NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 24, 2021

Stacy Lewis

Pinnacle Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Joined by Stacy Lewis, the fan favorite around town. Stacy, 4-under par today. A good number. You had a colorful scorecard, but to start off on a good solid foot has to feel good, especially in this tournament?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, it does. I haven't had rounds where I made a bunch of birdies like that, so it was nice. It was nice to see some putts going in and better wedge shots today.

So, yeah, I'm really pleased with it. Obviously it could have been better. Rounds can always be better. Just like the way things felt with what I was working on. It was solid out there today.

Q. You had birdies on the 1, 2, 5, on the front nine. Take us through that kind of -- and then bogeys at 3 and 4.

STACY LEWIS: Yes.

Q. So a lot going on.

STACY LEWIS: Long time to make a par today. Yeah, 1 and 2 just hit some really good wedge shots in there. Made a couple 10-footers.

Then three-putted 3 and kind of made a mess of 4 and got out of there with bogey.

Then hit a good wedge shot in on 5 and hit it to about six feet.

I mean, the wedges have been the thing that haven't been very good so obviously getting off to a good start like that was huge.

And then almost made a hole-in-one on 11, which was pretty sweet. Went right by the cup.

The one on 18 was important. Made bogey on 17, and to finish it off, finish up a good round that way was really nice.

Q. Yeah, you had a nice cheer from the crowd.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah.

Q. How nice is that to have that support at a hometown event?

STACY LEWIS: It's awesome. The best part now is I've got help. I've got these other Razorbacks playing this week, so it's nice to have -- to not have all the attention on me. They're paying attention to Brooke and the other girls, Maria and Gaby.

So it's awesome. It took me a long time to figure out that they're going to cheer for me regardless of whether I play good or bad, so might as well just go let yourself play good.

Q. You mentioned the football game tomorrow. We talked about it a little yesterday. To be able to have this kind of event in a second home for you and also in Arkansas, a big football game tomorrow, how much does that mean to a community to have kind of just everything going on?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, you can feel the buzz around. Everybody is excited about the game. I'm sure it's probably not going to help our fan situation this weekend, but just to be excited about the team.

Kind of wish I was opposite tee time so I could watch the game, but I'm sure I can get updates as we go around, and we'll hear cheers from the various boxes. Just a lot of fun and just nice to have all the good buzz around the university right now.

Q. How did Pinnacle play maybe compared to years past? Different? Similar?

STACY LEWIS: It's pretty soft. You know, drives aren't going very far. Length is definitely helpful, especially on like 18, getting there in two.

So it's controlling the wedges and keeping it in the fairway.

Q. Last one I have for you: Earlier this year at Dow you teamed up with Maria, another Razorback, and we talked a lot that week about kind of the mentorship that you were able to provide to her. Have you been able to talk to any of the younger Razorbacks out here this week or have they approached you at all?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I went down to The Blessings yesterday and saw some of the girls there, kind of chatted with them for a little bit. They asked a few questions.

You know, just trying to just be around. You know, just, I don't know, I think Brooke is kind of going to be on that next step of helping her down that road next.

Just trying to be around as much as I can. I think that's the biggest thing. You know, the girls don't know it but I'm always watching their scores, talking to their coach, Shauna, and paying attention to what they're doing.

They don't know that, but I'm always watching.

Q. To have you invested in their future I'm sure means a lot.

STACY LEWIS: Yes.