LPGA Drive On Championship

Friday, July 31, 2020

Toledo, Ohio, USA

Jodi Ewart Shadoff

Quick Quotes


Q. Here with Jodi Ewart Shadoff. A stellar 67 to start the first round of the Drive On Championship. What are your thoughts after day one at Inverness?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Pretty pleased. I mean, Inverness is so difficult. You really have to be accurate off the tee, and obviously the greens are tiny.

I mean, I'm hitting the ball really well. I hit 15 greens today, which is key around here. So overall pretty happy. Obviously not competed in almost six months, so pretty happy.

Q. Yeah, we haven't seen anyone out on tour for the last six months. What have you been up to during this quarantine?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: You know, just practicing, working out, baking. Just trying to keep myself occupied. It's been stuff not being able to compete, so I'm really happy to be back out.

Q. When did you really switch to more of a competitive mindset maybe?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Probably about a month ago. I just kind of once we knew that we were playing, I kind of treated it like off season, you know, I have a month to prepare. So I probably for the last four weeks I've been ramping up practice and trying to get myself more into a competitive mindset.

Q. Got a player on the bag with you this week.

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah.

Q. Talk about how that partnership came together.

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, so my normal caddie is meeting me in Scotland, so obviously I had to find a caddie for these two weeks. Holly is a great friend of mine and we've been practicing a lot in Orlando together. It just kind of made sense.

She had two weeks off Symetra, and we get on great on the golf course. She knows my game and my tendencies and everything, so we really gelled well together out there.

Q. Does it take the pressure off a little bit more now that we're starting again, but that you have a friend on the bag like that?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, definitely. It was a lot of fun out there. We laughed and joked and it kind of helped me settle in a little bit. Obviously first tee nerves were ramped up more than usual, and I'm just happy with my day.

Q. We've been I think asking most the European and American players, but this is the host for 2021 Solheim Cup. Was that in the back of your mind at all as you were taking on Inverness today?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, I mean, definitely. I obviously want to be part of Team Europe again, and I think this is amazing match play course and I think it's going to make for a really good Solheim Cup.

There are some really difficult holes out there, and I think it's going to be really good for the crowd.

Q. You mentioned hitting 15 greens today. Was your round kind of because of the ball striking?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, I mean, you know, you really have to hit the -- get the ball in play basically. I hit 11 fairways today, which is pretty good for around here. I think I attribute hitting all those greens to getting it in the fairway.

I been hitting the ball really well over the past month. I started the season in Boca and Australia playing well and striking the ball well, so I'm just happy to continue that.

Q. How hard is it -- I know the greens are hard -- trying to hit them out of the rough and stay...

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, you know, I've been so used to playing on Florida greens and Bermudagrass, and the ball just sits where it lands. Playing out of the rough here to somewhat firm greens, you really have to pick your landing spot and just trust it.

Q. I know you've talked about this already, but the golf course, after seeing it in a competitive round, what are your overall thoughts?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: It's an amazing golf course. I mean, literally it's a U.S. Open style, set up like U.S. Open, and it's very difficult. If you're not patient, it can really be really tough.

It really suits a ball-striker and somebody who is pretty accurate off the tee.

Q. What are your expectations after having so long -- I mean, obviously you were playing at home and everything, but competition is different. Did you come in just kind of thinking whatever happens, happens?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, I didn't really have much expect -- it's hard to have expectations when you haven't played in almost six months. I just wanted to come out and find my feet a little bit. I'm playing for the next five weeks, and I'm really happy with my start and where my game is, especially around such a tough track like Inverness.

Q. So you'll be going through the next couple weeks in a row?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah.

Q. Did you have to prepare any differently knowing that you kind of have five weeks and no break in between?

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, I mean, I don't usually play this weeks in a row, so obviously I've been working hard on my fitness and trying to keep my -- you know, just taking care of my body in order to compete for five weeks.

So it's going to be difficult and I'm going to get tired at some point, especially since we have so much travel.

So, yeah, we'll see how it goes.

Q. When the revised schedule came out, was it hard to figure out where you were going to play and where you didn't want to play? I assume you kind of wanted to play as much as possible.

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, just kind of said like we don't know how many opportunities we're going to get, so I'm just going to try and play as much as I can and see what happens.

It's difficult because there are some courses I like it lay and some courses that I would normally skip. So I'm just out here trying to compete again, so...

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
100334-1-1041 2020-07-31 22:42:00 GMT

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