	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 24, 2016

Alena Sharp

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

THE MODERATOR: Happy to be joined in the media center by Alena Sharp. I know coming back to this event is always special for you, but coming off representing Canada in the Olympics, how does it feel?

ALENA SHARP: It's nice to be home right after the Olympics, to continue wearing the red and white this week and next week, for two weeks in a row, I can't think of a better way to celebrate being at the Olympics than playing in Canada two weeks in a row.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously not the finish you would have liked in Rio, but what was that overall experience like for you?

ALENA SHARP: I had a great time. We were there for I think nine days. The first night we got all of our Canada gear, and then went out to the golf course the next day, and we actually got to take in the women's basketball game that night. Just to be part of a big Team Canada and watch them play was fun, and just being in the village around all the other athletes, we really had a great time, and it's something that I'll never forget.

THE MODERATOR: Was there one particular moment that might have stuck out for you, your welcome-to-the-Olympics moment?

ALENA SHARP: I think -- well, the moment that stuck out the most to me was the closing ceremonies, just walking in with everybody else from Team Canada into that stadium with the roaring crowd, kind of brings a tier to your eye just knowing you worked so hard to get to that moment. But the welcoming the first night at the performance center and getting all the Team Canada gear was really where it sunk in, okay, I am an Olympian; I am here.

Q. Alena, how difficult will it be coming back to how this golf course is cut compared to what you put up with in Rio? I understand it's significantly different. How big a challenge will that be for you and all the Olympians coming back?
ALENA SHARP: It definitely is going to be obviously completely different. I haven't played the course yet. I walked around the front yesterday because I've never played that side. Got my lines off the tee and hit a few balls and had to go back to the hotel and get ready for the pro-am party last night, so I haven't really seen the rough, but I've heard it's thick, and obviously in Rio there was no rough, it's fairway running into wasteland. I think that's going to play different. Obviously the grass is different, so I'm going to spend some time chipping today when I get done tonight, so I have a lot of work to do today because just getting here late from the closing ceremonies.

But at the end of the day, it's a golf course. I'm playing well, so get the right decision off the tee for course management and just go out there and do my best this week.

Q. Can you speak about being Canadian, being an Olympian, being back in Canada, so many young people, especially girls, you can't overstate how much of an inspiration you are for them.
ALENA SHARP: Yeah, I always felt coming back to Canada and seeing little kids, you always want to make time for them. But now more so than ever because golf is in the Olympics for the first time in over 100 years, and we were a part of that. I think a lot more people saw it than normal because everybody watches the Olympics. I feel to be even more of a role model, and I've seen a lot of young girls out here that -- just yesterday only in the couple hours that I was here and signed all their flags and talked to them a little bit. So I feel, yeah, more inspired to be an even better role model for these young girls that are out here this week.

Q. I was wondering if there's anything from the Olympics that you can take to improve your game coming into a major like this one.
ALENA SHARP: I think for me last week I wanted it so bad that maybe a tried -- not tried too hard, but I was hitting the ball really well, giving myself opportunities, and I just didn't make putts, and I reacted to them negatively. I lipped out like five or six times in the first couple days, and my body language got a little poor, and Tristan noticed it, and so did my caddie Sarah, and we tuned that -- tweaked that a little bit the last two days, and I didn't react as much to my putts, and I started making putts on the last day. So I think that was a good learning experience.

And then just enjoying walking up to the green to make the putt to go in as opposed to, oh, now I've got to putt. Like kind of had that feeling last week because I just had this -- they just weren't going in. On the fairway, though, I was like all over it. I think taking that attitude into this week, enjoying the crowd that's going to be here and just enjoying being at home, I think taking that on to the putting green and also taking it all in playing in this tournament.

Q. It's been a long time since a Canadian won the Canadian championship. How sweet would that be?
ALENA SHARP: Oh, I mean, it would be up there in my best experience being a professional golfer, right up there with being an Olympian.

Q. Alena, we seem to live in a time now where all the stars out here are 18, 19, 20 years old, Brooke, Ariya, Lexi. What we don't know is how long they're actually going to last out here starting that young. We've seen some examples where people started young and burned out by 25, 26 years old. You seem to be the exception to the rule. Dating back to the middle of last year until now, you seem to be playing arguably some of the best golf of your career. How do you explain that?
ALENA SHARP: Well, I think I'm finally learning to get out of my own way mentally on the golf course because I've had success this year and at the end of last year, and I started working with Tristan Mullally. He's really helped me a lot. My mental coach has helped me get into a better space. I believe in myself more, kind of like when I first started -- 2007 was my best year up until last year, and this year has been my best year by far, and I believe in it now, and I've played with all the top players in the world, and I don't see much difference anymore. And before I used to see this huge gap. Now I feel like I belong, and I don't think many bad things anymore. I've gotten -- I've worked hard on getting rid of that, and just playing golf and not thinking as much, being an athlete. I'm just getting out there and getting after it.

Something really cool last night at the pro-am party, Lori said, stop saying it's taken you 11 years to do it. Just look at my accolades when I started winning. I was about your age. You know what, I feel like I'm on the cusp of winning, and I gave myself a couple opportunities this year already, and I just am really looking forward to the next couple months. I have a lot of tournaments to go and want to get in that winner's circle.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297