Q. So you got me and a couple others here. I'll start out by saying that was a great round you put together. Bogey-free round today. What were your thoughts on the round? What was clicking for you?
NELLY KORDA: Honestly, everything. I'm striking it really well. I had a lot of good numbers and I was hitting it close, and honestly what made the difference from today to the years past is I was just rolling them in.
That was really nice to see.
Q. You said your work on the greens was what you needed. Clearly what you worked on was working. What Jason helping you or were you just feeling comfortable out there?
NELLY KORDA: Honestly I was actually really comfortable when we played at Dow. The greens -- I think the greens were pretty similar. They were soft and kind of po-ey, so I think that really helped playing that event before this one.
Made me a little bit more comfortable on these greens.
Q. Well played today. You must be delighted just to be back and in contention. Can you tell me if you feel blessed to be where you are?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, for sure. I'm very grateful to be out here. Sometimes when you get a little down on yourself and frustrated on the golf course you remind yourself that it can be taken away from you.
So I'm definitely grateful to be here in France and be able to travel and especially do what I love.
Q. And can you just talk me through that interesting 18th where you scrambled a par.
NELLY KORDA: My 18th would be the 9th hole of the...
Q. Well, yeah, yeah, where you hit it in the water.
NELLY KORDA: Oh, that one. Okay.
Q. How could you forget?
NELLY KORDA: I was in between clubs there. It was either a 7 or a 6, and I didn't really want to go long, but didn't really think about if I didn't hit that 7 good it would go in the water.
I had a decent chance of getting it out on the green, so I just went for it, and, yeah, saved par. Better than taking a drop, that's for sure.
Q. Have you done that sort of stuff before?
NELLY KORDA: Never, and I must say, it's very slimy on the bottom. Does not feel very good.
Q. Just sorry to dominate here, but one more question. Are you still wearing a compression sleeve?
NELLY KORDA: Yes, I am, yeah. It's really hot out so I'm wearing sun sleeves, but my compression sleeve is under.
Q. Just curious, obviously we don't play on poana a lot this late in the season. What was the adjustment that you made at Dow that maybe helped you kind of feel more comfortable on this grass coming to Evian?
NELLY KORDA: Honestly, I think it's just all feel and confidence. Sometimes you just really have to -- sometimes it's more of like when you're in the afternoon, a good putt will not go in and a bad putt will go in. You try to I guess have a bit more speed in them.
It's kind of like British where the greens are a little slower, and they're actually a little slower here than in the past this week.
I was just looking at more the back of the cup and trying to actually get them more in them with a good bit the speed.
Q. Just one more from me: How do you handle the sidehill lies? Some pins were pretty tucked today. When you have a sidehill lie, what's your thought process on trying to get it close when it's going the opposite direction of the way you're going to hit it?
NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I actually enjoy those shots. You have to have a lot of creativity with those shots, and I know when the ball is above my feet it's going to go left, and when the ball is below your feet it's going to go right.
It's a little harder with the woods. I struggled with them a little on the back nine on the par-5 where it kind of sprayed out right.
But overall, I think I handled the slopes really well. I just find this kind of golf fun. Obviously I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but I think it's really nice to kind of use your creativity around here.
Q. Were you watching any of the scores this morning? Did you see some of those low numbers out there? Were you just playing your own ball?
NELLY KORDA: Honestly, I was just playing my own ball. I maybe looked a couple times just to see where Jess was, but overall, I haven't had too much success on this golf course, so try not to get the numbers too in my head and just try and go out and have fun and try and put together a good round.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports