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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 10, 2019Albane ValenzuelaWest Point, Mississippi Q. I know you didn't have your best stuff today. You missed a couple of putts that you made during the week, but you grinded out a win. Just talk about that. ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, a win is a win. I didn't have my best game today, definitely. I missed some shots out there. But I just knew I had to stick to my game plan, eventually they'd fall, and it fell in the playoff, the one putt that I really struck well. It was a tough match. She's a great competitor. She has amazing composure for a 15-year-old, and she made me work hard. Q. It seemed like the match kind of started to turn when you three-putted I think it was 6. ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, when I lipped out -- yeah. I mean, I missed a few putts here and there, and then she had an unbelievable shot on 14 and then she birdied the hole after. So I think that was actually the turning point was her eagle on 14 that really kind of shifted the match a little bit, and she did a mistake on 17, and I hit a great shot after that, and then 18 I missed a shot and she hit a great one. So it was all kind of back to the playoff hole. Q. What's your mindset as you've got to regroup, obviously? You lose 18, sometimes a player can get really deflated by that. What do you do to regroup and get yourself -- thinking it's all tied, it's a new ballgame. ALBANE VALENZUELA: I told myself, do not regret this. Do not let it slip off your hands. You have control over it. And even when you start feeling a little nervous, I'm like, I want this. I wanted to go to the finals, and so that's what you need to do to go to the finals is make birdie. Q. You've played in 11 majors already as a 21-year-old, and you've been at the Olympics, and now this is your second Women's Am final. How much do you draw back on all those experiences? You've been through the gauntlet of these events, and you're playing a player who's never been in that situation before. ALBANE VALENZUELA: I mean, Gabi is an amazing player, so I really don't look at who I'm playing against tomorrow. It will be a tough match regardless if she's in the final. She won against Andrea Lee. Andrea is like a tough competitor. She played some great golf. It's going to be tough, no matter who you play. I played a 15-year-old and it was tough. Q. And she's been a Stanford killer this week. She's beaten Brooke, now Andrea, now she has you. ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah. Q. She may never be able to go to Palo Alto if she pulls off a triple. Thoughts about that? Do you think, hey, I've got to step up? ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, match play is match play. Tomorrow will be a new day. But I'm happy to be in that position. I think if someone had told me before that I would be again in the final, I think it's huge. I wasn't even -- I was hoping not to come to the U.S. Am this year just because I tried to qualify for the British Open. I missed a putt, and my dad said, maybe it's for a reason. Maybe go and go do well at the Am. Q. You're back in the final again. You were there two years ago. What do you draw from those experiences? You know what it's like to play a 36-hole day. ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, it's going to be long. Q. Gabi said that you and Andrea, she's played you guys a lot in the Pac-12. What can you draw on those experiences? ALBANE VALENZUELA: I think she's a great competitor. I think she plays with very good spirit, and Gabi will be fun to play match play against. She's a very fair player, and I know that's one of the reasons she loves golf is playing in good spirit, and I think she's that kind of player. We play a lot against USC, so it's kind of fun at the same time to kind of reproduce the rivalry we have all year. But I know it will be a good -- played in the spirit of the game, obviously. Q. Is it nice to have your dad come in for this today? ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, and my brother said if you don't make the putt for yourself, make it for your dad. Q. He flew in last night? ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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