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CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 19, 2019

Naples, Florida

THE MODERATOR: All right, everyone. As you can tell, we're here for a very special announcement, very special moment. We're here to celebrate the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, and most importantly, Carlota Ciganda, the LPGA Tour's inaugural winner of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.

We're also joined by Andy Weitz, the chief marketing officer for Aon. Andy, I would like to invite you up to open us off with a few words.

ANDY WEITZ: Thank you very much. We're really proud of our partnership with the LPGA and the PGA TOUR in our inaugural year of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. It's just very exciting for us as a firm to have a winner like Carlota to capture the prize in our first year, alongside Brooks Koepka.

It's just really great to see the level of consistency and high performance across both tours, and to see these players come out ahead at the end was incredibly exciting I think for fans, as well as our colleagues, something we can be very, very proud of.

I think that really for us, the really authentic nature of this program, the way it draws parallels between performance on the course, the relationship between the caddy and the player, it's very similar to the way we create value for our clients in terms of advising them and helping them manage volatility and maximize their performance.

So we couldn't be more proud of this outcome, and maybe most proud of the equal prize money across both the LPGA and PGA Tour. So congratulations to Carlota on winning the $1 million prize.

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Carlota, this is quite an opportunity for you as Andy had to say. Congratulations on the win. What was a key defining moment for you throughout the year? I think back personally to? Canada where you had the two eagles on the weekend. This whole opportunity for you to win this Aon Risk Reward Challenge, what were some of the defining moments to you?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, thank you. First of all, I want to thank you Andy the Aon company. Thank for doing this. Thank you for putting the same money fore men and women. I think I'm the winner, but women's golf is the winner today, the LPGA is the winner. So I think we are all very happy, very proud.

Yeah, I mean, I played very consistent the whole year. I mean, it's something that I really like because I love being aggressive. I love taking the risk. I mean, I love that. That's golf for me. That's par-5 going on two, going for the green, that's what I love the most.

So I played, yeah, very consistent. Made lots of eagles, birdies. To be honest I didn't really pay that much attention, because I think if I did I don't think I would've played that well.

But I just do that in Canada. My coach told me, I think you're in the Top 3. I was like, I'm trying to win a golf tournament, but obviously I made two eagles there. I was like, Wow, this is something big.

And, yeah, I been playing great. I mean, I love what you said. That relationship with your caddie, the strategy, try to play the hole the best as you can. I mean, it's a great prize. I'm very honored to get this prize, very happy.

I want to thank the company, all of you guys. Thank you for being here. Thank you Andy for doing this, and hopefully we can do it more years.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned your caddie, and you Terry have such a close relationship. How much have you come to rely on him both in general in your career, but also during this challenge to help get you to this prize?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, so I been with Terry for four years now. He's a great friend of mine. We've been, yeah, four years on tour and he's been caddying for 40 years, I think. Caddied for ten years an tour for Annika Sorenstam, so you know he's experienced, how much he knows. I am someone that I love to listen to him to learn every day. He knows a lot on the golf course, off the golf course.

He's a great -- like a father for me, so very happy to have that relationship. Yeah, I'm just trying to listen and learn every day.

THE MODERATOR: Andy, you mentioned this was incredibly authentic for Aon. Tell us some more, if you don't mind, just about why and you Aon wanted to start a challenge like this, particularly the equitable purse across the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour?

ANDY WEITZ: Absolutely. That idea of authenticity was really important to us, and at Aon we're in the business of better decisions. We're advising our clients on how to navigate volatility, how to maximize their performance, and we were looking for a way to bring that concept to life in a really natural manner, one that both hopefully made the whole tournament more exciting and engaging for the fan, made it fun for the players along the way, and made it something we could be proud of as a company.

Carlota mentioned we have senior leaders from across the firm here today as part of the LPGA's Empowerment Day. It's really a source of pride for us to be able offer equal prize money across the LPGA and PGA Tours.

It's fundamental to our values at Aon, and it's something that is really I think close to our hearts when it comes to diversity and inclusion and the kind of firm we want to be known as in the marketplace.

THE MODERATOR: Before I open up to questions, one more for you Carlota. This a week where we're celebrating women's golf with the largest single winner's check in women's golf. F you have joined Brooks Koepka now as the winner of the inaugural Aon Risk Reward Challenge, the same prize money. That's has to be incredibly fulfilling to know you did the same things and you earned the same amount of money?

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, obviously I cannot say thank you enough to Aon, to Andy, to everyone here. I think it's something amazing finally to get recognize with the same amount of money. I think it's something really, really nice to have about both tours, both LPGA and PGA having that same challenge holes, having the same thing all year.

I mean, I think it's something great as I said for women's golf, for the LPGA. I don't think I'm the winner. I think we're all winners here.

I'm just very happy and very proud of Aon.

THE MODERATOR: Open up for any questions.

Q. You mentioned that you didn't think about it a lot. Every week did you know which hole was the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole?
CARLOTA CIGANDA: To be honest, at the beginning I don't know some of the holes. That's the truth. I start to thinking in Canada because I think I was in the Top 3, Top 5. I mean, when I play a golf tournament I try to win the tournament. That's what I try to do every week, and then I usually have a good strategy for every hole.

So I have a great caddie so I knew if I play my best I knew it was going to be up there, but I don't look much. I just like to play golf, compete, and that's what I love to do. I don't really look much at stats or everything else.

THE MODERATOR: Further questions for our panel?

Q. There aren't very many $1 million paychecks in women's golf. Can you just put into perspective what that kind of money means to LPGA players, and maybe think back to a time earlier in your career when money might have been a little difficult or maybe weighed heavy on you?
CARLOTA CIGANDA: Yeah, I mean, I think it's an unbelievable prize. Obviously as women, I mean, I think the LPGA is going great and we have so many good events and more prize money. I been on tour now for eight years so I cannot thank enough Mike Whan. I know you are there. Thank you for everything you are doing for us - sorry - and all the LPGA.

I mean, I think for me it's a family. I mean, this is something big for me, but for me the value in life, it's family. It's a lot of money obviously. I'm someone that I love to play golf. I love to compete. I don't think my life going to change much. I'm going to be doing the same, because that's what I love to do.

But obviously I want to thank all of you.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Carlota. I know we've got your mom and dad here and they're very proud of you as well and we're all proud of you on the LPGA Tour. Any further questions for Carlota or for Andy? This is true authenticity right here. Thank you. See mom and dad in the back.

Anything else? Well, thank you both so much. Carlota enjoy this moment. Enjoy it. Andy, thank you so much to you and Aon for your support of the LPGA. This is the first step of a wonderful relationship. (Applause.)

CARLOTA CIGANDA: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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