AMAZINGCRE PORTLAND CLASSIC

September 14, 2022

Caroline Ingliss

Columbia Edgewater Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, okay, here with Caroline Inglis. Just want to know, Oregon local and here at Columbia Edgewater again, just thoughts on the course and how happy you are to be back here for this tournament.

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, this is actually my home course. Like my husband and I have been members here for like six, seven years now.

So it's definitely weird playing an LPGA event at my home course. It's kind of different. But I think it's cool. I think Jim has the course in great shape. Super pure and everyone has been saying good things.

Yeah, it's great. Hopefully everyone enjoys Portland. I think they'll like it a little bit better than last year's course. It's a little easier walk.

Yeah, I'm just excited for a good week.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah, so you think that gives you an advantage being close with Jim and knowing the course really well? Have any players asked you for advice?

CAROLINE INGLIS: No, no one has asked me for advice, but I think it's just -- yeah, I know the course better than anyone, but at the end of the day you still have to hit good golf shots.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of last year, which you brought up, how excited are you that this tournament is going back to its full form? Hopefully no extenuating circumstances keeping us from playing 72 this year.

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah. I feel like the last couple years we had some issues. We had the fires and then last year with the rain. Hopefully this year, four-day event, back here and like nice and easy and nothing happens.

Yeah, I'm happy with it.

THE MODERATOR: I want to talk a little bit about your season so far. It's not been the best season, but you're coming off your best finish of the year. How do you stay positive and keep the momentum going after a good week in Cincinnati last week?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, I think it's always hard when you have conditional status starting the year. I didn't get like into anything until Hawaii in April, so you kind of feel like you're already behind the eight ball.

I've been trying to take the opportunities as they come and play my best. It was nice to like have a good week last week and see some of the hard work pay off.

So feel like my game is in a good place and I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully ride the momentum.

THE MODERATOR: Do you have any questions?

Q. What really does it mean to you to be playing? You traveled so much from the time that you graduated... (indiscernible.) What really does it mean to you to be playing?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, I think it's really cool. Oregon is such a beautiful place, so I think it's awesome that we can showcase everything that Oregon and Portland and this amazing golf course has to offer.

So it's really special. I hope everybody enjoys being here and all the girls like it. It means a lot. It's so cool to have like friends and family and all the members out here come out and support me and watch me, and hopefully I can play some good golf and like, you know, give them something to cheer for.

Q. And I know it's been a couple years since you graduated from Oregon, but how do you feel like you've grown as a golfer from the time that you graduated?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, just a couple years. That was nice of you. Thank you. Well, I think I was really lucky to have such a great coach in Oregon, Ria. I think she taught me a lot that I kind of took into playing professionally.

And then just like my team behind me, coaches and sports psych, my husband a lot, like for talking me off cliffs when I'm having a rough day.

Yeah, just the saying it takes a village, it really does. I've learned and grown and this is my like my fourth, fifth year on tour, and I still love it just as much and I still learn new things about golf every single day.

So it's cool.

Q. (No microphone.)

CAROLINE INGLIS: Oh, do you really?

Q. (No microphone.) Where did your love for golf really start?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, so I actually hated golf until I was like 12. My dad and my brother were really good golfers and they all played. My parents signed me up for this junior golf camp one summer at Springfield Country Club -- I think it's called Pine Valley now.

They forced me to go to camp and I came back and I was like, oh, my God, I love this. I'm so much better than all the other girls out there. I kind of just fell in love with it. I kind of got started late, at like 12, 13, but I just like was addicted and just kept playing and playing.

Yeah, lucky enough, got a spot on the Oregon team and then worked may way up to a full ride, and here I am.

Q. If the 12 year old could you see you now, what do you think she would say?

CAROLINE INGLIS: I mean, I think she would be pretty shocked. I mean, she would think it's cool. Yeah, it's definitely literally like a dream playing on the LPGA Tour. I, mean, like sometimes I have to pinch myself.

It's surreal sometimes that like you set these goals for yourself and like you achieve them. Especially starting so late, I don't think I ever -- okay, maybe I'll play on tour one day or whatnot.

Yeah, it's cool to actually see it happening.

Q. You being Oregon's first national champion. This year they had another (indiscernible). This past year they had another (No microphone). What was it like for you to see that?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, that was awesome. I have gotten to know Derek really well and I know their assistant coach. I actually played golf with Monica growing up.

So it's been really cool to follow their team. I think they're great coaches and they have a lot of good recruits, so I'm always rooting for them.

It's cool to see a program like are Oregon where a lot of the top recruits don't typically go because of the weather. But I think it's such a great school and the facilities are actually really great for golf, so it's cool to see them get some notoriety and have success.

THE MODERATOR: One thing, you said your coach at Oregon taught you a lot of things that you still think about while you're on tour. Do you mind telling us what some of those are?

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, sure. So she's actually at Virginia now so I don't get to see her as much. She came out and watched at KPMG this year, so it was cool to see her.

I think for a lot of college coaches, like most girls when they come into college they have their own swing coach, so more so what she taught me was course management and like how to manage your game on the course.

I had no idea what that was before I played. Like I was just, oh, just hit driver everywhere. But she definitely taught me a lot about what pins to go for, what not, like if you're going to layup, layup.

We would call it -- like if it was a really tricky pin or a tricky green she would say, just cog it, which stood for like center of green. So I still say with my caddie, we're just going to cog this one.

It's simple stuff, but, yeah, and I think she was great. She really let us do our own things with our swing coaches and then really focused on things like course management that made the little differences.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much for coming in.

CAROLINE INGLIS: Yeah, no worries. Thanks for having me.