|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 6, 2010Lexi ThompsonPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Alexis Thompson is here. Just recently turned pro, went through a tournament, didn't work out as well as you wanted. What did you learn from that? ALEXIS THOMPSON: You know, it was a great experience for me. You know, I just didn't play well. That's all that happened. You know, I got great groups playing with Christina Kim both days, so it was fun. MODERATOR: Have you altered anything in your approach going into this, your second tournament as a professional? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Probably just relaxing out there, you know, just not getting uptight and getting nervous and just playing my own game. MODERATOR: How do you like the golf course? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I like it a lot. It's pretty hard and the greens are rolling like 14. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure. MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Cristie Kerr was in here earlier today. Of course, she turned pro out of high school. I think she said that was the difference. She was out of high school. She said you're really young. What was your thought process in making the decision to become a pro at your age? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I just thought my game was ready, and I wanted to take my game to the next level and play against the best in the world. You know, I'm really happy with my decision, and my family has supported me the whole way. MODERATOR: Who's with you this week from your family? ALEXIS THOMPSON: My parents, my uncle, my grandma, and my agents. MODERATOR: They're probably not too many contestants who have their grandmother here. ALEXIS THOMPSON: No. (Laughter.) Q. I just wanted to ask you again with regard to your age, you were leading two rounds last year. How will that help you this year? This is a different course from Saucon Valley. That had to be quite an honor for you to be on top of the leaderboard at age what was it, I think 14? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah. Q. How will that help you? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Just knowing that I did it last year will definitely help me this year. And playing aggressive, I think. Just making pars out here I think will be pretty good. Even par is going to do really good out here, that's for sure. Q. I know you just turned pro, but so far how have the girls on the tour treated you? What's their reaction to you? ALEXIS THOMPSON: They've treated me really well, just saying, good luck; have great years; you have a great life ahead of you. Just giving me a lot of support. Q. Obviously it's pretty hot and humid out there today, and probably will be for the rest of the week. How does that affect your game? What it's like out there? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I've just got to stay hydrated, that's for sure. Keeping my hands dry and just eating so I don't get hungry or dehydrated. I think that's the key out here. Q. You said earlier repeatedly that you're ready. Could you elaborate more on that? Not just from a technical, physical standpoint, but why you think you're emotionally ready, mentally ready, and all of the things that maybe some people who look at this little critically might not think that you're ready to do? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Well, I just think my game is ready. If I just go out and just relax and play my own game, I think I'll play really well out here. Just keep a consistent four-day score and just play really well, and I think I can compete out here. MODERATOR: Any idea what you might have shot had you been keeping score? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Maybe even or a few over. Maybe a few over. A lot better than yesterday, that's for sure. (Laughing.) MODERATOR: How did it go yesterday, your practice rounds? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I struggled with my ball striking. Today was a lot better. Working on my game a little bit. MODERATOR: Some people say that some of the players on this golf course are going to be embarrassed by the kind of scores they shoot. What do you think? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah, that's probably -- if you have one off day, it can be really ugly, or one day off day of just hitting, ball-striking, or putting. I mean, you can putt it off these greens easily. So if you struggle, it's not going to be very pretty. Q. There have been other young girls who have come out and played in some Opens and whatnot. Did you talk to any other players perhaps about your decision, anyone you maybe leaned on just to get some input? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Um, a few of my friends like Jessica Korda and Jay Green (ph) that are both actually in this -- they've been really supportive of my decision. They think I can compete out here, too. Just a lot of support from them and my family. Q. Can you talk about your family? I know you have a brother who is very good. Do you have a younger sister who may be as good or... ALEXIS THOMPSON: No. I have two older brothers. (Laughing.) Q. Just tell me about the influence of them and how you actually started and when you knew that this was going to be your calling. ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah, they actually really started me on golf when I was really young. When I started, they were already really into it, so just watching them and competing with them has made me a lot better of a player. I'm a lot more determined to beat them. It happens a few times, but it's made me a lot better of a player. Q. Seems like the field's becoming increasingly international. As American golfers, I mean, do you feel like you're part of this wave of American golfers to try and swing the tide back to our country being, you know, the golf king or whatever? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah, I'm definitely going to try to hopefully be on top. But, you know, they're great players. It doesn't matter where they come from. I mean, they compete really well out here. They're all great. Q. Do you think that you had to make a tradeoff, that you had to sacrifice the life of a so-called normal teenager or normal teenage life for what you're doing now? ALEXIS THOMPSON: No. I haven't given up anything. I'm home-schooled. That's the only thing I've given up. I go out with my friends. I go bowling, movies, Ping-Pong. I do all the normal stuff, so I have fun when I'm off the course and on it. MODERATOR: How many weeks off do you have planned for this year? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Weeks off? MODERATOR: Weeks off, yes. ALEXIS THOMPSON: Well, I think I might be playing like one every month maybe. So, you know... MODERATOR: Home three weeks and out for a week? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah. Q. A little while ago Michelle Wie was here, and she obviously goes to Stanford University, is balancing a golfing career and education in college. Whenever your high school stuff is done, do you plan to go to college a little bit like Michelle? If so, why or why not? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I haven't really thought about it. I don't think so, but I might take college courses online. You never know. I might take them later. Q. What kind of schedule do you have coming up? You obviously can't play the tour events. Can you get enough competition aside from the exemptions to get your game competitively sharp? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah, well, I'm for sure in the Evian Masters. I just heard I got into that, so it's pretty cool. And the Walmart event, the Canadian Open, and I think the Navistar. I have a few in there. Hopefully get a few more. MODERATOR: Goals for this year? ALEXIS THOMPSON: I'm just going to try to shoot well, shoot around even. My goal for placing probably around top 15, I would hope, yeah. MODERATOR: You're speaking of this week? ALEXIS THOMPSON: Yeah. MODERATOR: Okay. Or are you talking about the tour in general? ALEXIS THOMPSON: No, I'm talking about this week. MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you for joining us, and good luck to you. ALEXIS THOMPSON: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|