U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 18, 2024

Rianne Malixi

El Caballero Country Club

Press Conference

Q. So you have been winning pretty comfortably, except for this morning. Talk about the MGM this morning?

RIANNE MALIXI: Yeah, so I kind of like struggled with my iron play and I was feeling a bit funky with my swing.

I somehow made it work. Kennedy made a lot of good shots out there, and then she was -- her putter was so hot on the back nine and made a lot of birdies; I didn't.

So that was kind of like is difficult match play win. But somehow made it to a playoff so, yeah.

Q. What was funky about your swing?

RIANNE MALIXI: So for my short irons I keep on pulling it left, so I kind of like figured I was like upper body dominant and kind of like fix it on the range.

Irons were so much better in the second match.

Q. So you were able to get out on the range in between matches and fix the problem?

RIANNE MALIXI: Yeah.

Q. Wow. What does that do to your confidence to be able to identify the issue in the first match and then fix it that quickly?

RIANNE MALIXI: Well, it just takes one good shot to really boost that confidence back. Yeah, that was the key.

Q. And do you feel like your putting has continued to improve?

RIANNE MALIXI: Uh-huh, yeah, for sure.

Q. Getting more used to the greens?

RIANNE MALIXI: Yeah.

Q. We've been talking about the putting a little bit. Would you say your win this afternoon was due to improved putting or was it your irons or...

RIANNE MALIXI: One key factor for sure is my irons. They were a lot better. But I made a lot of clutch putts on both of my matches today.

Yeah, I'll credit that to my putter.

Q. Yeah. How does it feel to be going back into another quarterfinal match back to back years?

RIANNE MALIXI: It's amazing. I know it's not going to be easy, but, yeah, just honored to reach quarterfinals and hope for the best.

Q. What are you going to do the rest of the day today to prepare?

RIANNE MALIXI: Just going to putt and rest back at the hotel.

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