Kia Classic
Aviara Golf Club
Carlsbad, Calif.
Second-Round Notes and Interviews
March 28, 2014
Dori Carter -10, Rolex Rankings No. 244
Stacy Lewis -8, Rolex Rankings No. 3
Cristie Kerr -8, Rolex Rankings No. 12
Lizette Salas -7, Rolex Rankings No. 21
Mariajo Uribe -6, Rolex Rankings No. 140
Dori Carter shot the round of her career on Friday at the Kia Classic with an 8-under 64 and took the second-round lead after 36 holes of play at Aviara Golf Club. The Georgia native set the course record at the Carlsbad track and sits atop the leaderboard at 10-under par. Carter leads fellow Americans No. 3 Stacy Lewis and No. 12 Cristie Kerr by two shots.
Carter’s round included 11 birdies and three bogeys with two coming on the final two holes. The Ole Miss alum said she was able to control her thoughts during her career-low round. Her previous low round was 67 which she shot in both the first and second rounds of the 2012 Navistar LPGA Classic.
“All these thoughts have been coming in my head,” said Carter.” You can't stop them sometimes. You just have these thoughts coming in your head well before the 17th tee box or 17th hole. And for some reason today I was able to control them a little bit and block them out of the way.”
It marks the first time in her four-year LPGA Tour career that she holds the lead after any round. Carter said she was playing with a nothing-to-lose mentality and appreciates being in the position after two rounds.
“I just have to just take it for what it is and hope that I'm here talking to you a little more often kind of thing,” said Carter. “I have no reason to be uptight or anything because this is my first time. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with feeling like no matter what happens, obviously I want to win. I want to lead the tournament after tomorrow and Sunday, but I can't it can't be a bad thing for me.”
Stacy Lewis shot 6-under 66 on Friday and is tied for second with Cristie Kerr (68) at 8-under par. Lewis said seeing Carter go so low at Aviara was shocking considering the challenge of the course.
“I was surprised actually to see the number she shot,” said Lewis. “It's very impressive. You know, it's a hard golf course. You can make a double pretty quick, so it's a hard golf course, and I mean I like that. That's why I love the majors. I love the hard test where certain holes you take your par and run and then other holes you can make some birdies on.”
Kerr carded her second consecutive 68 on Friday and said an eagle on the par 4 first hole after the turn jump started her round.
“It definitely was,” said Kerr. “I shot even on the front and kind of left a couple out there. And that was just a great shot. Couldn't see it go in, unfortunately, but it was a great 7 iron, perfect club, and I just said get close, and it went in. So it was cool.”
American Lizette Salas (68) sits in solo fourth after her second bogey-free round and is three shots off the lead at 7-under.
First-round co-leader Paula Creamer shot even-par 72 and dropped five shots off the lead. She’s in a tie for seventh with American Lexi Thompson, Chella Choi of South Korea and China’s Shanshan Feng at 5-under.
Staying fresh
Dori Carter’s last LPGA event came over a month ago at the ISPS Handa Australian Women’s Open and said playing in three Epson Tour events since then has kept her sharp and fresh.
“I also played in some other events, some of the Epson Tour events, which I think helped,” said Carter. “I mean I always play better when I'm playing constantly, and in the time since Australia it's been fine. I've had time to work on a few things, but I think being able to play no matter what tour it is, I've been able to play in three Epson events since Australia. So I'm still playing. I still feel fresh.”
Carter recorded two top-15 finishes on the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA including a T11 at the Volvik Championship in the City of Industry, Calif. The 27-year old said she has been working on her shots off the tee.
“To be honest, I was working a little bit on my tempo with my driver, a couple of putting foundation stuff,” said Carter. “Nothing really mechanical, but just trying to stick on what I've been working on all off season and kind of checklist, check base with everything, but mainly off the tee. I've been working a lot off the tee. My wedge game has improved I think in the last month or two.”
She said her putting has been her Achilles heel but after needing only 24 putts on Friday, she said her confidence on the greens took a leap.
“My putting's always been my issue, and today obviously putting was fine,” said Carter. “So that's a big confidence boost for me, especially in the putting, because that's where I want to improve the most on.”
Cheers to the weekend
A total of 76 players made the cut which fell at 2-over-par 146.
Battle for the Crown
The final spots for the inaugural International Crown will be set after the conclusion of the Kia Classic this week and there will be a battle for the final spot on the American team. Rolex Rankings No. 12 Cristie Kerr currently holds the fourth and final spot for the United States but No. 21 Lizette Salas will be fighting for a high finish to challenge for a chance to wear the red, white and blue.
“Coming in this week I didn't really think that much about it, but now that I've been feeling good about my game and feeling confident, I feel like I have what it takes to move up the ranks and squeeze into that team and to represent my country again,” said Salas. “And for the International Crown being its first year and for me to be on that team for its first year, it would mean a lot for me.”
Salas was a rookie on the 2013 U.S. Solheim Cup Team and recorded a 0-1-2 record.
Growing the game
Stacy Lewis embraces her role not only as an LPGA ambassador but for women’s golf as a whole. Through her partnership with Omega watches, Lewis did a meet and greet on Monday in San Diego at an Omega store and then hosted a clinic with all female participants on Tuesday morning. Asked what the key is to get more women involved in the game, Lewis said finding their comfort zone.
“It's more just trying to get them to feel comfortable, comfortable playing with men and being out there and realizing most male amateur golfers aren't that good, and women just are very self-conscious of not being good,” said Lewis. “And so it's just trying to get them more comfortable. You know, I do a lot of instruction trying to just teach them how to play so they just feel more comfortable there.”
Of Note
Beatriz Recari will not have the chance to defend her title this week. The Spaniard missed the cut by one shot at 3-over 147…2011 Kia Classic champion Sandra Gal also missed the cut finishing at 5-over 149…Jee Young Lee was disqualified for a scorecard infraction
Quote of the Day
“They’re probably going nuts. They're probably not sure the score's right. They're probably texting me asking if the volunteers got it right or something, but my parents are so great. They have always been supportive of everything I've done, and so this is a great day for them, too. It's been a long time kind of coming. So it's great. It'll be fun.” –Second round leader Dori Carter on what her parents’ reaction would be after her career-low 64 on Friday
Tweet of the Day
“Heading to Camp Pendleton to do a clinic with @AustinErnst92 @LPGAKiaClassic” –second-round leader @Dori_Carter
STACY LEWIS, Rolex Rankings No. 3
Q. Well, run us through the round, very solid, once again?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. I mean it was just a really solid day. Again, hit the ball really good like I did yesterday, and just the greens were so much better this morning. I mean it was a couple of shots difference, I think, playing in the morning versus the afternoon. And just played a little bit smarter, got on the right side of holes and just hit a lot of good shots.
Q. What happened on the bogey?
STACY LEWIS: I got on the wrong side of the hole and was too aggressive with the first putt, basically. When you hit these greens, you gotta hit them in the right spots, and then if you do miss it in the wrong spots, you just gotta be careful, and I let one get away, but I think it helped me after that. Got my speed better after that.
Q. After last week you said your putter was a little "eh," and then everyone said the greens are very tricky. Is that more just reading greens here?
STACY LEWIS: It's a combination. The greens are really steep, so the downhill putts are really fast and they're breaking a lot, and then later in the day they get pretty spiked up. You get a lot of footprints. So it's just predicting which way it's going to bounce in the afternoons, but this morning they were perfect and it was nice to hit some putts on line and see them go in. It was a good confidence builder.
Q. Dori turned in a low number, but numbers overall it's not like last week, and I know you say it's good for the tour to have birdie fests, but you like to grind out on tough courses. Do you think that's something that's going to benefit you this week?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. I was surprised actually to see the number she shot. It's very impressive. You know, it's a hard golf course. You can make a double pretty quick, so it's a hard golf course, and I mean I like that. That's why I love the majors. I love the hard test where you gotta you know, certain holes you take your par and run and then other holes you can make some birdies on.
Q. Someone going that well early out or Justine today, put a thought in anybody's head when you think, oh, that may have to be something we have to do on the weekend? Does that change your mentality?
STACY LEWIS: I know she started on the front and so she got off to a really good start, so I knew we started on the back, so making the turn I knew I could make some birdies on the front nine, so just kind of stayed patient because the back nine always plays tough here. So just tried to stay patient on the back nine and made a couple of longer putts and then got to the front where you can really make some birdies.
Q. Did you have your Omega thing this week? Was that earlier this week or was that last week?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. Monday, Tuesday.
Q. What was going on there?
STACY LEWIS: Monday night at the Omega Boutique at the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego we had a little deal for a couple of hours where Omega brought in some clients and did kind of a little meet and greet there. And then Tuesday morning I did a clinic with about probably 50 women, and I did a clinic, met with them for a couple of hours and then they went out and played but I came here to practice.
Q. Where was that at?
STACY LEWIS: The Grand Del Mar, just south of here.
Q. And who was that? Was that through Omega?
STACY LEWIS: It was through omega, yeah. It was just all women, just trying to get more women playing golf. It's kind of what I do with a lot of my sponsors is just getting more female executives playing.
Q. So were they omega execs or were they just women who sought out to come out and come play?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. Some were omega. Some were people from the Grand Del Mar. It was a little bit of a mix.
Q. Are you a fan of enlarging the holes to maybe make it more fun?
STACY LEWIS: Make it easier.
Q. Make it easier, more interesting?
STACY LEWIS: No. I don't think so. I think it's gotta start with golf course design. I think golf courses now are getting too tricky, too goofy, where it's good for us. You know, it makes it hard for us, but for the average player they don't need to be doing that. They don't need to be playing these goofy golf courses, so I think it's gotta start with that, the setup and making sure people are playing the right tees.
Q. And then also, how do you go about getting women to play golf?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, it's more just trying to get them to feel comfortable, comfortable playing with men and being out there and realizing most male amateur golfers aren't that good, and women just are very self conscious of not being good. And so it's just trying to get them more comfortable. You know, I do a lot of instruction trying to just teach them how to play so they just feel more comfortable there.
Q. And on this golf course, the course strategy wise, I know it's kind of tough, you don't want to get in the wrong spot, want to stay below the hole. But would you say it pays to play aggressively out here, like do fire at pins, because I was just thinking maybe if you're 30 feet away you can have a much tougher putt than if you're 10 feet away.
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. It's certain holes. I think if you've got a wedge in your hand, yeah, you can go for it. This year versus last year the greens are a lot softer, so it's more predictable what the ball is going to do. So you can actually hit it where you're trying to. But it just depends on the hole. 18 you're trying to leave it short of all day. So it's just certain holes and depends what club you have in your hand.
Q. Just picking your spot?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. Picking your spot.
CRISTIE KERR, Rolex Rankings No. 12
Q. All right. I'm joined here now by Cristie Kerr, just turned in her second consecutive 68 at the Kia Classic. Just two shots off the lead. Cristie, great round. I know you said you were going to work on some things last night after your round with your coach Bryan here this week. What transitioned? Obviously something worked out there.
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. I hit it pretty well. You know, there were a couple of loose shots. I missed a couple of putts out there, so it was a great round, but not perfect by any stretch, so there's always room for improvement. So I'm just going to do a little practice after the round and just get rested up for the weekend.
Q. Course conditions, I know yesterday everybody said afternoon was maybe at a little bit more of a disadvantage. How much were you looking forward to taking advantage of the morning wave today?
CRISTIE KERR: I actually thought yesterday afternoon was okay. There were a couple of bumpy spots on the greens, but that's going to happen on poa annua greens.
Yeah, the conditions were great this morning. The wind's starting to come up now, so it was nice to get in a morning round.
Q. Eagle on one right after the turn. A little bit of a momentum booster? How did that fit into your round today?
CRISTIE KERR: It definitely was. I shot even on the front and kind of left a couple out there. And that was just a great shot. Couldn't see it go in, unfortunately, but it was a great 7 iron, perfect club, and I just said get close, and it went in. So it was cool.
Q. Baby Mason, the newest member out here on tour. He's out here this week in San Diego area. Talk about just the best thing so far to have him out here on tour and probably take your mind away off the game a little bit.
CRISTIE KERR: You know what, he's amazing and it's also a great distraction because when you get off the golf course, you're not thinking about golf. You're thinking about him and taking care of him and having fun with him. So it's been a blast having him out.
LIZETTE SALAS, Rolex Rankings No. 21
Q. All right. I'm now joined by Lizette Salas, just turned in a 68 in the second round of the Kia Classic. Lizette, three shots off the lead going into the weekend. Another solid round for you. What's the mentality going into the weekend, again in the hunt for you?
LIZETTE SALAS: Just the same, the simplicity of the game, just trying to hit as many fairways and as many greens as I can and giving myself good opportunities for birdie.
I felt like I didn't hit the ball that great as yesterday, but still I stayed patient and bogey free, which I threw in a couple of fist pumps for par because I just wanted to stay bogey free. But I'm just trying to smile and, you know, I have my fans out here this week and I've been just so blessed to have the support from my family and my community, so I'm just out here having fun.
Q. You stole the thought right out of my mind, bogey free through two rounds. That must feel really good. Where have you been minimizing the stakes and trying to keep out of the trouble spots?
LIZETTE SALAS: Just trying to just not get in trouble off the tee. That's really important for me right now, and even if I miss the green I'm just off the green and giving myself good opportunities to get up and down, and luckily I have been for the past two days, so I'm going to try to keep it going.
You know, tomorrow and Sunday I'm just going to try to fire at some pins and be a little more aggressive, but at the same time know where to miss the ball.
Q. We talked yesterday a little bit about International Crown. Cristie is the last person on that team. The teams will be set after this week. You're creeping in. You guys will probably be battling. With a win this week that could possibly propel you in. With the mentality of making the team and representing your country, I know that's a big deal for you. That thought process and what that would mean to you to make that team?
LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah. Coming in this week I didn't really think that much about it, but now that I've been feeling good about my game and feeling confident, I feel like I have what it takes to move up the ranks and squeeze into that team and to represent my country again, and for the International Crown being its first year and for me to be on that team for its first year, it would mean a lot for me.
Q. You're much of an emotional, you always throw out the fist pumps, which I love to see. I know a lot of the fans appreciate it. Does that aspect of your game take more of a toll than a lot of the mechanics? I know a lot of times you said you're more happier, you're more relaxed, you feel good out there. Does that take more of a toll than maybe sometimes swing mechanics?
LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah, definitely. I feel like if you have a negative attitude, it just drains you. So even though I would hit a bad shot, I kind of laugh it off, and you know, just kind of reward yourself. If you make birdie, yeah, let's throw in a fist pump.
And you can always tell with my emotions if I hit a good shot or not, and I don't know if that's a good thing, but you know, that's the type of player I am, and I like to show emotion. And so I don't know, that's kind of how I grew up, and this weekend we'll see a couple more fist pumps.
MARIAJO URIBE, Rolex Rankings No. 140
Q. All right. I'm now joined by Mariajo Uribe, just turned in a 71 here at the Kia Classic in the second round to go to 6 under. You're currently tied for fourth. You had a late finish last night, almost in the dark. A pretty quick turn around. Just tell us how you regrouped last night and came out today and played very strong.
MARIAJO URIBE: Yeah. I was just thinking that I wanted to finish. I didn't want to come early today. So had a good night's sleep, came back in the morning, and I played pretty good today, just didn't get the ball rolling where I wanted. Just need a couple more birdies tomorrow, but I'm in good position for the weekend.
Q. You said you were trying not to get too far ahead of yourself yesterday, get too excited. You had a little birdiefest. Mentally today what was the difference? You just tried to stay calm and stay consistent. Anything different?
MARIAJO URIBE: Yeah. Just the same shots I was hitting yesterday, just the ball wasn't rolling well which is funny because they were bumpy greens yesterday and better conditions I couldn't really seem to get it in the hole. But I'm good. I feel really good about my game and really positive about the weekend.
Q. You're from Colombia, but you're a bit of a Southern California girl. You went to UCLA, you're a Bruins alum. You had dinner with the UCLA golf team. They came out and supported you. Is this a little bit of home for you? How does it feel being back in Southern California?
MARIAJO URIBE: Yeah, definitely. I love California. San Diego is one of my favorite cities, so I've been having dinner with the team and Tiffany Joh has shown me the taco places in town, so just having a lot of good Mexican food this week, and I love it out here.
Q. Great. Headed into the weekend you have to feel pretty good. What do you think will be the strategy heading into the next two rounds?
MARIAJO URIBE: I think just the same thing. I just had one bogey in 36 holes, so keep doing the same thing and the birdies will come. Just stay positive and keep going.
DORI CARTER, Rolex Rankings No. 244
Q. So Dori, you had a lot of time since Australia. Do you feel like that helped you coming into this tournament?
DORI CARTER: Yes. I also played in some other events, some of the Epson Tour events, which I think helped. I mean I always play better when I'm playing constantly, and in the time since Australia it's been fine. I've had time to work on a few things, but I think being able to play no matter what tour it is, I've been able to play in three Epson events since Australia. So I'm still playing. I still feel fresh.
Q. And what are a couple of the things that you were working on during that time?
DORI CARTER: To be honest, I was working a little bit on my tempo with my driver, a couple of putting foundation stuff. Nothing really mechanical, but just trying to stick on what I've been working on all off season and kind of checklist, check base with everything, but mainly off the tee. I've been working a lot off the tee. My wedge game has improved I think in the last month or two.
My putting's always been my issue, and today obviously putting was fine. So that's a big confidence boost for me, especially in the putting, because that's where I want to improve the most on.
Q. Can you go through your birdies and bogeys for us? I know it was a lot, but it's a fun one to go through.
DORI CARTER: Yeah. It's good to think about it now. At the time you're just kind of like what's going on.
Q. You're not thinking about it. You're just thinking about the next shot, obviously?
DORI CARTER: Yeah. That's how you have to play this game. I mean everybody says it, and it's the truth and it's easier said than done.
I'm trying to think the first hole. I don't even know.
Q. Well, we'll go through them. I'll give them to you. So 3.
DORI CARTER: Oh, I made a bomb on that one. That was cool. Yeah, made a long one.
Q. How far? It's a par 3.
DORI CARTER: I was at the front of the green. It was probably 35, 40 feet. But that was fun. I made that one.
Q. 4.
DORI CARTER: 4. Yeah. That was another one. My caddie put me in a great position. I was below the hole. I was below the hole all day, and that's where you can play a little aggressive or you can actually see the ball rolling in and downhill putts you have to be a little more tentative, but I was below the hole. I had a great 15 footer up the hill.
Q. Okay. 5.
DORI CARTER: I hit it to about two feet. That helped. Made that one.
Q. What iron?
DORI CARTER: I hit my 52 degree wedge. It was a par 5. I had a short distance going in.
Q. 6 you bogeyed.
DORI CARTER: 6 I three putted. I was on the high side of the hole.
Q. Okay. 7.
DORI CARTER: Yep. I was below the hole, pin high left, another 12 footer, kind of up the hill a little bit. Great position. I mean I was in a good spot, so I was able to kind of let it fall.
Q. Okay. 9?
DORI CARTER: 9, I hit it to about a foot. That was cool. I played with the Marines in the pro am, and that's like the Marine hole where they put the flag in. So that was fun.
Q. Yeah. What did you hit into that?
DORI CARTER: Hit a little 8 iron. It was into the wind, but I had a good number, and I hit the number, and I mean one of those days.
Q. What was your number?
DORI CARTER: I think I had 132. A little into the wind. So it was just a soft 8 iron for me.
Q. That was 9; right? 10?
DORI CARTER: 10, gosh. That was fun. 10, 11, 12, I think was the stretch.
Q. 10, 11, 12, 13.
DORI CARTER: 13. 10, I was in a good spot, par 5, about just under 20 feet probably, just left below the hole, another putt I could just kind of go with and had a good read, and this is when everything starts feeling blurred, this moment. And I'm relaxed. You'd think you kind of start getting tense after the front nine, but I just had this nice calmness over me today.
11, same way, below the hole, hit a perfect iron shot for me. It was the right number for me. Had probably 11 feet up the hill. 13 I hit it to about five feet and right, which is putting up the hill.
Q. 12?
DORI CARTER: Or excuse me. That was 12. 13 I was below the hole, had a little bit longer 12 was about a five footer. 13 was about 20 feet or so.
Q. 14, you broke the streak with a par.
DORI CARTER: 14 I had a par.
Q. Did you have a birdie putt?
DORI CARTER: I did have a birdie putt. I was below the hole there, played a little too high. Missed it on the high side.
Q. 15?
DORI CARTER: 15 I made this great 15 was kind of a fluke, I guess. I had this the pin was sitting on this little knob on the front left of the Green, and I hit it in the rough and I had to kind of roll it up to the front, and I got my putter, my caddie and I just said, why don't you just putt it. And I was probably a good 15 yards no, probably like 10 yards short of the Green and rolled it all the way in. It bent in the hole.
Q. With your putter?
DORI CARTER: That was like I can't believe this. Yeah, with my putter. So it was like the longest fringe putt I think I've ever had. And that one went in and that's when I was kind of like, oh, gosh. Today was just one of those days.
And the girls in our group were great. They were cheering me on, pretty supportive, too.
Q. That was 16; right?
DORI CARTER: That was 15.
Q. 15. 16?
DORI CARTER: 16 is a short par 4. I hit it to about five feet, again, below the hole. No brainer putt.
Q. So you mentioned a little bit, the Golf Channel thing, did you kind of like now when you come to the end of a round like this is when you kind of start thinking about a score maybe. What were you thinking at that point?
DORI CARTER: Actually, no, because you kind of think about all these thoughts have been coming in my head. You can't stop them sometimes. You just have these thoughts coming in your head well before the 17th tee box or 17th hole. And for some reason today I was able to control them a little bit and block them out of the way.
17, I just I didn't have a good lie. I didn't have a good shot. I didn't keep the ball in the fairway, and that's penalizing here. But I saw the scoreboard on 17 and realized that, you know, I kind of thought people today would go pretty low. I mean I thought I was playing well, but I'm sure you'll be interviewing someone this afternoon. I just kind of had that feeling. And then I saw the scoreboard and thought, you know, I'm actually doing better than I thought, you know. And I was like, uh, um. Okay.
And actually, 17 was just I should have made a par there. There's no doubt. That's par 5. I should have made a par. 18 is a tough hole.
Q. Yeah. You got a little quick with it, the tee shot?
DORI CARTER: The tee shot was a little quick. A little yeah, it was quick pretty much, but I gave myself a putt for par and that's all I could really do at that point. And two putted, bogey. I'm not even going to sweat that the rest of the day. It's just kind of like I'm just so happy right now just to be here in this spot.
Q. So 67 is your LPGA low, and you said this is your lifetime low?
DORI CARTER: I think I shot 65 in college a few times, you know, and out with friends and stuff. But 64 is the lowest tournament round.
Q. I know we haven't given you much time even for it to sink in, but what were you or what are you feeling inside, because you're pretty calm about it obviously.
DORI CARTER: I don't know. I mean I feel okay. I mean I got this afternoon off. Actually I'm going to go over to Camp Pendleton and do a clinic. So that'll be nice to kind of take my mind off of it.
But you know, no matter what happens this weekend, I can't believe I'm here. This is my first time. I mean I'm not you know, this is an experience for me. It's kind of like I can't lose. I just have to just take it for what it is and hope that I'm here talking to you a little more often kind of thing. But I'm not I have no reason to be uptight or anything because this is my first time. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with feeling like no matter what happens, obviously I want to win. I want to lead the tournament after tomorrow and Sunday, but I can't it can't be a bad thing for me.
Q. And why do you think that this came now? Do you have any inkling as to why you would have a day like this right now? Is it what you've been building to? You know, I mean your scores don't really I mean you've done okay, but you haven't it's not like you've been low over the last few weeks.
DORI CARTER: I've been in position to be. This is the first time the putts have all fallen.
Q. It's an incredible amount of 12 , 15 footers, 20 footers from off the Green. I mean just one of those days; right?
DORI CARTER: Yeah. It's one of those days.
THE MODERATOR: I just got a text that it's the course record that you shot today. Men was 65. Women was 66. So can't take that away from you.
DORI CARTER: That's another bonus. That's pretty cool.
But back to your question, that's just, you know, today just fell, you know, and I've played okay. I wouldn't say I've changed anything. I think it's just kind of been a long time coming like waiting for these putts to drop.
I've had good I hit a lot of greens on average I hit a pretty good amount of greens and I'm in position to make the putts. Some days they just don't fall.
Q. Who do you call now? Who are the first people on the list?
DORI CARTER: My mom and dad. Mom and dad. Coaches. I have a great swing coach, Gale Peterson. This is our twelfth year. Got my first lesson from her when I was 15.
Q. I saw that. She's at Sea Island now?
DORI CARTER: She's at Sea Island. She'll be one. My sports psychologist is in Birmingham, Dr. Bhrett McCabe. He is incredible. Spoke to him this morning.
Q. You did?
DORI CARTER: Yeah.
Q. What did you say?
DORI CARTER: Just text mess aged, just kind of actually he sent me one just wishing me good luck, and we talked yesterday morning. I was a little uptight yesterday before I teed off and he kind of keeps me calm. And he and Gale, we all set up this strategy for this year of just it's a test kind of to stick with it. And I have so far, and today it paid off really well. And so it just proves that it works.
Q. What's the strategy?
DORI CARTER: Well, it's just kind of a thought process of trying to get into position, you know, every round, no matter how many no matter where you are, where you stand, if you're 8 under, if you're 2 under, if you're eight over, like to try to get yourself in position a third of the time, you know, or half the time. You know, inside 20 feet. And trying to get in within five shots of the lead on the weekend, you know, 30, 40 percent of the tournaments. It's just like a big picture thing, and it's helped me not put so much pressure on myself for one round or one tournament.
Q. Almost like a baby steps type thing where you're just focused on something so specific that you're not worried about necessarily the big picture?
DORI CARTER: Yeah, little goals that lead to the big goal kind of thing. But yeah, it's just what works for me out here. And it probably wouldn't work for everybody, but it works for me so far and it's kept me kind of just in my own process, not what's happening around me.
Q. Your scores haven't been great here or they weren't you missed the cut last year. So did you have any about the course itself, did you have any strong feelings one way or another about what you might do out here?
