Q. I think on this type of tee shot you have to make birdie. Almost 400 yards by our calculation. Is this a course where your power is a huge asset?
MARIA FASSI: I think so, yeah. Being able to hit a lot of drivers, maybe cutting across some corners, just like I did here an 18. Just having wedges into some of these greens is a huge advantage. You can be more aggressive with the line and with the numbers.
So I'm happy I'm hitting it straight off the tee; hopefully I can keep it up this weekend.
Q. A lot of success in your amateur career. How tough is it to stay patient as you learn your way out here?
MARIA FASSI: It is hard. It's a different ballgame. It's kind of you have to forget what you did as an amateur and just start from scratch, start making cuts at first, start gaining some more confidence, and then as the weeks go by, as golf starts feeling good again, you can be more aggressive and start taking it deeper and deeper.
Q. Do your expectations change when you're starting to feel like it's where it's supposed to be?
MARIA FASSI: Yeah. I mean, I do think that I can do it. I believe in myself quite a bit. So it's harder I guess to manage my expectations, not having them super high.
So controlling them has been challenge for me, but I'm just taking one shot at time. I'm trying to get the targets that I need, being very specific with what I'm trying to do, and then I think that takes care of the rest.
I'm not having to think so much about everything else anymore.
Q. Stellar round out there today. How comfortable were you feeling here at Highland Meadows?
MARIA FASSI: Well, it's good to start the day with a tap-in birdie. I almost holed it on the 1st. I was like, Okay, this isn't too bad. And then found birdies on 3 and 4, so I was like, Okay, it's one of those days.
And then just kind of in the middle of the round I had to save some pars and just grind a little bit out there.
But overall, I think it was a great round. Just stay really present, hitting one shot at a time. Just kind of seeing my target and hit a solid shot to there. It's good to see that it paid off.
Q. I know you work with I think David Leadbetter. What have you been working on to prepare for the first two events, the first two in a while? I know you competed in some things in the off-season as well.
MARIA FASSI: Yeah, well, we're just trying to get a more consistent golf swing; just trying to get my backswing a little bit shorter. I kind of feel like I'm throwing it from the top. Just keeping it simple. I guess it took a while to get there, but I'm very comfortable with the way my swing is looking right now.
I think I can just be aggressive and know that the swing is going to hold up, so it's good to see again. I had a tough week last week, but it's good to see that's it's slowly getting better, I'm slowly getting more comfortable with it, and just trusting that it's going to be there and it's going to be okay when I need it.
Q. You've been here before and you were here last year as a young professional as well. What's the difference is you now compared to maybe you last year playing Highland Meadows?
MARIA FASSI: Yeah, I think playing the course for the second time definitely helps. You kind of know from the previous years where is the better miss, or around the greens they might look like they're kind of flat but they're sneaky slopes that you might hit it to five feet and you're trying not to three-putt.
So I think getting a feel of some of those has been really helpful, and I've been able to just kind of focus more on those areas other than last year I had to focus on getting a proper game plan for the week and kind of have to be everywhere at once.
Whereas now I know the course very well, so I can just focus around the greens and do what I need over there. So I think it's great for me. Takes lots of stress from the week for sure.
Q. Had to wait 166 days for the LPGA to start again. I think I might have saw steam coming out of your ears after that first round last week.
MARIA FASSI: You might be right.
Q. There are so much anticipation built up for coming back. How do you kind of get over that first speed bump there on that day?
MARIA FASSI: Yeah, I mean, I think I got hit hard in the head last week. Again, I was super excited. I had been working on my swing for so long. I was finally getting it where I want. I was trusting the process that I had with David and my team.
Going out there and playing like I did was kind of disappointing. But, I mean, I actually got on the phone with Lorena and she's like, Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Like you're going to have those weeks. You got to forget about expectations. I don't care if you feel like a million dollars or if you feel bad, no? It's a different day. You just got to go out there and play golf.
So she kind of got on my butt about that. She's like, I don't care about how you feel or how good you're hitting it. Still, you got to go out there and play. So it was kind of good to hear it just so plain and harsh and simple I guess from her.
And knowing that this week was just a new opportunity to come out here, play golf, and have fun, and I been doing that these last couple days.
Q. What night did you call her or what day did you call her?
MARIA FASSI: I been texting back and forth with her for a while, and actually got on the phone with her yesterday. We were on the phone for almost two hours with her and Rafa, her coach. They've been amazing. I mean, Rafa was just like asking me a bunch of questions about what I was thinking, how I was feeling, and then Lorena was sitting there and listening.
Then she got on and got on me and just was hard on me, but, you know, I think it's good to hear that at times. Again, just knowing that I can just get on a phone call with her whenever I want is amazing. It's a true blessing that I have that.
Q. It's like a Lorena boot camp.
MARIA FASSI: Yeah, she's tough. Oh, boy. I'm like, Maybe she'll be nice, and she's like, I don't care. You have to reset. I don't care how good it was. You got to start over again and start doing what you were doing before, but kind of start from scratch.
I was like, All right. Yes, ma'am. So it was funny. I got off the phone with her and I was like, Was that supposed to be a pep talk? Was that supposed to be -- what was that supposed to be like?
Q. Could you hear her voice today?
MARIA FASSI: Yeah, it was great. Like she was just saying like -- I was talking about how sometimes I struggle with like let's say if I miss a putt I'll have a harder time just trusting myself over the next putt or whatnot.
She's like, You just got to talk to yourself very positively. Like really try to dig into yourself and see what's going on. Sometimes, yeah, you're like, Oh, yeah it was because of this thought, but maybe it was because of something else that was going on.
So as I was hitting some of the shots I was like, Okay, what were you thinking both good or bad to get the result that you just got? So I was definitely a lot more cautious I guess about, more aware of what was going on inside of me than I've ever been.
I think in a way that helped me just forget about everything else and focus on myself and my game.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports