Q. Sarah Jane Smith, 5-under 66 on day one of the Volunteers of America Classic. You had a nice colorful scorecard, six birdies and an eagle on No. 6.
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yeah.
Q. Let's start with the eagle. How did you get to the hole in three?
SARAH JANE SMITH: The eagle I actually hit it to the -- oh, no, I hit it pin high. Sorry, I got my holes confused. Hit driver, 3-wood to about nine feet and holed it.
So it was a nice way to get the round back on track.
Q. And that was on your front nine, so coming off a bogey I imagine that provided a little momentum for the rest of the day.
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yeah, definitely, because I felt like up to that point I was playing really well but let a couple go, so to get back to like a couple under felt really nice. Felt like where I might have -- should have been without making some mistakes.
Q. And then you had birdies at Nos. 3 and 8 on the front nine, and then Nos. 12, 13, 17, and 18 on the back nine, ending with a pair of birdies. I would that imagine may have been an even bigger highlight of day.
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yeah, it's definitely nice to finish like that. I made a poor bogey on 15. Only had a little wedge in and then three-putted. So to get a couple back coming in makes the day feel a bit better.
Q. You played here in December, six months ago.
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yes.
Q. Temperatures were about, what, 60 degrees cooler than they are. Colder. We can say cold. It was freezing.
SARAH JANE SMITH: It was freezing.
Q. How much different is the course playing, is just the environment here from a winter to a summer date?
SARAH JANE SMITH: It's incredible. The distance difference between when it's cold and the ball doesn't fly to being hot when the ball really goes for you, it was just a different golf course out there.
So it was sort of -- I didn't hate it here. I played okay in the cold, but I didn't enjoy the cold. Today was much more enjoyable. I would rather be a hot sweaty mess than the other way round.
Q. What did you have going on today with the clubs to shoot a low number and find yourself in this position?
SARAH JANE SMITH: I actually unfortunately didn't qualify for KPMG, so I had a week off last week. I worked with Sean Foley, but he set up a putting lesson with Skip Kendall in Orlando, so we worked for like five or six hours one day last week.
I had a little bit of something in every part of my putting to work on, so been working hard on that. And then today that was the big difference. I holed a lot of putts. I've been hitting the ball nicely coming up to here but making nothing, so that was a really nice way to see that things are going in the right direction.
Q. Kind of a two-part question: First off, what was it like to work with Skip?
SARAH JANE SMITH: He was awesome. I spoke to him for the first time on the phone before the lesson and he was just great. I could tell that I was going to really like him. He was just super generous with his time and just a wealth of knowledge.
I think not only was it technical stuff, but, I mean, he plays, still plays, so played and played, so he helped in every way, so it was awesome.
Q. You mentioned there were some different parts to the putting that you worked on. What was one of the bigger ones that you looked at and were like, Hey, let's get this and this might help a couple different facets?
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yeah, a lot of things in my setup. Sean, we don't really do short game too much. He helps me a lot with chipping. That's the thing. But putting I've sort been doing on my own.
So my setup had gotten a bit askew. Then we worked on some rhythm stuff. Been working a lot with a metronome and getting a bit more of a sequence going. I was a bit all over the place. Didn't matter what putt I hit, I would take a different amount of time to hit every one.
So just trying to get a better routine going.
Q. Obviously you want to play as many events as possible. Was it a blessing in disguise to not have qualified and to have that time to work?
SARAH JANE SMITH: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I would like to think everything happens for a reason. I wasn't -- I had a little cold last week that my son gave me, so I would've much rather been there. It's one of my favorite events, but I think in the grand scheme of things it was a much better thing for me to be home, work on my game, get a lesson that I probably wouldn't have been able to have until the end of summer.
I think, like you said, it was a blessing in disguise.
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