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ANA INSPIRATIONApril 2, 2019Brittany LincicomeRancho Mirage, California THE MODERATOR: We are back here with two-time ANA Inspiration winner, Brittany Lincicome. Brittany took the titles in 2009 and '15. Brittany is playing in her 12th ANA Inspiration. Brittany, looking back at all of those titles, tournament appearances -- I'm going to take out the jumps into Poppy's Pond -- what are the moment you cherish the most here at the Dinah Shore Course? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Gosh, there are so many. Just the tradition of this event and how much history is at this event. Just gives me cold chills just driving into this golf course with all the beautiful flowers and the mountains, the snow, just how beautiful it golf course is. There are so many wonderful things about this event. I mean, even the food and dining, how awesome our locker room is. Everything about this event is top notch and just an honor to play in this event every year. THE MODERATOR: Seeing you in near head to tow pink, dead give away you're due with your first daughter September 1st. First time playing out here while you're pregnant. Have you been out to experience it yet, and what kind of adjustments are you having to make to your game? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, definitely feeling different each week. My caddie and I are just rolling with it, just playing each hole one hole at a time and see how it goes. I can definitely feel when I swing, especially with driver, there are some things stretching and growing around the belly area. I hit it and, Oh, that was a little painful. I hear it's just all growing pains and it's fine for me. First time mom I'm like, Oh, my gosh. Am I okay? Do I need to go to the doctor? But it's been super fun. I think I've lost about five yards so far. Been talking to Sarah Jane. Obviously Gerina and Stacey were before us. They're like, Oh, it's only a matter of time before you lose more and more distance. Going to try to take that into account this week and judge that the best we can. Just going to be a great week though. Obviously a different stage of my life. Super excited about this little girl coming. This is my favorite tournament of the year, so obviously want to give it my best. Hopefully it'll pay off in the end. THE MODERATOR: Even more memorable experience for you. Do you have any thoughts yet about how long you're going to be out on tour, or just taking it a week at a time? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Kind of a week at a time. I would love to get through Kingsmill obviously being a sponsor, being a great event on the schedule. My mom loves coming to that one. We get to do a lot of shopping that week. So I'm definitely trying to get through that one. It is what it is. If I can't, great. If I can, awesome. THE MODERATOR: So coming back to the golf course, we had a long, wet spring here, but we're hearing the golf course a little narrower and lusher than perhaps we've seen. How does it look out there? BRITTANY LINCICOME: It's fantastic. You know, being a longer hitter prior to being pregnant, it's fantastic. They've lengthened three holes. I'm hoping they play it as far back as possible. The rough is thick. I'm playing the yellow ball probably again this week so maybe easier to find in the rough. It's that thick. The greens, I talked to the guy yesterday. Already running at 12 and a half he said on a Monday. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like on Sunday. That's how it should be: firm and fast and the harder the better. It's a major. But it's definitely -- they've definitely shrunk some fairways in making it longer, which is great. Whoever wins this week is going to have played the best and hit the most fairways and greens for sure. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. So you mentioned you talked to several other players about the pregnancy and what it's like. Have they told you all the same thing across the board? Is it you won't be able to play as long as you thought or you'll be able to play later than you think? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, the consensus is six months. I think I talked to Pat Hurst. She might have played one event at seven months. Gerina and Stacey and I think with Sarah Jane, she's going to stop maybe L.A./San Francisco. It's about six months, so that's going to be around the time the Kingsmill event is going to happen. I've been so lucky though. I haven't been sick. I haven't been tired. I haven't really felt anything. Maybe that will let me play a few more events than normal. Yeah, it's probably going to be around the six months is what I'm gathering. Q. Juli was joking, or at least I think she was joking, last night about keeping husbands away from players because it's screwing up her Solheim Cup team. BRITTANY LINCICOME: I know. Q. You will miss some things that you would normally participate in. BRITTANY LINCICOME: Uh-huh. Q. Going to be a pang someplace? Do you not care because this is far more important obviously? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, it's such a Catch 22. We've been trying for a while to get pregnant, and obviously had the miscarriage early last year. Finally getting pregnant and being four months now, it's truly a blessing. It is what it is. I was going to have to miss something regardless of when I got pregnant. Even if you try to plan it as perfectly as possible you're going to miss out on something. Selfishly I thought if I was going to miss a Solheim Cup, Scotland was better than Ohio just because I love playing in front of our American fans. There is something about being in the country. But, yeah, it's so hard to plan that I was going to miss something or something was going to get missed. It is what it is. Q. Where is your game and do you feel you can win? Does that matter? You come here the other two times and won when your form wasn't great. I can't remember. BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, sure, I feel like every time I win my game has felt good, but didn't feel any better or worse than the previous weeks. So it's kind of a weird feeling. Phoenix I felt like I played really well. Apparently par on the Phoenix golf course was 65 though. Everybody went super low that week. Then last week it's a love/hate relationship with that golf course, so that it is what it is and we're not thinking about it. I love this golf course. I feel like I've been driving it well. If I can keep it on the fairway, get it on the green, eliminate mistakes, I definitely have a good chance of winning. Yeah, I mean, my swing feels a little different sometimes, but hopefully it'll be okay for four days. Like I said, I have so many wonderful memories from this event I think that'll carry me through and I'll be on Cloud 9. Definitely feel like I have a strong chance of winning for sure. Q. You just mentioned this is your favorite event of the year. Other than what you already mentioned, what makes this tournament so special? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Well, obviously being a part of the past champion's dinner last night with the history of this event and all the wonderful women, it's so cool to get together and just hear stories of past wins they've had and how many times the past champions have won, that kind of stuff. The little things. Jumping into Poppy's Pond is a pretty cool one as well. I think the history of this event and how much this event means to every single player on tour. Just such a cool thing for ANA to keep it going and how much it means to all players. This is awesome. Q. How special is it to have that tradition? I'm sure last night you and the other champions talked about that. To actually take that leap into Poppy's Pond and hear the people who have done it for the first time, how special is that tradition to you all, to the players? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Oh, it's so, so special. We all grew up as juniors watching it on TV thinking one day, Gosh, it would be so cool to do that one day. Maybe when you were little you practiced in your pool at home. You think about how you would jump into the pond. But, yeah, talking to Pernilla, she obviously had to wait a few extra holes than most. It's just so cool. Everybody literally dreams about it. When you walk around 18 on the practice days you try not to think about it. You're looking in that pond and you're thinking, How cool would it be to jump in there? Q. Brittany, obviously you've played golf for a long time, and so -- BRITTANY LINCICOME: Are you calling me old? Q. No, a veteran, right? So you're thinking about new things this year, playing golf pregnant, and last year we had this discussion with Stacey and her sponsors stepping up saying, We're going to honor the business part of your job. You've had that same experience so far this year. Talk about how this is a new chapter with pregnant players on the LPGA Tour. BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, literally never thought -- I'm only going to play six or seven events, so just assumed they would prorate it or however that works. Pay for however many events I played. When two of them stepped forward right away and said, No, we're honoring your contract. We love you. This is what's going to happen. I was totally blown away. All of my sponsors have stepped up and are doing something to honor the contract, which is fantastic. I think it's awesome. Obviously KPMG did it for Stacy. Just moving forward we're a women's organization. We don't have time to take off like the PGA TOUR guys do. This is our job. This is what we do. It's just so great that our sponsors see that and support us 100%, which is awesome. Obviously we're playing golf for a living and going to come back and try to play after. It's just cool to see them stepping up and supporting us. Q. Just as a follow up, did you initiate that conversation or did they just step up and come to you? BRITTANY LINCICOME: That's a really good question. I'm not sure. I feel like my agent probably talked to them or did something, but I'm pretty sure right up front even if my agent maybe went to them and said, Brittany is pregnant, this is the deal, they were all for it 100%. It's not like we had to twist their arm. They were just so gracious and they all were like, Yes, we're going to support you. It was just so great. Q. When you look at the sorrows that you suffered on the course last year, how did you manage to play as well as you did? Do you look back and marvel at that? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, you know, the more I read about it, it's just a natural thing. A lot of people go through it. It is what it is. Obviously it was hard at the time. My parents wanted me to take -- because I had just had the surgery and everything right before Dallas, so they were like, Take off Dallas. Take some time. No, no. It's fine. Get back out there, get busy, focus on something else. It's in God's hands. It will all work out the way it's supposed to. It did, so I think the hard times help you go to the better times. Obviously had a lot of the people praying for me. Yeah, it was nice to get back to work and kind of focus on something else and not what had happened I guess. Q. A completely unrelated question. When you look at the fact that there are three of the Top 5 amateurs here given the choice they had to make, what are your thoughts, and can you imagine being in their place and having to chose between these two amazing options? BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, I haven't seen any of those girls this week, but it's on my Bucket List to go find them and have a conversation. I think it just shows how much history and tradition is at this event, how young girls look at this event and think, Gosh, it would be so cool to play in that event one day. I've never played Augusta so I'm super jealous they get to play it. To pick between that and this event couldn't have been easy. I'm sure it was very difficult. I'm obviously grateful they picked this one because I love this event. I have so many wonderful memories, as will they, at this event. Yeah, it's unfortunate that it's the same week. Hopefully we'll figure that all moving forwards. Definitely great for women's golf moving forward, assuming we get it on a different day. THE MODERATOR: Anything further for Brittany? Thank you so much, enjoy the week. We'll see you out there. BRITTANY LINCICOME: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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