U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 4, 2021

Marissa Wenzler

Westchester Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. So I guess let's start with last night, the playoff. Just talk about you're relationship with Jensen and watching her make birdie and then you going up and doing the same?

MARISSA WENZLER: Jensen and I compete a lot. We're usually at the same events. Same with a lot of my other teammates.

And so seeing her make birdie first, I wasn't surprised just because I know her and I know she's very clutch.

And so that was one spot right there. So I was like, okay, that's one spot and there are four people. Everyone else kind of made par or bogey and she was the only one in with birdie and I was in with the last group.

So I just kind of was like one shot right here and then hit it really well and ended up to 12 feet, and then it just became one putt after that.

And so used my brother's read, and we talked about it good amount of time, and it just snuck in the left side. So it was awesome. It was a really cool experience.

Q. Talk a little bit about just the state of your game. Recently obviously winning the Women's Western Am and you were medalist there. Just talk about how you've been playing and continuing that momentum here.

MARISSA WENZLER: I think I've been playing really well. The physical part of the game is always something that we can work on and tweak. You get to a certain level and it's just small tweaks here and there. The one thing that I think really separated a lot of my playing from the past to now is definitely the mental aspect.

I've talked a lot with my swing coach, Kevin Jones, about a lot of things. Our lessons have become a lot more talking now and less hitting, so that's been awesome. I have a great support system around me that I'm able to kind of talk my way through why did I do something here or what can I do better here.

And so I think that the mental aspect of the game has definitely helped propel me forward the past couple weeks.

Q. You were the medalist couple weeks ago at the Women's Western. Today you're the 64 seeds, so the role is reversed.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah.

Q. Talk about that dynamic. You know being a medalist, the kind of pressure. People expect you to win. That was the spot Rachel was in today.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah, I think being the one seed comes with perks and cons, and so I think not very many people -- I guess I'm trying to say this like people don't really -- when you're the one seed you -- I think it's more nerve wracking because you're expected more to play better and everything.

At the same time, when you're in an event like this it doesn't matter your seeding because if you're playing at the U.S. Women's Am you're a great player, a great golfer, you've gotten here, you've made the cut.

So I guess the seeding in itself in my opinion doesn't matter. I think you just do one match at a time, one competitor at a time.

Q. Mentally is it easier sometimes to be that unexpected 64 seed just from a mental side of it? Not so much the physical. Obviously everybody in the field can play. But is there a little bit of psychologically a difference being the 1 versus 64?

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah, again, it comes with the pros and cons. Being the one seed helps because you obviously have really well to get to that one seed spot.

At the same time, I did feel less pressure going into today because it didn't mean I didn't want to still win. I still had that confidence in myself that I can do this because I gotten a lot better at match play and everything.

And so I think going into it it was definitely less stressful. Then I think once I got up that's when I was like, Okay, the nerves are going to get going and you're going to start to feel some pressure.

Q. I would think that would've been the case on 17.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah.

Q. Five-footer to win the hole to tie; she misses.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah.

Q. Really opened the door for you on 18.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah, and I knew she was going to fight. Being 2-up, again, I always try to look at it as all square and just go from there. She had an amazing shot on 17, which it's expected. You have to expect them -- your competitor to make everything, especially Rachel. She is a great player.

So I ran away definitely with that one on 17, and then just to close it out on 18 was perfect.

Q. You both made birdies on 10 and 12.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah.

Q. I think she said she was in both times before you.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah, so she made a really great putt. She almost drove the green on 2 -- or 10, which was amazing. She basically had two-putt birdie and I had to make a five-birdie putt, which snuck right in.

Then again, with the tees playing up on 12, that almost felt like a par-4. So I got a read from her line, so...

Q. How long was your putt on 12?

MARISSA WENZLER: I think we were both like 24 feet.

Q. So long putts.

MARISSA WENZLER: Yeah.

Q. Was the course playing very different today compared to stroke play?

MARISSA WENZLER: I think with not a lot of wind that helped a lot, because these pins were definitely more tucked. You saw a lot more four from the right, four from the left, things like that.

So I think that the pins were definitely more -- were definitely more difficult. But, again, just staying in that mindset of hit the middle of the green, and if you get close to the pin, awesome. If you don't, go make something out of it.