BLUE BAY LPGA

March 8, 2024

Sarah Schmelzel

Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course

Press Conference

Q. We're here with Sarah after the second round the Blue Bay LPGA. You had a three-hole birdie stretch today and a few others out there. Can you talk about your round and how you felt.

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, it was nice. I made the turn and made a bogey on 10. Then hit one really close on 12. It was nice to get settled back in. Then rolled in a couple putts on the next two holes. It was just nice to get a few shots back and get a little closer to the lead and finish out with some strong pars on the way in, so it was a good day.

Q. That bogey you had was your first so far. How hard is that to do out here? I know there are a lot of tricky greens, tricky shots. How patient have you been?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, definitely. Like I said yesterday, my caddie and I are just really trying to manage the golf course well. Trying to not put us in places where if we miss the greens we're going to make bogey for sure because the greens are really undulating and really difficult.

So we've just managed it really well. 10 a probably the hardest hole on the golf course. Pretty long and water and everything, so we didn't feel like we were losing much making a bogey there today. They are definitely out there.

Q. You had a later tee time today. There was a lot of stronger winds. How did you adjust to that today?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, just trying to play smart the whole day, trying to play to the wide side of the greens. If I had a wedge in my hand give myself a chance that way, but for the most part knew that pars were going to be good today and just keep the momentum going rather than forcing a mistake and just really trying to stay within ourselves.

Q. Do you know Narin An?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yes.

Q. So do you want to share about...

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, we played together a couple times. She's really sweet, really nice, works really hard. It's cool to see her up at the top the leaderboard. Like I said, she works hard at her game. I'm excited to play with her tomorrow it looks like and see what's in store.

Q. You said before that you had mental preparation, before that you got to prepare mentally before you start the second round. How do you make all of your mental preparation for the second round as a professional golfer?

SARAH SCHMELZEL: Yeah, it was good. You know, like I said, I didn't really change much of my process from -- or was going to change much of my process from the first round to today's round, and same goes for the weekend. You know, just trying to put one foot in front of the other, really manage the golf course. With the greens and everything, just trying to really minimize mistakes. It's nice to see the prep work and the game plan pay off so par, and just looking forward to seeing how it holds up over the weekend.