CAMBIA PORTLAND CLASSIC

September 18, 2020

Gaby Lopez

Columbia Edgewater Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Gaby, how does it feel to have round one in the books because of the threat of the rain delay today?

GABY LOPEZ: Yeah, I mean, it feels nice to actually be over, be done, and not have to wake up probably extra early tomorrow.

It's nice that the course held. You know, the conditions were pretty nice. Greens are soft, but they're rolling pretty good.

Q. Compared to other years, how does this year feel, course condition-wise, but also just everything else with the smoke and everything else? How is this year different?

GABY LOPEZ: It's definitely different. The biggest thing for me is the fans. I love having people cheering on everyone. I think that it feels a little empty.

And, yeah, greens are extra soft. We usually have extra hard and firm greens. But I'm just really happy to be able to play, be able to compete. Yeah, feeling a little more comfortable than other weeks.

Q. Yeah, you had a really good round today. Where did you feel the most confidence? Putting? Long game? Short game?

GABY LOPEZ: I guess pretty much a little bit of everything. This course takes different tee shots. You got to hit woods, you got to hit fade, you got to hit draws off the tee. Just being able to place it on the fairway was really good for like just birdie chances.

Putting-wise, I mean, it feels a little different than last week. I've hit the ball really good the last couple weeks and haven't made lots of putts, but they dropped today, and this is golf. We start from zero tomorrow.

Q. I have to ask about your bag. It is so pretty. What's the story behind that?

GABY LOPEZ: Yeah, well, my bag is hand painted by Mexican artist, by a native community in Oaxaca. It took them five days. They actually did a little bit of a rush because of the quarantine and the COVID thing.

I'm just very blessed to be able to represent Mexican culture all around the world, not only the Mexican flag, but what it truly means to be a Mexican player out here.

Q. Was it your idea to have that bag or was that bag brought to you by a team?

GABY LOPEZ: It was part idea of my brother and I together. He's in this company, it's called Makuri, and they do lots of hand painting, lots of stuff. They do (in Spanish), they do bags, they do pretty much everything.

It's just really cool to see how they come so creative in everything they do, and it's really cool to be able to do that in a golf bag.

Q. Makuri, is that what it's called?

GABY LOPEZ: Makuri.

Q. What does it mean?

GABY LOPEZ: It means -- I don't want to probably blow it away, but I'm not very sure, but it means earth and life.

Q. Oh, wow. That just sounds amazing. Lastly, what are you thinking strategy-wise for the next two rounds?

GABY LOPEZ: I mean, I guess just same as today. I mean, tomorrow probably pin positions are going to be maybe a little bit more accessible. Just being aggressive. Greens are really, really soft.

You can totally hit 5-irons at the pins, 8-irons to the pin. You probably just need to control a bit more the spin since the ball is kind of sliding a little bit more.

But, I mean, I don't know. Just we start from zero tomorrow. To me it's like day one, and we'll just keep attacking and probably just hitting good speed, controlled putts.

Q. I definitely would love to see more of your putts roll in tomorrow for you. Thank you so much, Gaby.

GABY LOPEZ: Thank you.