FIR HILLS SERI PAK CHAMPIONSHIP

March 23, 2024

Alison Lee

Palos Verdes Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, Alison, you just said it out there, but definitely some tougher conditions this afternoon. When you looked at some of those lower scores in the morning and said, they won't have those tomorrow.

Just overall, how proud are you of getting thorough those conditions to still be where you are on the leaderboard?

ALISON LEE: Yeah, I mean, I was -- to be honest, I was in a pretty negative mindset coming into today. I saw the forecast and I saw the wind. I saw how much it's going to be blowing as the day went on.

I definitely had a really negative mindset and I said, oh, my gosh, I'm going to play terrible. It's so windy, not going to be fun out there. Yeah, obviously making birdies and shooting under par when it's like this is fun.

So I definitely had a pretty good time out there. Yeah, it was really tough. I mean, I had a lot of shots where I was just praying, like making contact and just playing that somehow ended on the green or somewhere near the hole.

Yeah, I mean, I feel like I hit the ball really, really solid today. Like I was able to judge the wind pretty good. I felt really confident over the ball. Like I said, I feel like I still left quite a few birdies out there, which is, you know -- I feel fortunate to be able to say that, especially day like today, which if you leave yourself a lot of birdie chances on this course, no matter how hard the greens may be, hopefully a few drop in; that's kind of how I felt like today.

Q. You just talked about there were some shots that you were just hoping that when the ball got to the green this it's where you wanted it to be. On what holes did you really feel that kind of pressure or just cross your fingers?

ALISON LEE: A few elevated holes, like 17 was one for me. I ended up hitting a really good shot and saw the ball in the air and I said, please be the right number, because it looked like it was going right at the hole. Thankfully the yardage was pretty good.

Same for hole -- what is that hole? 13, the downhill par-3. I mean, yeah, that's a big one, too. Wind really hits that ball, and I mean, I feel like for most girls and guys, if you're a pretty good golfer, as soon as you make contact you have a general idea of where it's going to end up. If it's just a little short, just a little long.

There were a few holes out there where I feel like I hit it really good and you just pray, like please be somewhere near the hole. Sometimes you can hit a really good shot when it's windy like this and ends up taking a big bounce or the wind didn't quite hit it or hit it more than you thought. The yardage isn't right.

But I feel like I was able to judge it really well today. I am really proud of myself with how I hit the ball. My irons were really, really good. Yeah, to give myself inside 15 feet when the wind is blowing this much I feel like is a win.

Any time I made a par I just did a little celebration. When I made birdie it was even more of a celebration. So, yeah, I mean, shooting 3-under today I would've never thought I would be able to.

But, yeah, so overall really happy with my round.

Q. When you started today's round you were really able to take advantage of the front nine holes. Despite the two bogeys on the front nine, to be able to walk away with the five birdies, how important was that to come out of the gates strong knowing as the afternoon wore on the winds would just increase?

ALISON LEE: Yeah, obviously if you start off the round really well it gives you a little boost of confidence, especially like a day like today where you know it's going to be difficult.

So to get a few birdies early on in the round just I feel like gave me a little bit of a momentum.

It like eased my anxiety a little bit out there. I know, okay, I'm going to make bogeys out here. It's going to happen. So to have a few birdies, you almost feel like you have a little bit of a cushion in terms of looking at the leaderboard and your score.

So, yeah, I mean, starting off with a couple birdies, like I said, I knew I was going to make bogeys out here. You just try and do your best to avoid those. But, yeah, starting off with two birdies was great. Unfortunately I had two three-putts this round which was really frustrating.

But I think that just shows like how well I was able to hit the ball, even with two three-putts still being able to shoot 3-under.

Q. Absolutely. You said a little bit in the Golf Channel interview that there is friends and family among you. A week like this is kind of special. How do you still have that competitive mindset knowing that there are a few maybe off-the-course responsibilities for you than a typical week out here?

ALISON LEE: Honestly, I love it. Most of the time when we're traveling everywhere, obviously we're friends with some of the girls, but if they're on a different wave you can't quite get dinner with people. You spend a lot time alone.

So playing in LA or playing in a location where I know I have friends and family, it's kind of nice. You know you have people to go to dinner with. You have people you can talk to to get your mind off the golf course, off of the round.

Especially going into tomorrow being in contention, being able to talk to friends and family and kind of at least have a few hours to escape all the things happening on the golf course. For me it definitely helps. I tend to overthink a lot. I'm sure a lot of the girls out here are the same.

Even today, like I said, I thought so negatively before the round seeing what the forecast is going to be, and it's going to be pretty similar tomorrow. Even getting dinner with them. One of my friends just had a baby eight weeks ago so I was able to meet her son for the first time.

It's little moments like that that mean a lot to me. And then also to have them out here supporting me, too. And to play well while they're out here, it's fun for them to watch and it's fun overall for me as well.

Q. Obviously you've talked about in the past how searching for your No. 1 win is something that is still on your mind. What do you focus on to not let some of those thoughts become overpowering during a round like tomorrow?

ALISON LEE: You know, I've been on tour for so long now. I feel like I've wanted this for a really long time. I'm just doing everything I can to embrace it. I mean, we play over 20 weeks a year. The reality of it is you're not going to be in contention 100% of the time. You're not going to be one off the lead or in the lead going into Sunday 100% of the time.

So I'm just doing as best as I can to embrace moments like this and try and turn that stress into a positive thing and to tell myself, hey, like enjoy it. Like I'm never going to be -- I'm not going to be in this position every week. I would like to. Hopefully can if I'm playing well.

But, yeah, I'm just doing everything I can to embrace it and just have fun. It's so fun out there when I have my friends out there, and if I make a birdie you hear them scream and really, really cheering me on. It means a lot to me and it's -- I'm just trying as best I can to enjoy the moment.