Q. So a 5-under round today, 4-under total through the tournament. How did it feel walking off that last green?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Felt pretty great. This round was really steady and I never really put myself in any bad positions. So it felt great to play solid golf. Took advantage of a few birdies. Holed out for eagle on a par-5 on the front nine. I feel like that just kind of set the tone for the day.
After that, it was just smooth sailing. Even the last few holes I had a couple putts inside ten feet; didn't make the birdie putt, so it was really the kind of day where it could have been 9 but it was an easy 5.
You know, with the forecast tomorrow, having lost quite a few strokes yesterday, my goal for today was just to get back what I got yesterday. So I got that back and then some and I'm pleased with that.
Q. And then can you talk to me about your eagle, birdie, birdie? Obviously a really good stretch right there. What was going through your head and how did that give you a lot of momentum heading into the next nine?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah, with that front left pin location on -- what's that, 14?
Q. Yeah.
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: 14, the par-5. Yesterday I hit a shot that landed a little less than pin high and spun back so far, and so with that front location I literally thought right before I hit that, I said, whatever you do, just land it like five yards by and let it spin back. It literally spun back into the hole, which is crazy.
Then I made two fantastic putts on the next two holes for birdie.
After that, it just felt good. Like I said, my goal for today was to get back what I had done, and at that point, I'm six holes in and it's done. I've got it back. So at that point I'm like, all right, now I can focus on climbing the leaderboard and getting back into a good position to where Sunday's round doesn't feel so stressful.
Q. Awesome. Like you said, in a good position for tomorrow. Obviously the weather doesn't look like it's going to be --
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Doesn't look great.
Q. -- the greatest.
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah.
Q. How do you manage that and keep a positive attitude heading into tomorrow to guarantee yourself the best chance at succeeding and to qualifying for Q-Series?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah, you know, I realized what went errant yesterday. It wasn't my game, it was a six hour, twenty five minute round. As I got off the course I realized I was starving. I don't think I drank much water. I think I just didn't eat and drink appropriately to be on the golf course for that amount of time.
I think that was the mistake I made. So that will be my focus tomorrow. With the temperature dropping again it's hard to drink when it's not hot, so I have to really remind myself tomorrow to stay hydrated, eat your snacks.
As long as I don't run out of energy, I think I'll have a solid day.
Q. Awesome. Then you have been playing golf for quite sometime. Played fast golf, slow golf. Being out on the course for six hours and twenty five minutes obviously isn't ideal. How do you -- like knowing that that's going to happen, how do you keep positive and keep yourself in your own game?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: You know, I think it will be really easy tomorrow. I have my mom on the bag. This is her first time caddieing for me. We just had fun out there. My mom is literally just like the best company to have around, so I think that in itself is going to allow me to just relax and have fun tomorrow.
And I think we'll have a chuckle handling the elements, which will be cute, just trying to see her manage the rain and stuff. So I think it's just going to put me in good spirits.
I think with these kind of tournaments, qualifiers, energy is everything, so I feel like I'm just in a good space with that.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports