BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH-PLAY

May 24, 2022

Ally Ewing

Shadow Creek

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Ally Ewing, our defending champion at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play presented by MGM Rewards.

Ally, it was a long hot week last year. Very long hot week. Ended up with a great, great outcome for you. Thinking back to last year, what were some of your big takeaways from that week and rising to meet the challenge of beating this beast?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I mean, as you said, it was a super long week, exhausting week. I told myself beginning of the week that if I was exhausted it was because I kept winning, which is a good thing. That means you're advancing.

So I think it was just a week that I'll never forget. Just a great-run tournament. They do a great job making us feel really important, really appreciated to be here, and Shadow Creek is an absolute treat. Again, it's in great shape this year, so happy to be back.

Q. It was your one-year wedding anniversary if I remember correctly.

ALLY EWING: Yes.

Q. So two years?

ALLY EWING: Two years on Monday, yeah.

Q. Fingers crossed for a good outcome for you. You've been out for the pro-am, practice rounds. What does the course look like out there? Is it what you remember it to be?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, it's great. Greens are firm, fast, immaculate condition, just as to be expected from what I remember last year. I've talked with my caddie a good bit this week just trying to build off positive memories from last year, but also put those in the rear window, because it doesn't do me any good for this tweak other than to take the positives.

But different week, different obstacles to tackle, so it'll definitely be just a one day, one shot at a time mentality.

Q. What's the mentality of match play? How does teeing up in a match play event differ, your prep?

ALLY EWING: I think how I prepare for the golf tournament doesn't really change. How I figure out to play the hole, what it sets up for, tee shots. I think this golf course is -- it's challenging because the greens are so firm. It's a very strategic golf course just getting around and try to give yourself a lot of birdie looks.

For me it's kind of just play within myself. Obviously when you're playing match play your opponent kind of dictates a lot of what you do. But as far as how I'm going to approach each match and each hole, it'll be a similar stroke play mentality with how to get it around the golf course.

Matches with sometimes tell me to be more conservative or more aggressive for sure.

Q. Curious now that you've gotten here, what was it like setting foot back here?

ALLY EWING: Yeah.

Q. Memories flood back?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, memories for sure. For me it was when I was stepping up to each hole, thinking about how I played it. I really have tried to not let last year be anything that holds me back from preparing in the best way possible for this week.

But it certainly brings back a lot of good memories and positivity for how I got around the golf course.

So it's just still a day by day with how to approach the day, how to approach the matches. But definitely getting good vibes and everything like that from how I played last year.

Q. Wanted to ask you, I'm working on a story about some of the younger American players who haven't won yet. That was you a couple years ago.

ALLY EWING: Uh-huh.

Q. What was the mental process like for you and the frustrations like when you hadn't gotten a win yet and you knew you were capable?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I think first and foremost it just goes to show you the depth of our tour and how hard it is to win. There were times in the years before I actually got that win where I played really solid golf but just wasn't good enough that week; someone played better.

That's just kind of the mentality of what the daunting tasks is of getting a win out here. I think overall I had somewhat of a mentality that I had to be perfect to get a win, and once I settled into just being me was good enough, I didn't have to make every putt, get every ball up and down, hit every green, make perfect contact with every shot, hit every fairway.

I think I approached a little bit of my first couple years in that way, and once I kind of just realized that you know what, I'm not going to make every putt, I'm not going to hit every fairway. And going on to win my first event in Georgia, I played really good golf, but it wasn't perfect golf.

So for me it just kind of took a little bit of a load off and made me just kind of appreciate that perfect golf doesn't have to happen to get a win. Just has to be a good week and you have to be better than everyone else, which is still really hard to do.

Q. I know you're friends with Amy Olson. She stuck around for your final last year.

ALLY EWING: Uh-huh.

Q. If someone like Amy or Megan Khang or someone who has a ton of talent, what do you say to them when they're looking and they don't have a trophy yet?

ALLY EWING: Yeah, you know, it's hard. I think everybody's path on the LPGA is so different. Overall, you know, one thing I relied on, and I know I can speak for Amy on this, is that I relied on my faith and that just being right where I needed to be in terms of God's will for my life.

I know she's hung onto that, that and there is no doubt that every rookie, every young player out here is capable of winning. As crazy as it sounds, it's kind of just a timing thing. We all put in the work. We all expect to be a winner at some point.

It's just kind of the hard work eventually pays off, and God's timing is always perfect. That's how I have just grown to appreciate my path. And like I said, everybody's path is different.

But God's timing was better than mine.

Q. The old cliche true for you that the second one was harder than the first one?

ALLY EWING: Oh, goodness. I would probably say the first one for me was ready hard just because it felt like it was never going to happen.

I think I had mentally got into a spot before I won in Georgia where I was like, it may not ever happen. I had played good golf up to that point and had not got a win.

For me, that alone felt like just a huge load that had been lifted. Just since then I think in terms of if I look back on my career, which it's not over yet, if I were to look back and tomorrow I could never play golf again, I would be able to look back and say I've been proud of how I've played.

I've never felt like I had anything to prove to anyone, but I've certainly proved to myself that all the hard work paid off through the year. Certainly content with myself and everything I've done in my career so far.

Q. The NCAA women's tournament is going on right now.

ALLY EWING: Uh-huh.

Q. I know NCAA is special to you for many reasons.

ALLY EWING: Yeah.

Q. When you think back to your time at NCAAs and what the girls are going through right now...

ALLY EWING: Yeah, so, I mean, it's incredible. 2013 Mississippi State, that was the first time a Mississippi school, much less Mississippi State, had ever advanced to the National Championship. So when I look back on this, that's so cool.

Now that I'm in a different set of shoes and my husband is the coach and I'm able to step into more of a mentor role to the girls, you know, I try to jump in to just the coach's wife, but it's so cool. I was able to be in Scottsdale I guess it would've been Wednesday and drove over Sunday just to be in that atmosphere.

I love it. I love being around the girls. Just seeing that the future or the generation that's coming to the LPGA is in good hands. There are just so many good players. College golf is so cool. It's unique.

Unless you were blessed to be a part of a Solheim Cup or something like that you're never going to be in a team atmosphere like that ever again, so I appreciate all four of my years of college golf.

Still blessed to be able to jump in and feel like I'm a part of that team occasionally, too.

Q. I know Mississippi State didn't make it into the bracket, but I wanted to ask you specifically about Rose Zhang and what she's done winning the individual title. You're talking the about future of women's right golf there.

ALLY EWING: Yeah.

Q. What are your thoughts on Rose?

ALLY EWING: I played with Rose Saturday of Chevron. I think it would've been in 2019, either '19 or '20, and I was very impressed with her game. She putted incredibly that round from what I remember.

You just see how dominate her amateur golf career has been, and there is no doubt she'll be able to come out probably immediately and make an impact. You see so many of those girls that are playing incredible golf at the collegiate level, at the amateur stage with USGA events and all those high-caliber amateur tournaments.

It's an exciting time to be around women's golf. Hopefully they're getting good crowds at NCAAs, because they are seeing probably some of the future champions of the LPGA Tour.

Q. One match play event to another one; back here. You're in for another hot three days. What's your game plan as you take to tomorrow? I think you're taking on Jodi Ewart Shadoff in the first round.

ALLY EWING: Yeah, I think for me, it was an early tee time today for the pro-am, so I'm going to finish getting my practice in and get some rest. I would probably say this week I feel like I've tried to prepare for last week so that when I get here I can kind of really just focus on playing and not feel like I'm trying to get my game ready to play.

And so for my mentality, tomorrow it's just going to be one shot, one hole at a time. Jodi is a great player. We've seen her play great golf and play Solheim Cup, so it's -- I'm sure it'll be a great match.

It'll completely be a one match at a time mentality. Like I told my caddie, I don't want to live in the past. We can take positives, but unless someone asks, we're done talking about last year. It's over. It doesn't get me anything for this year.

Just going to go try and compete my hardest and grind it out.

Q. Yeah, here to work, but Vegas, a little fun, too. Anything fun for this week you would like to do?

ALLY EWING: You know, I'm not entirely sure. I'll definitely try to be off my feet as much as I can just with the hopes of competing up until Sunday, but I'm probably -- if I'm in Vegas, I'm not your typical Vegas girl. I'll maybe enjoy some good food. That's probably the brunt of what I'm going to be doing here in Vegas. And Hopefully playing good golf.

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