COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 9, 2024

Mel Reid

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Mel Reid after her first round at the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Just kind of take us through the round. Pretty steady there. Lots of birdies on the card. What was working for you.

MEL REID: Yeah, drove the ball beautifully today. Yeah, I had a bit of a tough time on the golf course. Haven't felt the happiest out there.

You know, we didn't really do much technical this week. With my and my coach Jorge Parada. Yeah, just trying to play a little bit more free and see what happens and not put too much pressure our on myself.

Yeah, like I said drove the ball beautifully. Kind of missed it in the right spots on the green. It can kind of get away from you pretty quick here. The rough is up this year and greens are soft, so playing it's very different to last year.

Yeah, and then holed a couple nice putts. The par-5s are pretty gettable. Apart from 9, I think you can pretty much reach all of them. Yeah, just a very kind of steady, well-thought-out round of golf.

Q. Almost everyone we've brought up says this is a very challenging golf course. What about it makes it so challenging and maybe how does it also suit your game and what are you able to take advantage of?

MEL REID: It's kind of -- a lot tee shots are tight off the tee. It can kind of make you want to hit fades and draws off the tee shot.

And then the rough is definitely up. It's playing longer than last year for sure, which I like being one of the longer players. But you can kind of get into trouble very, very quick round here, especially with the rough being so thick around the greens as well.

I must say the course is in great shape. Yeah, I think that if -- you got like a little bit of wind today. Like I hit a great shot into 18 and spun off the front. That's the softness of the greens, so you got to be careful of things like that. But then you leave yourself 30-footer down the hill, if you hit it past that's as tough two-putt.

Got to be pretty strategic and be kind to yourself, that if you miss a few shots, miss it in the right spots.

Q. What is it about New Jersey golf that you like so much. Obviously LPGA Tour win came in Jersey, I'm pretty sure.

MEL REID: Uh-huh. Don't know. I mean, I don't know. I really like this golf course. I think it's a big golf course. Like I said, I've not really got any expectations. I've been playing really rubbish recently.

Been playing good at home, which is weird. I've playing a lot with Miles Russell, the new kid. He's at my club. I play pretty decent when I play with him pretty much every day. Trying to take that attitude out here, but I don't know what it is about New Jersey. Maybe it's closer to home than the west coast. I don't really like the poana greens on the west coast.

Yeah, I just like New Jersey golf courses. I like Liberty next week. Yeah, just got a really good set of golf courses round here that I just enjoy playing.

Q. And you Miles trade any intel, any tips with each other ever?

MEL REID: I don't think he needs any tips from me. He's so good. I ask him for tips, which is weird asking a 15 year old kid. He gave me a few chipping tips last week which was nice of him.

Yeah, he's obviously a great player. He's a bit of a superstar, isn't he, and humble guy. Yeah, just a great kid so pleasure to play with most days and try and take his little pocket money he's trying to earn. I enjoy doing that.

Q. For you, I know you said not been playing super great. How much fun and a relief is it to have a good round like today where you get on a good stretch? Made four birdies in, what, 17 holes there.

MEL REID: Yeah, golf has not been fun, to be honest. It's been fun at home. Just being brutally honest, I've had a hard time out here on tour this year. I think the adjustment having Kai has been a lot for us. We are trying to do our best but you don't really get any free time.

Like once I get off the golf course, whether I play well or bad, like I've got to then be a mum and put that aside. It's really difficult when you're not playing well to not take that home, especially when you put so much into this game.

It's a huge adjustment for us. Just the travel and everything, like we've just -- you know, I'm going to be pretty selective in my tournaments after the next two weeks and kind of take it easy a little bit, just enjoy and re kind of group.

But, yeah, like I said, this is the first week that me and Jorge have not done any technical, which I think has been great. I can get very technical and I can ask too many questions and I can search a little bit too much.

All we've done is try to free me up. Whether I would've shot 80 today or 60. I just wanted to be free out there, and that was my goal, just try and do that as best as possible.

Q. What continues to motivate you?

MEL REID: I think I can still beat a lot of these girls. I think -- I don't really know. I mean, obviously my family motivates me, Carly and Kai motivate me. Obviously the motivation comes from I want to prove it to myself more than anything. I've been our on tour 17 years and I feel like I can still do it at times.

Sometimes I feel so far away it's ridiculous.

But these girls are so good now and even making a cut you have to play well. That's what motivates me. Knowing I'm not going to play a lot longer and I want to go out on my own terms. I don't want to just quit and give up. That's not my mentality and not who I am.

So I want to go out the way I want to go out, and that motivates me as well.

Q. Just really fun, I know I think England has their Mother's Day.

MEL REID: Uh-huh.

Q. To have a taste of it with the English one, but to have a Mother's Day with your son and your wife out...

MEL REID: Carly forgot Mother's Day, by the way. She has a lot of making up to do. I reminded her the day before that it was English Mother's Day.

Q. How cool is that going to be for you on Sunday?

MEL REID: It's going to be cool. Thanks for reminding me. I probably would've forgot, so I better get Carly a card so she doesn't give me any stick.

Yeah, you know, it's great. He's awesome. He's changed our lives for the better for sure, just with the way he's growing up. It's hard work. I'm not going to lie. It's really hard at times.

No, we're just very blessed to have a healthy baby boy and he's starting to get a pit of a personality now, and he he doesn't go to a pub every couple days he's get a bit cranky, so he's just like his mum unfortunately.

Apologize.

Q. One last one from me. Obviously here at Founders Cup. We're celebrating pioneers Beth Daniels and Pat Bradley. What have they meant to you, maybe Laura Davies even being from England? What has that been like as you grew up watching these women?

MEL REID: Yeah, they moved the needle for sure. We would not be playing kind of the big events that we are now without them.

I think that's important for the LPGA girls now to remember that and keep pushing forward and representing the tour in a correct manner.

You know, we are the best players in the world, but it is -- you have to remember how far we've come, and it is because of those legends. I think perfect way to respect them is to keep trying to grow the game for the better. Get young girls and boys interested in the game. Make it fun for them. Have somebody to look up to.

Nelly is doing a great job of that right now. She's got a lot on her shoulders but matured tremendously over the last couple years and I think she's ready for that kind of status now.

Yeah, I think that's the thing that we can do. Is to respect the ones before us, keep trying to do our best, and represent the tour in an appropriate manner and make it fun to watch.