U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 23, 2022

Gianna Clemente

The Club at Olde Stone

Press Conference

Q. You played amazing golf the entire week. You have to be really proud of yourself. What can you take away from how you played?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: I think I definitely need to do some putting work. But I did play well. I can't complain about winning five matches. Just need to move on to the next one. I'm going to go home and rest and prepare for the next one.

Q. Now you're exempt into the U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay. What is your prep for that? Are you excited to get out there and compete?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Oh, yeah, I'm super excited. Me and my dad were actually just talking about before the first tee we're going to flights to book because it's so soon. But yeah, I'm super excited. Definitely going to get some prep in for that. It's my first Am since I was 11, so definitely really excited about that for sure.

Q. Have you proven to yourself that you can play with the best players in the world this week?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Oh, absolutely. I beat some amazing players this week, in stroke play and in match play. It happens; you don't always play your best, and that's okay. I just didn't make enough putts today and hit enough greens, and it happens.

Q. Think back to that match where you were 4-down and eight to play. When you're that close to being gone in the second round and you get to the final, wrap up the week for us.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, if you definitely would have told me that I would be standing here right now and I would be a finalist, I would have been like, hmm, I don't know about that.

I made some really great comebacks this week. That's all I can ask for. I played really good. I just had a little bit of an off day.

Q. Your putter was so hot yesterday, and today it seemed like those putts just didn't fall. Was it a speed thing? Was it a mechanic thing? Something else?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Definitely all the putts dropped yesterday, and I had a couple tough lip-outs today. I think I definitely could have made a couple more, and a couple of them were on me, they were bad reads or just bad lag putts. But that happens; it's golf.

Q. Your first 36-hole final in this heat; that's a lot of golf for anybody, even a 14 year old with the energy you guys have. That's pretty tough. What did you find out about yourself, playing a match like this under these types of extreme weather conditions?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: It's definitely really tough. I was really feeling it kind of on the break when we ate lunch. I was like, I am really tired. I was tired yesterday, too. I think both of us were tired. Yeah, it's definitely tough, but I fought as hard as I could, and unfortunately it just wasn't enough.