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FUBON LPGA TAIWAN CHAMPIONSHIP

October 21, 2015

Stacy Lewis

Taipei, Taiwan

Q. Coming into this week, feeling good? How is the past couple weeks? I know you took off last week. What was the decision going into that?
STACY LEWIS: Just wanted a week off. I think of the five events over here, it's probably my least favorite golf course we play in Korea. So just didn't make sense for me to go there.

Took a week off. Went back to the States and relaxed a little bit. Did a little practicing. But the game is in a good spot. That's the best part is you're not working on a ton of things. It's just kind of keep working on little things every day.

Q. How was going back and forth?
STACY LEWIS: I've done it before. I've gone back for a week. I've done it before. It's not too bad. You know, the jet-lag is bad for like three weeks but you get used to it. It's much better than being away from home then for five weeks.

Q. Did you see Joe when you went back?
STACY LEWIS: I actually did. I saw him for a day. Kind of just talked about things that I worked on in Malaysia and kind of the way it progressed, and then kind of went a little -- I went too far with what I was working on on Sunday and didn't hit it as well.

Q. In Malaysia?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah. So it's just finding that middle ground. I was close in Malaysia to playing some really good golf. That's the good thing is that I -- yeah, I didn't play my best for four days, but I was close to doing some really good stuff.

Q. What were you overdoing; overcompensating?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, just some little things in my swing. I basically went from one extreme to the other, which I guess is a good thing. It's good that you're able to work on things and see progress there. Because Friday and Saturday was probably the best I've hit it in a really long time. So it was good to see some shots doing what they are supposed to do.

Q. How much is that, a really good day -- does that make a huge difference confidence-wise standing over the ball, especially if you're going through some tinkering?
STACY LEWIS: It's just nice to see what you're working on progress and getting better. That's the biggest thing. It's been a hard year. It's been a little bit up-and-down. So just having good rounds, having easy rounds, where making and having a lot of tap-in pars and making some birdies; those have been hard to come by this year. So it was nice to do that there.

Q. What's the strongest part right now of your game that's been consistent that you think you've probably been able to rely on the most?
STACY LEWIS: I think this year, I've putted really good in general. Stats-wise, I think it's really good, too. I haven't looked at it closely but the putting has just kept me in it. The ball change this year kind of turned out to be more than what I thought it was going to be. Lost some confidence. But the putting was the thing that all year, it's kind of kept me in it.

Q. What model do you have now?
STACY LEWIS: They have all been Bridgestones. It's the B330-s. I tried the RX and I tried the RXS. And finally I switched to this one in Canada, when I last in the playoff to Lydia.

Since then, it's been a lot better. Shots just coming off the way I expect them to, and around the greens is where I saw the difference, chipping and pitching. It's just now I'm trying to get that trust and that confidence back that I lost kind of middle of the year.

Q. That was just more of a shocking process than you expected?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, it was hard. Just shows how you can hit balls on the launch monitor and test things all you want and they can spit out all the numbers in the world, but it doesn't matter what it is until you get -- until you get it out there on the golf course, you don't know; in competition, you don't really know how it's going to play out. It definitely turned into a much longer process than I had hoped for.

Q. Is that you think being a little over-analytical, just because you're -- you're pretty technical, above average?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, the hardest part is we'll play a soft golf course and then we'll play a firm one and then we'll play a soft one. We're playing on very different conditions every week. So while one week, the ball may seem okay, and then you go to a firm golf course the next week and then you're like, what is going on.

So it's just, I've always relied on feel and I lost my feel. And that was the biggest thing is to hit a chip shot and think you've hit it right and then it goes flying across the green. You start to question your technique and all those kind of things. Just a lot of doubt crept in there.

Q. Is that the most you think you've had some question marks in the recent past?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I haven't had to switch a golf ball in six years. So I don't like change; I don't like making changes. When I do make changes, when I putt new golf clubs in, I don't just put them in overnight. It's a process for me. The golf ball thing was on the fly and I just had to figure it out. Definitely pretty frustrating, I would say probably five, six months.

Q. Finishing up the year, obviously want to get the win in the win column. Goals, just to finish out, anything specifically? I know CME has to be on front of your mind?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, you look at what I've done this year, I've had opportunities to make it a really good year. Even as frustrating as it has been, you get a win and it kind of turns a pretty frustrating year into a pretty good one. I'd like to be in the top three going into CME so that I kind of control my own destiny there.

I'm just excited to be playing. I'm finally playing some good golf, got some confidence going and glad that I'm playing these next three weeks.

Q. What would a win, top three, would that turn around this year? Just getting one win now, would that --
STACY LEWIS: More than anything, I want to play good golf. I mean, that's the biggest thing. You know, there's so many good players right now and people playing good golf. It's so hard to win and I don't think that's what people don't quite realize is how hard it is to win. People think you get in the last group and it should be automatic. But it doesn't. I mean, sometimes you get with people that just play unbelievable golf.

Jess played some unbelievable golf in Malaysia and nobody was going to beat her. Threes a lot out of my control but I know if I can be in that top three, I've got a chance to end the year on a good note and have some momentum going into next year.

Q. What about the last two weeks, Lexi and Jess, that has to be great to see from your standpoint, obviously coming off Solheim Cup win, but in terms of U.S. golf; Lexi, specifically, you've watched her career and you've seen her play up close a lot. Where do you see her going and her potential of really making a name for herself in this game long-term?
STACY LEWIS: I think it's realistic that Lexi could be the No. 1 player in the world. And she can be a dominant No. 1 player in the world just because of the way she hits the ball.

I think when her maturity and her short game, when it all kind of catches up with her ball-striking, she's going to be really good. I mean, she has not even peaked, anywhere close to peaked yet.

She played great at Solheim teaming up with Cristie. Those two kind of became a leading pair for our team. It's nice to see the American kids -- I mean, they are kids, they really are. But to see them playing well is really good, and silencing the critics is even better.

Q. Same with Jess, she went through a slump, I guess you could define it, but to come out and have one great week and turn it around against a really top field, again shows to your point how hard it is to win out here; one week is one week and everything clicks.
STACY LEWIS: Probably say a little bit of her is she was trying really hard to make that Solheim Cup team. You put a lot of pressure on yourself and you start doing things different than what you normally would do, whether you realize it or not. All of a sudden she's freeing it up and just playing golf and just shows how good she is.

Malaysia, you've got to hit the ball really good to play well there, and for being known as a long hitter, she hit it pretty darned good. That wouldn't be a golf course you'd think she would traditionally do well on, but the ball-striking was obviously there.

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