGER: I got off to a great start. I had kind of a difficult -- I didn't hit my drive great. It was into the wind, so I had to hit a wood into No. 1, and I hit it to about five feet, so birdie. That kind of was great.

Then I just really -- for me, I don't know, I've sort of felt like this was almost easier than some of the amateur events because the expectations for me, my expectations are this is fun and I don't have a whole lot of expectations, so I felt more settled on the first day than I think I normally do.

It was great. I putted incredible. I didn't make some of the birdie putts -- I had a number of birdie putts on the front nine. I probably could have converted a few more, but I did make a few come-back putts, and I had a 75-footer on 2 actually -- maybe I had it on 5 or 4, one of those long holes, and I two-putted. I had a couple of those, also, so that was good.

Q. Would you say that the lack of pressure helps you play even a little better?

KATHY HARTWIGER: I think so. I think sometimes that first round or even the first just couple holes you sort of -- then you get in a rhythm and you're okay. I didn't seem to have that today, so that was good. It was just a little less expectations of other people because -- I got to play a practice round with Annika Sorenstam, so you watch that, and like I said, after I finished my round, I'm like, that's it. I'm good. I'm good for the week.

Q. Having played the practice rounds, having played the course the last few days, how did it compare today to maybe earlier this week or maybe even earlier this morning?

KATHY HARTWIGER: Yeah, I think it has dried out just a little bit from -- I played Monday and Tuesday, and then I just played nine holes yesterday. So it's getting a little firmer, so that's good.

But the greens were great. They've been very consistent from the very beginning since we got here. They're wonderful. That helps because you feel like if I put it where I'm planning on putting it, it's going in, so it's a good feeling.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your relationship with your caddie and how he helps you out on the course?

KATHY HARTWIGER: Yes, my husband is my caddie, and he is an agronomist for the USGA. Having him -- like he said after he played with Annika and then yesterday with played with two pros, also, who have won an Open, and their caddies were phenomenal, also. He's like, I'm not a good caddie compared to them.

But for me, he's great because he kind of knows my game, and we play enough together that it's probably like caddies that get to know their player well enough. Today, there's no doubt, there were three holes on the front nine I would have definitely hit more club, and he was right. One of them was a birdie I had on 6. I would have probably hit a 6-iron there, and he's like, it's a 7-iron all day long. So there were at least three of those.

He's super helpful, and it's great. I love -- that's something we can share together, so I love having that.

Q. Would you say that contributes to kind of feeling at ease on the course?

KATHY HARTWIGER: Mm-hmm, yeah, because I think for both of us, we've lived life just like everybody else. There's hard things that you go through in life, and we've had our share. My mom passed away a couple years ago, and a couple of her friends from Alaska are here, and they came in and surprised me.

To me, golf is an enrichment to my life, and that can help me when I start to do what we all do, which is make it into -- somehow it's going to do something for me that it can't do for you. It reminds me, no, this is something that's an addition.

It's a place where I get to test myself, especially coming to events like this, and anything with the USGA, it presses you, and I learn things about myself, and I revealed things that I don't think are great, so I know I need to work on that a little bit, about caring too much about things that really don't matter.

So I love that, and I'm so appreciative of all the people and all the work, because I do know what goes into it because I'm married to someone who puts the long hours in. Without you guys doing what you do, we wouldn't have a place to test ourselves and to learn about ourselves. So appreciate that.

Q. You mentioned friends coming in from Alaska and surprising you. Did they surprise you prior to starting the round?

KATHY HARTWIGER: Yes. They texted me on Tuesday, I think, because they decided they didn't want to get my heart rate going too much if I saw them on the first tee today.

Then I have an aunt and uncle that live in Woodburn just south of here, so my aunt and cousin came today, too. Again, that's not something I normally get. Typically it's actually just me because Chris is working and it's just me, so it's always a bonus.

Q. Does your expectation level change now, and how do you manage that?

KATHY HARTWIGER: I'm going to try for it not to change because ultimately, again, this is good. Yeah, I'm going to try to keep it where it is because nothing I do -- really for me, I know myself well enough that if I press into that, it will not be as good, and it won't be as fun.

Yes, tonight I'll probably have some conversations with my husband. We're staying with some members, so we'll probably -- they have jokingly been saying things about the trophy and this and that, and I always have to say, you know that's not going to happen.

But again, I'm not going to say it couldn't. Crazy things happen in golf. But at the end of the day, I've got to do my plan, and if I do my plan, no matter what the outcome is, I'm going to be happy.