Q. Another 69 to go with the 69 in round one. Where did it come from? I know this year has been a bit of a struggle for you so far.
LAUREN KIM: Yeah, it really has been a struggle. I've been kind of grinding away and hoping for results and kind of patiently waiting.
This week it's just amazing to stay at home, sleep in my own bed, and just have the local support and know that people that are rooting for me are close by.
So I think that's really driven me to just kind of let it go this week and hopefully keep it going on the weekend.
Q. Had you had much experience playing Lake Merced? I know you played here a couple years ago. Did you play it when you were an amateur at Stanford?
LAUREN KIM: Not so much as an amateur at Stanford, but as a junior. We would play here all the time, Bay Cities, through our clubs and just friends and junior tournaments, so it's kind of fun to come back and see just how your game improves on the same course over like a decade of playing it.
I don't play it often anymore as an adult, but when I can I get out here. And it's just -- it feels close by. I play San Francisco Club a lot, and obviously Olympic. So to just be local again and down the street from courses I know really well is nice.
Q. You have a local caddie on the bag. How much is he helping and how did that come together for you?
LAUREN KIM: Actually Andrea Wong, who is in the field this week, set it up for you. Andrea and I played junior golf together and he's been amazing. It's just local course knowledge and just playing himself at a high level.
It's just a different mindset, and especially with the men, how they set up their courses. You just have to be just really precise. We've been kind of sticking to our process over every shot and just one after the next, so he's been a huge help and I couldn't be more grateful.
Q. Just overall how are you feeling after two days of play?
LAUREN KIM: I'm feeling great. I feel solid. My family has been out here the last two days and it's just amazing. It feels really good to play well and shoot under par and kind of feel like I got my game back.
Q. Getting your game back, you started to feel comfortable here yesterday with a spectacular round. This is one of those courses going low sometimes isn't what we see at the end of the day. When did you really feel your stride here at Lake Merced?
LAUREN KIM: I don't know. I just think just even stepping onto the grounds, I'm so comfortable here at home with this kind of golf. A lot of the courses around this area, especially in San Francisco, are designed similarly with the same grass and just having to hit the same shots, so I think just playing at those courses.
You come to a different course but in the same area and it kind of just all feels like home.
Q. We haven't seen you on tour since the Pure Silk Championship a few weeks ago. What have you been working on, do you think, that really came out in these last two rounds?
LAUREN KIM: I think it really did, yeah. I've been working a lot on putting. My putting stats were a little less than ideal before. Just kind of grinding on that and trying to get the swing geared up.
I think it's just -- you have some weeks where it all comes together at the right time, and this happens to be one of those couple days.
Q. There was a period of time on the Symetra Tour when you considered walking away from the game. How have you gone from that low to today?
LAUREN KIM: That took a lot of self-reflection. I think realizing why I play the game in the first place and just kind of appreciating the opportunity. I think it's really easy to get wrapped up in the grind of being on tour -- whether it's Symetra or out here even -- wrapped up in results and all of the performance that goes with it.
I think learning to enjoy kind of just the whole process and really being grateful. You know, I see friends come up to me all the time and they're like, It's amazing that you get to travel and play golf, and people say that to you all the time. Play a sport for a living, and just to have the opportunity to play professionally, I mean, for however long I have, just that mindset kind of drove me.
Q. How are you in the process of finding joy in the game?
LAUREN KIM: I think I'm there. I think COVID, actually not playing last year, really almost helped that mentality for me. I think I had a medical condition that just really prevented me from playing altogether, and I couldn't do anything it.
I had to find joy in other parts of my life. I had to really just focus on something else other than golf, and I think that just -- it just helped me become kind of a more well-rounded person just on and off the course.
So I think channelling some of that into the game has really helped.
Q. What were some of the things you focused on when you were away?
LAUREN KIM: Just getting outdoors. I love being outdoors. I got into cycling, backpacking, a lot of different hobbies, things that I felt like I couldn't really do being on the road all the time.
And so I don't know, just having fun with it, making the best out of a really poor situation. When I found out I wasn't going to be competing, to have that taken away, I think really helped me practice like negative visualization in way and what would my life look like without golf.
Just made me really grateful to be back out here.
Q. When did you really miss golf?
LAUREN KIM: I think I -- the first couple months of COVID I really needed the time away, so probably, I mean, back to like last April, May I was kind of feeling like, Okay, this is enough. When are we going to get back to normal life?
And that obviously lasted longer than anybody probably could have imagined. So, yeah, just really glad to be back.
Q. You've got the Lauren Kim Fan Club with you this week. You're one of six Stanford Cardinal in the field. How sweet does it feel, satisfying, to be playing the way you're playing in front of family, friends, and former students that you used to play alongside?
LAUREN KIM: Yeah, it's great. I mean, my family, you know, it's hard to travel to every tournament, and some of the places we go they can't make it because of work.
So to have them -- to just be playing the weekend at all and just have them able to come out and enjoy and just kind of see me play, it's really fun. Normally I'm out there by myself, so it's nice to have family around.
And then as for Stanford, it's just amazing. Like the program ever since my freshman year has been just kind of on the rise. To see six of us in the field this week is pretty big.
I'm just really proud of our coach and our program. Obviously seeing like Michelle and Rachel out there on the course today, the vibe is really good.
Q. I know you have a local caddie on the bag that you told Golf Channel Andrea Wong helped set up for you. How has his knowledge helped you through the past two days?
LAUREN KIM: Yeah, it's really helped. I mean, some of the lines off the tees and things that -- shots that you get comfortable hitting when you're playing as a local person aren't necessarily the right lines to take off a tournament tee.
And so I think to have his knowledge playing from like the back tees and playing when the course is a lot harder really just helps in giving my confidence that I'm hitting it the right direction, that I can really trust what he's saying.
Q. By the end of this day you could hold your first 36-hole lead of your LPGA career. What will you focus on as you get ready for the weekend?
LAUREN KIM: I think just enjoying it. You know, weekends like this don't come very often, and when they do, you just kind of have to embrace it and enjoy it. And just being home, just, yeah, just makes it all the better.
Q. You shot a 9-under 63 to win the 2018 Florida Natural Charity Classic. Like Megan said, you're leading after today. Is there something gratifying in having that advantage heading into the weekend, or is it somewhat nerve-wracking?
LAUREN KIM: I think it's a bit nerve-wracking obviously. Like I want to play well and hopefully come out at the top at the end of the week, but thinking that far ahead doesn't help anybody, I don't think.
So I think I'm just going to, yeah, take it in stride and keep pressing and try to keep making a lot of birdies. We'll see what the weather does. Could get crazy on the weekend. You just never know out here. Yeah, staying really present.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports