Q. All right, Yuka, a nice way to start off the championship here at Palos Verdes. Overall how are you feeling coming off 18?
YUKA SASO: Yeah, I think I played really well, very steady until hole 17. Bit unlucky on 17, par-3. Still overall I played okay.
Yeah, really enjoyed it today.
Q. What happened on 17?
YUKA SASO: I hit it left and then it went to the hazard.
Q. Got it.
YUKA SASO: So, it happens.
Q. What is it about this course that you think really plays to your strengths after a day like today?
YUKA SASO: What's that again?
Q. What does a course like this play to your strengths?
YUKA SASO: This golf course?
Q. Yes.
YUKA SASO: I don't know. You can look at my like stats here for couple years. I played here two years now, two or three. I don't know, but I've never really played well here, so I'm a bit surprised myself as well.
Q. Last time we saw you was in the Asia Swing. You were able to net two top 20 finishes in your last two starts here.
YUKA SASO: Thank you.
Q. What have you thought about doing to carry that momentum from Singapore over to here?
YUKA SASO: I wasn't really thinking about carrying that momentum. We had like -- I had like two weeks off, so just kept on working what I've been doing, and, yeah, I think it's paying off a little bit.
So, yeah.
Q. Were you working in the States or did you --
YUKA SASO: Yeah, came back to Dallas.
Q. What were you doing over the last couple weeks? Did you kind of put the clubs away to get over some jet lag maybe?
YUKA SASO: Yeah, I rested for almost a week, like three, four days, and then get back to work a little bit.
Then I had to work as well, and coming back from work I got flu, so coming to here I wasn't 100%.
But, yeah, game it's feeling okay, so...
Q. Is it nice to have a round like this when you're not feeling your best that maybe exceeds your expectations.
YUKA SASO: Depends. Sometimes like it's better to expect to play good and play good than not expecting to play good and play good.
So I wasn't really expecting to like play not so good, so I think this round is where I think my game feels at the moment right now.
So I'm pretty happy.
Q. What have you been working on in your game recently to get to that...
YUKA SASO: I was sick so I wasn't able to.
Q. Before you were sick, what were some the things you were working on specifically?
YUKA SASO: Overall obviously hitting more fairways and hitting more greens and then being able to hit more shots, like different kind of shots, and to be able to execute that on the golf course.
I think this is -- I'm still like learning and everything so I don't think it's the final. I'm hoping I can get better a bit more.
Q. What is it about California golf that you just like? Feel like you always tend to play well in California. Have a win this California as well?
YUKA SASO: Really? Thank you. I don't know about this golf course. I missed the cut I think last year and the year before. I actually don't know.
I guess the weather. I don't know.
Q. Totally fine. I'll ask you a different question. You always play really well at hard golf courses. Is there something you really like about a challenging golf course?
YUKA SASO: Well, I think when the golf course is difficult it requires a lot of different shots, like I mentioned earlier what I've been working on as well.
So, yeah, I think it just fit that this week. Like what I've been working on for the past like month or two.
I needed to this week, so I think to fit my eye a little bit better than the couple years.
Q. That closing stretch -- obviously had a little bit of a fit on 17 today. How tough is the closing stretch here at Palos Verdes? I know it can be difficult the last three or four holes.
YUKA SASO: I think today wasn't that like super difficult because the wind didn't really came up today. I think Palos Verdes can be very, very difficult when the wind catches up, so I think our group was pretty lucky with the weather that we had today in the morning.
We'll see about tomorrow. We'll see if I can say the same thing tomorrow. Yeah.
Q. One more from me: In the fall we have The ANNIKA and now Seri Pak, we have the Seri Pak Championship.
YUKA SASO: Yeah.
Q. What does that mean to you as a player on this tour to see Seri Pak's name on an event?
YUKA SASO: I missed Annika's event last year, but those are players that I've always looked up to growing up, so it's great to see their name on a tournament. I think not for me, but I think for them, it's a very proud moment.
And also, to have their name on the tournament makes the younger kids now not to forgot about them as well. Like because as the years goes on, I think a lot of players coming up, and I think sometimes we forget about, okay, why is there everything here? We can't forget about the legends.
So I think it's good for -- it's a good reminder for me as well, that, okay those are the people that I looked up to and I think I still do.
You know, it's good to kind of look back and see how they played like the golf course they played before and how they played and how inspired me to become who I am today. So, yeah, I think it's a good reminder.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports