Q. Here now with Auston Kim after her first round here at Blue Bay LPGA. Bogey-free opening round. What kind of went into today?
AUSTON KIM: It was a lot. I think it was a bit of a grind the first nine holes. I got a really good break on two. I managed to grind out a couple pars early. Made a lot of good putts.
Just kept telling myself like you're making good putts for par. Same thing for when I had -- when I will have birdie chances in the future.
Putting feels good, so just keep the faith and stay strong basically.
Q. We haven't seen a whole lot of low numbers out here, this morning at least. You went bogey-free. What were some of the keys to keeping the bogey avoidance alive?
AUSTON KIM: I think there was a lot of trust in my short game and putting today. Felt good right out of the gate, and been putting in a lot of work the past few weeks.
So trusting the work I've been putting in and knowing that if I made a bogey it was okay, but if I made the par, fantastic. Just move on to the next one and try my best.
Q. Here we are in your second season on Tour. How different do you feel as person, player, versus maybe this time last year?
AUSTON KIM: Yeah, I think I definitely feel a lot more comfortable. That's probably the goal every single time that we're playing a round out here.
But I'm also being really kind to myself and slowly getting more understanding of the mistakes and the fact that it's hard playing competitive golf.
I'm trying not to live and die with every shot. It's just golf. It's just a game. I'm very fortunate to do what I'm doing.
I'm just playing each round with the mindset that this is a check-in, and I'm just seeing where my game is at. Felt pretty good today.
Q. Speaking of, what's the mindset heading into the rest of the week?
AUSTON KIM: Again, just trusting in the work I've been putting in, being patient. If a bogey comes it's all right. I can bounce back.
Being as aggressive as I can and trying to make as many birdies as I can while trying to minimize the mistakes. That's always the goal.
Fastscripts by ASAP Sports...
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports