Q. How did it feel to start at 5-under?
JOSELE BALLESTER: Yeah, it was great. It was really good golf from the first hole to the last. I could have maybe made a few more putts on the back nine, but I started hitting it really well, felt really comfortable off the tee, which is an advantage on this golf course.
Took some aggressive lines. Wish they paid off a little more. Hit some really nice drivers and didn't really convert, especially in my last three or four holes.
But excited. I mean, it's a 5-under round bogey free, which I'm happy about.
Q. How would you describe your form coming into this week? Are you happy with how you're playing?
JOSELE BALLESTER: Yeah, I feel like over the last three months, I made a big quality jump just in general with my entire game. Obviously there's many more things I need to get better and that I can improve. That's the beauty of this game, that you can always get better.
Overall, I feel like I'm a much better player than what I was when I turned professional about six months ago, and I'm really happy with my team and the trend that we've been getting the last few months.
Q. What's helped you make that change to where you are now the past three months? What's helped that process?
JOSELE BALLESTER: It started more off the tee. I've been a player that, when I'm good off the tee, I'm always going to be out there. I hit it pretty long, and if I can find just the way to just hit the ball repetitively and like shot after shot what I want off the tee and always be in play, let's put it that way, it's way easier.
Before, I had some great weeks but others that were not as good. Right now driver is becoming one of the best, if not the best, clubs in my bag. It starts with that. Then obviously got to show up with the rest of the bag if you want to win tournaments.
Q. You've enjoyed your first year playing LIV?
JOSELE BALLESTER: It's been great. I only played a half season. The beginning was a little bit of a struggle. Coming right after college, it was a little adaptation time, but I'm pretty happy for where I am right now, especially with that first month in which things didn't really go as I wanted.
Now I look back at where I'm standing right now and how I'm playing, I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports