DANA OPEN PRESENTED BY MARATHON

July 20, 2024

Malia Nam

Highland Meadows Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Malia Nam after her third round at the Dana Open. Really good round today. I think 64 is probably your best of the season. Can you just tell us what was going so well for you today?

MALIA NAM: Today definitely had some putts drop. Yesterday I was hitting my irons well and hitting my driver well, but just couldn't really convert.

So I knew it had it in me to get a low score in there. Yeah, honestly, just hitting good iron shots and having the putts drop for me today.

Q. This course is known to be pretty scorable. Do you agree with that? What makes it scorable?

MALIA NAM: I think it's scorable. I mean, there are a couple holes out there where you got place your drive. If not, then you're kind of looking at a bogey.

If you're hitting your driver and irons well, it's scorable, yes.

Q. I know I think this is one of the first times we've seen up in contention after a Saturday; is that true? If it's not, shake your head.

MALIA NAM: I think at the Seri Pak earlier this year.

Q. Okay, Seri Pak you were up there; that's right. What did you sort of learn about that experience and how happy are you with that moving day result to put up near the top?

MALIA NAM: Yeah, just looking back at Seri Pak I played well the first two days and kind of declined a little bit on the weekend.

I really focused on weekend play. It's nice making the cut, but just really focusing on being aggressive and just committing to all your you shots out there. Glad to finally see a good Saturday round for me.

Q. This is your rookie season. Take us through a little bit of how you feel your performance has been and lately what you've been working on in your game?

MALIA NAM: Yeah, I've been working a lot on short game and putting. Hadn't been seeing the results the last few events. Series of changed putters and just analysis of my putting stroke. So today I felt really like that my work was showing through.

But, yeah, my rookie experience has been great. Everyone has been super nice to me out here. Every week is so fun. It's draining, yes. It's a lot, but can't ask better as this for my job.

Q. Each week you're sort of learning a new course, right?

MALIA NAM: Uh-huh.

Q. That's the same this week?

MALIA NAM: Uh-huh.

Q. What have you been doing so that you can manage courses well when it's your first experience at most of these?

MALIA NAM: Yeah, as a rookie it's tough because pretty much every course we play it's new for me at least. Yeah, just learning the course; whereas other pros who have been here know, oh, I don't really like this course; I don't want it play there. Or they just kind of know about it going in and can prepare for that course.

Yeah, I mean, I like to see it as just a fresh start and take the course as it is, and if I am playing my game, then I feel that it can apply to a lot of the courses.