U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 1, 2024

Andrea Lee

Lancaster Country Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Please welcome back to the interview area Andrea Lee. Talk a little bit about your round today and especially some of those putts. Some of those putts to save par seemed really important.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, overall I played pretty solid today. Had just a couple of bogeys on the front nine and managed to go bogey-less on the back, which was just pretty good out here.

But overall just played really solid, steady golf and had a few putts drop, which is nice to see.

Q. New position for you now and also some big crowds out there. What is it like playing in front of that kind of excitement?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, yesterday coming off my round I felt like I was even more nervous than I was today, actually, just knowing that I was going to be in the final group of a U.S. Women's Open.

But yeah, today I walked out on the tee, and a lot of people were kind of saying, go Andrea. It was really nice to hear that and have the support from the crowd.

Honestly, I had a blast out there.

Q. I know you guys were dealing with a little bit of slow play warnings. How does that impact you mentally during the round, and how do you try to correct?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I mean, it's obviously not great to be on the clock during a major championship. It was a little bit stressful. But I just tried to pick up the pace a little bit, have my caddie walk out faster than I did so he could get to the ball quicker.

I felt like on the par-5, it felt a little rushed. I had like a five-, six-footer for birdie and just didn't quite feel like I had enough time to read it, and I just kind of went over it, and it didn't break at all the way I thought.

It was a little stressful, but honestly, it's part of the game, and you just have to play the game and just pick up the pace a little bit.

Q. Which was the first hole you were put on the clock?

ANDREA LEE: On the par-5, No. 13.

Q. A few years ago I know things looked a lot different for you; got those two professional wins in '22, and '23 was a pretty big year, too. How have you maintained your confidence to find yourself in this position again?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I think I'm just steadily getting a little bit better every year and just finding my rhythm out here on Tour. I feel really comfortable, especially this season. I feel like this is the most comfortable I've felt out here and the most fun that I've had since turning professional.

I'm just trying to keep it as light as possible and just have a good mindset going into every single tournament, and I think that's panned out really well for me so far.

Q. With your history with USGA championships, how cool is this moment, just to be here, have people outside the ropes screaming for you and be in this environment this week?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it's an incredible feeling. It's something that I've always dreamed of, vying for major championship wins.

Michelle Wie West texted me last night, and she told me just whatever the outcome is, just put your 100 percent effort into it. No matter what happens it's a privilege to be in this moment, to have this opportunity.

I really took that to heart, and yeah, today I just tried to have fun out there and just play the golf course and not try to play against the field, just me and the golf course.

Q. You've got some mentors that are major championship winners that are U.S. Women's Open winners. Does that help you at all do you feel like to be able to pick Meg Mallon's brain, to be able to pick Michelle Wie West's brain?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it's awesome to have mentors around me. Like Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel were out there. I saw them on the range right before my round and they just said, go have fun. You have to be comfortable under pressure. This is an exciting opportunity.

Yeah, it's nice to have the legends of the game have my back, and of course Michelle Wie West who's someone that I've looked up to and I call a friend and almost an older sister like figure. Of course it's great to have them.

Q. What's the most pressure that you've felt on a golf course, and what did you learn from it?

ANDREA LEE: That's a great question. I think my first LPGA win in Portland just coming down the stretch, I had I think like a one-shot lead going into 17 and my heart was just racing.

That was the most amount of pressure that I'd ever felt in my career. I was thinking to myself, if not now, then when. You have this opportunity, why not just grab it right now. So that was the thinking. Got the win, so that was pretty amazing, and I think I learned a lot about myself that day.

I think I had a poor start but managed to finish strong and get the win by one shot. I learned a lot from that week, and hopefully that'll help me going into tomorrow, just those emotions and how to control them.

Q. How will you spend your night tonight?

ANDREA LEE: I'm going to have a big fat dinner, probably a steak, and then I'm going to go straight to bed. This course is taking a lot out of me this week, and obviously one more round left, so I'm just going to go get as much rest as I can.

Q. Rare, medium rare, medium?

ANDREA LEE: Medium. Medium rare plus.

Q. On weeks like this when you're competing, do you read, do you watch TV?

ANDREA LEE: I have both of my parents with me this week, which is really nice. My mom doesn't come out to a lot of events. I think her last one was probably Pebble Beach last year, so last year's U.S. Women's Open.

So it's really nice to have her out here and just to hang out with her. But yeah, I spend a lot of time with them, and we just watch some TV, and yeah, it's pretty light and easygoing.