Q. Here with Lucy Li after a 4-under day after the first round after successfully Monday qualifying on Monday. Just take me through what was working well today.
LUCY LI: Yeah, just hit it well and putted well all day, which was nice. Kind of have to do that on this golf course. Yeah, just stuck to my game plan. Kind of did very similar to how I did in the Monday qualifier, so that was nice.
Q. Yeah, getting a whole extra round in, having to to get into the field, what did you take from that experience of getting a competitive round in before the week technically started?
LUCY LI: Yeah, for sure. Obviously would've preferred not to have Mondayed. It was good to get some experience, especially on these greens. The putts can be really, really tricky. Having experienced that in the Monday, I had a little bit better idea of the speed of the greens today, which think was pretty helpful.
Q. Taking a look at your round in general, your front nine, three birdies in your front nine holes. What was working well in the beginning of that round?
LUCY LI: I mean, I just hit it good and made some putts. Same thing, back nine, I was doing the same thing. Didn't get the last one to fall, but as along as you put a good stroke on it, that's all you can do.
Q. What was it like rebounding from the bogey on 14 heading into 15?
LUCY LI: Yeah, I just had to move on from it. It was unfortunate because that's definitely a gettable hole. I hit two great shots into the green. My second shot just barely trickled like down and I ended up having really, really grainy lie.
So I just -- I don't know if I made the right call there on the shot, but it was a tricky shot, so I just had to kind of move on from it, take my bogey, and then get on.
Q. Every time you're in the field I feel like we end up talking to you at some point because of the way you're always able to keep yourself in contention even at such a young age against some of the best players in the world. How comfortable does it feel to come out again this week and kind of see what's been working and it showing on the leaderboard?
LUCY LI: Yeah, for sure. Definitely nice to get back out here and play well again. I think the last couple tournaments I was really close, missing the cut by one shot.
I think I was just a little bit mentally tired from traveling so much and having a really crazy couple of months.
So being able to go home last week and not really play -- oh, I was home for two weeks, but the first week I really didn't play much at all. Just having the ability to kind of reset there was really nice. Kind of my like last big event of the year, so being able to play this and then have a pretty long off-season will be nice.
Q. When you are able to take more than maybe one week off, that rarely happens in the season, especially when you're playing on both the Epson and the LPGA sometimes. Have you ever had that kind of break before where you're able to put the clubs down in mid-season?
LUCY LI: Yeah, I usually try to spread my tournaments out that so I don't play more than four in a row or something like that.
Sometimes I get a couple weeks off. On the Epson we've had a couple stretches where it was nice to get two weeks off. Usually I take a couple days off and I practice. This time I was just like I'm so tired.
It's one thing to play a lot of tournaments; another thing to travel so much and just not be home. I wasn't home for almost two and a half months or something like that, so it's just more mentally than physically tiring.
That was the main thing for me, being able to rest.
Q. I feel like for a lot of players when you're in contention one week, it can be a little mentally draining when you go to the next week, but for your we've seen you in new contention week after week and week. Do you feel like you're able to compartmentalize kind of those feelings well or you've gotten better at compartmentalizing those feelings?
LUCY LI: Yeah, for sure. Definitely having the experience of being in contention on the Epson Tour this year was huge. Kind of for a couple years there, especially with one year like where we didn't play much with COVID and then last year not really being in contention, it was definitely good to get those repetitions under my belt and get used to the feeling of being in contention again.
That was huge. I just try to treat every round the same.
Q. What will you take from your first round as you head into tomorrow?
LUCY LI: Yeah, definitely. I feel like I played pretty solid golf. There is not much to really dwell on from today. I think with such an early tee time tomorrow, the main thing is to get my full night of sleep. That's the main thing.
Q. Of course across the country is the Epson Tour Championship. No matter what happens here this week, you have secured your status through the Race For the Card. What has it meant to have the support of a sponsor like Epson Tour this past year on the Epson Tour, and what has your experience the past year and past couple years on the Epson Tour really helped as you're shining in this moment now?
LUCY LI: Yeah, for sure, definitely it's almost invaluable the experiences from playing on the Epson Tour. I'm a little sad that I can't be there for the ceremony this week, but I couldn't really pass up an opportunity to play in my home state, especially on a beautiful course like Saticoy.
So I'm just really, really grateful for the experience and opportunities that Epson has given me, and I'm really excited to follow along the leaderboard next week. I'm rooting for some of my friends to sneak in the top 10 there. Really excited for them as well.
Some girls who have already locked up their card, and I'm really excited for all of us to get out here next year and show them what we're made of I guess.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports