BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH-PLAY

May 25, 2023

Leona Maguire

Shadow Creek

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Leona Maguire. Leona, what a hard-fought day on your end here to really come back in that back nine. 3-down at the turn. What was going through your mind as you approached those back nine holes?

LEONA MAGUIRE: Yeah, I mean, I didn't feel like I got off to that bad of a start. Jenny just holed some nice putts, few birdies, and find myself 4-down after 8, which wasn't exactly an ideal position to be in.

Yeah, Dermot kept me patient. Just tried to keep hitting good shots. Made birdie on 9, which gave me a little momentum.

Then, yeah, just tried to hang in, stay patient.

Had a couple really good up and downs on 13 and 14.

Got lucky on 15. It bounced on the rocks and came out and got up and down.

So I guess you need a little luck sometimes for results like that to go your way.

Q. What happened to you on those final two holes? You're tied up on 17 and 18 is really what solidified that final hole.

LEONA MAGUIRE: Yeah, 17, it's playing short today but it's hard. It's so far downwind. That pin is so tight. You can barely stop it. Came up a little bit short in the bunker. Nearby plugged, but not quite, and I had a really nice up and down there.

Jenny went over the back and didn't get up and down.

Went to 18 all square. Hit a really nice drive and nice wedge to about ten feet. Jenny three-putted so it didn't matter in the end, but felt like I finished strong with some good momentum and hit some key shots when I really needed to.

Q. We're seeing a lot of these matches go all 18 holes, and that takes a lot of stamina, especially with this being a five-day, quote-unquote, tournament. When I tell that you are you surprised by that, or Shadow Creek just lends itself to some good match play?

LEONA MAGUIRE: Yeah, I mean, I feel like it can go either way. I think you can have some really big wins if someone is just on fire, and you don't have to miss very much to find yourself in trouble out here.

But at the same time, you can have those big see-saw matches where someone's up, someone is down, you can make a comeback.

It's match play. Anything can happen. It's just a case of staying patient and just, yeah, hitting the shots when you need to, holing a few putts at the right time.

Q. What do you do to conserve your energy through this week? It's going to take a lot, and if we're going to see a lot of these matches go to 18 holes it's definitely going to be something.

LEONA MAGUIRE: Yeah, we were on the clock for a good bit of the back nine, so for me I had to fight the urge not to walk faster and do everything faster. So Dermot was keeping me walking slow and extra drinks of water being so hot out here. I'd stand in the shade where possible.

Yeah, it's a marathon week, it's not a sprint, so very much conserving energy at all costs.

Q. The first few days how much are you enjoying this atmosphere, this environment?

LEONA MAGUIRE: Yeah, I think it's a great golf course. Said yesterday it's one of the best courses we play all year. Few people out watching us today, which was nice.

Yeah, hopefully that builds over the next few days.

Yeah, felt like I played better today, so hopefully I'm working my way into it and enjoy another day out there tomorrow.

Q. What's the mentality with the final day of group play ahead of us?

LEONA MAGUIRE: Same as the last two days: just try and play as well as I possibly can. I don't think you can -- it's a tough golf course, so with the heat you have to focus on yourself. I don't think you can waste any energy on anybody else or what they're doing.

Just try and play as well as I can, hit as many fairways as I can, and try and hole a few putts.