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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLF

August 17, 2016

Stacy Lewis

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Q. Nice play by all three Americans.
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, for all of us to be under par I think is a good thing. Nobody really ran away with anything today. Scores are pretty bunched up. I was just excited to birdie a couple there coming in and get under par on a day that I felt like I didn't really play that well.

Q. When you watched the American Team last week, they got behind the 8‑ball a lot the first round. Was there any sort of pressure, or was it on your minds? All three of you guys were under par, so it's a decent start. Was that on your mind at all?
STACY LEWIS: A little bit. It's kind of comforting to know that one good round is kind of what you saw with the guys; one good round, and you're right back in it. It's just a golf course you have to stay patient on. You'll see some 64s, some 65s, but you know, you've got to keep your bad rounds at a number that's reasonable. So if anything, watching them, it just kind of showed to stay patient and hang in there.

Q. With what Matt was able to do?
STACY LEWIS: Exactly.

Q. Did you learn anything about the course today that you didn't really know from the practice rounds at all?
STACY LEWIS: I just think the hardest part about this course is getting comfortable off the tees and the lines. There's so many blind tee shots that just in one or two rounds, it's hard to really get comfortable with where that ball is going.
So the tee shots are probably the hardest. Greens are very receptive. You can hit some shots. You can fire at some flags. In that aspect, you can make some birdies, but I just think we had a little bit of a limited practice time. You had basically two days to learn this golf course, which is not enough. There's a whole lot of golf course here to learn in two days.

Q. Did the three of you guys get together at all and talk about things?
STACY LEWIS: No. They hit it so far that I would never talk strategy with them because they are taking different lines than me off the tee. We didn't really talk much about it, but we played a practice round yesterday together. I played with Gerina a lot. We've played a lot in team competition.
For them, I think it's a great golf course for them. Length on this golf course is a huge advantage.

Q. Where would you rank this compared to the majors?
STACY LEWIS: You can't even compare it to a major. You have majors, you have LPGA events. You can't even compare it to the Solheim. It's different. It's the Olympics. It has a different feel about it. I don't even know what to compare it to. I think it's a good thing that it's different. It doesn't need to be compared with a major or any of that stuff. It's its own deal, and you know, we are 60 players here, are forever Olympians, and that's cool.

Q. Were there nerves on the first tee?
STACY LEWIS: Not really that nervous actually. I think there will be more nerves at the end than the beginning. It was cool, a little different starting routine there of lining us up and announcing. That was a little bit different. It just has a little bit different feel to it this week and I think it should.

Q. Being on the clock‑‑ was it slow out there?
STACY LEWIS: Extremely. That's putting it nicely.

Q. Why? Is it because of the golf course?
STACY LEWIS: I don't know why it took so long. It took us 5 1/2 hours to play today. So I honest don't know. I knew it was going to take probably close to five, between hour and a half and five. It's a lot of golf course to walk and takes some time, but I didn't expect it to be that slow.

Q. Were you guys put on the clock?
STACY LEWIS: No. We waited on the first hole. So we were never behind. I think the groups‑‑ the couple groups in front of us were on the clock at one point. But apparently it didn't seem to matter.

Q. How much did that affect you, at all?
STACY LEWIS: It affects me, because I like to play and I like to play in a rhythm and get going. Just at times it felt like you were hitting the first tee shot of the day. You just stand there for so long.
It's definitely frustrating, and all three of us play fast. So that was the problem, too, was that we were going to wait even more because we are all fast players.

Q. Did you feel like there was one shot out there that maybe might have been impacted by that slow play for you?
STACY LEWIS: No, not necessarily. I mean, we waited from the first hole on. So it was the same thing all day.

Q. How do you feel about the closing holes where you have birdie opportunities on 16, 17 and 18?
STACY LEWIS: I like the last‑‑ I think the last four holes are good. Even 15 with the wind, you get a pretty short club into. I think those are probably my favorite stretch of holes on this golf course, just because something can happen there. You can make something happen. You know, you kind of know in the back of your mind, I've got some birdies, if I can just hang in there in the middle of the round.

Q. What's your strategy on 16?
STACY LEWIS: It really depends on the hole location. I think when the pin is on left side of the green, it's kind of get it down there on the right and have a pitch. And when the pin is on the right, I'll probably lay up and have more of a full shot.

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