Q. Here with Jenny Shin after her send round at the LPGA Drive On Championship. Clubhouse leader now. How excited are you for this heading into the weekend?
JENNY SHIN: I'm happy to be where I am. I haven't been here in a while, so especially solo lead. So I'm very excited.
Q. Yeah, I think I have had right here, the last time you held a 36-hole lead was 2019, so been a while.
JENNY SHIN: Yeah.
Q. That's super cool. What was different about the course today, if anything, and what was the key to your success?
JENNY SHIN: I actually thought it was really difficult. I was expecting no wind teeing off in the morning and the wind picked up as soon as we were on the range and never stopped. It was swirling. I couldn't really tell which direction it was coming from.
Really tough, but right in the middle I gave myself pretty good opportunities with the short clubs in. Made a few putts outside of the green today, so that helped tremendously.
But, yeah, that front nine was really tough today with that wind.
Q. The front nine? This front nine or your front nine?
JENNY SHIN: Yes, the actual front nine, which is my back nine.
Q. Just making sure because I want to talk about your front nine. So five birdies in a row before the turn. Just what was going through your head? Was it starting to get funny all of these in a row? What were you thinking?
JENNY SHIN: The bogey on the 1st hole didn't help. I was like, oh, no, here we go again. I stayed calm. I try not to get in my head too much.
And, yeah, I -- that back nine there is way more shorter clubs coming in, so when you get a chance you got to drop them, and I did. So I didn't know I was doing five in a row until I just checked the scorecard. So it's a good thing that I didn't know. Yeah.
Q. Why? Would it have freaked you out?
JENNY SHIN: Well, you know, we psych ourselves out quite often. So, yeah.
Q. What's changed? I feel like you've really found something, maybe some confidence or something in your game in the past ten months, even the off-season? What's different?
JENNY SHIN: I'm way more comfortable with my game. It's been really tough to like believe in myself in the past few years because I was going through a really bad slump and I had issues with takeaway, issues with the tee shot.
I had a lot going on in the past, you know, 2018 through 2020, '21. So, yeah, I'm in a better place now mentally. I wouldn't say the swing changed that dramatically. Being comfortable over the ball is really everything for a player.
So I would say that's the only thing that's changed.
Q. Speaking of comfortable, you're comfortable with your caddie this week. There is a funny way that came about. Sounds like Gemma Dryburgh helped you out with that one, getting you hooked up with Joe. Obviously been working really well. What's been working with that and just tell us that story.
JENNY SHIN: Yeah, I was working with my full time caddie and then we split, and then ever since then I've been struggling to find somebody that could work with me full time. I've been doing fill-in here and there.
This week it came down to like a last-minute decision. Gemma was like, hey, there is this guy I know and he's great company. Hey, that's all I can ask for. Met him on Monday and he really is great company out there. So most hasn't changed, which is great. Yeah, we got along pretty well.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports