Q. After a tough second hole, you really got your round going.
ALISON LEE: Yeah, to be honest I feel like I'm hitting it really solid. Obviously No. 2, it did rattle me a little bit. You never want to have a high number like that. Usually the worst you want to make is bogey. It's just unfortunate I just didn't hit a good tee shot and didn't really play smart going through the rest of the hole.
But I tried my best to stay positive. I'm hitting it well. I feel like I could have made a lot more birdies out there. But really happy I was able to come out shooting 1-under; after hole 2, if you would have told me I'd shoot 1-under, I wouldn't have thought so.
It's definitely a lot trickier with the wind. It played like a different golf course almost. You just have to play smart and make birdies when you can and try to make pars when you can if you can't make those birdies.
Q. The last time I saw you, actually, was at Chevron while you were leading and finding your game. Here, you're nicely sneaking up the board. Do you feel more confident in yourself?
ALISON LEE: Yeah, I would say definitely feel a lot more confident in my game over the last two years. I feel like I've been able to hit the ball where I want. I mean, sometimes when you're out there, it doesn't go where you want it to go. It's frustrating at times.
I feel good right now. I would like to be a little higher on the leaderboard. I love the thrill. I love the stress and the pressure. Sometimes it could be a lot. But yeah, I feel really good with where I'm at. Hopefully I can put in another good round tomorrow. We've still got a lot of tournaments left in the season so just trying to keep my goals in line and remember why I'm out here and what I'm trying to do.
Q. You look like you're enjoying it a lot more on the course, and the way you turned it around after the second?
ALISON LEE: Yeah, I definitely just feel more comfortable. A lot of times when you're not playing well, in my opinion, I feel like you're not playing well because of three things: You're either unlucky, you make stupid mistakes or you don't know, you almost forgot how to hit the ball. You can't quite swing properly.
I feel like right now a lot of the mistakes I'm making on the course is not so much bad shots. It's just kind of trying to play smarter and maybe a little bit of luck. So when he is you're swinging the way you want to and hitting the shots you want, it helps a lot.
Q. Do you enjoy the challenges of more wind on a links golf?
ALISON LEE: It's definitely tough. I grew up in California. I grew up in Los Angeles. I mean, links golf isn't my favourite to be honest. But it's the same for everybody and you have to work with what you've got. A lot of times when you have a lot of wind, it does get definitely.
But you know, like I said, everyone else is going through the same struggle and going through the same process before hitting a shot, so it's just about staying in the moment and trying to hit the shot that you planned out with your caddie, and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want. But you know, you've got to move on. You've got to move on.
Q. And not only did you move on, but you had a great round aside from the second hole.
ALISON LEE: Aside from that one hole, I played better than 1-under. I missed quite a few birdie putts today. I know the birdies are out there. Even with this wind, if you play smart and hit the right shots; the greens are nice, so you're not going to get any surprises on the greens.
Q. Any tricky pin positions?
ALISON LEE: Yeah, and with the wind, it makes it more difficult to attack pins. You have to play a little bit more smart and know where not to miss. That's just another factor you add in. It definitely makes it more interesting. Some people would say it's fun.
For me, it's definitely really stressful. I know every time I play in a round like this where it's tricky and a lot of wind, I'm just exhausted after the day is over. I can't wait to go home and lie down because it's mentally exhausting and driving range. That's the challenge, but sometimes I like it better than being a birdie-fest. And today I feel like it was a challenge for a lot of the players, and you don't see a lot of low numbers.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports