U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 16, 2021

Lara Tennant

The Lakewood Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Especially today and the conditions from yesterday and today, any adjustments that you felt like you had to make?

LARA TENNANT: Well, it was wet out there, so luckily the sun came out, so in terms of clubbing, probably that did not change, but kind of putting it back in my stance a little bit to make sure I hit the ball first because you definitely did not want to take too big of a divot out there. I think that was the biggest adjustment. But the USGA did a good job of finding relief and really trying to make it very fair.

Q. It seems really cool that you and Ellen are so close. What was it like to compete today?

LARA TENNANT: Very difficult, but both Ellen and I have competed enough to know that we're not really competing against each other, we're competing against the course. We've played enough to know that really you play your best when you play the golf course and not the person you're playing against.

Q. The trophy goes back to the same spot, you don't have to find something new to put there in the house.

LARA TENNANT: I know, I'm very excited to have it back home.

Q. Where will it go in the house?

LARA TENNANT: Oh, it'll go in the front entry, yes. It's been there for now I think four years, so it's a beautiful trophy, and it's a beautiful reminder of how lucky I am.

Q. You started out today with some wonderful golf. You had a couple birdies in a row. You almost had a third. You were really striping it. Did you have a real sort of mindset, I've got to get off to a strong start?

LARA TENNANT: Well, I knew that Ellen would get off to a very strong start. She would be fast out of the gates. I told myself that I needed to share in that intensity, and she won the first hole, and we were even, and then that was -- I wasn't too stressed about that.

But I sort of put the pedal to the metal, and having those two birdies kind of allowed me to calm down a little bit and just get back into my own groove.

Q. You also -- I think between the two of you, I know there was one loose shot by you on 9, Ellen missed a green on 12. But the golf was spectacular. I mean, tee to green, if you missed the fairway you were off by a foot, if you missed the green you were on the apron. It was great playing.

LARA TENNANT: I think we put on a very, very good show. It was excellent golf. I have no idea what I shot, but I think we both had a lot of great opportunities for birdies. The putting is tough out there, so sometimes you're just lagging a birdie putt because you want to make sure you get that two-putt and at least a tie on the hole.

We both, I think, played well, and I'm sure Ellen would have wanted to play a little bit better, but I think overall we both -- I was pleased with my game. I should just talk about myself.

Q. Now that you've done it, you tried to block out any thoughts of the possibility of -- entertaining the idea of winning three straight. Now that it's happened, what's the feeling?

LARA TENNANT: The feeling is I'm just grateful. I'm grateful that I was able to hang in there all week long. Like I said before, I had a lot of tough matches. There was not one easy match I had this week. And there really isn't. The caliber of players just is very good here, obviously.

But I just worked hard and was lucky that I was able to get to the finals and play well today.

Well, you made sure that when you might have been down a hole or something in one of the earlier matches, you brought your game to the level that you needed to. I know you were sort of stressing to yourself, I'm going to play these next holes in X par, I'm not worrying about whether I win a hole or lose a hole; that was an important mindset to have, right?

LARA TENNANT: It's always important for me just to think about making pars, and if I have an opportunity for birdie, obviously try to make that putt. But pars are usually pretty good in a USGA championship. The goal is pretty much always even par for me.

Q. Obviously you had Daniel helping out this morning. Your dad, he must have been -- you had to pull him away, right?

LARA TENNANT: Yeah, he was probably on edge watching on the phone or a computer, but I felt very comfortable with Daniel. He's been here for 12 years, and he was a really fun person to visit with in between shots, so that helped me relax a little bit. But at the end of the day I think my dad and I figured out how to club me, so I felt very confident in making those decisions on my own.

Q. What's your mom's involvement with golf?

LARA TENNANT: My mom is the greatest cheerleader. She's not a golfer herself, but she raised five golfers, and she's watched a lot of golf, and she's just so supportive. She's just so proud to be watching us play, regardless of the outcome.

Q. Gratifying to be able to dedicate it to her?

LARA TENNANT: It means the world to me to be able to dedicate this championship to my mom.