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CAMBIA PORTLAND CLASSIC

June 29, 2016

Mariah Stackhouse

Portland, Oregon

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Mariah Stackhouse into the media center here at the Cambia Portland Classic. It's kind of fitting for your first tournament as a professional to be here after the NCAAs in Eugene about a month ago.

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Uh-huh.

THE MODERATOR: What's it like, what's the feeling approaching this tournament?

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: The feeling approaching this tournament has been exciting. A lot of fun. My dad and I have put in a good bit of practice these last couple weeks focusing on short game and focusing on remembering the poana and this grass in the Northwest.

We got here Sunday evening and we've been enjoying the ride. Played the course a couple times, and just been seeing everyone. I told my dad it's kind of like a reunion from my junior golf days. I went to play college golf; some people turned professional.

Now I am at this point where I am seeing everyone I grew up playing with since I was young, which has been a lot of fun, too. It's been a good time.

THE MODERATOR: What are you impressions having played the course a couple times so far of Columbia Edgewater?

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: It's a really good course length-wise it's very manageable, and you can tell that the challenge on this course is definitely greens and making just you're placing it in the right places.

I think on the front nine driving is pretty important, too. There are some times when you need to hold back and hit some 3-woods and make sure you're on the right side of the fairway.

Yeah, I can tell it's a fun course, and that somebody who is rolling it well and putting in play can score out here.

THE MODERATOR: You have a pretty decorated college career: Four time All-American; four-time All-Big-12; helped lead Stanford to the 2015 national championship. You've been around the block a little bit. You're not coming in here wide-eyed. Do you still get the nerves or you kind of approach it like, I've been doing this my entire life; this is just the next step?

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: You know, something that I've worked on is definitely thinking about it as being the next step. But, yeah, there is definitely nerves. Not the bad nerves, just this is a very exciting week. It's something that I've looked forward to my whole life.

I spent the last four years in college preparing for this moment. So to have the opportunity to play in my first professional event at a tournament with a rich history -- I've heard this is one of the longest running LPGA events.

THE MODERATOR: It's the longest running non-major tournament.

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah, so this is really special. There is history at this tournament. I'm happy to be here and have this be my first event.

Yeah, like I said, I've been working hard and I respect that it's another level. I'm just excited to go out here and play against the girls that I've been wanting to play with for a long time now.

THE MODERATOR: Talk about your career at Stanford, how fun it was to be on such a successful team where you were back-to-back NCAA finals. What was that camaraderie like with the teammates? Are they watching, tuning in? They're going to cheer you on this week I assume.

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah, they'll definitely be cheering me on. I've gotten messages from them saying, Good luck, and, Just have fun. Stay relaxed this week.

But to the camaraderie I've shared with my teammates the past four years, especially these last two with such good performances all the way through post season, it's a lot fun. I think those are the memories that I'll carry with me from my college golf experience.

You know, from playing well in those tournaments to singing along in the car too and from the tournaments; joking around at dinner; just spending that time and playing golf with a group of people that you all have the same goal and you're competing together. That's different for golf.

So those are definitely memories that I'll cherish forever.

THE MODERATOR: You have a pretty good relationship with Condoleezza Rice as well. Stanford connection. Talk about that a little bit.

MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah. As you know, Dr. Rice loves golf. She's a pretty big supporter of our women's golf team and is very involved. We've all had the great fortune to get to know her and to learn from her and to play golf with here these past couple years.

One of the things that I think is remarkable is being the accomplished and respected women she is, she's very available to us. That's been very special. She is really gracious with her time, open, welcoming, really fun.

That's definitely a relationship and a friendship that has been very meaningful to me in my time at Stanford. I'm happy to have built that relationship and have it moving forward.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You mentioned some of the players you know from junior golf out here. You went to Stanford for four years, which is kind of unusual. You graduated. Was there any point going in or during your time at Stanford that you were tempted to turn pro?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: No. There was never a moment for that. I went to school, and one of the reasons I chose Stanford was it being a really good academic school. That was important to me. I never went in with the thought that maybe I wouldn't stay four years. That was the plan. I never veered away from that.

Q. Who are some the players that you knew from junior golf?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: You got Annie, Alison, Jay, Ginger. You know, Ashlynn. (Ph). Those are the people that I grew up playing with from high school, elementary school to high school, yeah.

Q. Did you bring a lot of people for your first pro event?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: No. It's just dad and I here this week, and J.S. Yeah, that's my team for the week. I know my mom will be glued to live scoring and the tournament when it's on.

I definitely let all the family and friends know as well. I've got messages from everyone. Even though they might not be here in person, I definitely feel like I have a really big group her with me this week.

Q. Have you been able to step back and view things and where you are now, growing up playing the game and having this opportunity to turn professional and play in your first tournament?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Actually, for Father's Day I was looking through some old picture books looking for some younger pictures of my dad and I, and I ran a cross a couple pictures of me playing golf when I was little. It just kind of hit me. Wow, I've been doing this for so long. I started playing when I was two and now this week I'm playing in my first-ever professional event.

So just looking that time span and knowing how much I've grown and how much has changed in that period of my life, it's pretty -- I guess "special" is the word, and I feel fortunate to have made it this far.

Q. First sponsorship opportunity with KPMG and announcing that at the year's last major, what does that feel like, to be part of such an exclusive group that Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis, and now Mariah Stackhouse?
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: I definitely am honored to be considered in the same space as Stacy and Phil. I think one of the things that I recognized in partnering with KPMG, is when you look at Stacy and Phil and the points at which they signed with them, and then me starting my journey to becoming an LPGA member and I don't yet have status on Symetra or LPGA, it's pretty cool that with them being a corporation that their job is assessing risk, they took that opportunity with me. It's pretty cool.

I'm excited to be on the team. I got to meet everybody up in Seattle for the championship couple weeks ago. I felt really welcomed. Everyone with the KPMG family felt like home. Definitely really made me feel like that was going to be a great relationship for me moving forward, and I know it will be.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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