THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the Team Europe stalwarts for the Solheim Cup, but they're looking pretty solid after round one of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational; 4-under par bogey free.
Either of you can start with this one. How good did it feel to put that one up on day one of alternate shot?
MEL REID: Yeah, obviously we've played a lot in Solheim, and I love playing with Carlota. She's one of my good friends. We stay together most weeks. There's just no pressure. We made some great par saves, made some nice birdies, but it's just fun. We really don't care where the other one hits it. In fact, we actually quite enjoy it when the other one hits it a bit squiff, which is good on Carlota's part, because I was hitting it squiff today.
It's just the chemistry. We just have really good chemistry and we just enjoy our time out there, and I think that shows through in our play. And yeah, we're very happy with 4-under.
THE MODERATOR: When she does hit it -- what was the word?
MEL REID: Squiff. It's like the thing on the top of your head there, squiff.
THE MODERATOR: When she does hit it squiff, do you really enjoy that?
CARLOTA CIGANDA: I mean, I don't think she hit it bad. I mean, it's just Mel. She is usually hitting always where she wants to. I think it was great to be out there. As she said, it's just a different tournament to play foursome, four-ball. We always play stroke play.
So I think it's great to be out here. We love playing with each other. We played in Solheim Cup. We are just a great pairing, and we just did our best.
And as she said, we are going to miss shots, we are going to just keep playing the next shot, and that's what we did, and very happy. Bogey-free. She made some great putts, and yeah, I'm very excited about today.
Q. You were paired with Ally Ewing and Megan Khang. That's as much of a Solheim Cup preview as it gets. Do you draw on that? Do some images from past Solheim Cups pop up when you have two Americans that you're competing with in the same group in an event like this?
MEL REID: Not really. They're just really good girls. They're just nice to play with, and both of them are two of probably the nicest people out here on Tour. So it's just nice to play with them. We would have beaten them probably 4 & 3 today, so that would have been nice for Solheim. Just want to throw that in there. We've always got tomorrow.
But, yeah, I think they are also a very strong partnership for Team USA. But no, we weren't really thinking about it, to be honest. We just had a really nice kind of four players playing together and just all doing our best, so it was a fun day out there.
Q. Anything that maybe Catriona Matthew gave some advice for either of you headed into the week? I would imagine she's watching.
CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, I'm sure she's happy. I'm sure she's watching because we are playing the same format as the Solheim Cup, and some of the pairings, they can be for the Solheim Cup.
She knows that Mel and I, we are great friends, we love playing with each other. We pretty much always play good and we win points for Europe. I'm sure she's happy, and yeah, I think it's a great start.
Q. What is it about this course that maybe fits each of your games specifically?
MEL REID: We both hit it relatively long. I think that's an advantage. I actually think it's a great course for this kind of format. Par-3s are really strong. They were extra strong today because of the wind. The wind was tricky.
And yeah, because we hit it relatively long, we're still hitting irons into the par-3s, we're hitting a few irons off par-4s, but we can carry a lot of the bunkers as well with driver.
I think it's a great setup for the longer players. But yeah, I mean, considering the rain that they had yesterday, I actually thought the course was in pretty decent shape. Yeah, I'm really impressed with the way the greens staff has kind of got this course together.
Q. Carlota, how do you change the mindset from alternate to best ball?
CARLOTA CIGANDA: I mean, it is different for sure. I think tomorrow having two opportunities all the time we can obviously make more birdies, and I think having two balls in play all the time, try to hit as many greens and have as many chances to make birdies, that's great.
I mean, playing with Mel, I mean, anything can happen, and I think we can make a lot of birdies. And if we don't, we are going to go on Friday and try to do the same.
I think it's a great start. Try to do the same tomorrow. I think we are both hitting the ball great, putting great, and we are ready to keep making birdies.
Q. I know people say there's always so much strategy involved with alternate-shot, but I would imagine when you have both balls in play and you can really kind of figure out the best way for the low score for either of you tomorrow, I would imagine there's still quite a bit of strategy involved.
MEL REID: I mean, I think Carlota said it right there. I think you've got to keep both balls in play. You don't really want to put your partner under any kind of pressure.
If you get two balls in play most of the time you're going to score really well around here. There's a lot of opportunities for wedges, obviously the par-5 you can get on in two, on 3, or whatever it is. And so there's a lot of opportunities if you're both in play.
Yeah, I'm excited for tomorrow. I think it's going to be a great format. I think there's going to be some really, really low scores. And yeah, she likes to make birdies, and I just try and keep up with her basically.
Q. Carlota, I've heard a lot about trust this week and partners. How much is that evident in your relationship with Mel?
CARLOTA CIGANDA: I mean, I trust her 200 percent. We have this chemistry that I don't think many players have, and I think you can see some great names, great players out there, but I don't know if they know each other that well or they have that chemistry and they can shoot higher scores, because even though you are a great player, if you miss a shot, you are not comfortable.
So I think having that chemistry, feeling comfortable, even if you miss a shot, if you miss a putt, it's what you need in this kind of format, especially in foursomes, and I think that's what we have. I mean, we just hit a bad shot and we just laugh. I hit a terrible driver on 14, like it went not even 180 yards and we were just laughing. I think she hit like a --
MEL REID: I laid up on a par-3 today. That was fun.
CARLOTA CIGANDA: I mean, we just laugh. We just keep going. I think that's very important here.
Q. Can you expand on the laying up?
MEL REID: I only hit it about four feet behind the ball. I actually wanted to carry that water that was about 42 yards ahead of me. But cheeky chip up there and I holed the putt to redeem myself. Yeah, all fun and games, isn't it.
CARLOTA CIGANDA: It's just golf.
MEL REID: It's fun and games.
Q. If you can talk to just the community and being back here at this event after a year off and what it means to be back in Midland at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational?
MEL REID: This is a great event. I think the food is great. Obviously the hospitality is great. It's just we were saying actually like halfway around we were like so nice to have fans back. We've really missed it. I feel like the PGA TOUR have had fans a lot sooner than we did.
We buzz off that kind of energy. I think most players do, and we've missed it for the past year and a half. So it's just so nice -- I think around this area you always get a lot of people coming out and supporting us, and we can't tell you how appreciative we are to have this event and to be able to have fans. It just makes it feel like a real LPGA event again.
Yeah, we're just extremely grateful.
CARLOTA CIGANDA: I agree with that. I think in places like this that is so cold in the winter, to have this kind of events for people to come out and to watch us play, I think it's great. And you can see people here. I'm sure there will be a lot of people on Friday and Saturday.
Yeah, I love seeing people. It motivates me, and I think Mel is the same, and we love that.
Q. I want to ask about the team name, the Reid --
MEL REID: Reidy 2 Fiesta.
Q. How did we come across that?
MEL REID: Carly. We were just going to have it team name because I hate that kind of stuff. If anyone says, name of team, I'm like #team, just to be an ass.
But I said to Carly, have you got any ideas? She's like, Reidy 2 Fiesta? And I was like, Perfect. So it was nothing to do with us. We literally -- we actually put it in like 9:00 last night. We have zero interest in a team name.
CARLOTA CIGANDA: We just want to make birdies.
MEL REID: Yeah, we don't care about the song. We're just like, whatever. Sorry to disappoint anyone. So yeah, that's all to Carly's credit.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports