THE CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP

April 22, 2023

Albane Valenzuela

The Club at Carlton Woods

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Albane Valenzuela after her third round at The Chevron Championship. I think you had the most holes to finish out of everybody else this morning and then a late start. Can you take us through your day a little bit?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: It was definitely long. I haven't had an early start like that in a very long time with a few holes to come back to. But overall I just knew it was going to happen, so I just stayed patient and really tried to focus one shot at a time, and I think with my dad we've just really tried to stay patient, play my own game and have as much fun as possible.

Q. How hard was it to start this morning and then regroup fairly quickly to get ready for a really good third round?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, I actually went back home and just relaxed for an hour, did a little bit of my Normatec compression, and just tried to relax and regroup for the next round because obviously you start early in the morning, but the conditions were going to be different in the afternoon, so just tried to prepare myself for that.

Q. What was your first shot this morning?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: My first shot was a putt. I had a long putt downhill on 5. Yesterday I said, I just want to hit the drive, hit the shot, and have to think about less.

Q. Having your dad on the bag, what has he been doing for you this week? How has he been helping?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: It's been amazing. I actually asked him to come back on the bag just because I felt like I needed his eye a little bit on how I was on the golf course, and he just said, you've just got to play slower, just calm down, and just try to slow down my swing, if anything, and it's been working better. It's just been fun to have my whole family, just have family vibes, and we're just playing as if it was home.

Q. You withdrew from LA, I think; were you injured?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yeah, I had a little bit of a knee injury, sudden swelling that we could not really explain, and it's been bugging me for two weeks. After Phoenix my swing went a little downhill and just couldn't really feel my right leg as strong as usual, so decided to take the week off, and Hawai'i off, as well, which was a good thing, I think. Yeah, now we're back in good shape.

Q. It's all normal now?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: Now it's all normal.

Q. Just a couple highlights from your round today.

ALBANE VALENZUELA: The last putt on 18, I thought that was really fun, to finish on a birdie. But overall I hit a lot of really good shots out there, and when I had longer clubs in, I wasn't too greedy, just tried to play middle of the green and just two-putt. Major championships are just tough, and you've just got to grind it and stay very patient, take your birdie opportunities when you can and just par when possible.

Q. What kind of round do you need to shoot tomorrow to get the win out there?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: You know, I'm really not focused on that. I think that's what I've been doing good this week is just focusing on my own game. The first day I was hitting my drives all over the course. I had an unplayable, I had to go in the water, and it just shows you in golf anything can happen. It's just about going to the next shot with a good attitude.

Misses are going to happen. Today I missed a shot on 8, kind of flew the green, but it's okay, then I learned from that and hit a great shot on 12. That's just major golf.

Q. How are you a different player now than when you were at Stanford?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: I think I've had a lot of adversity since then, whether it's injuries and just a lot of setbacks. I've kind of just learned to be a little bit more grateful for the position I'm in right now. Being on Tour is just such a blessing, and it's not given to every girl, so I'm just really thankful to be out here, and I think I just have a bit more experience and just that attitude that helps me.

Q. If the stars are aligned and you win tomorrow, do you jump?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: Oh, yeah, you've got to jump.

Q. With the Zurich Classic playing this week, they're playing your commercial. I want to know how you feel about seeing your commercial on air now.

ALBANE VALENZUELA: You know, I actually haven't seen anything about any tournaments, but I'm just super excited to be part of Zurich. They've been incredible sponsors and supporters, and they asked me to come for this tournament this week, and I said, there's major golf happening.

But it's just really fun to have such a great roster of players, and proud to be a Zurich ambassador.

Q. Did you get to shoot that commercial with Collin and Billy?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: No, I actually shot it in Dallas.

Q. Is that where you guys have a home base, in Dallas?

ALBANE VALENZUELA: Yes, we have a home base in Dallas.