DOW CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2024

Wei-Ling Hsu

Ssu-Chia Cheng

Midland Country Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Here after their first round at the Dow Championship, solid round, 5-under today. Just one bogey on the card. Talk about how you felt like you played out there today, ending near the top of the leaderboard after a tough alternate shot out there.

WEI-LING HSU: I think we managed everything pretty well. Just for the first few holes maybe a little rusty. We never team up together, so the first few holes maybe. I don't know, that's what I feel.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, the first few holes we were definitely trying to figure out how we're going to do it because this is my first time here doing alternate shot. Definitely a little --

WEI-LING HSU: Maybe we were a little nervous, too, the first few holes.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: We were a little nervous, a little excited, too. Overall it's just a good day. We're just trying to have fun out there.

Q. What did you learn in the first few holes and how you adjusted? You clearly adjusted pretty well. Anything you learned about maybe each other?

WEI-LING HSU: I think the first few holes that I tried to -- when her turn, I tried to be on the side. I find out maybe she don't need it, so I tried to find a way that I can be out there and try to support her. But at the same time, I don't want to make her too feel like, hey, I just take off, I just leave her behind.

I think we managed that pretty well. I feel really confident that she was on my side and helping me and talk to me. It just made everything more relaxed on the back nine.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, for me, I didn't really think I'd do anything too much different on the front or the back. Just like what she said, I was just trying to be out there for each other and just have each other's back and then just be positive pretty much the whole time and just try to talk to each other, yeah.

Q. With it being four-ball format tomorrow, have you guys had any conversations yet about how the strategy might change?

WEI-LING HSU: I don't think so.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, I think for me, I think this four days we're playing a different format. I think we still just keep the same. It's just golf out there. We're just trying to play our own ball. Maybe a little bit of a different strategy, but tomorrow we're probably just trying to keep it the same as today. I don't think there's going to be too much of a difference.

WEI-LING HSU: Yeah, I think so. But of course if someone already hit it on the green or on the fairway, definitely I will be more aggressive, I think, more attacking to the pin, so we'll see if there's more opportunity.

Q. Can you talk about your team name and why you chose it and why you maybe chose to partner together this week if there's a fun story of who asked who or anything like that.

WEI-LING HSU: I mean, we know each other since we are 10.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, it's been a long time.

WEI-LING HSU: It's been a long time. Finally we had a chance that we can team up. I think it will be a really good experience for both of us. We never have this opportunity to play alongside to each other.

When I knew we were going to team up together, I kind of been really excited and can't wait.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, like she said, we just know each other a long time.

WEI-LING HSU: 20 years.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Probably almost 20 years. We played a lot of junior golf together. But we always played against each other, so that's a little different. Growing up we were just like best friends, and then just having this opportunity, just really happy to team up together. But the name, we both -- I don't know about you, but we both love hot pots so much. I think hot pots is something that can represent Taiwanese people the most because we just love hot pots. We don't care if it's in the summer or if it's the winter. Every time we're home, if we're going to go out somewhere for dinner --

WEI-LING HSU: Like three, four times a week.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Yeah, 80 percent of the time we're just going to go to get hot pots.

WEI-LING HSU: We wish we had a hot pot on the green, so yeah, it's a really good name.

Q. Growing up together, too, and seeing how your games have changed over the years and both now being on Tour, talk about what you appreciate in each other's games a little bit, too, and what you can take away from each other when you play together?

WEI-LING HSU: Yeah, I think, like we just said, we grow up together, and we're always competing to each other. Either you win or either I win. Always like so competitive. Even though we are very competitive, at the same time we are best friends, as well. Even though sometimes we do bad and she'll be testing me like hey, keep on going, or if I do well, she's like, I'm proud of you. Every time when I receive her messages like that, I feel just very thankful that I have such a friend like that, like her.

SSU-CHIA CHENG: Well, on the course, maybe before today I was a little -- I don't want to say concerned, but our game is pretty much pretty similar. We hit it pretty much the same distance off the tee, and we're kind of like -- we're not one of those long hitters. I was a little worried about how this is going to come out.

But obviously today we worked out pretty well.