Q. Hally Leadbetter in the interview room. Good playing the last two days. 66 points. Two points behind the leaders, Mardy Fish and Joe Pavelski. Tell us a little bit about your round today.
HALLY LEADBETTER: Yeah, overall hit it really well. Wheels kind of fell off in the middle. Was on the bogey train there for a minute. Was proud of myself, how I kind of just reset. My caddie, Kevin, is super awesome, LPGA Tour caddie. Really nice to have him on the bag.
I don't play too much competitive golf anymore so you kind of like forget what it's like to make a couple bogeys in a row and have to keep calm.
So I'm not used to being in that situation anymore. I kind of just panic. He's like, relax. It's going to be okay. It's really nice to have him out there.
Q. This is your second year playing this tournament?
HALLY LEADBETTER: Yeah.
Q. Talk about the tournament in general.
HALLY LEADBETTER: Oh, my gosh, it's so cool. I grew up wanting to play on the LPGA Tour. Playing alongside these girls, it has reinforced the decision that I made the right choice to not pursue it. They are so, so good.
For me this is a really special tournament also because this is where I grew up. Our home was on the 16th hole. This is where I learned the game. Everything from a junior clinic with Annika to beating balls on the range next to Lou Holtz. This is where I broke 100 for the first time. It's a really special place to come back, and be where I'm at now in my career and getting the opportunity to play alongside the best in the world is just really special.
Q. How old were you when you guys moved here?
HALLY LEADBETTER: I lived -- I was zero. So I was literally brought back from the hospital to the townhouses left of No, 4; then my parents built a house on the 16th tee. So this is -- yeah, I lived here until I was about 14.
Q. Have you been back since Annika's bought it?
HALLY LEADBETTER: You know, I have seen it. I've not been inside. It's a beautiful home. She's definitely Annika-fied it, Swede-fied it. It's really beautiful, but a lot more straight lines. It's a beautiful home. It's is funny seeing her kids. I'm like, which one of you has my room?
Q. Who does?
HALLY LEADBETTER: I don't know. I never got a straight answer. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Pretty cool.
Q. So have you played in any tournaments since this one last year?
HALLY LEADBETTER: I played in the American Sentry. Sort of same squad of people, which is really fun.
Yeah, it was funny. I was going back and forth with my dad trying to decide. Some people -- Jin Young Ko asked me did I play professionally? I played professionally for three months and then I was like, just kidding. Very quickly was like not for me.
Being here is just so special. Again, to be alongside these girls and be like, wow, this is how good you have to be to make it on the LPGA.
Q. Is your dad your instructor?
HALLY LEADBETTER: He is my instructor, yeah. He's on vacation in Jamaica right now. My mom called me yesterday, you should have heard your dad when you made a double. He started screaming.
So he's still a golf parent.
Q. Growing up in the game of golf, who were some of the influences you had growing up? Probably rubbed shoulders with a lot of other celebrities and golfers.
HALLY LEADBETTER: Annika for sure. Growing up here literally across the fairway from her at the time, just watching her practice, I knew at the time watching her practice with aspirations of playing on the LPGA I saw how much work it took to make it out here.
Definitely Annika and Michelle Wie West, who my dad taught for a long time. She is like an older sister for me. The work ethic was really there. For me it was funny, because I didn't really -- I'm a very all-or-nothing person. When I was 12 or 13 I was really into horses for a long time. I did competitive horseback riding.
When I was 13 I decided I wanted to play golf. That's when I went from shooting 130 and then I would take off like ten strokes a year, and ultimately that's how I got to play in college. Again, I think it was just the work ethic and seeing the Annikas and Michelle's and all the girls out here, how much work it takes is what inspired me to get after it as a kid.
Q. A lot of your friends playing in the tournament this weekend as well?
HALLY LEADBETTER: Yeah, yes. Cheyenne Knight who played at Alabama. There is a lot of girls out here that I played in college. I certainly wasn't competitive with them by any means. Whether it's junior golf or college golf, it's really, really cool to see them now being successful on the LPGA Tour.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports