DIO IMPLANT LA OPEN MEDIA DAY

March 15, 2023

Jim Gormley

Andrea Lee

Judy Rankin

Lizette Salas

Palos Verdes Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are going to get started here. Good morning from everybody out West. For those of us on the East Coast, good afternoon. Thank you, everybody, for joining today's media Zoom conference call.

So previewing the upcoming DIO Implant LA Open, which is going to be taking place at Palos Verdes Golf Club March 30th through April 2nd. Joining us on the call today to preview the LA Open and also the two LPGA events are two LA resident experts and LPGA Tour winners, Lizette Salas and Andrea Lee, as well as a lady who needs no introduction, one of the most decorated voices in golf -- I know she's humble about it, but one of the most decorated voices in golf. Hall of Famer and NBC golf analyst, Judy Rankin. She's going to be returning to the broadcast booth for Golf Channel's coverage of the LA Open in a couple of weeks.

Couple of housekeeping notes before we get started. This meeting is being recorded and transcribed. I'm going to send out a transcript of this call.

A couple of items on the LA Open before I kick things off with a couple of intro questions. So the DIO Implant LA Open is going to be celebrating its fifth year this year in Los Angeles and first at Palos Verdes Golf Club. It's going to feature a strong international field with 15 of the top 20 in the world currently entered in the championship. The event's going to feature 144 players competing for a share of a $1.75 million purse, which is a $250,000 increase in the overall purse from 2022.

This event is also the first of two LPGA Tour events coming up in Los Angeles, with the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro taking place at the end of April at Wilshire Country Club in addition to Palos Verdes Golf Club hosting its first LPGA event last year, with the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America.

Palos Verdes has hosted the Therese Hession Regional Challenge presented by Northrop Grumman, formerly the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, for the past 26 years. It's one of the biggest events in collegiate golf.

Andrea and Lizette are both very familiar with this college event. Andrea was the individual winner in 2019 and Lizette contributed to USC winning the team championship in 2011. In total -- and this is kind of one of the more unique things about this tournament and Palos Verdes Golf Club as well, there are currently -- in the field there's 42 past participants of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge that are in this field. So there's a lot of collegiate athletes that have experience playing Palos Verdes Golf Club. And something that started last year was offering an exemption to the Therese Hession winner.

So this year Ching-Tzu Chen, who is a senior from University of Oregon, she is going to be the first sponsor exemption for the DIO Implant LA Open this year. She finished runner-up at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge last month. Rose Zhang, who finished first, is competing in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.

So Ching-Tzu is going to be competing. This is going to be her first LPGA Tour event. I chatted with Derek Radley, her coach at the University of Oregon, last night and she is -- he is too, but she is beyond excited to return to Palos Verdes and compete at the DIO Implant LA Open.

Okay. So with this, Andrea and Lizette, I'm going to kick things off with an intro question for you two, kind of coming out of the quick discussion about the -- or the quick mention about the Therese Hession. So we are a week away from the return of the LPGA season coming back to the U.S. with the Drive on Championship next week and a couple weeks out from the LA Open.

So Lizette, I'll start with you. So this is for both of you, but particularly you, this is a home game for you, and you are quite familiar with PV, not only from your days at USC, but also, and I'll ask Andrea this too, but Jim Gormley, the director of golf, is your coach. So talk briefly about, first, playing in it last year, the familiarity of it last year, and having it as a home game for you.

LIZETTE SALAS: Personally, considering my USC days were quite a bit -- quite some time ago, the golf course has definitely changed. I know they made some renovations few years back, but it was kind of like riding a bike. But the tricky thing about Palos Verdes is that the golf course changes day to day, even from morning to afternoon. So I would like to erase some memories from my last experience playing PV. And, you know, we've taken a different approach in how to prepare for this year.

The wonderful and crazy thing about PV is you don't know what you're going to get. It all depends on the weather and how generous or how challenging the pin placements are going to be. So we have a different game plan this year. And considering it's been a really wet, cold winter the golf course is going to play very, very differently. So just kind of take the punches as they go and try to make the least amount of mistakes.

THE MODERATOR: Great. Thank you.

Andrea, similar question. Returning, playing a home game and playing at Palos Verdes where you've had some really good success, you won the college event in 2019, so similar question to you.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the LPGA coming back to Palos Verdes. It's such a great track. Lizette and I have both grown up playing on it. I think it's a great course for the LPGA. I've talked to multiple girls out there, and they say that they're really excited to be back.

The walk is a little tough, probably more for the caddies than for us, but we're all really excited, especially like you said, being a home game, I love playing in front of that home crowd, just in front of my friends and family, whoever can make it out. If I play well, the weekend's always crazy. We've got all the members out there rooting for us, and personally, a lot of family out there too. So just really excited.

And to what Lizette said, it is going to be playing a little bit different this year, I think. Last year, it was pretty firm, pretty tough. The greens were really quick. And I think the winning score was only, like, 10-under par, which is one of the highest scores that we'll see outside of a major championship.

So it just -- it's just a testament to how good the golf course is, and, yeah, I'm sure it will be a little bit different this year with all the rain that we've received. But we're all just really looking forward to it, especially me.

THE MODERATOR: Great. Thank you, Andrea.

Judy, I think that I can speak on behalf of everyone on this call that we're looking forward to hearing your voice and seeing you at the LA Open in a couple of weeks on Golf Channel.

So for you, as also a long-time former Southern California resident in the Desert, who has had a lot of tournament success in the Desert during your career, first one for you, what does it mean to you to see the LPGA Tour strengthen its footprint in Los Angeles with multiple LPGA events, especially with the LA Open at Palos Verdes, that so many players are familiar with?

JUDY RANKIN: You know, I haven't been to the course. I'm kind of excited to hear Andrea say that there's a lot of people who come out and how strong the fan support is. I made a call this morning to a friend of mine who was a member there, in fact, grew up on that golf course, and his exact quote was, It's the hardest short course you'll ever play.

So I really look forward to seeing it. I think it gets rave reviews as a club, as that kind of a golf course, not some stadium or whatever. So I really look forward to it.

My replacement, Morgan Pressel, will be at ANWA. So I said last year when I did this retirement thing that I would fill in if I needed to, so this is my first fill-in.

THE MODERATOR: So with that, how looking forward are you to being back in the booth next to Grant Boone and with Tom and Kay and the Golf Channel broadcast team?

JUDY RANKIN: Well, I'm sure everybody could imagine when you've spent so many years with people and so many years hanging around both the PGA TOUR and the LPGA Tour, mostly the LPGA Tour of all the recent years, how I miss everybody and how I miss -- how I just miss being there and being part of it.

But the time was right. Morgan's doing a great job, and I'm really thankful for the team of Grant and Tom and Kay and everyone who will be there because you get a little nervous going to work, maybe always, and the minute you get there you realize you're not doing this by yourself. You have a whole cast of characters around you in trailers and trucks working. So that just kind of calms you down.

But I look forward to seeing everybody play. I look forward to seeing these two play. I guess we'll get back to that in a minute, but I have an opinion on both of them.

THE MODERATOR: If you have an opinion about them, go for it.

JUDY RANKIN: Well, I studied Andrea a bit this morning because I barely know her and I haven't seen her play but maybe once or twice. But when you read her résumé, when you read her record, there's a player who is being enormously successful at the moment that I think her record almost tops that player and that's Minjee Lee. Minjee Lee was long time best amateur in the world. Minjee Lee had a great Amateur record and all those things, and Minjee Lee came to the Tour and didn't quite find herself completely for a few years.

But Andrea's bio and her record of wins and the kind of experience that she has, I think she's going to be a big name pretty quickly for a long time.

THE MODERATOR: And Lizette?

JUDY RANKIN: The thing with Lizette is -- and I hope she will take this in the spirit that it's meant. She's a better player than her record. I think she knows that. I would remind Lizette, whenever she thinks about people like me saying things like that is, one of the great players in our history was Betsy King. She didn't win for eight years. Now Lizette's already won. Lizette's got the winning thing in her back pocket, but she gives herself so many chances and maybe comes up a little bit short.

The thing with golf is you cannot predict what the other people, what the other woman, guy, is going to do, so you just have to keep knocking on the crazy door. She played the most extraordinary golf I've ever seen at the Women's British Open and she got edged out by an absolute newbie on the very last hole.

And being a player, I know how that feels, I know how that hurts, but you have to take those things, not as learning experiences, but one step closer. I'm not sure about learning experiences. I would like to ask these two players. I think those bad days that people say are learning experiences, I would like to tell them where they can put that learning experience in the annals of golf because, really, you know these things, you don't have to learn them 10 times over.

ANDREA LEE: That's very true.

LIZETTE SALAS: Thanks, Judy. That was great.

ANDREA LEE: Thank you, Judy.

THE MODERATOR: That's why Judy's the best at what she does. All right. Ladies, thank you.

All right. If you have a question, please mention in the chat that you have a question or raise your hand.

Q. Andrea, you narrowly missed Monday qualifying into this tournament last year -- or at Palos Verdes before getting the sponsor's exemption. How hard is it to have to Monday qualify into events and know at the start of the year you need to do that to get more starts based on your status?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it's extremely difficult. I knew what I was getting into at the start of last year. I didn't have practically any status. I finished 109 on CME points in 2021. I knew that I'd have to either grind on the LPGA Mondays or get my card through the Epson Tour, and quite frankly, I thought the latter was what I would have to do in order to get my full status back for the following year.

And then just a long the way I wanted to try my best to qualify for the LPGA events that I could go to, particularly the ones that are in Los Angeles and at Aviara last year as well. But yeah, Mondays are really tough because it's only one round and anyone can go low and there's only two spots available.

But last year, I shot 4-under in the Monday qualifier here at Palos Verdes, and I thought that would of been good enough. I think it was just short by a shot or two. But they ended up giving me the sponsor's exemption for that week and I was just over the moon because I had an opportunity. I played in Hawaii, I think a couple weeks prior, and I finished just outside the top 10, and I knew that just that alone might help me in the first reshuffle of the year.

But when I got that sponsor's exemption at PV, I told myself just to make the most of the opportunity because not everybody gets one. So I played really well. I just enjoyed the week so much. I had so much family and I had friends come out and watch me on the weekend and I ended up finishing top 5. And so PV last year was kind of the turnaround for my entire season and I reshuffled back up and pretty much got into every event that I wanted to compete in. So, yeah, just was really grateful for the opportunity to play last year in the PV and I'm not going to take any of that for granted.

Q. Had you mapped out how many tournaments on the LPGA you were going to try to play before pivoting full-time to Epson in order to attempt to secure status next year?

ANDREA LEE: I think as many Mondays as I could up until the first reshuffle. I think by then is kind of when you know you'll be able to play in some more in the rest of the season or just stick to the Epson Tour and try to secure the top 10 for the full card the following year.

Q. Andrea and Lizette, you both had big wins in 2022. I wanted to ask each of you what you see as the biggest perks of winning out there? And how long can a player ride the momentum of winning a tournament out there? What do you think is the greatest perk of -- you know, you get all kind of perks when you win, but what do you see as the greatest byproduct of winning? And how long do you carry the momentum of winning?

LIZETTE SALAS: I'm going to say the biggest perk of winning is feeling like you're on top of the world and your confidence is at its highest. You know, everything falls in its place in order for you to win. And Andrea had success, a lot of success, last year, and so she knows what it takes. I think she is still riding the momentum from that win and still playing great golf.

For myself, I think just being consistent and riding that confidence for months after, I think is really important. I have little windows where I have that little spark of playing some great golf, but that's also the hard part about golf is how do you maintain that momentum and keep putting yourself in that position.

So I just developed how to create small goals and obviously, yeah, we want to win every week, but this Tour's really, really stacked and talented. So you kind of just take your opportunities as great as you can or as -- yeah, you take those as you get 'em and take advantage of every opportunity.

But, yeah, it just all depends on the player and how hungry they are.

ANDREA LEE: To that, just the season is just so long. You're going to have bad tournaments, you're going to miss cuts, and then you're going to have great weeks where you might be in contention and have the opportunity to win. Lizette and I both had those opportunities last year. For me personally, I guess after my win, like she said, it was just such a huge confidence booster for me to know that all the hard work that I put in is finally paying off and now I can call myself a LPGA Tour winner.

Just that feeling is kind of indescribable. It's just such a special week the weeks that you get to pull it off and hold the trophy on Sunday. But, yeah, I think we do ride off the momentum. I think I played some pretty solid golf towards the end of last year after my win just because I was so confident in my game. I knew what my strengths were, what my weaknesses were, and I just continued to play consistent golf.

I think that's just kind of the key for all of us trying to figure out is how do we -- how can we stay consistent throughout the entire year. But it's really hard. I mean, no one's perfect and we all struggle out here. But, yeah, I would just say the feeling after the win is probably the best perk.

Q. Judy, I wanted to ask you, beyond the people you work with, what do you enjoy most about calling the shots? Does it take you back inside playing days almost or what is it you like most about the broadcast element?

JUDY RANKIN: You know, you're right, it does take you back to your playing days. I sometimes I see a player swing and I see a player hit a shot and I can just absolutely feel it.

But I will tell you, I cannot do it any longer, so with age and taking a long break from golf and all that, I now live vicariously through all those wonderful golf games.

I have to tell you, I'll be completely honest, one of the factors with knowing it was time, aside from my age, was I was really having a hard time getting hold of Thursday and Friday. I mean, Friday there is some interest because some people won't be there on the weekend very often.

When I realized that I kept looking at my watch, I knew that I wasn't as invested as I should be. It's pretty easy to be invested on Saturday and Sunday, particularly on Sunday, because as a former player, you're totally involved in what you see happening and the emotion of what you know goes on with people.

But, yeah, what it did was -- what it did and what I know it will still do, is it keeps you in touch with what you did and what you know now. I do know more than when I played, for sure, from watching all these really good and great players. So it's given me -- I'm really lucky because it's given me a new and different way to love golf, and if I was a little out of love with golf when I quit playing, I'm really grateful for this.

THE MODERATOR: So we have a question in the chat for Andrea and Lizette, a follow-up on Judy's comment. Please describe how you can play well without winning and accept how difficult it is to win, often out of your control, and what would it mean to win in your own city, your own hometown?

ANDREA LEE: To answer the first part of the question, I mean, yeah, we want to win week-in and week-out. We want to try to win. That's our goal for every tournament that we tee up in. It is extremely difficult to win out on Tour. The Tour is so deep right now. I mean, we have players that are 19, 20 years old, like Atthaya, who is one of the top in the world. And then we have veterans out there still that are still at the top of their game and are playing extremely well. We saw it last year when Marina Alex won this tournament at PV.

So it just goes to show how deep the Tour is and how difficult it is to win out here. There's not one person that's completely dominating the LPGA Tour. Yeah, it's definitely hard. I mean, we all accept how difficult it is to win out here because that's just the facts. So all we can do is play the best golf that we can for that week and, yeah, and just do our best basically. I guess that kind of answers the first part of the question.

It would mean a lot to win, especially here at Palos Verdes where I grew up. I played at PV since I was probably 13, 14 years old. I've gotten putting lessons from Jim when I was like 14, so I've known him for almost a decade now. Lizette, definitely she's been with Jim for a long time. Definitely longer than that.

But, yeah, it would just mean so much for both of us to just play really well here because of the home crowd and just because we've played so many rounds on that golf course. It's definitely a tough track. It's going to take really good golf, really good putting and ball striking. So I think that we'll both just try to do our best that week and if we come up there near the top it will be a solid week for both of us.

JUDY RANKIN: Let me just jump in for a second and tell everybody that I'm really looking forward to seeing you. Thank you for working and coming on this call and I have to be somewhere. Bye.

THE MODERATOR: Judy, thank you for joining us. Great to see you.

LIZETTE SALAS: Just kind of adding to what Andrea said, to win in L.A. in front of friends and family at a golf course that has been so instrumental in my amateur career and knowing all the connections I have to PV and the members and Jim and just how they love and promote women's golf, I think it will be a huge win, not only for the club, but like just for my confidence in general just to where I'm at in my career.

I have obviously tons of goals this year and to get a win in my -- I guess, my home tournament, that would be huge.

I totally forgot the first part of the question.

THE MODERATOR: The first part of the question: Please describe how you can play well without winning and accept how difficult it is to win.

LIZETTE SALAS: I think the first part is accepting -- just accepting that, that you could play well and not win. So taking the small victories and kind of understanding like what your personal goals are. You cannot play well and still finish to your expectations, you cannot play great and still have a top-10 finish, or you could play great golf and still not get it done. So that's the fantastic thing about this sport is everyone has their own expectations, and like Andrea said, this Tour is so stacked top to bottom and it could be anyone's week.

So to stay present and to stay focused on the shot and the things you can control, that's kind of been my goal in the 11 years that I've been out here, and I'm thankful I have been pretty consistent throughout the years, and I think it's because I understand that it's not going to be perfect every week and as long as I continue to do the things that I can control and put myself in a good position going into the weekend, that we could -- we can get it done. So, yeah.

Q. My question is for Lizette and Andrea. So I was wondering, what's it like going into the season where the tournaments count for both the 2023 and the 2024 Solheim points? And how much is that on your mind right now?

LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah, just knowing that there's a lot more on the line this year and kind of the structure of the Solheim Cup, having it back-to-back years, and how the points standings are changing. We got the rundown early when we had a meeting with Stacy and all the top Americans and potential teammates. I think we understand what's at stake. This is a huge year, obviously, and we both want to represent Team USA, but at the same time it just comes down to hitting good shots and making putts.

Wearing the red, white, and blue is always a huge goal for myself. But there's a lot of great American players playing this year, which is a great thing. Obviously, I'm going to do whatever I could do to be on that team, but at the same time, I also want to win PV. I want to win in Arizona. I think if I just keep doing what I'm doing, I can give myself a shot and that's all I could ask for. But there's a lot on the line right now and I think we're in a good spot.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it's an exciting year, for sure. Playing on a Solheim Cup team has been one of my biggest goals since turning professional. Lizette has played on multiple Solheim Cups. I think, what, like, four?

LIZETTE SALAS: Five.

ANDREA LEE: Five. Okay, yeah. See, I even underestimated. But it's a huge goal of mine. This is obviously, like she said, a very big year to pick the U.S. Solheim Cup team, considering next year is also a Solheim Cup year. But, yeah, I try not to think about the outcomes when I'm out there playing on the golf course. I'm not worried about whether I'm going to make the team or not. If you play good golf, everything will just fall into place. So that's what I'm focused on this year.

I have a lot of goals outside of the Solheim Cup, but it's definitely one of my top for this year and, yeah, so I think if I just continue to play consistently and solid and put myself in contention, then I will have a good chance to make the team.

Q. Super excited, obviously, to have a tournament, multiple tournaments, in California, obviously starting with this one at Palos Verdes, a home course for the girls. I wanted to first ask about the championship in California. Are you girls already distracted by this huge event that's happening at Pebble Beach that I'm super pumped for it to see the girls compete over there? Are you girls thinking about that tournament already where you're kind of -- it's a California vibe, it's also a little bit of a home course for you girls. Can you walk me through a little bit of your preparation and if it's kind of a little bit of a distraction having such a big event coming up?

ANDREA LEE: I think all of us are super excited that a U.S. Women's Open is finally coming to Pebble Beach. I feel like it's been long overdue, seeing the men compete out there over the years and we're finally able to have the opportunity to compete at one of the biggest stages in the country on the golf course.

I wouldn't necessarily say we're distracted by it. I think we're all really looking forward to it and seeing how they will set up the golf course, how it will play. Pebble Beach is such an icon, so a lot of girls, I think, that haven't seen it are just really looking forward to being there. So I think in that sense, I don't think distraction is the right word to phrase it, but just excitement. I think I could speak for all of us, that it's a monumental moment for women's golf, being able to play at venues like Pebble Beach. So I think we're all really excited about that.

Did you have a second part to the question? Was it about PV?

Q. That was great.

LIZETTE SALAS: Well, Andrea just took the words right out of my mouth. I would say it's a monumental period of women's golf, and I think it just shows kind of how -- where women's golf is currently and where we're going. We're going to really prestigious locations and to showcase how good we are.

So, yeah, I think we've been talking about Pebble Beach, even like since last year or the year before. I personally have never been there, but knowing how the men have played there so many times, how it's just an icon in terms of golf courses, and just to be back in California for a major championship is pretty special. I'm going to speak for Andrea and myself just because we're both California natives and obviously we want to perform and put ourselves in contention.

But, yeah, I think out of the major courses that we're going to play this year, Pebble Beach is probably easy top 3 that the girls are talking about. Yeah, so I think we're all trying to plan out our schedule. I think right now, just because it gets so intense and so competitive that we just want to make the right decisions and plan out the week. So, yeah, we're super excited.

Q. Bringing it back to Palos Verdes. We would like to feature the life style, the social part of these events. What can people expect? Like, the people are going to show up to Palos Verdes. Obviously, you're really familiar with the course. What would be some of the highlight holes or shots that we can kind of look for where you can see like, oh, this is a great hole or a great place to be because a lot of the action happens? Can you share some of that information? I know it's really hilly and even though the course is like --

LIZETTE SALAS: You don't want to walk that one. (Laughing.) I think the back side is more, like you can see a lot more golf probably.

ANDREA LEE: Probably you mean the front side for the tournament, right? Because they switch the nines.

LIZETTE SALAS: Oh, I forgot that. So the front side, okay, 3? 4? I don't know. That's a good point. Just that little -- that little section back there. I mean, 11 is such an iconic view. I mean, you can only see like two holes or three holes, if anything. But, yeah, probably that front side, the first couple holes, and then girls are coming back to make the turn, and so you could see a lot of golf right there.

THE MODERATOR: I'm going to add a little piece to that, and then this is going to be a little on the spot, but we're going to bring Mr. Jim Gormley in as well because Jeff has a question. Jim can probably touch on this a little bit too. But for our tickets and hospitality areas we've got a new one. It's our 18 green hospitality. It's called the pro shop patio. And Lizette and Andrea are familiar with the walk up 18 and the view from the patio at the pro shop, and pretty much everybody that was on this call that covered the event last year knows that view. So we have a new hospitality, kind of a hospitality ticket area, for that for this year.

Jim, I believe you are unmuted. Jim, really quickly -- I know Jeff Babineau has a question for you too, but you want to touch on that as well? If there's anybody who is a resident expert at Palos Verdes Golf Club it's Jim Gormley. So everybody, Jim Gormley, the director of golf, Palos Verdes Golf Club, and Lizette's long-time coach and one of Andrea's long-time coach as well.

JIM GORMLEY: Thank you. Yeah, well, going back to the last question, I would say the best views are probably going to be on tournament 11 and 16. So you'll be able to hopefully -- if there's not a lot of fog and clouds with the cloud cover we've got in the last month, two months, you'll be able to see downtown L.A., you can read the Hollywood sign, SoFi Stadium, you can see the snowcapped mountains.

But, yeah, it's going to be interesting having the pro shop patio as a viewing. A little nervous about that, but just as long as they don't get into my office is fine. (Laughing.)

Q. Jim, thanks for being on the call. I want to ask your earliest impressions when you started working with Lizette. What were your earliest impressions of Lizette? And how would you describe her as a competitor?

LIZETTE SALAS: Wait, let me record this. Hold on. (Laughing.)

JIM GORMLEY: My earliest impressions? So I was -- and I still am the volunteer assistant coach for the USC golf team. Well, I guess there's no volunteer anymore, so I'm one of the coaches for the USC golf team. And Lizette and I met back when she was in college. I gave her, I think, one bunker lesson. But even in college, she was just a fierce competitor. You could just see the look in her eyes and just -- I mean, she just didn't want to be beat. It didn't matter who you are, she doesn't -- and actually, neither one of 'em really like to lose, as I can attest to that in a putting contest that I had with Andrea the other day.

So, anyway. But, yeah, Lizette's just always been just a fierce competitor, even back to her college days. Just grinds. I mean, just the work ethic and everything.

Q. Lizette, where do you pull that from?

LIZETTE SALAS: I have no idea. I think just the -- I think my parents just installed this level of hunger and grind and helping me understand that I'm not going to have -- I'm not going to have the same opportunities as others, considering where I grew up and things like that. So I just try to take advantage of every opportunity, every meeting that I have with people. When I met Jim a long time ago, I felt it was that this person could take my game to the next level.

I just love competing and kind of, I don't know, I guess, be that underdog. I have no idea. I just have this -- I just turn into a different person when I step on the golf course. I know I may not be the longest, I know I may not be the most intimidating, but I think I could get the job done, regardless of those things. Just love -- I just love making putts. (Laughing.)

Q. You were mentioning about the Solheim Cup meeting with Stacy. Obviously, she's going to be the captain for the next two Cups. What have the meetings been like and how often have they been so far with Stacy?

ANDREA LEE: We've got together a couple of times, just a couple of times this past season whenever we feel like everyone will be there. So usually the majors or I think we met during the CME week too, yeah. But it's more just trying to get to know one another because I feel like there are a lot of young and upcoming American golfers. And, you know, I'm a newbie. I haven't been on a Solheim Cup yet, so I'm one of them, I guess.

But there's a lot of new faces for American women's golf right now, and I feel like those meetings are just Stacy trying to get us all together and kind of update us on what she's thinking, what she's planning for, and just ahead of time, and just getting, just having us get to know one another more than anything.

LIZETTE SALAS: Yeah, just to add on to that, we've only met twice last year, but she's given us a rundown of all the changes and what she would like to see as far as -- just to give us the best opportunity for us to go there and just play our games and to get the job done.

Her still competing week-in and week-out with us, I think that is super important for her as just to get on the same page quicker, just so that when we go over there, we are just ready to compete and just kind of for -- her job is to prepare us as best as possible and also allowing us to just play our game and not be so stressed out. We know that it's a very intense crucial week, so I think she just wants us prepared mentally, physically, and just kind of staying -- continuing to communicate with us and letting us know what's going on.

Q. What are some of the notable changes that she's brought about?

LIZETTE SALAS: Oh, nothing too drastic. Probably just wardrobe changes, which is really important. I think just as far as like the technology she wants to use in order to give us the best stats going in and just encouraging us to practice, play practice rounds with each other, getting acclimated.

