|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIPJune 11, 2016Gerina PillerSammamish, Washington MODERATOR: It's my pleasure now to welcome in Gerina Piller. Gerina, even today, 1-under for the tournament. One shot back going into the final round. Overall thoughts on today? I know front nine was where your birdies were. Back nine a little bit more of a grind. Your overall thoughts? GERINA PILLER: I felt like I was more in control with my long game and kind of got my driver figured out and hit a lot more fairways today. Out here it's a huge difference from getting on the green in regulation than chipping for birdies. Putting for birdie is a lot better than chipping for birdies. So I just felt like overall today I was just kind of just more patient, I felt, with my swing. And just put myself in position and hit some really good putts. There were some bogeys coming in. But I'm a firm believer of you get some and you lose some. And I think I made some really good par saves. It's hard to make them all. MODERATOR: I've been asking the girls, leader board watching. Have you been doing it? Do you usually do it and how important is it with so many players within a short space together is it to you to do so? GERINA PILLER: You know, I wouldn't say I'm either/or. I think with tomorrow the course demands enough where I think I don't need to focus on anything but the course and the shot at hand. If you get your mind off what you're trying to do it can easily sneak up on you. So tomorrow I'm just going out there and just stick to my game plan, hitting fairways, hitting greens, and just putting a good stroke on it. MODERATOR: You said earlier in the week, I hope to be back in here talking to you guys. Your confidence is at an all time high. Coming into this week, did you really foresee yourself being in this position, going into tomorrow? Do you do visualization going into a major or any week in specifics? GERINA PILLER: I begin the week the way my ball-striking was kind of squirrelly. I probably wouldn't say I was here right now. But I feel like -- that I don't have to have my best game to compete out here. And so that's very comforting, especially this week. It was just kind of squirrelly and kind of didn't know where it was going. I'm used to seeing it go right-to-left. And I was kind of hitting like a little cut. It takes a lot to really trust to aim left and allow it to go right because I'm usually opposite of that. I'm learning a lot this week as far as just trusting what I have and it is good enough. MODERATOR: Have you made any tweaks going into the week or mid round or in between rounds? GERINA PILLER: Just yesterday. I just went to the range and I was trying to correct my little fade and cut. My caddie, he's been great through all of this, he's like, we've just got to pick a good start line tomorrow, and you've just got to let it cut. I did that today and I trusted it and it worked really well. Q. Can you describe and compare the feeling that you have being in contention now with that first time at the LPGA Championship in Rochester, just how the feeling is different? GERINA PILLER: You know, now I'm more comfortable. I'm more comfortable seeing my name up there. I'm more comfortable just knowing that I don't have to hit it perfect. If I miss a green I've gotten up and down a million times. And I've made long putts for par. I've made long putts for birdie. I've made a par from missing a fairway. So that's very comforting. When I played really well at the LPGA Championship in Rochester, there's still -- at the time there was still that doubt in my mind in kind of protecting -- you kind of want to hold on to things and grip it a little tighter. And so I feel that there's not as much worry in any golf game now. Q. You talked earlier in the week about how this place was a ball-striker's paradise and it fell right into your wheel house. Tomorrow in the final group do you feel like you have an advantage because you are such a good ball-striker? GERINA PILLER: For sure. I feel like with the way I hit the ball and my length, and let's not forget, I feel like I've been putting really well, so I just get on that putting green and I think that I can compete with anybody. Q. Working with Mike Wright, do you get a lot of Hogan stories, do you feel like any of the Hogan way rubs off on you indirectly? GERINA PILLER: I do get a lot of Mr. Hogan stories, and I love listening for my coach tell those stories. I know he loves telling them. It's been awesome working with my coach. I don't see him a whole lot. It's just one of those things that he's taught me how -- just why the ball goes where it goes. And it's very simple. He simplified a lot of things. And so I don't really talk to him a whole lot during a tournament. But I did talk to him this week, just kind of sent him a swing video, and just kind of what are your thoughts. I was just kind of off little bit. He just gives me simple feedback. He said it looks like you're a little rushed. It's never anything technical. It's definitely all feel. Q. It also seems like when you started having the cut happen this week, you sort of figured out, maybe that's the best thing to do, just go with that this week. Is that something that he sort of also taught you? GERINA PILLER: He definitely teaches me opposite of the cut. He wants me to kind of chase it down the line, start it a little right and draw it in. Before I went to him I never was able to start the ball right of my target. And so we worked really hard on starting it right and turning it over, because that is what my swing produces. I don't know what it is this week, it's cold outside, muscles get a little tight, legs maybe are weak, I'm not sure what it is. I try not to call him and bug him all the time, like what do I do? What do I do? Because I feel like I tend to get more technical. And getting more technical or mechanical isn't going to fix my golf game. I'm a feel player. If I have to start this 40 yards to the left and cut it back, that's what I have to do. I felt like in college, that's how I won my first college tournament. I feel like if I just go out there and really be athletic with it, and just let it happen. Q. Whether it's tomorrow or later in the season, do you feel like winning is inevitable this season, do you feel like you're that close to finally winning? Secondly, what's the situation with your husband? Is he here? When did he get here and how much is his support tomorrow going to mean? GERINA PILLER: You know, I do feel like winning is definitely close. It's hard to -- obviously that's a goal of mine. But there's no -- it's funny, because in golf, winning, there's no recipe. It's not like you tell somebody, you go out and hit every fairway, and hit every green, and you're going to win. There's no definite recipe, if I do this, you're going to obtain this. Like in college you get X, Y and Z class, you're going to get a degree. With golf that's not always the case. And so I definitely feel that my game is good enough and it's just a matter of time when the pieces fit altogether and it just comes together. As far as my husband, I texted him a few times, he's back home, as far as I know. We're actually in the middle of moving. So he's getting some stuff from our old house into our new house. I'm not sure if he's on the plane or not, I haven't talked to him. MODERATOR: Busy moving boxes? GERINA PILLER: Yes. Q. It's not like Americans aren't somewhat prevalent on this Tour, you've got two out of three in the final group tomorrow. When you're out there playing do you feel like you're playing for your country a little bit? How important do you think it is to have an American star as the face of this Tour? GERINA PILLER: You know, I feel like anytime that I can represent my country is special. And it's great to look up there and see all the American flags on the leaderboard. Obviously more so on the Solheim Cup, versus a regular tournament. I think American golfers are great. I think Korean golfers are great. We're all great. I said this at the beginning of the week, the margin from being one to 20 is so minute that it could be half a stroke here or -- it's just so -- the margin is so little and I just feel that if there was a dominance, then someone would win every single week. Obviously Ariya is doing a great job of that. That's why there's a different winner every week. MODERATOR: Earlier this week you said, 16th in the Rolex ranking, just the girl from Roswell, New Mexico. To win your first LPGA title and have it be a major, what would that mean to your family and the people back home, people that have supported you to say there's our major champ and she's a winner now. GERINA PILLER: You know, I would love to kind of go there, but I don't want to put the cart before the horse. It would be awesome. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't awesome, and I don't think of that. But it's definitely not -- I've got to just take one shot at a time, one hole at a time. And I do think about winning a lot. It's something that is an outcome and I've got to really stick to the process. Q. Obviously early in the round tomorrow you're going to just try to stick to one shot at a time. At what point do you think you're going to say, hey, I can win this thing, and here's what I need to do to get there? GERINA PILLER: I think I feel like I'm going to step on that first tee and have that attitude. I've got to go out there and kind of take no prisoners, just put the pedal to the metal, and just be as great as I can be. Q. Correct me if I'm wrong, you didn't take up golf until you were 15? GERINA PILLER: Correct. Q. First of all, what took you so long to have golf in your life do you think? When you look back on it, getting better every year, seems like closer to the win, does any part wish you started earlier or are you happy with the course you took? GERINA PILLER: You know, I played probably every sport you could think of growing up. Minus tennis. I wish I would have played tennis. I don't know why I didn't. I was actually a cheerleader one year. I'm from New Mexico, golf isn't probably very popular. I don't regret anything. I loved playing baseball with the guys. I was a pitcher and a catcher. And nothing brought me more joy than to stand on the mound, warm up, and you could see the little boys talking over there, oh, home run, and I'd kind of egg it on, I'd just kind of lob it in there. And when I'd get to the plate I'd fire it in there and send them back to the dugout, tail between their legs. I loved it. It was just so awesome. And I think looking back on it, my baseball swing has helped and somewhat hurt my golf swing. But I think it's a really big part of how I generate speed. It doesn't look like I'm swinging hard, but it's just very efficient. And I just loved -- volleyball was my sport. I would drop golf in a heartbeat for volleyball when I played in high school and middle school. So it's just the fast pace, intensity, and it's just so funny that I went from that where you're basically yelling at the other team when you spike it down their throat. To golf, where you have to be very quiet and you can't say anything. Q. U.S. women's golf really doesn't have a face. Would you be comfortable being that face if you got hot and won a lot? GERINA PILLER: Absolutely. I'd be honored to be the face of women's golf for America. It's big shoes to fill. I know it's not an easy task. But I think that -- I definitely feel my game is good enough for that. Q. Do you think golf would benefit if there was one American that came to everyone's mind first? Because right now there isn't? GERINA PILLER: I mean, yes, here in the United States it probably would. I think that it's just -- I guess I just don't understand the pressure of there needs to be an American. Let's not take away from Lydia. She's done amazing things, especially at the age. She's doing things at 16 -- I had only been playing golf for one year at that time. So for me, I can't even fathom that. And there's just lots of great golf to be played. Like I said, there's just a very small margin between the top and the middle, it's 1-putt here or there. MODERATOR: Thank you so much for coming in. Great job so far. Good luck tomorrow. GERINA PILLER: Thanks everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|