FIR HILLS SERI PAK CHAMPIONSHIP

March 22, 2024

Maria Fassi

Palos Verdes Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Maria Fassi. Dang. What a day. I know yesterday wasn't the round you were looking for, but played your way back inside the cut line today. How good are you feeling after that 6-under?

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, I think I got to get most improved gold star. Yeah, just happy. I mean, I think yesterday kind of came out of nowhere in a way. I finished 5-over and I was talking to my caddie, and it's just like trying to understand how that happened in a way. Like I feel like I played a lot better than that.

So I wasn't necessarily too concerned about the score because I knew that I was hitting good shots and it just kind of, again being came out of left field.

But, yeah, I think today we just really stayed patient, really stayed true to our game plan that we had set in place after Wednesday, and, yeah, just happy to see that paid off and excited that I get two more go's at it. Hopefully keep climbing up the leaderboard.

Q. I know I played on the LET earlier this year and had some success. Did that give you confidence? This year was going to be a little bit different on the LPGA, but did it give you confidence as you worked to battle back?

MARIA FASSI: Absolutely. I've been putting in a lot of work. Last six, eight months have been quite tough just with a lot of changes around my team, changes with even just how I'm swinging the club and stuff.

So, yeah, it was very refreshing to see solid rounds and do it in competition and not only playing at home with friends which I think it's very valuable.

And, yeah again just very happy that we're seeing the low rounds that we were waiting for and wanting to see more of.

Q. I feel like you're always a pretty confident person anyway. Professional golf can kick you in the teeth. How have you maintained that confidence and knowing you can do this out here?

MARIA FASSI: It's tough, because I can -- you know, I can feel confident, I can come out and play good with friends in pro rounds or play good at home, but if you don't do it in a tournament it's very hard to keep believing in yourself and keep trusting that what you're doing is going to pay off sooner rather than later.

I would've quit golf a long time ago without the amazing people I have around me. They really keep me in it. Yeah, I have a lot of very good friends out here as well that just always say the right thing when I need to hear, whether they know it or not.

I think that just, yeah, helps me stay in it. Yeah, playing in Morocco and round like today is a huge pat on the back and keeps me motivated to keep working harder.

Q. How do you build on this going forward?

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, we just got to keep -- I think today we played very, very smart. When we were out unfortunate position we were just trying to find a way to get ourselves in best place to possibly get it up and down.

You know, we weren't trying to be super heros out here. I think for me, that's been hard sometimes because I can pull off some of those shots quite often, and it's hard for me to be smart.

So I think a round like today, it's also a lesson for me to know that if you stay smart, you can go out and make eight birdies like it's nothing. So, yeah, just I think a lot of very valuable things, a lot of lessons even on a great round.

Yeah, just, again, excited for the next couple days and the next two weeks as well. We got two good golf courses and just get some momentum for the rest of the year.