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SOLHEIM CUP

September 14, 2019

Gleneagles, Scotland, United Kingdom

THE MODERATOR: We're here with Marina Alex and Lexi Thompson, who eeked out a crucial half point today for Team USA. Lexi, I'll start with you. You just look uncomfortable but you've got to be thrilled to have gotten that. What were the conditions truly like out there?

LEXI THOMPSON: What you saw out there, brutal. Definitely the toughest I think I've played in. I've probably played in worse in Royal Liverpool just because it was pouring down rain and that wind.

But it was just tough conditions, but it was tough for everybody. So it was just really a matter of just committing to your golf shots, making sure you hit them as solid as you could.

But there's going to be some bad golf shots out there. We knew that. We just had to focus on our own games, make our pars when we could. We knew pars would sometimes halve holes if not win.

THE MODERATOR: What's the mentality when you're out there in conditions like this?

MARINA ALEX: It's such a grind. You kind of, at least for me, you're just so focused on the shot in front of you have because you really can't worry about anything else. There's just so much going on.

The margin for error becomes so small at that point because you miss-hit it a little bit and the elements will just like crush your golf ball. So you really need to pay attention to what you're doing. You've just got to grind it out.

Pars win holes out there, and you may think you're down a little bit, but when it's so tough, just get a good little string of golf together and you're right back in it.

THE MODERATOR: Your captain yesterday talked about how no one talks about the half point. And this half point brings the match all square, 8-8, going into singles tomorrow. What are your thoughts as you move into Sunday -- sleep in, get warm -- but as you move ahead to the Sunday's singles round.

LEXI THOMPSON: Half points are huge. As much as we want the full point we'll definitely take half. We're all going into tomorrow's singles match just focussing on our own games. We'll have a nice relaxing night tonight, talk about strategy going into tomorrow, but go out there, play our own game and hope the conditions are a little better and hope for the best golf.

THE MODERATOR: Marina, any thoughts on tomorrow?

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, we just need to rest. Today was hard, even the morning. There wasn't really this rain that's going on right now. But it was still really windy.

So for me -- and there's some other players who have been out there all day. We just need to get some good rest in us and we'll be all right.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Marina, you've been involved in so many close matches. Can you talk about how this experience, how this experience -- considering all you've heard about what it's going to be like at the Solheim Cup how has it met your expectations?
MARINA ALEX: I think it's beyond my expectations. I think this venue is incredible. Gleneagles is awesome. There's been so many people out here, which makes it even more exciting. And just playing with a team and having partners out there, it's different but it really gets you fired up.

I'm more passionate about being out there and playing, I feel like, than I've ever in my life -- not saying that I'm not on my own, but just being with someone else really just, I guess, amplifies that feeling. It's been a tremendous experience.

Q. What was the toughest shot that you had today considering the conditions?
MARINA ALEX: I'm going to say four. That hole's been driving me nuts this week.

LEXI THOMPSON: Four is probably the hardest shot.

MARINA ALEX: Of the day.

LEXI THOMPSON: The par-3.

MARINA ALEX: Feels like it's 280.

Q. For starters, what did you hit into four?
MARINA ALEX: I hit a 5-wood from 166 or 5 and I didn't really hit it that great. But the wind was so hard in left to right. You can't miss it left and you obviously can't miss it right. It's just a tough hole. I thought your shot was awesome and it came up short.

LEXI THOMPSON: I hit a bullet 4-iron and I thought it was good, I was staring it down. Short. Like, okay.

MARINA ALEX: Putted it up there to like two feet. It was awesome.

Q. With all the weather you've had, you've had a long week with all the other stuff that's going on, how do you, A, battle fatigue as you go into tomorrow and the emotional highs and lows of what you've gone through?
LEXI THOMPSON: I think it's just really important to get the rest tonight. We're lucky the tee times are a little later, so we get to sleep in and make sure fully rested for that big match tomorrow.

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, eat a lot of food.

LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, make sure we're energized.

Q. Lexi, you played with two different partners this week. How was that and what were some positives that you took from each of the different players you teed it up with?
LEXI THOMPSON: It was great. I love team events in general. Juli comes up and asks me who I want to play with. I said, put me with anybody. Everybody here has an amazing game and great attitude and will bring their best.

I love all the teammates. We get along very well. And whoever I was paired with, we'll go out there try our best and feed off each other and that's all we can do with team format. I've loved every bit of it.

Q. Juli has shown so much faith in the rookies. She sent four out today. She rested the Kordas. There was a lot of debate -- she's got to get the Kordas out there. Just talk about what that means to the rookies, the faith that Juli is showing?
MARINA ALEX: You know, it makes us feel amazing I think. There's a few of us, we're rookies but we're on the older side. We've been playing a lot of tournament golf and a lot of -- we've had time out on the LPGA. So it's not like we're completely foreign to pressure situations. However, this is a bit of a different element.

But I think that the Kordas probably needed a little rest. She wants everyone as fresh as they can be for Sunday. And the fact that she believes so much in us makes us feel awesome.

Q. Obviously the rounds were taking a real long time today, something like six hours. Obviously it's very difficult in these conditions, but how aware are you when you're out there of the pace of play and the nature of the spectacle that the spectators are having?
LEXI THOMPSON: We're aware of it because we were on the clock and warned. But it's just -- it's tough to hear because it's playing so difficult and I don't think a lot of people realize -- we're playing for our country and we're playing in these kind of conditions, so we're playing as fast as we can.

We don't want to be out there for six hours either. But we have a lot on the line and we want to hit the best shot that we possibly can.

MARINA ALEX: Yeah, I mean, I don't like slow play at all.

LEXI THOMPSON: None of us do.

MARINA ALEX: And I wouldn't consider myself a slow player in general, probably like medium paced. But out there, you know, there's just so many things going on. I mean gusting winds and raining. Every shot matters so much.

So if you're not fully committed to what it is you're doing you're going to hit a poor golf shot, and you can't really afford that. So, I'm sorry for people who are watching who maybe felt like the pace of play was a little slow. It was really difficult.

LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah.

Q. Last week Juli said that she was a little wary of your experiencing 36 holes of bad weather over here. Did she prepare you in any way for how you would encounter that?
LEXI THOMPSON: She didn't prepare us. It's not like we went somewhere and practiced 36 holes.

MARINA ALEX: It's hard to prepare.

LEXI THOMPSON: It's difficult to prepare.

Q. I was thinking more mentally, if you would consider how --
LEXI THOMPSON: It's more of a mindset.

MARINA ALEX: She just encouraged us to be patient out there and understand that this is a really long week even though it's condensed obviously into three days. There's a lot of golf to be played in those three days and to be patient, really. That's the most important thing, just keep grinding, be patient. And this isn't the first time all of us have played 36 holes.

Q. Was there a moment today when you actually thought back to that and actually stayed patient when you needed to?
MARINA ALEX: Yeah, it was funny, I was out there, midway through the back nine, it was so windy. I was thinking about a round I had played at Turnberry, whenever the British Open was there, 2015, maybe.

And I played in conditions, like, maybe worse than that, to be honest. So I was trying to pull from some of the shots that I had hit back then and just remind myself that you can hit shots in these conditions. It's not impossible. You just need to bear down and do it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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