Q. All right, here now with Allisen Corpuz after her first round at the CME Group Tour Championship. Bogey-free on the day; take us through the round, especially the stretch to end the front.
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, I mean, I feel like just the course, the first five holes, are pretty tough, especially into the wind today; it played fairly long.
So got through that stretch with just a bunch of pars, and then managed to pick up three in a row, 6, 7, 8. Reachable five on 6 and then two really good approach shots on 7 and 8 and was able to make a 10-footer for birdie on both.
Yeah, game felt really solid today.
Q. What part of your game would you say is working the best for you right now?
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, I think I've just been working on a really small swing change kind of all year. For me, like when I get nervous it just gets a little quick.
I was just out there staying really patient, really keeping my tempo pretty consistent, really working on staying patient out there.
Hit a lot of really great shots; had a lot of really good looks at birdie.
Q. I know in the past maybe you've not felt this golf course suits you. What changed today to let you score that low?
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, looking at past scores, honestly, just seeing -- it's always a pretty low number that wins out here. I mean, I compete with these girls week in and week out. I know how good they are. I know when I play my best, I can compete with them.
So just kind of trying to shift the mindset to like I need to go out and see birdies going in. I feel like sometimes I get a little protective, start playing for par, and today just felt like I was really aggressive.
Q. When you have that kind of mindset, what do you have to shift to be able to be that aggressive on a golf course that can be challenging if you're out of position?
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, especially with the wind, right, like I tend to take some iffy swings when I don't feel good about the club selection.
But I think what me and Jay have really worked on is like you have the right club in your hands, a solid shot, even if it ends up in the wrong place, is still going to be in the right miss.
So really just once I've made the decision, just go out there and take a solid swing.
Q. Obviously 2023 was going to be a hard year to back up regardless how well you played this year. For you, it's been a quiet year; pretty consistent; top 25s has been your territory. What are you looking for from yourself this week to cap off the year?
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, I mean, I think there is two ways to get better, right? You raise the floor, you raise the ceiling. Last year was seeing where the ceiling was; this year was more a bit of going back to basics and kind of raising the floor.
Like you said, really consistent year. Overall fairly happy with it. At the same time, looking at what can be done better moving forward.
Q. Obviously off to a great start. What do you do to build over the next 54 holes learning something about playing aggressive out here?
ALLISEN CORPUZ: Yeah, it was really nice to see a ton of birdies out there today, and just keep trying to do the same thing. Keep playing aggressive and taking the opportunities when they come.
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