KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2021

Maria Fassi

Atlanta Athletic Club

Quick Quotes

MARIA FASSI: Pretty frustrating. One of the players in our group was pretty slow. I'm not going to be pointing fingers. I did go over time, and I guess that's the penalty. It's also common sense, in my opinion.

I'm not a slow player. I went for it in two. Like it's not an easy decision. There's a lot going on. The wind was changing. I was in between clubs. It wasn't a stock number that it was a no brainer. So I did take more time on the second shot, but I told the rules official that there has to be some common sense in that that I don't think existed on this occasion.

I'm pretty frustrated because he told me, I guess, per LPGA guidelines at the turn, so then like I'm the first one to tee off on No. 1, and he just told me I have a two-stroke penalty, like pretty -- I don't know. It was hard for me to keep my head in the game on the back nine. So just frustrated because I had a rough start and I was able to bring it back to even and I was excited for the front. Just my head wasn't in it.

Q. Did you try to contest the scorecard?

MARIA FASSI: I did. He just stayed in his idea. He went over and was like, hey, you took 50 seconds on the second shot, which is 20 more than we're allowed to. He just kept saying that over and over again. So it was worthless honestly to keep arguing. The players in the group didn't say anything either.

I tried. I was just frustrated that he wouldn't even say anything to her.

Q. Maria, we've been out there this morning and people are waiting on every shot. It's almost like they could have chosen a lot of people. Do you feel sort of like why was I the one chosen out of this entire field?

MARIA FASSI: I think -- and every other LPGA player will tell you we know who the slow ones are. Everybody knows it, the rules officials know it, and I'm not one of them. So this time around, I guess it was me. Like I said before, the time is there, and I did take longer, but I just don't think I deserved it.

If you look at all the times where I had 70 extra seconds for the hole. I hit it further so, when I get to the ball, like I have more time than everybody else. I'm not slow. Again, just very frustrated that it went that way.

Q. Do you feel let down that the people you were playing with didn't have your back or say something?

MARIA FASSI: I'm not going to talk for them, but if it were me in their shoes -- I mean, it was evident that one of the girls in the group was very slow. If it were me, I would have done something because I think it was the right thing to do, but if they decided not to, I also respect that.

Q. Is this the first time you've been penalized for slow play?

MARIA FASSI: It's the first time I've been even like questioned about it, yeah.

Q. Were you on the clock? Did you know you were on the clock?

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, they put us on the clock on 16 or 17. I had those in time. The birdie on 16 was good, and then 18 was the only one because we were on the clock until like 4 or something or 3. All the others had plenty of time left.

Q. What was the shot you were facing in on 18? What did you have in?

MARIA FASSI: 180. It was 167 to cover the water, and the wind should have been helping, but it didn't feel like it was helping. It was right in between. I hit my 6-iron 183, my 7, 172. We didn't know what to hit because it had to be a perfect 7 to get there. The 6 could have been too much, and the bunker long wasn't good. So it was a perfect in between with those circumstances.

Q. Did you eventually get past it on that second nine, or is it something that stuck with you the whole nine?

MARIA FASSI: I tried. I tried, and me and mark, we tried talking about it, like okay, hey, let's go. I was crying I was so pissed on the 1st hole.

But I guess it's a lesson learned. It won't happen again, that's for sure.

Q. How would you like to see the rule change, the policy change?

MARIA FASSI: I think there just has to be common sense involved. I know the rules of golf are the rules of golf, but it's like I was telling him, in those rules, we have an asterisk. If it's a hard shot, you get extra time. Who's to tell what a hard shot is or what's not. That's only if it's under the trees or something like that, and I'm like, well, maybe an under the tree shot is way easier than what I was facing.

I think it's a hard rule to change because it's left up to them to decide. I think there should be, I don't know, like a committee or something that at the end -- I remember in junior golf there was a committee that it was the rules official who gave me the penalty was there, but then there was a couple other people that would hear the situation, hear you out, and then decide if we're going to go right or we're going to go left.

I think that could be something good because you're not left to only what one person thinks but to what other people have to think about it.