BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH-PLAY

May 24, 2023

Daniela Darquea

Shadow Creek

Quick Quotes

DANIELA DARQUEA: Daniela Darquea.

Q. Okay, Daniela, 2-down at the turn. You come back to win 1-up over Allisen Corpuz. Take me through what it was like out there, especially on the back nine holes?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Yeah, it was really fun. Starting the round I was hitting the ball okay and then I missed two drives on 6 and 7 that didn't really help.

I was 3-down. I won 9 and then I made a couple birdies coming in that really helped. I think I stayed very positive through the round, so that was important.

Q. How much match play have you played in your career? When is the last time you've really honed in on it like in this week?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Well, honestly, like the most important tournament in South America, amateur tournament in South America is match play, Copa Los Andes, so I grew up always training for that and just trying to do my best to get in best shape possible to play that tournament.

So obviously playing again match play after so many years, it's special, it's important. So many good memories, you know.

Q. We talked about on the walk over here those couple of holes, finishing holes. You taking it all the way to 18. Just what was it like for you? What was the mentality on those last five holes for you knowing that you could take this one?

DANIELA DARQUEA: You know, it was windy. It started to blow a lot, especially on 13, 14. You know, that second shot on 14 is just very hard with the wind off the left.

17 is very hard to judge. It's not a hard shot. It's just very hard to know what is the actual number with the wind.

I think I did a good job. My caddie helped me a lot. I feel like we did a good teamwork there. I stayed calm. I knew that if I stay calm and do my work properly I was going to be able to win the match.

Q. Can you talk about being the first group out? Is that a good thing just to get the nerves out of the way or stay out of the heat? How do you feel about being first out?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Yeah, honestly, like being the first, it didn't really matter. You know, it's not like medal play that you play first and it's an advantage sometimes or not. You're still playing against your opponent at the same time, so it's the same.

Q. What's the mindset going into tomorrow? We've got three days of this pool play, but a win out here has to up that confidence going into the next few days.

DANIELA DARQUEA: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I need to go and work a little bit on my ball striking again. I think I've been doing a good job in the few past weeks, so I'll go work on that a little bit, and, you know, try to stay fresh for tomorrow.

I know it's a long tournament so just keeping positive always.