Q. Here with Jennifer Kupcho. 5-under 67 to back up your opening 63. Got off to a little bit of a slow start. I'm sure you were kind of looking for more from yourself in those first eight holes, but made a birdie on 18 and then got it rolling on the back. Walk me through those last ten holes.
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I mean, I started out not really hitting it great, so was really just trying to stay patient and couple holes save par, so I actually got out of the holes pretty well.
And then, yeah, to turn it on -- I didn't really expect a whole lot coming out here today. Set a pretty low bar for myself, so to come out and play well, it was nice to see.
Q. You were telling me yesterday you were a little frustrated when you didn't make that final putt on 18. I imagine the first eight holes were pretty frustrating. How did you stay patient and let yourself know, hey, there are going to be some birdies out here; I am going to make some in the front?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think I just kept telling myself that yesterday was so easy and golf really seemed like it was the best I could do yesterday, so I kind of came out with the mindset that not everything is going to go my way today, and it certainly didn't on the first eight holes.
Q. How much did the wind change this golf course today for you guys?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think it's really windy out here. I don't recall it being this windy the last couple years, so this is definitely interesting, definitely a challenge. You definitely have to use your brain a lot.
Q. What do you think was the spark that got you going?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Honestly, I was just -- I think I made a really good up and down on 17, which was my 8th hole. That really boosted my confidence for the rest of the round.
Q. Is it kind of hard at a place like this where you know you have to go low? Was it a challenge to be patient in that first seven or eight holes before things got going?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Not really. I, again, came out with that mindset of coming out here today that not everything was going to go my way, so I was able to stay patient coming in with that mindset.
Q. Talked a little bit about the luck of the draw. You guys were on the wrong end of it, but here you are with the lead right now as you leave here. How much confidence does that give you to know that despite being on the wrong side, you're on the right side of the leaderboard?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I mean, honestly I think it's going to be pretty windy this afternoon, so I think the afternoon will get their fair share of wind.
Yesterday morning was certainly pretty easy, but I think that kind of just gave us -- Nelly and I are both very competitive, so I think coming out here yesterday afternoon we were ready to give it a shot.
Q. You've won now and you come here and you're in position to win. What did you learn from that experience and what do you know about yourself that maybe you didn't realize before?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: I think it's just having a confident mindset and knowing that I can do it. Obviously I've won a lot in amateur golf, so, yeah, I was cold for a couple years, so to be able to come out and win, I think it just gives a lot of confidence to be able to win on this level.
Q. For somebody that had so much success before they got to the tour, what did you go through all those weeks of not winning?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Honestly, it's just taking every opportunity to learn. I think I needed to improve a lot of parts of my game when I got out here, and so that was pretty much what happened over the last two, three years.
Q. Just want to ask real quick, a lot of pros on both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour talk about being themselves, kind of just going out there and, like I said, being themselves. For you, what does that look like? What does that look like to be Jen Kupcho on the golf course?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: I think I have -- I think I have two personalities. I think when I'm on the course I'm very focused. A lot of people you'll hear or see on social media people telling me to smile, and it's really just I'm in the game and I'm focused. I'm a competitive person. That's how I am.
But think if you catch me off the golf course I'm fun. I mean, I laugh a lot. So I think it's -- that's the difference for me and that's how I am.
Q. Is it pretty easy to separate those two to kind of say, all right, now I'm off the course, I can kind of take a breath, and fun Jen comes out?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think in some ways for sure. I think competing in anything -- last night a played Mario Kart with the kids I was staying with and I definitely was competitive, so I think I'm just a competitive person. Any time I'm competing that's how I am.
I think just in general, yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports