BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH-PLAY

May 26, 2023

Daniela Darquea

Shadow Creek

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Daniela. You had to come back a little bit there. Thoughts walking off the course?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Well, I started the day pretty much struggling a little bit with my ball striking. I was just not hitting the shots that I wanted.

I stayed calm. I know matches are very mental, so I just stayed calm and kept doing what I was supposed to do.

Q. So you were tied at one and a half points with I can't remember who it was, but is that something you think about while you're playing, or you just focus on the task at hand?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Yesterday I was looking at the leaderboard, and obviously I was like, you know, counting the points. But I know that I have to come out and win every single match out here if I want to win, so that was my mentality. That's what I was focused on.

Q. Absolutely. So coming back and seeing the whole course, what kind of confidence does that give you heading into the weekend here?

DANIELA DARQUEA: You know, this is one of those courses that the more you play, the more you know, so I feel like every day I get more adapted to especially the greens that are very tricky. The short game, you really sometimes have to hit shots out of your imagination.

So I'm getting better at that, and obviously I know the matches going forward are going to be a lot tougher, so I know that I need to bring my best game.

Hopefully that shows up this weekend.

Q. Normally you're playing all 18, but in a match play kind of setting, you play 18, does that give you an advantage, to see the course a little bit more as you continue on?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Well, yeah.

Q. Especially this course.

DANIELA DARQUEA: I played all my matches honestly up to 17, 18, and I think that those four last holes are very tough, especially 17. You kind of have to judge the wind very well.

So it's very interesting to have those matches going that far and actually seeing the course, like entire, yeah.

Q. So in a little bit we'll head out and you'll put your name on the big board and see who you're going up against. Do you think about that, or what's the mentality heading into tomorrow?

DANIELA DARQUEA: Yeah, right now I just finished playing, so see what happens. We'll see what's next. We'll see the wind, the weather, the conditions. I'll probably prepare all that tonight.

But I'm excited. I'm excited to play. I'm excited to compete. I love the format, so I'm ready.