COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 10, 2023

Stacy Lewis

Brittany Lincicome

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: All right, welcome to the media center everybody with two of our LPGA Tour moms, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, and their beautiful daughters, Chesnee and Sophia.

Stacy, let's start with you. Start with the obvious question in front of us. Being a mom on the LPGA Tour, having your daughter out here, how special of an experience is that and getting her involved in this presser today.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. She's been traveling with me since she was three months old, so she really doesn't know any different. It's been fun to just expose her to the world really. What four year old has done a press conference before? Now we can check that off the list.

But just being able to have her with me and us getting the time together we do is really great. Just fun to watch her grow up on the road and all the girls that she gets to meet out here, the kids that she gets to play with. You ask her who her best friends are and it's the kids on tour.

Q. Brittany, two daughters, including your newest, Sophia. Bringing her out here, how unbelievable of an opportunity is this?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: She's going to answer. Yeah, it is. I wasn't sure how it was going to work traveling with two or bringing both of them, and we kind of -- Emery has been out twice and Sophia probably more. Just easier traveling with one than both, as you can see.

But it's just great. It's nice to have the opportunity to be able to still play golf professionally and then have one or both of them out if I want them out.

Yay, Sophia. It's so rewarding. Good day, bad day, to come see their smiling faces after the round, it's the best.

Q. Brittany with you being a Girls Golf ambassador and this being a big week for Girls Golf, how incredible is it to see other young girls our here every week, or this week especially?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, super grateful for the Girls Golf program. When I started on the LPGA 19 years ago I just have always wanted to leave it better than it was when I started. We're definitely doing that. Growing the game, and getting more girls involved with the game of golf is incredible.

There are so many unused girl's scholarships that I want to see all the girls come out and support us and want to be professional golfers or even in college. Whatever it may be. It's just such a wonderful game, and I love seeing the girls come on the out and playing.

Signing their autographs, you never know. Maybe that will inspire them to want to play more one day, so it's really cool to see them coming out.

Q. Stacy, same question for you. Seeing all the young girls out there, how much golf does Chesnee play, if any, and is she at all involved in the Girls Golf program?

STACY LEWIS: Do you play much golf, chess?

CHESNEE: Yes.

STACY LEWIS: She likes coming to practice with me. She plays quite a bit. She actually saw the Girls Golf logo somewhere and she's like, mommy, that's what they had at the tournament, so she definitely recognizes it.

It's pretty fitting I think that both of us ended up with little girls, just we're both about inspiring that next generation and just growing the game. Just for a little girl to learn -- what you learn on the golf course, playing golf in front of people, is something they'll take with them the rest of their lives.

Q. Let's talk about this week a little bit, it being the Founders Cup. Big picture of our Founders who most are longer with us, and our pioneers Betsy and Pia. Do either of you any have experience with our pioneers, and how cool is it just for this week to have the past and the future all in one?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I mean, I was pretty lucky. I got to know Betsy my rookie year, and she's really been a mentor to me, somebody that kind of helped me early on in my career just kind of figuring out why I play golf and why I do what I do.

Sophia is going to steal the press conference here.

Yeah, Betsy has definitely been a huge mentor of mine, and cool that they're honoring her here this week.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, you can take her. Yeah, same. Just honoring the Founders, obviously we would not be here without them, and then just going into the next generation with the Girls Golf program.

Yeah, again with Stacy, just I've known Betsy a long time, doing her outings and picking her brain about the golf swing or golf in general, so it will be cool to see her out on the green this week.

Q. What do you guys think of the course? Let's talk some actual golf. Our second year at Upper Montclair. How good of a venue is that? What's your experience on the course been like so far?

STACY LEWIS: It's amazing. Yeah, I played once my rookie year back in 2009. You might have played it a few more times. It's an ultimate test of golf. You got to hit every club in your bag, wedges, long stuff, fairways, greens. It really tests everything.

So it's a good golf course for us as we get into our major championship kind of season and when you really want to get your game sharp.

But it's in really great shape this year. Better weather this year, which will be nice.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, not sure how old the golf course is, but it has that old feel, or even like a major feel where you could host a major event. The fairways I swear are getting narrower and narrower every time we come back. Key one is keep it in the fairway. You cannot hit it in the rough or -- the way the greens set it's going to be a hard shot.

The course itself is spectacular. I've played both sides now and got to see it both, and it's as perfect as it's ever been. Going to be a real treat this week.

Q. Another treat, Sunday will be Mother's Day. I know you'll have your kids here to celebrate. Wondering what that day means to you, spending that day on the golf course, and the impact your moms have had on your game.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: I think if one of us won with our girls here that would be really cool. Any week would be fantastic to win. To have one of our girls run out to us would be pretty awesome. Obviously Mother's Day would be that much more special.

Just doing what I do, what I love, and then having my girls here on Mother's Day, It's pretty fitting. My mom would tell you she wants me to take her fishing. She's like don't send me flowers, I don't need any gifts. She just wants me to take her fishing, so she's pretty simple.

Just having her follow my career for all these years and the sacrifices our parents have give up to get us where we are today, it's really cool that bond with your mother on Mother's Day. It's the best.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I think after you have your own kids you definitely appreciate your parents a lot more and what they went through. My sisters and I are all two years apart so I just couldn't imagine having that many littles at one time and still working. Definitely a lot more appreciation for moms.

My mom is here this year so we'll get to spend it together. It's a lot of fun. Just she's getting to the age where she's asks my mom to take her shopping to get me a Mother's Day present. She's getting to the point she understands what we do and makes it a little bit more special now.

Q. It's been touched upon a little bit, but as one of our biggest advocates for Girls Golf and our strong brand ambassadors, I don't know if you're aware this week, but we'll be announcing a major milestone. We'll be reaching our one millionth girl this week through the program.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: That's so cool.

STACY LEWIS: Yep.

Q. Thanks to your contributions to get into the game, just wanted to get your impressions on how this makes you feel about the growth of the program?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, makes me tear up. It's the coolest thing, obviously something you guys been working on for so long, and us just being a little part however we can help to get more girls involved, it's a beautiful thing and it's so rewarding seeing all the kids coming out.

Some can't afford it because golf is very expensive, so whether it's the Girls Golf program or First Tee, getting the kids involved with the game of golf -- it's such a wonderful game that you can take and do so many things with later in life.

It's just cool to have that millionth girl. I'm speechless.

STACY LEWIS: You're one of the million girls involved.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: It's really cool.

STACY LEWIS: Just shows the work that's been put in. Probably taken longer than everybody has wanted, and it's now how fast can wet get to two million? We're going to see the impact of that million. Probably going to be five or six years before you'll see it.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Hopefully be retired by then.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, just to see that's what's coming, right? More girls in the game, the talent will keep getting better and women's golf will get deeper. Now it's our job to make sure they have a place to play for the future.

That's what continues to push us.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: For sure.

Q. You did talk about the future, and we are this week launching a campaign to continue those efforts so that we can reach the next million that much quicker. What would be your goals or hopes for how we get there? Any visions you want to share with us?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: That's a great question.

STACY LEWIS: That is a great question.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Just talking about it and just making it fun. I feel like a lot of girls don't think golf is fun. Obviously takes five hours to play a round of golf. Doing our little clinics, like on Saturdays sometimes we have these big blow up things and the hula hoops and we're chipping in to different things, I just think keeping it fun like that for girls is going to keep their interest. Having a group setting instead of one-on-one thing, which is a little bit more intimidating.

All of that is going to be helpful. Obviously the more we talk about it and the more people hear about it, I think it'll just keep growing on its own. It's incredible.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, and seeing my little one, the interest level doesn't stay very long. It's very quick. That's the way the world is now, the quick bits. So it's going to be -- they're not going to want to go play 18 holes. It's got to be in a shorter time frame.

And whether it's hitting bigger balls, bigger clubs to make the game easier for them, especially when they start. But like I agree with Brittany. It's got to be fun, got to be having games with it. Make it a little bit competitive. That's okay, too. Mine is as competitive as they come.

So I think that's something good for them as well.

Q. Last question for each of you. Can you each tell me what makes you one in a million?

STACY LEWIS: One in a million? Brittany is one in a million. You were one in a million. She was one the girls, right?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah, I was. Feels like yesterday. I don't feel as old as I am. Gosh, I don't know. I think I'm just lucky to be one in a million. I feel blessed. I thought about turning pro, did home schooling and my parents were like, okay, let's try to turn pro. I never thought 19 years I would be here. I feel super lucky and honored that maybe the Girls Golf program was the step I needed to get me where I am.

Things have to align, and so I feel lucky and blessed to have gone that route. Here I am. That's crazy.

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I didn't do Girls Golf obviously but I'm a huge advocate for it. You know, you think of all the millions of people in this world, millions of females that play golf, and to be in the position we're in, we're so lucky. Like you said, so many stars have to align. You have to meet the right people, work hard in the process.

But just to think back, you think of all the people you played junior and college golf with and you're the one that made it here. It's crazy to look back later in your career and just kind of see just how lucky you really got in the whole process.

Q. Stacy, saw you on the ground early last week in San Francisco. What were your takeaways from Team USA's performance and what are some of the learnings you can apply for Solheim this year?

STACY LEWIS: A lot of takeaways. We tried out some things with the pairings. I gave the girls some stats info was that I was kind of working on to help them with the pairings. They ultimately made the call, but I fed them some information and they tried some things that is definitely going to help for Spain.

They did the pairings more based on stats than things we thought about in the past. So just the way that even though I know Danielle didn't play the way she wanted to on Sunday or really any of the week, but the way her and Nelly were able to work out the foursomes was definitely a good takeaway for us, just to see how they worked well together. They got along. Just things like that.

So just trying to build some camaraderie and trust in me of what I'm working on. That was really my goal being there. Just to spend some time with them.

Q. Did they go with all of your recommendations for the groups?

STACY LEWIS: Pretty much. Really the four of them in best ball, you could pretty much pair them up any way and they were going to be pretty successful statistically as it goes. It was really the variation came in alternate shot, so that was the big one. I was happy they went with my recommendations and decided to try it out.

Q. What were some of the stats in particular that pointed out to that set up being the?

STACY LEWIS: I can't give you all that. I'm sorry. Maybe once I'm done being captain I can tell you all that.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: If it works.

STACY LEWIS: If it works. It's a lot. You can base it on the setup the golf course, the length, odds and evens, their strengths and their weaknesses. It's rally kind of putting all of that information together.

Q. On that line, how important is it to just have KPMG as a partner through all that, providing some really good insights for the whole tour and especially for you for Solheim?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I actually did a meeting with about 15 players last night to kind of introduce the stats program to them and show them what we're working on.

Just to have KPMG support of gathering the data every week. We can do so much more with it as players learning about your games and how we can get better. And then for Solheim, the sky is the limit. They can pull -- any stat I want, they can pull it.

I said, we can break it down to the six months, 12 months, break down to the last month of how people are playing, to certain grasses, to -- I mean, I can break it down anything you can imagine basically.

So just to have their support through that and just allows me to be able to make better decisions. Been really, really helpful.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies. Let you get back to the kiddos and we appreciate you all being here.

STACY LEWIS: Thank you.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Thank you.

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