SOLHEIM CUP

September 4, 2021

Ally Ewing

Nelly Korda

Inverness Club

Team USA

Flash

Q. Congrats for putting up the first full point for Team USA. You guys were quickly 2-down. What did you say to yourselves to just not get frazzled and flip things around?

ALLY EWING: I think Madelene started off hot, made two birdies, and we certainly were a little out of sync for the first two holes, but we changed our order and switched my ball number, and we got it back on track and started to play better golf?

Q. We had that weird unfortunate incident at 13; it seemed like things were a little bit awkward right after that. What was your take on the whole situation and kind of how you guys got through it?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, I mean, it was definitely awkward, and you don't want to win a hole like that. I got off the green, and we kind of were talking, and Missy already came up to us and was like, I'm calling it in, I want to check it out. We didn't even have a say honestly.

We told ourselves we needed to focus on golf, take it one shot at a time, and see if we can finish it off.

Q. It's never easy when something strange like that happens, but we kind of learn as we go. How much fun did you guys have out there ultimately even through the ups and downs?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, we had a lot of fun. I think when we turned it around, started hitting better shots, then the atmosphere certainly got more fun when we started playing better golf. It was kind of a little just strange. We kind of had to refocus after everything, as I'm sure they did, too.

In the end, that was up to the rules committee, and I think they handled it the best that they could, and in the end -- like she said, nobody wants to win the hole like that, and we were both obviously like very non-

NELLY KORDA: A little rattled.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, a little rattled, and non-confrontational in the whole situation, but that doesn't take away from the good golf we played.

Q. You guys feel like you're okay with Nanna Koerstz and Madelene?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, hopefully they're okay with us. We didn't want it to happen this way. It's very unfortunate, but they played solid golf, we also played solid golf. At the end of the day hopefully we can put this behind each other and move forward.

Q. Nelly, give us a sense of a bit of a timeline of your emotions and how everything went for you.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, Madelene started off hot today. We kind of got it back, but obviously that situation on that par-5 was very unfortunate. You don't want to win a hole like that, but by the time I got off the green, Missy already came up to us and was like -- and said that they were reviewing everything, and we honestly had no say in it. It was all up to the rules committee.

Obviously we feel -- it feels weird, obviously, but they did the best that they could with the situation that they had at hand.

Q. When it happened, were you thinking immediately, Ooh, that's a bit of a rules infraction or were you just like, Shame, my ball didn't go in?

ALLY EWING: I feel like it was kind of a both thing. I mean, we were both obviously in anticipation to see if it would kind of keep rolling. I don't necessarily -- we didn't call the rules official to ask anything, so that's why it's kind of -- we hope for them that they understand that we weren't trying to get the hole that way.

We had no ill will, but the rules committee did reach that decision and we just had to -- it rattled both teams and we had to fight through it.

Like I said earlier, it didn't take away from the good golf that was played.

Q. How was is finishing your match? I'm sure you wish you could have talked it through with them, but how emotionally difficult was it for you to finish up?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, it was definitely rattling. It took us a hole to get it all together. I'm sure same thing for the other team. The captain, Pat Hurst, came up to me and made sure I was okay and everything.

But yeah, we just told ourselves to -- we have a lot of golf in front of us. Still probably we had four holes or something. So just to focus on that and to keep on going because we knew that they were going to do the same, as well.

Q. I finished off the interview with Team Europe in exactly the same way. Let's finish on a high note. What thing were you each most proud of your teammate out there?

ALLY EWING: We made a lot of really good par putts, I think.

NELLY KORDA: A lot of clutchness and a lot of grit out there today. It was a battle and it was a long day. We touched all 36 holes, and I think we just battled really hard.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I mean, when you're playing with the best in the world, it's kind of easy to stay relaxed out there.

NELLY KORDA: No, she made a lot of putts. I was kind of leaning on her quite a bit.

ALLY EWING: The team is great. We're just happy to be here and happy to put a point on the board.

THE MODERATOR: Ally and Nelly, overall that was a tough battle, a great overall match. You took it there on 18. What do you think was the highlight of the match for you? You seemed to play well all day.

