Q. All right, here with Julia Lopez Ramirez after the first round at the JM Eagle LA Championship. Really solid round for you today. Can you just tell us a little bit about the day and your string of great play.
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah, it was really nice day out there. Like just keeping myself in control. Like hit a lot of greens, make a few putts to get my motivation going. So that was easy to just keep the game going.
So a lot of focus and keep myself in the present, because obviously you're the first one out there. The scores can be any time low or high, so you cannot put expectations out there.
To be honest I was really like solid and like confident on it, like except those two, three bogeys on the back nine. Honestly just bad swings on it. I'm still happy with the round and what I did on the golf course.
Q. You had a solid week at the Ford Championship. I know you posted a really good score I think on the second day. How do you feel about your play so far this year as a rookie?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah, I think obviously the beginning was a bit of an up and down for me. I got surgery four weeks ago, so that was quite -- yeah, come back from that and like playing in Arizona.
I wasn't planning on it, and having that round that day was really like motivating for me. Even though I wasn't 100% ready for it, I still could fight myself on there and like be out here.
Q. Is everything okay?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah, now we're good. Yes, yes.
Q. Can you tell us what the surgery was for?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: My appendix. Yeah, it was in China. I thought was food poisoning because it was right after dinner, and I played the first two rounds in a lot of pain in China.
Missed the cut by one. I'm thankful for that, because I came back early and the minute I got back I got to a doctor and I got surgery, so...
Q. How did the food poisoning lead to the issue with the appendix?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Apparently the doctor says the appendix is higher than where your stomach is; that's why it feels like food poisoning. It end up coming like lower where the appendix is, and that's kind of what happened to me.
Yeah, like it start high and I thought was just food related, and then I got back and I couldn't move my right leg and they say that's appendix.
Yeah, it's crazy. I thought it was like food and I just wasn't feeling good, and I end up going to the doctor, got scans, and end up being surgery in the same day.
Q. What's the recovery process been like for you?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah, so I hit it quite far. I've been struggling with distance at the moment. I probably lost like 10 to 15 because I couldn't go work out until last week.
I lost a lot of weight because it was just all rehab, exercising. It was all abdominal pain, so anything related to that I couldn't do. But keep myself in place now. I am starting to do things now.
Normally they say after four weeks you're good to go. After two, that's when I played in Arizona. Obviously still having a bit abdominal pain, but I was like -- I really wanted to play, especially being a rookie. I feel like you just want to play everything.
Yeah, after that I just keep growing and getting better, so that's good.
Q. Were you in any pain out there today?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: No, no, no, no. After Arizona was gone; I've been in no pain ages. I cannot do ups, like the exercises.
Q. Take us through the birdies today; seven birdies.
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah.
Q. What was the key? What was behind the low round?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: I think it mainly was a lot of like really like focus on shots and like going the right shapes for these greens, because obviously they're quite slopey and got a lot of breaks. So I feel like I put myself in the right positions to give myself an easier putt.
Because out here the greens about firm and like hilly, so obviously that give you like a good advantage when you get yourself in good position. I think that's kind of what I did well today, just keep myself in the flattest part and just get good putts in.
Q. Just to go back to one more appendix question, once you flew back, wondering how close did your doctor say you were to your appendix bursting, and should you not have been flying now that you know what you know?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Yeah, so actually me doctor told me not to play in Arizona, but I -- he was saying it was a quick recovery, and after flying and stuff he was saying like after two weeks you're welcome to go to normal life. Obviously not lifting or getting heavy weight.
That's what I like did. Just gave myself an easy life I guess. But, yeah, hopefully after four weeks he said everything back to normal.
Q. You've won a lot, especially at Mississippi State, I believe at college. How much does that winning experience, putting yourself in contention, how much does that help you with your confidence out here?
JULIA LOPEZ RAMIREZ: Obviously that helps, like being in that position a few times. Just controlling yourself out there and keep yourself in the present. I think that's really important, especially when you're around really good players and like everything can happen because it's golf.
But I think that really helped me like getting my confidence up and knowing that obviously a win here is obviously bigger than when you win in college, but I think the feeling is probably the same of getting those nerves and being in that position.
So I think that will help me manage myself out here.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports