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CVS/PHARMACY LPGA CHALLENGEOctober 17, 2010Beatriz RecariDANVILLE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: So Beatriz, congratulations. Just tell us how you're feeling right now. BEATRIZ RECARI: Well, I'm kind of like realizing that I won. I still cannot believe it. I think it'll take me kind of a couple days to assimilate that. I'm flying tonight to Malaysia, so I'll probably have a couple hours to actually think what happened this week. No, I'm thrilled. I did a very good job. I had three weeks off. I worked very hard, and that paid off. I played very well last week. And I got a great feeling when I came in, a good vibe, and I'm just very, very happy and proud of myself of that result and the kind of competition that I showed out there. THE MODERATOR: So what's more nerve-wracking? Going 200 miles per hour with Mario Andretti or keeping a lead on the back nine? BEATRIZ RECARI: You know, I felt like that was a great experience coming before this tournament because I believe I had so much adrenaline and then I just felt so calm when I was standing on the putt. That was a crazy experience. I was very, very lucky or honored to have such an experience. But no, you know, that was fun for me. This is my job, and you know, I still have to keep it fun and focus and just -- yeah, just focus on what I have to do and just stay calm and be aggressive. THE MODERATOR: Did you know what you had to do on 18? Did you know Gladys birdied before you? BEATRIZ RECARI: I saw that. So I knew that, again, the pin was on the left. I'm just going to draw it. I had a drawing as well, and I just had to put myself in position where I could have easy two putts, and I did, so I'm very, very proud. THE MODERATOR: Excellent. Questions? Q. Yesterday you talked about when you won your first tournament last year in Europe, you know, you blew the five-shot lead and you had the spectacular shot to win, that you learned a lot about managing your game and focusing under pressure. What was it like out there today? How well do you think you did? BEATRIZ RECARI: Well, I think I did very well. I stood very strong -- I started very strong on the first, the second, and almost eagled the third, had a tap-in for birdie. Birdied -- or bogeyed the fifth, birdied the sixth again. So I was feeling very strong, and I was all the time getting the lead, if it was only by one shot. And then I was always up there, so that gave me confidence. And then it started raining, and I just, okay, just the course is playing longer, different. So just have to position the ball, put myself into a neutral situation and stable situation, and I did. And that's why I'm saying I'm very proud of how I handled myself out there. I did not allow the nerves or think any further than what I had to do right in front of me, and that's why all the hard work and mental work is paying off, or has paid off. Q. You talked the other day about some of the great Spanish players in the past, Seve and Olazabal and Sergio. Are there any female players? Seems like Spain's had a lot of great men's players, but not that many on the women's side. BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. As I was growing up, well, in Europe Laura Davies is very famous, of course. And then Annika Sorenstam had a fantastic stretch, and then as I got a little bit older or into my 16, 17, 18 years, then Lorena came up. So of course, you know, I always knew that I wanted to be serious and be a pro, so when I turned 18, this was my goal was to be here. But I knew during those four years I played in Europe it was a matter of getting my game ready to be here and be competitive. And last year when I got my -- made a victory, I said okay, I'm ready to go out there. I think I have improved and I believe I can make it. And then I had to start from Q-School, and I had big expectations coming in at the beginning of the season. I was hoping or expecting myself to keep my card. I said, okay. I didn't know what to expect really. I didn't know what I was going to face because of course I was going to play with the best players in the world, and that was a big step for me. I would have never expected this, but I hope -- but I think, you know, when you do things right and when you focus on what you have to do, this just happens. You cannot force it. So I'm still not believing that I won, but I apparently did. So I'm very happy. Q. You talked about it raining out there. What went through your mind when it did start raining, pretty good? Wasn't it bad weather when you won in Finland last year? BEATRIZ RECARI: It was cold, yes. I mean it gets -- it was late August, so by the time, you know, it gets very cold out there. But you know, I just said I did not allow myself to get affected by the scores, the leaderboard or weather conditions, you know. No matter what, if it's sunny, if it's raining, it's the same for everyone, so you just have to focus on put yourself into a birdie situation or par situation and whatever and you have to do it no matter what. If it's raining, if it's hailing, it doesn't matter. You have to do it. Q. Can you talk a little bit about how old you were when you first started playing golf, what got you into the game and maybe elaborate a little on what you said the other day about Seve? BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. Well, I'm from Pamplona, which is very well known for the Running of the Bulls. So I started when I was 11 because my dad took it up and started playing. He came from the soccer world. He was a soccer coach, so he was used to doing a lot of sports and exercise, but then he started his own business, and you know, it is a difference when you're exercising all day long and then all of a sudden you're sitting down in a chair all day long. So that impacted his body. And he said, okay, I have to start again doing some exercise, and he didn't want to jog or do some tennis, so he started playing golf. And he took me for the first time, and I caddied for him. And I liked it so much that one month later then they offered me to go -- or the head pro told me if I wanted to go to the Spanish Championships. So I asked my dad if he was able to take me because it was all the way south, so it was a big drive. He said yes. Then after the last day I remember -- I mean I shot 100, but I remember that, you know, I had this feeling, I took my dad to the car, I was like I said, dad, I really want to do this serious. I said, would you support me? Would you help me? He said, yeah, of course. You know, because I live in the north and the winters are cold. So he said, if the Sundays are cold and it's