KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

October 7, 2020

Stacy Lewis

Aronimink Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back. We're here with Rolex Rankings No. 30 Stacy Lewis, the winner of this year's Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. That was such an amazing victory for you. It's been a couple weeks now, but we saw the picture of you bringing the trophy home to Chesnee. What's it been like as you've come back to the States.

STACY LEWIS: It's been great. Everybody asks me about it, and I honestly say it's more of a relief than anything. It's more -- it's proving to myself that I could do it. I think you're nervous, having a kid, is my body going to come back, is my game going to come back. There's just so many unknowns, and so to actually do it was just really special, and to do it over in Scotland where, I mean, I love it there, I love links golf, so it was pretty fitting. But like you said, I didn't get the trophy picture I wanted, but got a pretty good homecoming from my husband and Chesnee. It was fun to celebrate and just have continued to play some pretty good golf, so I'm excited that we have more tournaments to play in.

THE MODERATOR: That leads me to my next question about this event specifically. Supposed to be in June, we're here and it's thanks to KPMG, which you certainly have on your hat, have had for a long time, PGA of America. What's the prep like working for an event that normally we play a completely different month of the year, to come to a major now in October among this wind that almost kind of feels like we're back in Scotland?

STACY LEWIS: It does. You know, you're preparing for any golf course. You know, it changes now versus June because June it probably would have been a lot firmer, a lot faster. It's really soft, it's slow right now, it's long. It's a different golf course that we're playing right now than we would have played in June, unfortunately, but just kind of try to take it for what it is and know that for me I'm going to have to hit some longer clubs and just -- it's a golf course, though, you have to plot your way around the greens. I was kind of joking with my caddie but halfway serious, that if I can give myself 18 uphill chips or putts, we're going to be in a good spot at the end of the day. So you really just have to think your way around and be on the right side of the holes.

THE MODERATOR: Of course it's long, it's a challenge, but that's what major golf is supposed to be, right.

STACY LEWIS: You walk on property, this is a major championship venue. It's big, it's grand. You know, just -- it's got that feel to it. It should be hard. It should be a challenge. You know, Carlota and I were talking today, whoever wins this week is going to be somebody that's playing some really good golf. You're not just going to happen into it. To play well here for four days you really have to be swinging at it good and putting it good, too.

THE MODERATOR: You are a major champion, you have finished second in this event. What would it mean to you to get a win here this week?

STACY LEWIS: Well, KPMG would certainly love it; I know that. But it would just be more satisfying, I guess. I mean, just again, my goal now is just to give myself opportunities to win, whether it's a major, whether it's a regular event, whatever it is. You know, if I can give myself a chance on Sunday and be in those last couple groups, then this week is a success.

But we're a long ways from Sunday and a lot of holes, a lot of funky greens and a lot of putts away from that. You just try not to get ahead of yourself and take it one day at a time.

Q. We spent some time talking to the KPMG people yesterday and they talked about how they first got involved with you and how you had gotten -- how you've expressed to them how being in women's golf was different than men's golf and all the things you've talked about, if it's either purses or courtesy cars, whatever you want to talk about. Do you ever think that men and women can get to parity in golf?

STACY LEWIS: I don't know if we ever get to totally equal. I really don't. I think for that to happen, the men's purses would have to go down and ours would have to continue to go up, and I just don't know -- I don't know if we ever get to that point. But I think we have to do better than where we're at.

You look at a week like last week, we played for $1.3 million total, total purse, and Sergio won $1.2 for winning. It's stuff like that, it kind of hits you in the gut, and you're just like, gosh, it's just a totally different world.

But we're making progress. Weeks like this, and maybe it's more where our majors are our big weeks, you kind of get like tennis, women's tennis, where their major purses are very similar to the guys' but then maybe their week to week stuff maybe isn't quite the same. And I would be okay with that.

I think it would give us -- as long as we can get on these big stages four or five times a year, draw people that aren't normally, I think we're making progress.

Q. Do you think not having fans at these events actually hurts that goal?

STACY LEWIS: A hundred percent. Not having pro-ams, not having fans, I just -- as a Tour I don't know how long we can sustain it. We need people here. We need to expose people to this. We need to expose little kids to this and little girls. It's something that I know -- I hope all this is temporary, but we really need to get fans back out here.

Q. A couple players, just a couple, have said they hope they don't move the tees up --

STACY LEWIS: They must hit it a long ways.

Q. What's your hope for what you'd like to see as far as --

STACY LEWIS: I would just like to see it fair, more than anything. I'm okay with long holes, but it needs to be -- the hole locations need to be good with the longer holes. It's really all in setup. If you set up these pins pretty funky and pretty tight on corners, you need to move the tees up. If you're going to put them more in the middle, let's play it 430, let's play it 440, I'm okay with that. But the 10th hole is a good example; your shorter hitters are hitting right into the hill and it's hitting and stopping; your longer hitters carry it on top and then they get some roll over it. To me the setup really isn't fair because they're getting double the advantage now that they weren't. And I hit 3-wood into 10 today, by the way.

Q. And where did it end up?

STACY LEWIS: Front of the green. I hit 3-wood into 12, too, par-4. I think it's 430, 430 straight up the hill.

I think they'll move tees up. I think from the last few days we're playing from the very back of the lines and they usually do a good job of mixing things up here. I think we'll keep it fair. We don't have enough daylight to mess around too much.

Q. What does it mean to women's golf -- you've talked about parity, but with women playing an increasing number of their majors on courses like this, some of the classic courses that really are major championship tests. What does that do for women's golf in general?

STACY LEWIS: Well, for one, for us as players, this is truly a treat. We don't get to -- we don't play places like this enough. Just the difficulty of it, the condition of it, it really is special. It makes you -- you want to qualify for these majors. You want to be in this field. You want to play this golf course. And you kind of think of history, you think of the guys playing here. I think it was Keegan Bradley that won here a few years ago. Just to be on the similar golf courses as the guys, it creates that memory and maybe people that watched it -- watched the guys, now they're going to come watch us here, if we had fans, of course.

But it's more of a treat for us that we get to play here, and hopefully it's something that -- I guess maybe in 10 years it's not a treat, it's a normal thing.

Q. What was your reaction the first time you got a look at this place in person?

STACY LEWIS: I actually came here a few years ago with KPMG and did an outing here. But you just walk on property, and it's like, wow, this is grand. This is a major. I mean, I don't know, it just looks big when you stand up here by the clubhouse.

Q. Nelly is still trying to get that first major championship. When you look at her rise and where she is right now, do you see anything that would help close the gap?

STACY LEWIS: Probably just experience, and I'd say in the course management side and kind of managing rounds a little bit better over four days because the game is more than there. She hits it great, she putts it great, it just comes down to those little things of managing it a little bit better. But it takes playing majors, it takes experience of being in the hunt. But I mean, she'll get one very soon I have a feeling.

Q. When you look at what her brother just did at the French Open and then just the whole family story, what do you think -- as he gets better, too, what that family's potential can do for the Tour, for this Tour?

STACY LEWIS: I mean, it's just amazing to think you have three kids and they all turn out to be very good professional athletes. I mean, it's got to be like a one-in-a-million thing. It's very impressive for the family. It shows they're good parents I guess you could say. I don't know how else you say it. But just good parenting, allowing them to be kids but also they got good instruction along the way as kids. More than anything, it's just impressive.

I mean, I don't know what it means for the future, but I just think it's super impressive.

THE MODERATOR: We see it behind you, "inspire greatness," one of our tag lines this week, and we just finished up certainly with the Leadership Summit with Mariah and Ibtihaj Muhammad, certainly both inspiring athletes. Who are some people who inspire you, inside the ropes, outside the ropes, on the course, in life, as a mom, as a business person, and what does it mean to you when you think about Chesnee and the fact that she can look at this and have something to think about doing?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I mean, gosh, that's a big question. I'd say who inspires me on the golf course has always been my college coaches. They always believed in me more than I believed in myself, and they're people that deserve a lot of credit for where I'm at right now. I still call them for advice and questions on things still now.

I mean, I think -- and then as you have a kid, you're much more appreciative of your parents. You kind of realize what they've gone through. My mom has been such a trooper this last year and a half. She's been traveling with me a lot and helping with Chesnee. Your parents always say it, all the little things about you don't sleep good anymore after you have a kid and all those kind of things, but you really don't know it until you have one.

And what inspires me now is Chesnee, a hundred percent. Everything I do is for her. I want her to be standing up here and not be talking about the purse differences or how it's a treat that we're playing this week. I want it to be a normal thing. I want us to not talk about different genders and just talk about us just as golfers. That's my hope for her and that's why I fight like I do, and I'll continue doing it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Stacy. Good luck this week.