NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

August 26, 2020

Jasmine Suwannapura

Pinnacle Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome everyone to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

Our second guest this afternoon is none other than Jasmine Suwannapura, who finished second at last week's AIG Women's Open. Jasmine, between last week and now, what did you learn from the runner-up finish over the weekend, and what was that experience like at Royal Troon.

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: It's one of the best experience I had that last week. It's good to be out there on top of the leaderboard when the condition is very hard.

All I do was just doing my best, and I feel like the way I play -- and I got a lot of feedback from people at home and even my parents said the way I played I look so happy out there and just have fun with Michelle, my caddie. I think that's a big part of me that I need to learn, and keep doing that from now on.

I feel like I don't really have any pressure or anything. Just play my game, totally play with the golf course, and just have fun to be playing at Royal Troon.

THE MODERATOR: A quick follow-up. What's your mindset heading into this week in terms of how you'll utilize the course?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Well, just because I played many time this golf course I think I know the course pretty well. But, again, like the condition of the course might change a little bit because of the rain or it's hot.

Plus, I played this week like five weeks in a row, so I just have to really take care of my body. Same, like I just have to get my mental just like last week. You know, like everything is possible. Just have fun with my game at the moment. Just have fun.

THE MODERATOR: And you all faced some heavy rain the past few weeks, and this week seems to be no different with the hurricane coming.

Does that affect you and your game at all?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: I don't think so, because I feel like a lot of my friend that I play golf with or even people that know me say that I might play better when it's raining. I don't know why, but I feel like I just don't really give up on the weather or the golf course or myself when it's hard conditioning.

Just even though it's raining and hard for other people, I still be in my game and play golf. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Has Michelle at all complained since DriveOn with the weather?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Yes. She always say that I'm not sign up for rain. Like why is it raining. I'm not ready for this. We just got back here and it was raining, like raining and windy and stuff. So she just make fun of it and make the round even more funnier.

THE MODERATOR: So going back to your golf game, what areas would you say you feel really confident in and maybe not as confident?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Well since I broke my back in '16 I feel like I change my swing a lot and it's going on the good way, which mean I hit it longer. For some reason I use a different part of my body, different kind of muscle, and I hit my driver longer even though I had surgery. And my putting is getting better and better every year I feel like.

So very interesting that this week I'm going to try a new set of wedges. It's going to be a brand new wedge, but just going to go out there and do some short game and see how it goes. (Laughter.)

THE MODERATOR: We have a couple questions.

Q. Great playing last week.

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Thank you.

Q. You're coming off a golf course where it was cold, windy, rainy, and the nearest tree was in Auchincruive (?) coming to a golf course where you got trees all over the place, it's going to be hot and it's going to be soft. How do you adjust your game on this quick turnaround to this new type of golf course?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: To be honest, well, I don't think it's any different, just because like every shot you have to get your target. Like you don't really look at the trees or anything or any objects around the fairway. Like if you get a target, where you want to go, just stay with it and hit it at your target.

Unless you hit a bad shot and you end up by the tree or something. Plus, just because this week the green will be softer, I feel like I'm talking to Michelle and she say like, You know what? You been hitting it really straight last week and you should be able to play very fun this week because you can attack the pin because the green is very soft and should be fun week to play.

Q. Last week you brought in a lot of new fans who perhaps might have not otherwise watched women's golf who were compelled by the event. One of the responses that I kept hearing was that, Wow, that looks like Freddy Couples' golf swing, from you.

Can you talk about how you revamped your swing and were there any models that you looked at when you were going through the revamp?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: To be honest, the only coach I have is my dad and me. I never had a coach ever. I supposed to have coach, but sadly he passed away when I'm 16. After that, just only me and my dad who taught me how to play golf and, you know, growing up like playing golf by myself here in the U.S. and coming from Thailand straight to here doing Q-School.

So since I'm 17 until now I'm pretty much learning and teaching myself out here. When I need to fix my swing, I do it by myself.

Q. Do you watch think videos of other players? Is there somebody you try to emulate?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: No. Funny thing, I'm very neutral. For me, I feel like I'm a neutral player who play golf with, what's it called, feel? So I don't grow up looking at my own swing at all. Like I barely have any video of myself swing the clubs.

I don't really know how to fix my swing with watching my video. I just do what I think I know, and golf I feel like if you own your swing, if you know your swing, you can tell like which part that you do wrong and kind of like very easy and fast to fix it if you really own your swing.

THE MODERATOR: I have a question about your family. So you're always doing interviews for the Thai PR. What's it been like connecting with your family and friends back home, and especially what are you thinking about while they're there and we're still going through a pandemic?

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Well, I did keep in touch with my parents. They doing good in Thailand. And all my friend, I know they playing the golf tournament at the moment right now, so everything is getting better in Thailand.

I think just because in Thailand the weather is kind of hot and I feel like maybe the virus doesn't really like survive that hot of the weather. I feel like the COVID is way pretty much like clean, like almost like zero percent out there. They getting better. Everything almost go back to normal.

It's more like they worry about me out here I feel like, you know.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time today, and I hope you and Michelle have a lot of fun this week.

JASMINE SUWANNAPURA: Yep. Thank you.