Q. All right here with Mao Saigo after her first round here at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. Fantastic round. What went into today?
MAI SAIGO: These last two days after hitting my irons really well I've been able to achieve a really good score. Very happy about that.
Q. How does this course bring out some of your strengths?
MAI SAIGO: Because the greens are very soft, it gave Maja chance to use my strength of hitting irons and the balls will stick on the green and that's really good for me.
Q. Very much in the running for Rookie of the Year. How much is that on your mind heading into the final stretch of the season?
MAI SAIGO: I'm very happy to have the chance to play this year, my rookie year. I focus however on what's ahead of me. Of course it would be quite an honor to be able to be in the race for Rookie of the Year.
Q. Many birdies today. Any highlights today you can share with us?
MAI SAIGO: I was really happy to get that long putt birdie on the last hole.
Q. How long that putt?
MAI SAIGO: Probably about 12 meters or about 38 feet.
Q. Okay. And talk about your strategy for the weekend.
MAI SAIGO: I would like to just continue focusing on what's ahead of me each stroke and do my best over the next two days.
Q. How about playing in China? I think it's different from America or from Japan.
MAI SAIGO: Yes, it's quite different from America but there are many similarities playing here and in Japan.
Q. Really? Okay. First year, right?
MAI SAIGO: Uh-huh.
Q. Can you talk about you played many years in Japan, right? What's the difference between the JLPGA and LPGA?
MAI SAIGO: The complexities and variance of the different courses in America really test all my different skills, and it's quite challenging in that respect.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports