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ANA INSPIRATION

March 31, 2018

Pernilla Lindberg

Rancho Mirage, California

Q. A lot of people asking, Pernilla Lindberg, with today's round how well you would handle the nerves out there, trying not only to get your first LPGA win, but your first major title. How were the nerves? You looked calm?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I felt calm out there. I had fun. I went out there today and said, "How often do you get this chance?" So I'm just going to enjoy it, and that's what I did.

Q. A lot of people are wondering, somebody who hasn't been in this position before how you're getting this job done. How would you answer that question?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I've been on Tour long enough to still be in a lot of heated moments. I just keep collecting experience each and every year around here. I've played a lot of golf in my life, and I just feel like the pieces are kind of falling together. I'm just letting it happen.

And as everyone watching today could see, my putter obviously saved me a few times, but, yeah, I'm going to try to keep that putter hot.

Q. I watched you pretty closely in November in Naples in the CME Group Tour Championship, you ended up tied for fourth. Played tremendously well all week long. How much do you think that experience and your play there can help you tomorrow?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: So much. I felt that was kind of a turning point last year. I wasn't happy with my season last year, and I just got into CME at the end there, and I had such a good week. I finally got to prove to myself that I belong at the top. My coach was there the whole week. He was taking pictures of the leaderboard all day Sunday, and he said, "If you ever doubt yourself again, I'm going to show you these pictures." I felt that was a great week for me.

Q. Well, you're proving it to yourself, or you did that then, and you're proving it to golf fans all around the world. Congratulations and best of luck tomorrow.
PERNILLA LINDBERG: Thank you.

Q. Every putt was hit the right speed today. I mean, it looked like they were just falling in on the edges, on the front, and how did you get the speed down so well?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: It's actually funny you say that. If anything, I would say I was actually kind of bummed with leaving quite a few putts short today, because even the ones I left short they were all tracking on such a good line. It's just something I've been working hard on for years. I know when I've gotten myself in position. I may have gotten a little bit not aggressive enough on the putts.

So it's just a lot of hard work trying to just stay aggressive when I'm in the situation. I just, I guess I saw the lines good, and I love these greens. Obviously, I holed quite a few downhill putts, and I just feel like when I'm above the hole, I just need to get it started online and it's going to trickle down to the hole. There were a few of the uphillers that I actually left short, but I just love these greens.

Q. How important was the par putt on No. 6 after the bogey in front?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: Oh, huge. We talk a lot about momentum in golf and that was really a momentum keeper there. I hadn't missed many greens. I hadn't made a bogey all week until 5, and then to maybe make back-to-back bogies, obviously, that would have kind of felt like I swung the momentum the other way. So, no, that part was really huge today.

It's funny, I birdied 6 from above the pin the first two days, and now I holed the putt from above the hole there again. So that hole has kind of brought some momentum to me this week.

Q. Did you feel like you might have pulled the wrong club a couple times? I'm thinking 5 and 7 particularly where it was a little short.
PERNILLA LINDBERG: You know, the first two days I've been really lucky with the conditions out here. I played in the last group on Thursday afternoon, there was no wind. I played early yesterday, there was no wind. To start off with today, we knew it was going to change a bit, and it did when we were playing those first few holes, and it was just hard to kind of know exactly what it was doing.

But, no, I'm not regretting any clubs at all. 5 was just not a great shot. 7, it was a good shot, but we'd rather come up short than go past that pin. So, yeah, it was just -- yeah, I'm not regretting any clubs out there. It was just a little tricky at the start today.

Q. How long was your putt on the first hole, and after you made that putt, how did you feel?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I don't know what it was. Just over 20 feet maybe. It was just --

Q. It was a bomb.
PERNILLA LINDBERG: Yeah, it just brought a smile to my face to start the day. I felt great walking up to the first tee, walking down the first fairway. But, of course, starting like that, is as good as it can be.

Q. When Park went on her roll with the three birdies, what were you thinking?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I just stuck to myself the whole day. On the back nine there are not really many leaderboards, if any, and I just had a number in my head all day that I was trying to achieve, and that's all that I was looking at.

I know she's going to make birdies. She's such a good player. So I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I was just plugging away with my own game.

Q. What was the number?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I've kept it a secret every day. But I did reach it, I can say that.

Q. How important was the day to your confidence going into tomorrow and holding up to all the challenges today and coming out the leader?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: You know, every day has just been great for me. Walking off the first day, being in the lead, I followed that up with another low round. That's not easy to do, and I did that, going out in the lead now and holding on to my lead, actually extending my lead, they're all great achievements. So obviously everything gives me a boost.

But I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing for three days when I go out there tomorrow. Obviously it's going to be different. Every one -- I'll have, I don't know how many girls chasing me tomorrow, and that's going to be different. Someone's going to go out there and shoot a low round, so I just need to keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. You stood right there before you went to the first tee and told Andy, "I just want to have fun today." Did you?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: Yes, I did. I said that to him before the round. I said, "How cool is this experience?" It's not very many people that get to do this. Play a major. You go out in the last group. I said, "Let's just have fun. Let's just enjoy it."

So we tried to do that, of course when you hit a bad shot out there, you want to do a little better. But I came back to just being relaxed and having fun as quick as I could.

Q. How are you going to do the same tomorrow?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: You know, try to just kind of keep my mind off it. That's what I've been doing these few days. Yesterday afternoon I went up the mountain in the gondola there and went hiking up there and had a nice dinner with my parents and just kept it low key. Not really even talked much about golf, and that's what I'm going to keep doing.

Q. Pernilla, if we had told you Wednesday that you'd be leading heading into the final round this week, what would you have said?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: I would have said, "Yes, please." I would have taken it. No, obviously this is what we strive for. Everyone who is out there working hard, this is what we do. This is what we want to do.

But, I mean, I would probably have said, "Are you sure?" But, no, I would have taken it and just tried to enjoy it as much as I am.

Q. Had you been up the mountain before?
PERNILLA LINDBERG: Yeah, I actually went up probably, I don't know, one of the first years I played here and missed the cut, so I had a little more time on the weekend. But my parents hadn't been up before, so I wanted to take them up there.

It's such a neat experience being down here in the 90-something-degree weather, then head up there and it was 40Â° up there last night. So it's pretty cool. Not that my parents were looking for cold weather, that's what they're coming from (laughing). But I felt that it was pretty nice.

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