Kris Ventura reflects on his bogey-free 64 built on consistent ball-striking, improved green reading, and confidence gained from swing changes made in recent seasons. He explains focusing on mindset over mechanics, playing free while fighting for his card, and why thinking about points never works. Ventura also shares memories from growing up in Mexico and the motivation he gets seeing former college teammates win here.
Full press conference breakdown.
Chris, nice bogey free 64. What’ you like about your opening round today? Uh, very consistent ball striking. Uh, made some uh really good putts. I struggled a little bit in the practice rounds trying to learn the greens, but today I uh my speed was good and I was reading them good. So, uh overall very happy uh with my day as you look back from past season’s corner tour to how the season’s going now. What’s been some of the biggest changes? For me, it was uh a couple years ago when I decided to make some changes in my swing to be able to to play more consistently. And um yeah, since then my ball striking has been better, which I can make more cuts or just, you know, shoot lower scores on a regular basis. And um ever since then, I’ve just built my confidence. And uh obviously this season, I would have liked it to be to have played a little better so I don’t have to be in that bubble. But it’s just it’s just what it is. Kind of like how you said, what’s kind of the big focus these next three weeks on? What are you fine-tuning gamewise or just mentally focusing on these next three? Yeah. Honestly, there’s not a lot of uh technical uh things that I’m working on. Uh I’m my swing is in a good spot. So, mainly it’s just uh uh for the most part, it’s just mental, you know. I think it’s it’s always a battle. It’s always a challenge uh each and every day. But that’s what makes golf call fun. So, um this next three tournaments, just play like I’ve done the last few weeks. Um, I think if you let it uh get to you, you know, the fact that you’re trying to keep your card or keep your job, um, it’s going to make it way harder to uh, actually perform. Um, kind of going off what you said, not trying to focus on keeping your card or being that be the focus point. How do you kind of do that mentally, just focusing on one round at a time versus this big number of top 100? Yeah, I mean I honestly in the past I’ve been the guy that has thought about results and thought about what I need, how many points and this and that. And I know that that doesn’t work, you know, like that’s even even if you’re playing okay, you’re kind of suffering through it. So, um I’ve just gotten tired of, you know, playing thinking about what if or, you know, what if I don’t make it, what if I make it. So, these last few events, I think it’s super important to just play free and uh do your best. As long as I do that, I’m going to be happy regardless what happens. Having spent your first 12 years here in Mexico, what are some of the earliest memories or maybe fondest memories? I mean, it’s, you know, I’m 50% um Mexican, you know, so it’s half my life has been over here almost, you know, because I went to college in in the US. So, um yeah, this is where I started my career. I started very young when I was three, represented Mexico all the way up until I was 12 and then uh we moved to Norway. So, uh, huge part, you know, this is where I started and, um, yeah, just very happy to be back. It’s always, uh, quite enjoy enjoyable when we play in Mexico. And with other connections, we’ve had, uh, past college teammates win this, whether this tournament, Victor Hoblin or last year Austin Ecro, any connection there or No, but hopefully hopefully it’s good, uh, good mojo for this week, right? U, yeah, I’ve seen their pictures up uh at dining, you know, with as past winners. Uh, and I think that’d be cool if I can give it a shot. Perfect. Uh, any in English? We’ll switch it over Spanish. I’ll let Greg open up.
