BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH-PLAY

May 28, 2021

Shanshan Feng

Shadow Creek

Quick Quotes

Q. Shanshan, nice 1-up victory today to win Group 14 and advance to the round of 16. Take us through today. Looked like you jumped out to an early lead and then Jeongeun Lee6 came back as you guys were in the middle of the round, and then you put your foot down towards the end. Take us through the front nine and how you made the turn all square.

SHANSHAN FENG: Actually before the round I knew that I had to win today to have a chance to qualify for the weekend, so -- and I know that this course is so hard to walk and I know my energy would go like kind of go down on the back nine, so I trying to maybe win more holes on the front.

I was very concentrated even though I did make some mistakes. I guess that's same to everybody here on this course. It's just such a tough course. It's very pretty, very challenging, I'm not complaining. I like playing on the championship courses like this.

I think Jeongeun she made some mistakes on the front, but like you said, she really came back on the back. It was very tight, especially that was a great birdie for her on that 16th hole.

Yeah, and then 17 I had bogeyed both of the first two rounds, so today -- and I've been hitting really far on that hole. I don't know why. But I talked to my boss, Mercer, I said, Well, we just have to take one club less.

I actually still hit it past the pin, but I was on the green. I two-putted for the par, and, yeah, Jeongeun made another mistake on the last hole and I just took the safe play. Second shot, I mean, I only had 133 front but I aimed way right. I just wanted -- I didn't want to get past the hole. That would be very challenging coming back.

Yeah, but it was very fun playing with her.

Q. You put your foot down between Nos. 11 and 14. You won three of those four holes. That seems to kind of be the deciding point of the match, obviously except for maintaining the lead over the last two like you mentioned. What was it in that stretch maybe on No. 14 that kind of helped?

SHANSHAN FENG: What is No. 14?

Q. A par-4.

SHANSHAN FENG: Oh, yeah. I think 13 and 14 I had very good birdie chances. Yeah, even though I didn't make them, but, I mean, the pin positions were very tough and I just -- I was lucky to hit them on the right spots and Jeongeun just didn't hit them on the right spots and just couldn't get up and down.

Q. I want to revisit what you talked about on 17. You said you took one club less. That seems like something on this course specifically, like you talked about a championship level course, where it's just little nuances of one club, learning that day in and day out of how to change your game to make sure you can hit the right shot. Would you say that's going to be a big key over the weekend?

SHANSHAN FENG: I would say patience will be the key for this week, because even though I won two matches, if you look at my scores I was -- I would have terrible scores. Yeah, but I would say it's just very -- the condition is playing really tough for us and I hope we look okay on TV.

Yeah, so I think par is very good on this course. Don't have to go for birdies all the time. This is a par course, and if it you make as many pars as you can, I think you have a big chance to win.

Q. You'll play the winner of Sei Young Kim and Brittany Altomare. Sei Young Kim beat Brittany today and now they're in a playoff on 1 to decide.

SHANSHAN FENG: No, hold on, there is a playoff?

Q. Oh, yeah, there are playoffs to decide group winners. So if you had tied with anybody in your group would would've gone to play.

SHANSHAN FENG: Oh, no, no, no, no. That was enough. That was enough.

Q. Yeah.

SHANSHAN FENG: And, I don't know, because it's going to be 36 -- well, 72 holes on the weekend if we go all the way, right?

Q. Yeah.

SHANSHAN FENG: I need to go rest. (Laughter.)