WOMEN'S OLYMPIC GOLF COMPETITION

August 7, 2024

Gaby Lopez

Le Golf National

Quick Quotes

Q. Talk about the finish.

GABY LOPEZ: I think the golf course plays very challenging off the tee because you have curved fairways and it's really easy to run through them. You've got to be very specific off the line, off the tee. Birdied the last three holes. Gives that you momentum and that faith of kind of keep fighting for whatever it is, for a medal, for a good finish, for your country until the end.

Q. Before Miguel asked you about 9, what clubs did you hit on 18?

GABY LOPEZ: I hit 3-wood off the tee and 6-iron second shot.

Q. So they moved the tees up on 9, and that changes the hole, really play as way from your strength. Do you think the hazard snuck up on you there?

GABY LOPEZ: Honestly I don't think -- you know, it's very tricky. I mean, it was playing a little bit into the wind. It was like a two-club wind. It's challenging to kind of hit it into that little neck.

But yeah, it is what it is. Everyone is playing the same golf course. But yeah, at the end of the day, the player that adapts the most; the player that talks to herself the most better, is going to have a good chance.

Q. You make that bogey and you're kind of hanging around and then 12 I think was another mistake. Were you like angry?

GABY LOPEZ: Honestly bogeying a par 5 is never fun. It's always like you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot. But Djokovic says it all the time. It's not how -- what we have or what we get; it's how we react.

I made a really hurtful mistake and then I made a great up-and-down on 10 to make par. And 12 is just playing really hard. Mistakes are going to come. Golf course, it's really hard to have a perfect round, especially this golf course and in these conditions. Everyone is going to make mistakes and everyone is going to make bogeys. You've just got to talk to yourself very nicely and very kindly, and I think that's pretty much what it takes.

Q. Do you talk to yourself nicely?

GABY LOPEZ: I did, yeah.

Q. What's the conversation?

GABY LOPEZ: It's hard. The self-talk, it's huge. It's really easy to let yourself down when it's really difficult. You've got to cheer yourself all day long. You have to be optimistic and think that good things are coming your way and turning everything that comes your way in a positive. That was my goal today. Whatever happens today, I'm going to take it and turn it and make it into a positive. We'll see if it pays off.

At the end of the day, I think calmness and patience in golf pays off, today, next month, in six months, in a year. It's just a matter of how you train yourself to be optimistic even in tough conditions.

Q. Obviously it turned around pretty quickly, you were saying months but you got it in the last three holes.

GABY LOPEZ: No, no, no, it's not a work that I've done the last couple days. It's been something I've been working on a long time. Sometimes it turns your way. Sometimes it doesn't. You've just got to be patient and you've got to accept a lot of what happens out there. It's going to come. You can hit a great driver off the tee and you can end up in a divot and that changes the whole thing.

Yeah, it's just a matter of being patient and kind of enjoying the challenge, enjoying the crowds. This stage, we have it once in four years, and it's a matter of just embracing it.

Q. What did you think of the atmosphere?

GABY LOPEZ: Oh, gosh, it's probably the best I've ever played in. Rory was saying, and really made it very, very interesting, how the biggest tournaments are not for money. You know, Solheim Cup, Ryder Cup, Olympics, and we get the best atmosphere.

You know, you can see how people are so passionate about golf and golfers and they are countries and their countries' colour and defending that flag is what I'm most proud of, and that's why I play this sport. It's not the outcome. It's actually what it gives me and how much I can inspire the next generation.

Q. There's a lot of Mexicans out there.

GABY LOPEZ: Man, I mean, I can tell that anywhere I go, Singapore or Thailand, I see one Mexican.

I'm so happy to see so many here. That's what we are probably known for is the passion we have for our country, and that atmosphere, doesn't matter what you shoot, they are always going to cheer you on and back you up.

Q. Did you feel them out there today?

GABY LOPEZ: Oh, for sure. It's also an extra motivation when you feel like a little down, having them cheering you, gives you -- it kind of pumps you up.

Q. Do you know the words to your National Anthem?

GABY LOPEZ: Yes, I do.

Q. Do you think there's anyone in the field that doesn't?

GABY LOPEZ: I don't think so. I don't think so. In school I had to learn it. They make you. They force you to learn it. I really think that everyone is too proud to not know it.

Q. Would you sing it for us now?

GABY LOPEZ: I can do it. I have no -- that would be great.