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SOLHEIM CUP

September 14, 2019

Juli Inkster

Gleneagles, Scotland, United Kingdom

THE MODERATOR: We had a bet going on in the last row, how many hats did you have on?

JULI INKSTER: I had three. I went with the trifecta.

THE MODERATOR: Tied up 8-8 going to singles, gotta be proud of how your team played given the conditions.

JULI INKSTER: My gosh, you're sitting the Kordas and putting two rookies out starting out with Brittany and Annie. I'm ecstatic to be where we're at right now. And Danielle and Lizette finally got on the board. I hung with them, had confidence in them. And they showed me something today.

THE MODERATOR: That was quite a battle everyone had out there at the end. Walk us through your thoughts as you're sitting there seeing everything come up toward the end and sitting in the middle of those conditions outside.

JULI INKSTER: It was so tough out there for those girls, and for them to have to play 36 holes today. But you know what, Europe has to do it, too.

We've just been kind of down, down, down, and we kind of rallied at the end. And today we were up, up, up, and I was, like, is this going to switch on us?

But they stayed strong. And for Brittany and Annie to get a point right off the bat was huge. So we're ecstatic where we are because I think we're pretty good in singles and we're going to -- hopefully the weather will be a little better tomorrow; we can see some really good golf from the Euros and the U.S.A. and battle for the cup. That's what we do.

Q. Juli, when you send two hot players you will be second guessed. And then you put out two rookies and doubly second guessed. Just tell us your thinking behind that.
JULI INKSTER: Believe me, my whole life I've been second guessed, so I'm okay with that. I just think the Kordas played twice yesterday and once today in some really tough weather. And I just felt like singles, I'm going to need them in my singles matches. Those points are very valuable. And they need some rest.

I have a huge amount of faith in Brittany Altomare, and I have a huge amount of faith in Annie Park. And Annie played alternate shot with Megan Khang, I think. And then I sat her. But she came out today -- and I told her I was going to put her in the best ball. Just thought maybe that would go better for her game because she was a little bit off with her speed on her putts. And she said, you know better than I do, so do whatever you want to do.

And they played great today. It was a true ham and egg. I don't think one carried the other; I think they both played as a team out there. So I'm ecstatic I got a point from them and I got the rest for the Kordas.

Q. How much do the players have an input on where they go in the singles lineup?
JULI INKSTER: They have a lot of input. And I listen to them and -- because I'm not playing. They're the ones playing. I want them to feel the most comfortable. So they have a lot of input.

Q. Tonight, do you have a speech prepared or a motivational video or anything special?
JULI INKSTER: I don't think so. We've got some videos, but my team really loves music. So we put music on and we just kind of chill out. They're tired. And we get to sleep in a little bit tomorrow. So I think it will bode well to do that instead of have someone talk.

Q. Is there a team theme song?
JULI INKSTER: No, what's really weird I DJ'ed one night and they all liked my music. I couldn't believe it. It's, like, whose play list is that? I went [raising hand].

They went, no way. They go, we love it. I said, I don't know, maybe I'm missing my calling.

THE MODERATOR: Got the taste to go with the moves.

JULI INKSTER: I don't have the moves but --

THE MODERATOR: Showed some moves.

Q. What did you see out of Lexi's game -- the three sessions that she played with different partners? And then as the world No. 3 what do you need to see out of her tomorrow in singles?
JULI INKSTER: Lexi's played with Cristie Kerr for ages and Cristie didn't make the team, so I said, who do you really want to play with? And she goes, I don't really care. And I said, well, if I put you with the Kordas -- she goes that's fine.

I said I'm going to slide Altomare in there, and she goes, I played with her in Canada and she's great. That's fine, too.

So the way it worked out today, just because I kind of went a little bit outside my pods with Ally and Lizette this morning, that I needed to get Marina back out there. I asked her, how about Marina. She goes, I'd love to play with Marina. That's how it came about.

Q. What do you need to see from her tomorrow?
JULI INKSTER: I don't really need to see anything from her. She's the third best player in the world. And she'll be there -- she'll show up.

Q. Last week you spoke to us about certain awareness about playing in bad weather for 36 holes for your players. You said they may have seen it at the British Open once, but 36 -- when you anticipated that, did you ever anticipate it being as bad as this?
JULI INKSTER: Last week I kept looking at the weather. And I saw that man go [blowing], so I knew it was going to blow. And I saw the little [motioning rain], so I knew it was going to rain.

But most of the European team, they live in Florida. It's not like they go out play here every day, like, let's tee it up today. They all live in Florida or Arizona.

Yes, they grew up in this weather, but they've gone to school and they've played over in the states for a long time. So it's not whether you're going to go out and practice in it. It's not whether you're going to say, hey, it's raining and blowing 40, do you want to go out today? It doesn't happen.

But when you have to play, you find it down and deep that, okay, this is my job; I've got to suck it up and do it. Sure, I'm sure they'd love to be playing in Spain right now, but this is where we're at. And the crowds were fantastic. They showed up. They were still out there today. They've been amazing for both teams. So, it's Scotland.

Q. When you said that Brittany was completely fine with being paired with whomever and just saying you know best, how valuable is that to you to have your players trust you like that? Because that's not necessarily a given for a captain.
JULI INKSTER: You know, it's very valuable. And if someone comes up to me and says, I just don't really feel that comfortable with their game, with my game, I listen to that.

Again, I'm not hitting the shots; they're hitting the shots. Their name is on the back of their caddies' jerseys. So I'm trying to put them in the best position to succeed. That's my job.

Q. You went out of the pod. What was your thinking on that, and is this the first time you've done that in your captaincies?
JULI INKSTER: Yes this is the first time I've done that because really the way alternate shot mixed up, and then I wanted to get the Kordas a rest. But I also wanted to get Lexi out there, and I wanted to get Brittany a rest, too.

So all I really had was Lizette and Danielle and they didn't really feel like they wanted to play alternate shot together. They felt like they were better at best ball. So I had to slide someone in with Lizette and then someone in with Danielle.

Q. Can you give us a couple of your music selections?
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, I can. Well, I don't have my thing. I've got from Motown to Sam Smith to Khalid to Bruno Mars to the Temptations -- I have a variety of them. I kind of mix them in. And I've got country in there, too. I kind of try to play a few great songs and then slide a country one in there.

Q. Thinking back on your career in Solheim Cups, was there a situation where a captain put you in a situation where it just showed a lot of faith in you to deliver in that and what it meant to you?
JULI INKSTER: I think every captain has been very positive towards me. And I feel like, I think communication's huge, especially with this group and this era, getting their feedback and making them feel like they're a part of it because they are. They're it. And I think when I first started it was kind of just you're going out with her, you're going out with her. And it was, okay, you just dealt with it.

But I think it's kind of evolved a little bit. And I think it's very important that they're very comfortable with who they're out there with.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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