MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 14, 2024

Grace Kim

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Grace Kim after her second round at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Two really solid days. How has this course suited you throughout the week?

GRACE KIM: I mean, I remember last year as well I played pretty solid, so I just wanted to continue that ride I guess.

Obviously struggled with the wind yesterday, but grinded out a good 4-under and then took my opportunities from a morning tee time today. Yeah, and then obviously the weather has been really nice.

Q. How good was it to have such a good afternoon round yesterday when it was playing so tricky?

GRACE KIM: I thought -- I think I was the second lowest scorer of the day yesterday in the afternoon, and, yeah that says a lot of how tough the conditions were.

But to be able to pull through and make a few more birdies, back-to-back birdies to finish my round, yeah, very much topped it off.

And then, yeah, again, wanted to do the same thing, but no wind today, so that was nice.

Q. Can you take us through your little birdie stretch coming down the last couple holes?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, I had a few pars on the run, and then, yeah, just had to get something going.

So put it close. Had a good number onto the par-4, and the par-3 I kind of pushed it but I ended up stumping it. So I guess that was a good miss. Took my chances there.

And the 8 is a reachable par-5, so I made sure I walked off with a birdie.

Q. Hit 8 in two?

GRACE KIM: No. Well, the ball did and then the ball ended up off the green on the back side on the right, so I just made up and down.

Q. How long was the putt there?

GRACE KIM: Three feet after my chip, so, yeah.

Q. Nice bonus. And then what is the eagle today, what did you do?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, so I hit driver -- I guess the wind was the complete opposite to yesterday, how we were playing in the afternoon. Hit driver and it just crept into the rough through the fairway.

It was sitting up a little bit high so I knew it was going to be a bit of a knuckle ball, so I grabbed one less club. Hit 5-wood, and yeah, miraculously went nine, eight feet by left, so made the putt.

Q. And does the putter feel good this week?

GRACE KIM: Putter feels good. Yeah, I remember I putted quite well along on those greens. You just got to make sure you stump them. The greens are rolling pure, so just take your chances that way.

Q. Describe the differences in conditions from yesterday and today and how you adjusted?

GRACE KIM: I mean, the course layout I guess played a little bit shorter on the gettable holes, so I had like irons in; whereas today we still had the normal long hybrids or irons in.

So it played a little bit different, but in the end, like it wasn't crazy different. You've got your gettable holes at this course, and yeah, all those par-5s, you kind of get pissed off if you don't walk off with a birdie.

Yeah, made sure I made birdie and walked off on those holes.

Q. How much confidence do you have going into tomorrow knowing what you did today and yesterday with the conditions?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, just really trusting my game. You know, just making sure once I'm on the first tee I'm really just trusting that I did all the work I could, the preparation is all done, and I just play with what I've got.

So, yeah. Really confident for the weekend really.

Q. I know you're still looking for that first win. How hard is it to learn to win? How much does being in contention like this help?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, I mean, you know you're in a good position when you're in contention and playing in the last few groups on the weekend. So making sure that take that in, don't get too nervous. I know the nerves will be there, but I guess that's normal. Like that's what you get for being good at golf.

Everyone will be nervous, and I think the leaderboard is quite stacked, so, yeah, just got to play your own game.

Q. Can you work on nerves in a practice session?

GRACE KIM: I guess you can. You can think mentally, you know, these putts are to win or things like that, but I don't think it can beat the ones when you're actually out on the golf course, especially when you've got a lot of eyes on you.

Yeah, making sure I take my breaths and, yeah, have a clear thought into every shot.

Q. Stacking up birdies like that, is there a better feeling? How do you keep it rolling?

GRACE KIM: I mean, you make sure you talk to your caddie very clearly. If you have any bit of doubt, you just make sure you tell them and speak up about it.

Yeah, once you have that little bit of doubt it just doesn't really work out the way you want it to.

So I make sure I have my head clear, have a good start line, and really just be confident over the ball.

But, yeah, I guess my caddie and I work really well.

Q. You talk about having more eyes on you. Seems like to me like this tournament, year after year, gets more and more people, even in the earlier days. How cool is that to see, and what is it like playing in front of the people here compared to other places?

GRACE KIM: I was in the group behind Nelly, and just to see the amount of people that were out, even yesterday, I think that was a big thing that really just stood out to me last year, just how many people there were out just even on a pro-am day and the Thursday.

Just seeing all those people come out, support all the girls out here is just incredible and a great experience for us to make it more enjoyable. Hopefully they're enjoying it as much as we are.

Yeah, it's just spectacular.

Q. Do you elite yourself think, I'm in the leader group. Saturday and Sunday could be that packed around me? Does that ever come into your mind?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, you do have those thoughts. You can't really -- you can I guess push it away, but it's the truth. You just got to accept it. It's the way you handle it I think, the way to pull through.

You just got to accept that and then focus on other things. For instance, your start lines or other things likes that.

Q. It does it excite you at least?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, big time. Definitely the nerves are there, the adrenaline is rushing, but making sure I use that to hit the bombs, the drives, off the tee and stuff instead of tweaking everything else.

Q. You were talking about preparations earlier. Anything in particular that you have done consistently tournament to tournament, or especially with the crowds and in Grand Rapids? Anything you're planning on doing differently for this tournament?

GRACE KIM: No. I haven't done anything much different over the course of this year this season. Made sure I stayed consistent with my gym workouts, eating habits. Practice sessions may differ from week to week, but making sure I've got everything down pat.

Got my coach checking in here and there. He's from Australia so I can't have them him out here every week. Make sure I'm keeping in contact and, yeah, making sure everything feels good.

I think consistency is key.