Like Andrea said, there's a lot of upcoming young American players, like herself, and so she could potentially have a partner that she's never played with before. That's something that we want to avoid. So, yeah, just to get that awkward acclimation out of the way and to become potential teammates down the road.

Q. Lizette, I was curious, just thinking about you and Jen and partnership at Solheim and then at Dow, I just wonder, you've had a half dozen players, teammates, with whom you've partnered in four-ball, foursomes, but specifically about Jen, what about your partnership can you explain -- what part of this success can you explain and what part of it just is inexplicable, it just worked? You know what I mean?

LIZETTE SALAS: I think all of it. It just worked. I think going from hardly being friends at the beginning of that year to being extremely close and fighting with each other -- fighting for each other that week and created this incredible partnership. I'm really thankful for all the previous teammates and partners that I've had, and I think it helped me establish myself on how to be a solid team, a solid partner.

So going into that week, I even told her caddie, I go, Look, I'm not here to babysit. Like, is she okay? Like, what do I need to do? And her caddie, which was my former caddie, he goes, You're good. Don't worry about her. And that allowed me to play my own game and obviously she stepped in and helped me in times when I needed it and vice versa. I thought it would be a great idea to come back together for Dow.

I was waiting for her to ask me, but I guess she was waiting for me. Anyway, long story short we got back together and just continued that momentum. I hope that -- or I hope Stacy is considering all of that going into this year and knowing that we are a really good partnership.

But, yeah, it's crazy how things lined up and how we were just really successful at Inverness.

Q. Andrea, let me ask you and, Lizette, you can jump in here as well. This is the first time that I know of in the history of the LPGA Tour that we're going to go to four new major courses, Baltusrol, Walton Heath, Pebble, and the new one at Carlton Woods. I'm curious, two things: One, you said you've not been to Pebble before, but I'm curious, will either of you try to get to -- Walton Heath would be really hard, but you've got Tom Abbott's phone number. He's a member there and he can help you. But I'm wondering, will you try to go early? I know Inbee went to Congressional last year a little early. I've heard some players say they don't think it really helps a whole lot because it isn't the same during tournament week as it was when you visited. But have you been to any of the four new venues and would you try to go?

ANDREA LEE: I played Pebble Beach a few times. I played in the TaylorMade Invitational a couple years ago at the end of the year. Usually it's in like November or December. That's the first time I've ever seen it, actually. But I thought I would be able to play it in college, actually, because we're so close, but we just never had the chance to. But finally saw it a couple years ago and then I actually took a trip up there I think a couple months ago now, maybe a month ago to do a quick media thing with the USGA. And while I was up there I just played a practice round. I think it was right after the AT&T pro-am, the PGA event. And it's just, it's good to see the course, especially a major championship course ahead of time, I think, if we can, if the opportunity allows I think it's just good to kind of see the layout beforehand, kind of picture in your mind just plotting out the golf course because it's a major championship, it's definitely going to be playing tougher then compared to when I just played. So just I think seeing a course as much as possible prepares you a little bit more and makes you a little bit more comfortable out there being able to visualize the shots more easily. But the other golf courses are a little more out of the way so personally I don't think I'll be going early to scout any of them out just because we don't have time and our season's about to ramp up. But, yeah, did have the opportunity to play at Pebble.

LIZETTE SALAS: I have not played at any of our major championship courses. I've been trying to get out to Pebble, but it's not as easy. But I think I will probably try to go out and see Baltusrol. I've gone, I've been to several of the golf courses, the U.S. Open golf courses early just to kind of get the layout of the track and I think it's helpful. Especially for myself just understanding how my game can, how I can apply my game to this golf course and what is it that I need to work on and just to prepare myself and but at the same time you never know how you're going to perform at the, at that week. So it's just kind of a gamble. You just kind of like taking the risk of going up there and see if it works out in your favor and trying to get as comfortable as possible on the golf course so when you get there all you got to do is kind of play this memory game and hopefully your game can apply to that golf course and play your best.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, everyone.