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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 14, 2015Sierra BrooksPORTLAND, OREGON Q. So you've had nothing but pretty much tight matches here so far, and then today started the same way, and then holes 11 through 13 you pulled away. Take me through those holes, what happened there. SIERRA BROOKS: On 11, I just hit a drive straight down the center, and she hit hers out to the right in the rough. She ended up hitting hers short of the green, and I hit mine on about to 10 feet, and she ended up missing her putt, making bogey, so I just made par and went up there, and from then on, my game started clicking a little bit, and made a really good birdie on 12, another really good -- I hit like an 18-yard shot to about a foot on 13 to save par, and she bogeyed. Yeah, so that was kind of a turning point for me, and everything really did start to click and kind of started to separate there. Q. I like your flags here. I saw maybe the greens staff said something to you about the flags? SIERRA BROOKS: Well, they really liked -- yesterday I wore an American flag on my shirt, too, and they really loved how I was supporting the red, white and blue, so they told me that they wanted to root for me, and they're going to be out there today and tomorrow and try to cheer me on because they have an American flag on their cart, too. I don't know if you've seen it. So they told me they'll be out there and be my little cheering crowd. Q. Is this kind of normal for you? Do you normally befriend the locals? Are you considered to be like a crowd favorite? SIERRA BROOKS: Well, I'm staying with a host family, so that definitely has helped. I've gotten to know some of the locals here. But I really just try to take everything in when I'm in a new city and kind of try and meet as many people as I can. Yeah, I mean, I do just my normal thing, but nothing too special, but yeah. Q. The flag thing is interesting since you're playing against a two-time Curtis Cupper for GB&I who wants to play a third time this year. I imagine that's something you would love to have the opportunity to do? SIERRA BROOKS: It is. That's on the top of my list. It's one of my biggest goals is to play in that. I knew going into this week that I had a feeling maybe -- just depending on how I could play here, it would maybe me have a better opportunity to have the chance at playing on that team. It's definitely a goal, and I would be so honored to be a part of that team. But there's a lot of great players in the U.S., so we'll see. Q. You're playing one of the top players, I think No. 2 in the new ranking. Do you get extra motivated for that, or do you even think about things like that? SIERRA BROOKS: You know, Bethany is actually my best friend, and we played semifinals together at the Polo Invitational last November. Yeah, she's an unbelievable player, and I mean, anything can happen in match play, but if either one of us would win our match tomorrow, I'd be happy for both of us. I'm just going to have no expectations going into tomorrow, but I know Bethany is a good player, so it's definitely going to be a tough match. Q. You both seem like pretty friendly, talkative players. Is that going to take -- are you going to halt that tomorrow or are you still going to talk? SIERRA BROOKS: Probably not, but I'm sure parts of the match will get intense and we'll get our game faces on for the most part, but there will definitely be some laughing and having fun out there for sure. Q. How cool is it for you to have your dad with you all day? I said something yesterday about it was your last year, and he sort of teared up that pretty soon, he's going to sort of lose you. SIERRA BROOKS: I know. It means the world for me to have my dad on the bag, and for us to share these experiences together, it's going to be sad even for me when I have to leave for college and leave him because he's been by my side in these junior tournaments for as long as I can remember. To be able to share these experiences with him, it just means so much to me. Q. You have somewhat of an advantage, too, because I feel like he's not the normal golf dad who just is trying to keep up. Like he has had a lot of these experiences, and when he tells you something, you probably -- it's probably from experience? SIERRA BROOKS: Definitely. I've been able to learn a lot from him, and he's a huge help always. It's always nice having him on the bag. Yeah, I mean, I would say there's definitely maybe a little advantage with him having so much experience, but I mean, at the same time, too, it can get tough, a father and daughter out there. So there's some disadvantage to that, but... Q. It seems like given his background in golf that this was sort of like in the cards for you. Did you ever go through a point where maybe you resented or felt like golf, golf, golf, maybe I don't want to do this, do I want to go another route, or were you pretty certain that this is the route I want to take? SIERRA BROOKS: I've definitely been certain about this route. He's made it all about balance for me. That's been a big thing. Golf isn't just my life. I go surfing now and again, and I run on -- I'm on the track & field team at our school. I mean, at the Sally I was going back and forth from -- I was going to school in the morning and then golfing in the tournament later, so yeah, he definitely tries to keep it all about balance, and that's definitely helped me I'd say. Q. What's your event in track? SIERRA BROOKS: I run the 400, the 200, the 4 x 1, and sometimes I do long jump. Q. What position are you on the 4 x 1 team? SIERRA BROOKS: Normally I'm last leg. For states they put me as a third leg. That was fine. 4 x 1 is so much fun for me. Q. How does it compare to like a situation like this? Obviously this is like a four- to five-hour stress situation where that's like a minute-long stress situation, but how does it compare to running, like anchoring a race to -- SIERRA BROOKS: I'll be honest, I get more nervous for that shotgun to go off than I do golfing. It's one of the most nerve-racking things I've ever done to be honest, because getting on those blocks, I don't know how fast the girl is next to me, and I don't want to jump too soon to the gun. It's a really nerve-racking situation, and a completely different position to be in for track and golf. Q. When did you start running track? I didn't even know you did that? SIERRA BROOKS: Eighth grade I started, so I've been doing it for a while. I really like it, too. I think it helps speed-wise for golf, gives you more speed. Q. Have you done anything fun in Portland since you've been here? SIERRA BROOKS: Oh, yes. We've gone downtown. We went to a Bite of Oregon the first night. That was fun. Last night went to Voodoo Doughnuts. Q. I can't wait to get there. SIERRA BROOKS: Just don't go there at all. We went to Salt & Straw. We've definitely had a good taste of Oregon so far, and actually the funny thing is Bethany and I are taking like a mini-vacation after this tournament, and we're staying a couple extra days, and we're going to go to Mt. Hood and the Falls. We'll definitely get to take away a good experience from Portland. Q. Is it just you and Bethany, no parents? SIERRA BROOKS: We're going to be staying with her parents, but I think it'll just be Bethany and I venturing out, so it'll be fun. Q. Did they hook you up with a pass to the Nike store? SIERRA BROOKS: No, I want to try to get that. One of my friends knows a guy from Nike, she said, so she said she'll try. Everyone is going. I don't know how they're getting these passes. I want to go so bad. I heard the line is so long. Q. What's your best Bethany Wu story? I know Bethany has this great sense of humor, but she clams up when we start talking to her. SIERRA BROOKS: Bethany is one of the funniest girls I know. She's just so -- she'll say it how it is. There's no messing around with Bethany. You get the honest opinion every single time, and she's just a goofball. We always have so much fun together. She like stayed at my house after Sally, and we had sleepovers and went to universal, and we try to play together in every single practice round. I always have fun when I'm with her, and I always enjoy that time I get to spend with her. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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