minus whatever, we're still practicing. I said, I get it. And since then it's been a very interesting journey. Q. You were 11 at that time? BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. Q. Why did you like it? What captured you? BEATRIZ RECARI: I don't know. It was a strange feeling. It was kind of my first touch into competitive sports, and I really liked it. I've always been a person that whatever I do, I wanted to do it very well, whether it was my studies or anything. And it just captured me. And I had these feelings, like I shot 100. I don't know if I finished whatever, last position, but I said, I want to be good and I want to be the ones that are winning. Q. Have you had a chance to meet Seve or Jose or Sergio? BEATRIZ RECARI: No. No. Well, Sergio, yes. I'm very good friends with his dad, and I actually call him Papa Garcia. No. They're a great family, and my second year on Tour I didn't have any sponsor or club sponsor or nothing, so I had to pay for everything. And Victor, his dad, he helped me a lot. He gave me gloves. He supported me with balls, gloves. And he really looked after me very well, so I have only positive comments towards them. And Sergio, I haven't met him that many times because obviously he travels a lot, and he's very busy, but he's very nice as well, and Olazabal, I didn't meet him, but my first coach was the same as his coach when he was an amateur because I live just one hour away from where he lives. Q. Seve is sort of a larger-than-life figure in Spain. BEATRIZ RECARI: Sure. Q. I'm just curious how much of an inspiration he was as you were taking up the game and your thoughts now given what he's going through. BEATRIZ RECARI: Well, when I studied from the beginning, I didn't know anything, and you know, I could only hear fantastic things about Seve, and then you get to see them and all these stories are how -- because he's from the north, too. They're only two hours away from where I live. I got to play on his course, and actually he designed nine holes, and I played there and it's brutal. It's brutal. I mean all blind shots from the tee box all the time. Q. Where is that? BEATRIZ RECARI: In Pedrena. In Santander actually. His golf course. But he was an inspiration for everyone. I mean he's a legend in Spain, and it's very sad what's happening to him right now, and I hope that he comes back to where he was health wise. Q. Can you clarify when you were talking about that Spanish Championship, you went there to watch or to play? BEATRIZ RECARI: No, no. I played there. Q. You played. BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah, yeah. I shot 100. Q. 100. Okay. BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. I shot like 64 in nine holes, so yeah. Q. You were just taking up the game? BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. I had only been playing for a month, and I mean everyone in the club had a 5-wood, 7-iron. I didn't know. It was the Spanish Championship. Q. Where do you think this win can take you? I mean where does this sort of send you? Obviously this is something you've thought about a long time and wanted to achieve. How does it maybe affect your confidence or your game going forward? BEATRIZ RECARI: Oh, it affects a lot my confidence because obviously it was the right thing to come back to basics, although, you know, I still have to improve my game. But it's obvious that it's working, so I just have to trust myself more and let it happen. And I just did it, and I'm speaking here right now, but I don't know where it's going to take me. I mean I just -- you know, I can imagine the future, but that's only in my mind. I just want focus day by day, and the rest my agent can handle. I don't know. I have to focus on my game and that's it. Q. I think your best finish this year was ninth in a Match Play event. BEATRIZ RECARI: Yes. Q. When you came on Tour this year, did you think it would be great to get a victory or were you even thinking about winning when you came out here this year? BEATRIZ RECARI: No. No. I mean as I said, for being a rookie, I didn't know what to expect. I was just going tournament by tournament, and it was hard in the beginning. It was very, very hard. And I just -- my expectations for the year was to keep my card and, you know, play the majors, you know, finish in the top 80 and play the majors of the limited fields next year. You know, you always imagine where you want to be in your golf and you imagine yourself winning, but you don't know what's going to happen. You have to focus day by day and just let it go. Q. What's your dad's name? BEATRIZ RECARI: J-O-S-E L-U-I-S. Q. Same last name? BEATRIZ RECARI: Yes. Q. And did you say he started his own business and that's when you got into golf? BEATRIZ RECARI: No. He started his own business. My parents are tax accountants, and then my father or my parents on the side they have a restaurant. Garcia (indiscernible). I give them some publicity. You know, you stop and you start, and you know, it takes years. It was a few years after that he stopped coaching. Q. Have you ever thought about participating in the Running of the Bulls? BEATRIZ RECARI: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. You know, everyone asks me that, but I always say I've seen it enough times to realize that it's more dangerous than what people think, and absolutely not. I watched it many times behind the fence, but that's about it. Q. You grew up -- not in the same city, but is it right by your house? BEATRIZ RECARI: No. No. That's in the old city. I live kind of not in the outskirts, but not in the old city. Downtown. Q. You never even considered it? Do you have friends or family that have done it? BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. A male friend of mine. But he was so proud because he actually got hit by a bull, and he carries the picture everywhere. He is as proud as anyone can be. But no, all my girl friends, no, we stay away, and it's just kind of a male thing, stupid thing. Q. Not too many women do that anyway; right? BEATRIZ RECARI: No. Every year you see more women doing it, but I saw once I think it was two years ago that a lady fell because, you know, the ground in the old city is all bricks; it's uneven bricks. And a 600-kilo animal is running behind you with two horns and hundreds of people running behind you. So she fell on the ground and like broke all her teeth. No. I'm definitely not up for that. Q. You're smarter than that. BEATRIZ RECARI: Yeah. I play golf. THE MODERATOR: Everybody good? Thank you. BEATRIZ RECARI: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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