	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

ANA INSPIRATION

March 30, 2017

Michelle Wie West

Rancho Mirage, California

Q. Judy Rankin is calling Lucy Li little Michelle. It's really cute. What was it like playing alongside her and watching that 1-under performance?
MICHELLE WI: It was great. I'm really impressed with her round, how she plays. I'm really impressed how she carried herself from hole 1. She must have been nervous today, but she carried herself really well and acted really mature beyond her years. And she was a great player. I had a lot of fun playing with her.

Q. You continue to be one of the biggest faces in golf. A lot of expectations. People talk about your game. You've had some really good spurts so far this season; how did you feel like things went today?
MICHELLE WI: Felt good out there. I had fun. You know, I felt like I played steady. That's what you've got to do in weeks like this, and happy where I positioned myself today. You know, it's a long time until Sunday, so hopefully I can keep playing this steady and make some birdies and keep moving up.

Q. Opening round of the first major; how did you feel out there today?
MICHELLE WI: I felt good. I'm really happy where I positioned myself. Just had a lot of fun out there today. Try to keep having fun out there and make some birdies.

Q. How was it playing with Lucy today?
MICHELLE WI: It was a lot of fun. I'm very impressed with how she plays and how she carries herself out there. She drained a lot of great putts, a lot of great putts. She's a really great player.

Q. Heading into tomorrow, what will you be working on?
MICHELLE WI: Just the same old stuff, nothing too different. I just want to keep playing steady out there, keep putting myself in position and keep staying in position the rest of the week.

Q. How do you feel about the round today, just one bogey on the card?
MICHELLE WI: Yeah, I feel good. I had a lot of fun out there. I played steady. I'm really happy the way I positioned myself after day 1. It's a long way until Sunday, but I'm really happy about the position I'm in right now.

Q. Conditions seem to be picking up around now. How do you feel you attacked?
MICHELLE WI: Yeah, I feel like we got really lucky in the morning. I thought it was going to be windy from the back nine on, and I just kept waiting for the wind, and thankfully it never picked up. But it was nice to go out there and make some birdies early on.

Q. Do you feel like you're more in attacking mode this year?
MICHELLE WI: For sure, yeah. I'm hitting a lot more drivers than I have been in the past, and it feels good. That Epic driver really allows me to attack the golf course more, and I love it. It makes it a lot more fun.

Q. Playing with Lucy, was she pretty poised?
MICHELLE WI: Yeah, for sure, very mature for her age. The way she played out there, her game did not seem 14. I was very impressed with her game and how she handled herself out there. She was very calm and collected, and she played well.

Q. Did you have flashbacks when you were playing with Lucy to the time you were 13 or 14?
MICHELLE WI: Yeah, I did. I feel like no one really called me cute back then. They were just like, damn, she's big. I was like walking behind her on 1, and I'm like, she's really cute. No one really called me that when I was 13. Damn, she tall. That's all I got.

Q. What did you two talk about out there?
MICHELLE WI: Not much. You know, I just -- she's a pretty quiet person, but she played well out there. She's very collected and really kept her composure out there.

Q. She didn't ask for advice or anything?
MICHELLE WI: I don't think she needs advice. I think she's doing fine on her own.

Q. How much interaction did you two have at Pinehurst?
MICHELLE WI: Not much. I just went up to her on the green and introduced myself and wanted to say hi. But other than that, not much.

Q. How nervous did she seem today?
MICHELLE WI: She didn't seem nervous at all. If she was nervous, it didn't seem that way at all. I remember when I was that young, I think I was more excited than nervous and just more in awe of everything. I just remember being super young and being paired with Ai Miyazato, and just being like, oh, my God, I'm playing with her, it's so cool. It was awesome.

Q. If you had a piece of advice that you wished had given you when you were 13, what would it have been?
MICHELLE WI: I don't know. I never really listened to anyone anyways.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297