Q. The lady that just
left did some damage on the scoreboard.
You hung in there, though.
LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah.
You know, I hit the ball super well today. I hit irons solid. It was a completely different course from
yesterday. Just I wasn't getting good
breaks, and I hit the purest drive of the day on No. 9 and it landed in a
divot. But I hung in there. I finally had a birdie on 15, and then made a
great putt on 17, just to keep the momentum going.
I hit a pure 4 iron from 180 yards
on No. 18 and these greens are getting tougher by the hour. And par is a great score out here, and you
know, for a while pars felt like birdies for me, and just kept patient. It's really important to be out here patient
and just keep hitting good shots and stay in the fairway.
Q. Do you still feel you're in contention and
position, you gotta do something special, or is Na Yeon's score ‑‑
LIZETTE SALAS: You know, I think this course definitely showed
its teeth today, and it can go both ways for a top player tomorrow.
And just like Na Yeon did today, I
think it's out there, and you just gotta keep hitting good shots, keep it in
the fairway for sure, and you know, now you gotta land it before the green to
let it roll out. But birdies are still
out there, and you just gotta stay out of trouble.
Q. Is it true that there was a person following
you in a golf cart today that has a special meaning to you? Is that true?
LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah.
I saw her on No. 9, Nancy Lopez came out, and it was just so exciting
because it flipped a little bit. I
didn't really get to watch her growing up a little bit, but to have her watch
me and encouraging me, that felt really special. And my mom is like, is that Nancy? And I'm like, yeah. And her jaw just dropped. And just to have a Hall‑of‑Famer pushing me
and giving me motivation is just awesome.
That made my day.
Q. Did you get a chance to talk to her at all?
LIZETTE SALAS: No, not yet.
She sent me a couple of texts, and she said she's going to be here
during the weekend. So I just hope to
get to talk to her and hopefully she can give me some advice on what to do
tomorrow.
Q. Curious, you know, comparing and contrasting
your front nine versus your Back 9. How
were the two playing for you?
LIZETTE SALAS: You know, swing wise it was nothing
different. Just got a couple of bad
breaks on the front nine, and you know, you gotta get used to 12‑footers for
par, and it was just different, and I think the wind on the back side was a
little different and was helping me a little bit, but I just kept doing my
thing, kept going for the center of the green and I hit really good putts on
the Back 9 for par and birdie. Just so
happened I bogeyed my last hole, but overall, I hit the ball solid, kept it in
play and just gotta hope for the best tomorrow.
Q. How would you characterize your round
today? Are you happy with your score
today?
LIZETTE SALAS: Considering the scores out there, I'm pretty
satisfied with my round. I'm more
satisfied with the way I hit the ball compared to yesterday, but I was able to
stay alive for most of the round, and I just kept making good solid strokes,
and I was very optimistic out there, and I told my caddie, Aaron, I was like please
do me a favor. Please make me laugh
today because it's going to be a long day.
Q. Nancy Lopez didn't make the cut 14 years ago.
LIZETTE SALAS: Oh.
Q. Is that anything special for you having made
the cut this year?
LIZETTE SALAS: Oh, I didn't know that. But I guess my goal first of all was to make
the cut, and after round one I was co leader, and I'm still in it. I'm still in the Top 10, and just gotta go
out there tomorrow and play my game and take advantage of the good pin
locations and take your medicine if you're in trouble, and today I think that's
what I did. And you know, just gotta
hope for the best for tomorrow.
Q. What's it going to take tomorrow for you to
sort of get back into that top spot on the leaderboard? I think you're still somewhere in the Top 10
right now, but what's it going to take to get in the top spot again?
LIZETTE SALAS: Taking advantage of the par‑5s is good. Par on par‑3s are going to be key
tomorrow. 13 wasn't quite as scarey as
yesterday.
I just gotta get off to a good start
and finish strong. I think the last two
days I finished with bogey, and that's going to be really important for me
tomorrow.