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U.S. WOMEN'S MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 14, 2017

Marissa Mar

Houston, Texas

Q. Hey, you're in the quarterfinals. How about that one?
MARISSA MAR: Yeah, I wasn't quite sure after the first six holes when I think I was 3-down or something like that. I was kind of thinking, Should we go pack up our stuff?

But it was great playing with her. She was an awesome ball-striker in the beginning and really motivated me to start hitting some really clutch shots, especially down the stretch.

Like even though I was 2-up I think after 15 or something like that, she was still forcing me to play and not let her come back to me. So that was good motivation.

Q. What turned the match?
MARISSA MAR: You know, to be honest, I think I saw a couple putts go in and she made some minor errors, and that got me from 2-down to 1-down to all square. I think that was the big momentum shifter. It was very steady. It didn't switch right away. It just was like super steady from like hole 6 through hole, say, 12.

Q. When you went to qualifying for this and it's your first Mid-Am, did you ever think you would get to the quarterfinals?
MARISSA MAR: You know, honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't have any expectations of like I just wanted to make match play or I think I can win this. It was more like I have no idea what to expect, because it's such a different tournament than any other Am event or USGA event where you have this huge age range between 25 and like 67.

So I really didn't have any expectations. This is a pleasant surprise.

Q. Let's talk a little bit about what happened. You were 3-down and you won 7 and 8.
MARISSA MAR: Yep.

Q. 7 was par.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah, she made a little minor error and there is that lake on the right. She just pulled it left of it. I knew what I had to do. I hit second off the fairway, so I just hit center of the green and she putted and got out of there.

Q. Birdied 8.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah, 8 was pretty funny because we both hit identical shots. It was basically -- I joked, Now it's just a putting contest.

She went first and she barely missed hers. It was just right on the edge. I didn't want to give away the hole, and rolled right in.

Q. How far?
MARISSA MAR: That was probably about 12 feet or so.

Q. And then squared it up on 10?
MARISSA MAR: Yep. 10, yeah.

Q. She got in a little trouble.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah, a little trouble in the water there; just easy two-putt for par.

Q. Then you won back-to-back holes on 12 and 13.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah. And actually, 11 was a tough one because she hit it in two. I decided to lay up, because earlier I tried to hit it in two and ended up in the bunker. That wasn't a good place for me.

I decided to be super disciplined, even though I only had like 190, 189 to the pin. I literally hit like a pitching wedge out there and had 80 yards to the pin.

She sunk this awesome birdie putt. Her lag putt came a bit short, and so, you know, pressure is on me. I went up there and I putted it right in. That was a huge momentum shift I think also, a huge helper.

On 12, we both were in the same spot again, just right of the pin in the fringe. She putted hers a bit too aggressively. She had a bit of a long comeback, and I just nestled it up there within two feet.

She happened it just miss her putt and I made mine, so...

Q. And then you birdied the par-5.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah. The par-5, I think that that was an interesting one. We both kind of did the exact same thing. We hit our drives to the same spot; we laid up to the same spot. She actually hit it to, I want to say ten or so feet.

I actually caught a (indiscernible) I actually thought I chunked it, but I flew the pin. I was probably putting for 30 feet, and Randy, my caddie, was like, It's all a feel putt. It's going to be turning good. Just got to feel it down there.

So, yeah, that's exactly what I did. I just kept saying to the ball as it started rolling, I was like, Hit the cup, hit the cup, and it did, so that worked out.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your approach shot at 18. That was a pretty good one.
MARISSA MAR: Yeah, yeah. You know, I hit it a little bit right of where I hit it this afternoon, or the first time I played 18. So I had to hit a little bit of a cut. I've been hitting a draw all week, but cut is my natural shot.

I felt pretty confident over the ball.

Q. Yardage and club?
MARISSA MAR: Yardage was 180 and I hit my 5-iron. You know, I just wanted to get it over that bunker. I knew it was going to roll out a good bit.

Yeah, I just hit a perfect butter cut, so I can't really complain about that.

Q. In the end, what's this say about what you had to do today? You had to fight back all day long.
MARISSA MAR: All day.

Q. What's that say about you?
MARISSA MAR: I think I still got a little fight in me. I may be 25 and not quite in the Am game like the young kids, but I think it proved a lot to myself, that I can still grind it out and really dig my teeth in when I need to.

It was an emotional day. I was just like, Man. You're just trying to stay focused the entire time. It's draining. I will rest pretty well tonight and hope for the best tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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