ALLY EWING: I feel like we kind of turned everything around around hole 4 or 5. We kind of both gave ourselves chances on the same hole. That was, I think, a turning point for us just to get some momentum back.

Yeah, we played really solid golf despite obviously the rules incident.

THE MODERATOR: Nelly, what's your takeaway from today? You guys played well down the stretch.

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, we fought really hard. We touched all 36 holes today, so we were tired, but we never gave up and turned it around.

Q. Ally, talk about what happened there on 13, if you don't mind talking us through what happened and everything that went on there on that hole.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, obviously everybody has seen it. The fact of the matter was that we walked off the green after the putt was picked up, and we were just kind of talking to ourselves, and Missy approached us. We did not approach Missy, our rules official, and was told that the committee was reviewing the time.

It was discussed in our rules meeting, but we did not approach the rules official, the referee. We ultimately were told that the hole was going to be decided because they picked it up.

Unfortunate way to win the hole, and I hope they understand that it wasn't a lack of sportsmanship. Regardless of what's said after all of this, Nelly nor I did anything wrong. We did not call the rules official. That's kind of how it played out, unfortunately, but it doesn't take away from the good golf that we played.

Q. Nelly, anything you want to add?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, Ally is 100 percent right. We obviously had no say in it. They said they were going to look at it on the TV. It's the worst way to win a hole, honestly.

You never want to win a hole like that because Ally and I were really good during whatever. We get along with everyone. We never get into ruling -- just I'm at a loss for words, because the way I feel right now is not a way I should be feeling.

Q. Nelly, did you think the ball still had a chance to go in?

NELLY KORDA: I had no idea because I didn't even get the chance to look at it. They picked up the ball right away and threw it to me and I walked off the green.

Missy came up to me, and honestly, I feel like I did nothing wrong.

ALLY EWING: I'm just going to add to that that Nelly is a great competitor. She is one of the best on our Tour. If anything needs to be said, it does not need to be said to her. She's a great player, great representative of this golf game, great representative of the United States.

There should be no ill will towards any of us. The rules are the rules, and we hate that it was decided like that, and nothing against the European team, but unfortunately that's what happened.

We didn't mean anything. We didn't do anything. Yep, there's still a lot of golf to play, and this decision and what happened is not going to dictate the rest of this golf tournament.

NELLY KORDA: To add on that, we had no say to overturn it. Even if we didn't accept it, we had absolutely zero say, and that's what Missy even said to us. We had zero say to overturn it.

Q. Did you feel that the match at least from an attitude standpoint changed after that?

NELLY KORDA: I mean, obviously we were all rattled for sure. We had to get back into it. Pat came up to me on the next hole and told me, there's still a lot of golf to be played and just to focus on my next shot and figure it out after.

Q. Madelene had mentioned that she said -- that she had heard, not that she talked to him, but your caddie also felt like the ball was not overhanging. Did you have a conversation with your caddie about it?

NELLY KORDA: Yeah, and we have -- that's something to ask him.

Q. I did, but he said he didn't have that conversation.

NELLY KORDA: No, he never said anything that it wasn't going to fall in. It was picked up so fast. I fell to my knees and my ball was already in my hands. I honestly didn't even get to see it.

Q. I'm getting back to your caddie, what he said to you.

NELLY KORDA: No, he did not say that it didn't have a chance to go in. No one said that on our team at all.

Q. Were you guys aware -- how aware were you early in the round of -- when the board was all blue, it looked like there was a chance of it being a really bad afternoon and things kind of turned around a little bit.

ALLY EWING: I think we noticed at 9 green there were three blue colors when we were making the turn. We felt the need to put a point on the board and play solid golf, and that's what we did.

Q. What was the dynamic like on those last five holes between you and the Europeans? How did that change after the incident?

ALLY EWING: It definitely got more quiet. I hope that they can truly understand, we know in our hearts that we meant no ill will. It was decided by the rules committee.

It did probably get more tense. Like I said, we were rattled, they were rattled. I mean, if anything we had to focus a little bit more because we still had golf ahead and we still had to hit shots to take care of the match, regardless of what had happened on that hole.