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THORNBERRY CREEK LPGA CLASSIC

July 9, 2017

Katherine Kirk

Oneida, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: It's my pleasure to welcome in Katherine Kirk, the winner of the inaugural Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. How does it feel to be the first one to get your name on that trophy?

KATHERINE KIRK: Amazing, especially considering the (indiscernible) and obviously they're passionate about bringing LPGA events to Green Bay. I'm very proud and very honored to be the first champ.

THE MODERATOR: 22-under par, that's your lowest career tournament score to par. Tell us about that birdie putt on 18 and all the emotions going through your round today.

KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, the whole round was interesting. It was very up and down. And to be honest, I actually kind of hit like a sinking spell around 14, 15. I don't know what happened. But I said to Patrick, my caddie, I said, I could take a nap right now. By the time 17 and 18 rolled around I had a little bit more energy, and I'm glad I didn't have to play extra holes, I'll tell you that, because I don't know how it would have turned out. Yeah, to make that putt was huge. I had a good line on it, obviously, and I'm just so happy.

THE MODERATOR: Your third career victory, 152 starts separated your last in 2010 and today. How does this one compare?

KATHERINE KIRK: I would say maybe -- I don't know, I mean, they're all good. But winning out here is hard, and it's a lot harder than when I first did it, that's for sure. We've got so much talent out here now, yeah, it's definitely hard to win. I think, too, I'm like the 15th oldest player on Tour, so certainly if you're looking at age, it's more in favor of the younger generation these days. Yeah, hard work pays off. That's all I can say. I'm grateful for the opportunity to still be playing, and I still love it, and I've got a great team of people behind me, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them, either.

THE MODERATOR: How has your experience been in Green Bay? Obviously today would be the highlight.

KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, absolutely fabulous. In fact, even being around town, if you're in golf gear, people are like, oh, you're here for the tournament, that's awesome, good luck. The fans, the whole town has just been really welcoming, and definitely looking forward to coming back and will be telling all the girls that missed out this year to make sure and sign up for next year. I mean, I felt support out on the golf course from hole 1 and had volunteers even kind of cheering, as well. Usually they kind of like to fly under the radar, but there was a few that hung out down by 18, I guess, after the second round and wanted an autograph and just wanted to say hi. Yeah, it's been a wonderful week, and some of the fans made it that much better.

THE MODERATOR: You punched your ticket to the U.S. Women's Open next week; can you speak to that and how much momentum you're bringing in to next week?

KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, I mean, just winning is totally unexpected, and obviously getting in the Open is unexpected. I've got to scramble and get a flight out there now and get my caddie out there and get accommodation. But yeah, it's going to be a great week. It's always fun to play in majors, and I'm carrying probably the best form into a major than I ever have before for me. That's going to be exciting, I just hope I can have enough energy to get me through the week.

Q. How did you kind of just hold it together, you had back-to-back bogeys early on the back and you felt a lack of energy. How did it come together?
KATHERINE KIRK: Really it was the putt on 12, the par-3. That kind of just -- kind of told myself, you're still in it, just keep playing along and stay patient. Yeah, the bogeys on 10 and 11 were sloppy and very unexpected. I'd played those holes well the first three rounds and had some good thoughts about going into the back nine. So it was kind of bad timing. But yeah, the bounce-back on 12 was pretty cool.

I mean, Ashleigh played great all day. She just got unfortunate, she had a few bounces coming in, and she was just as deserving as I was out there. She played great. She put on a putting clinic, so that was definitely fun to watch.

Q. On 18 when Ashleigh put that ball maybe two or three feet from the pin, what were your initial reactions, and then did you think, I've got to nail this?
KATHERINE KIRK: We can't see actually the putting surface from the fairway, but judging by the reaction of the crowd, I knew Ashleigh had knocked it in really close. Again, I said to Patrick, okay, well, it looks like we're going to have to make ours, and I had no idea how close mine was. Like I said, you can't see anything down there. I had 11 feet, and to be honest, I had putted well all week, and I had a perfect line on it, and I just got myself to hit it, and fortunately it went in. Extra holes would not have been fun. I mean, Ashleigh might have had the upper hand. She's younger and had it rolling a little bit better than I did today.

Q. I heard that you stopped by Erin Hills on your way to Green Bay.
KATHERINE KIRK: Yes.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about that experience and what that was like as a practice round? Pretty nice place to play.
KATHERINE KIRK: It was great. Yeah, played it on Monday. So my husband is a financial advisor, and one of his partners said to him, hey, why don't you spend Monday and Tuesday with Katherine up in Wisconsin because the market is going to be closed Tuesday and half day Monday, so don't worry, I've got it all covered. So he told me, and I was like, sweet, do you want to play Whistling Straits, and he goes, ooh, see if you can get us on Erin Hills. So I called, and they had a 2:24 time on Monday afternoon, and Amelia Lewis and Dori Carter joined us, and we just drove up Sunday night to Milwaukee, stayed Sunday night there, and then drove over kind of Monday, and we had such a good time. It was perfect weather, and it's just an amazing piece of property. We had caddies with us, and it's certainly a tough golf course. We played the last hole from where the guys played it, like 675, and I hit driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, and I was like, oh, my gosh, good thing we didn't have to do this here. But yeah, it was fun. I guess it was a good warmup for here, too.

Q. You kind of touched on this out there, but you said a little while ago you didn't know if you'd be playing golf anymore. Can you talk about that and how that makes today that much sweeter?
KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, I had a rough year in -- well, two rough years, 2015 wasn't great, and 2016 wasn't great, either. When you're in that position and you've had kind of success before, it does go through your mind, well, maybe I don't have what it takes to be competitive out here anymore. I mean, I thought I was working hard enough. So when you're in that position not getting in every tournament, it's kind of a grind, and certainly in the back of my mind it's like, well, maybe it's time to figure out something else to do. But yeah, change of swing coach and just kind of, I guess, a little bit harder work, it's paid off. Certainly very grateful still to be playing. Obviously I still love it, so I'm thankful for that because I know there's a lot of girls out here, obviously they're very talented but they don't kind of enjoy it as much as some other players, and I've always loved golf and loved the social aspect of it, and played with my parents growing up, my grandfather until he was 85. I think it's the best game on the planet, and to be able to do it for a living, I'm so humbled and grateful for it.

Q. Does going through that make today that much sweeter because you appreciate it a little bit more than the last time?
KATHERINE KIRK: I think so, yeah, because I think it gets harder to win out here. Certainly you've got more scar tissue than the younger girls, so to kind of put that aside and still play well is just a great feeling. I know there's players that have ton it, but they're typically your Hall-of-Fame players, so I guess they're good from day one and continue with it. But I'm not anywhere near a Hall-of-Fame category, so I will take my wins wherever I can get them and just soak it up as much as I can.

Q. Many of us have played this course and haven't finished 22-under after four rounds. Can you talk about the course a little bit and how it played to your game?
KATHERINE KIRK: I loved the golf course. When I played on Tuesday in a practice round, it looked good off the tee. Some courses just kind of suit your eye and you feel comfortable, and they were wide enough fairways, and to be honest we had a lot of wedges in our hands where I was able to hit quite a few good wedge shots and have looks at birdie, so that was ultimately the reason for shooting the scores I did, although I've got to give my putter credit, too. My husband walked around on Tuesday with me, and he goes, hey, someone could easily shoot like 8-under or lower around here, so it's very gettable. The greens are soft. So definitely we could attack those pins more than what we are used to, so I think that's why there's so many good scores. I mean, it's fun for us to make that many birdies, and I think I threw an eagle in there, and obviously if you look at the top 10, their scores are phenomenal, too.

Q. It's a very beautiful and unique trophy that you won. What room will it go in and what will you do with it? Seems like it's probably going to be a good luck charm for you now.
KATHERINE KIRK: Yeah, for sure. We might have to put it -- we've got kind of a one-level house and a basement, and right now the trophy cabinet -- my husband has got a few trophies, too. They're in the basement. I mean, it's a nice place. We just finished it and all that. But we might have to put this one upstairs for at least a year. If we build a trophy cabinet, then it'll take the pole position. Yeah, it's a beautiful trophy, and I'm glad we got a story about it on Tuesday night at the pro-am party, and yeah, just proud to hoist it.

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