DORI CARTER: It's a difficult golf course. It's not like what I'm used to, to be honest. I'm from Georgia. I mean this is different turf.
Q. Yeah. You probably don't putt poa annua very much?
DORI CARTER: No, not very often. And you know, I don't have a lot of great a great record on this type of golf course or this type of grass, but you know, doesn't matter anymore. I mean it's kind of like I came here to do something, and whatever the conditions are, that's what everybody else has to deal with, too, and I just have to adjust and try my best and go from there.
I mean another goal, I'm trying to get into the Kraft next week. I'm not into the Kraft yet. So this is a great event and it's a stepping stone also. I mean I've gotta kind of think, you know, that's a goal of mine.
Q. Have you played in a major?
DORI CARTER: Yes. Played in a major. Never played in Kraft, though. But played in majors before.
Q. What is your parents' names?
DORI CARTER: Len and Melissa, L E N.
Q. L E N. Are they still in Valdosta?
DORI CARTER: They're in Georgia. Yeah, in Valdosta. Probably going nuts.
Q. Sitting in front of the computer; right?
DORI CARTER: Uh huh. They're probably not sure the score's right. They're probably texting me asking if the volunteers got it right or something, but my parents are so great. They have always been supportive of everything I've done, and so this is a great day for them, too. It's been a long time kind of coming. So it's great. It'll be fun.
Q. Before the round, second group off, were you thinking with the smooth greens, maybe the quicker pace of play, were you thinking the course was going to be very gettable today? Did you have that mindset going in or was it just like that first putt you hit a bomb on 3 you said?
DORI CARTER: Yeah. That was fun. You know, yes. The greens are always a little bit better shape being the second group out, at least for the front nine and then we make the turn the entire morning where the other half has played. But yesterday afternoon I think the spike marks started to get a little bit, you know, bigger. But that's just poa annua for sure, and that's typical for this golf course and playing late in the day.
But yeah, this morning the front nine especially was nice. You could kind of see more of the read and not be distracted by those spike marks.
Q. You mentioned your caddie. Is he fairly new to you?
DORI CARTER: No. He caddied for me from the end of last year, for about four or five tournaments last year. This is our first LPGA event together, but he's my full time caddie.
Q. What did you play between Australia?
DORI CARTER: Played the first three Epson Tour events, to fill in my schedule.
Q. Because you have what's your status out here as far as how many tournaments?
DORI CARTER: I'm category 16, which I get in all the full field events, 144. I didn't get into last week. That was a setback a little bit, because I normally would get into Phoenix, but they limit that to 132 because of the daylight, I think. So I was like third or fourth alternate for that event.
So I flew from Phoenix. I did the Monday, flew from Phoenix to Florida, played in a Epson event last week and I flew back here.
Q. How did you do in that event?
DORI CARTER: That's my life.
Q. How did you do in that?
DORI CARTER: I finished tied for 24th, but that was, you know, I'm a person that needs to play a lot, and I think that probably is why I played okay today, I played well today is just being able to constantly play instead of taking the week and practicing all week, you know.
And flying cross country is nothing anymore. You just get on the plane.
Q. When did you get here?
DORI CARTER: Monday around noon. I got up real early Monday, flew from Florida, and with the time change, you know, you gain so much time coming out here.
Q. Do you own a course record anywhere else besides now at Aviara?
DORI CARTER: Not to my knowledge. Not to my knowledge.
Q. This is a pretty cool course to do what you've done on it; right, because this is not an easy golf course. Wind conditions, poa annua, all that. I mean this is a neat place to do what you just did, don't you think?
DORI CARTER: Yeah. I mean it's a great place. Any course record is great, but I mean, yeah, the course, this place is great. This is a good venue for us and for our tour and the whole setup is nice. And the golf course definitely is a tournament golf course that we're playing. You know, you gotta hit some really good shots, so I'm just glad that I was able to do that today.