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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLF

August 19, 2016

Gerina Piller

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

KRAIG KANN: Good afternoon, we welcome in Team USA's Gerina Piller after rounds of 69, 67 and today's 68. I'm guessing that feels pretty darned good right now given the conditions and where you are on the leaderboard.
Let's get some thoughts about today.
GERINA PILLER: You know, to finish is an accomplishment in itself. I think it was like the never‑ending round of golf. It feels great. It feels great to come and obviously be at the end of Saturday‑‑ or what day is this, Friday, and be in contention.
To start the day, the wind wasn't picking up at all. I think it started on No.2 and it just didn't let up. So for me to go out there and grind it out, I just think I felt really good about my game and I love my position.
KRAIG KANN: We're going to take some questions.
Right now, you're tied for second in a golf tournament that is on the biggest stage in the world. Have you thought about that? Are you allowing yourself to think about that?
GERINA PILLER: I allow myself to think about it. Because I'm a firm believer that when you see yourself doing something, and you keep running that through your mind, then you're more likely to do that.
So just really see myself up in contention, up at the top of the leaderboard, standing on that podium and just really giving myself belief and self‑talk that I do belong here. I feel like I have a chance at this.

Q. What conditions would you like tomorrow?
GERINA PILLER: I want it as tough as it possibly can play. Just because I feel like I'm a grinder, and the tougher the better it is for me. It kind of allows the creme to rise to the top. I feel like if that's the case, I feel like I have a good shot.

Q. You talk about picturing yourself winning the Gold Medal and at the top of the leaderboard; how do you see yourself managing all those emotions tomorrow?
GERINA PILLER: I think I'm just going to accept them. I'm going to welcome them into my head. They are going to pop in there and you can't ignore it. If I can really just focus on what I'm doing at hand; your mind is going to wander, and I think that it's the way you handle it and how you receive that information. If something comes in my head and I use that as motivation and just a lot of confidence, I think that's going to do me a lot of good.

Q. You've been playing at a very high level for a long time. What do you think has held you back from winning?
GERINA PILLER: The girls are making more birdies than me‑‑ no, I'm just kidding.
No, if I knew what that was, I would hope I would fix that. I just think that I'm playing great golf, and golf is one of those sports that you can't really push it. As soon as you push golf, it pushes right back. And as much as I would love to win, I think that I've got to focus on the process, and the outcome will take care of itself.

Q. Lydia and Inbee are right there. How do you think those two are similar as players?
GERINA PILLER: They don't make any mistakes. They are very consistent, great golfers, and really good putters. I think they just don't make any mistakes and that's why they are tough to beat.

Q. Can you put into perspective just how good of a round was that today for you, given that it was so windy and the pressure?
GERINA PILLER: You know, this is one of the rounds of golf that will stick in my mind for a long time, if I'm ever lacking in confidence. To go out there on this stage and in those conditions and to post a 3‑under par, I think that was really good.
You know, just the scrambling I about today. I was middle of the fairway. I didn't even touch the green. And to just kind of regroup and get up there and get that ball up‑and‑down from the sand, I think I just kind of ham‑and‑egged it all day today really well. It was great.

Q. What about the last hole?
GERINA PILLER: The wind is kind of tough to judge. You know, when it's not into, you can carry the bunker on the left. I wasn't even trying to challenge that at all. I had been losing my driver a touch right, probably because the wind has been blowing like 45 off the left.
Just kind of tugged a little bit and the wind got it and got in the bunker. I felt like I had plenty of club to hit out of the bunker and just hit it a little thin. I hit the lip.
The good thing about today was I didn't really panic at all when I was out of position, and that was huge. So hit a 3‑wood up there, and my caddie has been great all week. He's telling me, you know, let's just get a par and get out of here. He's like, “You're still in it. You can still get this up‑and‑down.”
I didn't hit it as close as I'd like to, but I hit a really great putt, and that's all you can ask for.

Q. When is the last time you played in conditions this challenging?
GERINA PILLER: Oh, wow, I'd have to say probably last year at the British. It was maybe a little colder at the British, but similar winds. But yeah, it was probably a year ago.

Q. I think you were one off the lead when you got to 12 and you bogeyed 12, and then on 13, you must have had an 80-foot putt for birdie you got down in two. Can you talk about that putt and how important it was to get a par there?
GERINA PILLER: Yeah, I think it was one of the cameramen asked me if I was a member here or something, because I got a good bounce off the tee. I was trying to carry this bunker and we kind of didn't take into account for the tree, and it clipped the tree, which I didn't think was even in play and it kicked out in the fairway. I still had a long way home"
You've kind of just got to play defense at that point and minimise the damage and just kind of put yourself in position to it on the green.
It's not like it was the easiest putt. But at that point, you've just kind of got to trust your ability. I worked really hard last week back in Texas, and I felt like my putting's been really good.
Just getting up there and really just using my athletic ability, it's kind of like when someone hands you something and it says to toss it in the trash, you don't really think about it, you just do it. And nine times out of ten, you're probably going to get a pretty good result. That's what I tried to do today.

Q. Is tomorrow the biggest round of your life?
GERINA PILLER: I would say it's one of the biggest, yes. Playing the Solheim Cup is definitely dear to my heart and trying to win that for the country. But I've never played in the final round of an Olympics before competing for a medal. It's going to be pretty special. I'm going to soak it in all in, take it all in, and no matter what the outcome, I'm proud to be American.

Q. How important is it for the women tomorrow to put on a show and get golf talked about?
GERINA PILLER: You know, I don't think that we have any pressure on us to try to put on a show, because I know we're all great golfers. There's going to be‑‑ I think that we're going to put on a show, because we're great golfers.
We may not hit the high, towering 4‑irons that land and back up. The guys are pretty incredible the way they hit the ball. But you know, it's pretty incredible with the way we hit the ball and we still get the job done, so that's pretty cool.
KRAIG KANN: A follow‑up about your career. You said you have a sense of belonging out here on the Tour among the best players or in the game, Solheim Cup, UL International Crown team, and now an Olympian.
I was looking at some of your results this year: Second, third, third, sixth, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth. I mean, that's ‑‑ that's huge. That really is a sense of belonging. Yet, you haven't won a tournament. But at the same time, you don't have to win tomorrow to really win.
Have you thought about it, standing on that podium in the sense of what your career has gone through to get to this point, and what it would do to be on that podium tomorrow?
GERINA PILLER: Absolutely I think about it. Since the time that I qualified after the U.S. Open, going to the International Crown, and we had our fitting, and you got to try on your medal outfit, and it was just like, I'm trying it on now and I hope I get to put it on one more time.
I think it would be definitely a highlight of my career, and hopefully I'll be there tomorrow.

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