U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 2, 2024

Andrea Lee

Lancaster Country Club

Flash Interview

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the interview area. We're here with Andrea Lee. Talk us through your round out there today.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it was tough out there. Obviously didn't have my best right from the start. I was pretty nervous, but yeah, just didn't have great shots out there. I had a couple of drives that really cost me, especially the double on 4.

But I tried to fight my way back, especially on the back nine with a birdie on 12. I felt like I was still in it. I really grinded out there. I tried to come back, but yeah, it was tough. I just didn't have my best today.

Q. Ultimately you came up just short of your final goal, but what are going to be some of your takeaways from the week?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, a lot of positives to take away from the week. This was my last time being in the last group of a major championship, both the third and fourth rounds. I was extremely nervous, but I feel like I learned a lot about how to control my emotions out here.

Definitely a lot of positives to take away. I feel like this is only going to make me stronger in the long run and give me some confidence going into the rest of the season.

Q. How about the crowds and the support out there? I think you gained a lot of fans this week.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, Lancaster has some of the best fans, crowds I've ever experienced in my entire life. I had a blast out there. They were screaming my name, and it was great to hear and have their support.

Yeah, very thankful that they all came out to watch some great golf. It was an experience unlike any other.

Q. On the short par-4, 16th hole, it looked like you take fairway wood off the tee. Were you trying to lay up on that hole?

ANDREA LEE: I wasn't. I was actually trying to get it somewhere in the front. I knew driver was going to be too much, and I didn't want to go over the back of the green potentially and have a downhill shot. I just tried to maybe get it somewhere in that front left bunker probably would have been an ideal spot, but I just hit it really low and it just wasn't a great shot.

Q. You didn't have to continue to fight the way you did. No competitor ever gives up, but how did you dig deep and tell yourself you still had an opportunity to try to win this golf tournament?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, this golf course is tough. I knew there were a lot of hard holes coming down the stretch and anything could happen. Obviously Yuka played really solid golf today. I think she shot 1- or 2-under par, which is really good.

I still felt that I was in it even after the tough front nine that I had. Just tried to stay patient, managed to get one back, but just didn't finish ideally the way I wanted to.

Q. What have you learned about yourself this week and even in this experience today that you'll carry with you to the rest of the season with so much still to look forward to?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I definitely learned a lot this week about myself. I do belong out here, and I feel like I am good enough to win and be in contention for major championships. I just need to do better.

And I've learned a lot this week, and I'm hoping to build on that and work on the things that I need to in order to put myself back up there again.

Q. This is such a different style of golf than we see week to week where 16, 17-under win. What do you think about this kind of setup, this kind of golf? What do you think about the setup?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, this is your typical U.S. Women's Open Championship. It's a major, and it's obviously going to be a lot tougher than our usual tournaments that we have out there.

Personally I really enjoy playing courses like this where it's tough and you need to have every single aspect of your game firing, and you have to hit the ball straight. You have to hit greens and just play really consistent golf.

I think I actually really enjoy it. I feel like it suits my game pretty well. But yeah, I enjoy weeks like these where we play tougher golf courses.