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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 25, 2012Stacy LewisCOQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA MIKE SCANLAN: We'd like to welcome Stacy Lewis to the interview at the CN Canadian Women's Open. Great day for you out there, just a few shots off the lead. If you would, just talk about your day. Few early birdies and you got an eagle in there, and you said on the way over it was kind of an easy day of golf. STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I finally got off to a good start which I hadn't done any of the previous days. So I got a couple under early and then played the par‑5s well on the back side. Made eagle on 10, and I had another eagle putt on 13. So it was really pretty solid. I had quite a few chances that I missed so a little frustrated with that, but definitely happy to be up in contention and giving myself a chance for tomorrow. MIKE SCANLAN: You definitely took advantage of moving day, moved a few spots up the leaderboard. I think the media's getting used to seeing you in the interview room now. You've made 16 of 17 cut this is year. Ten Top 10s, two wins. Does it feel like you should be in this position right now? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I think so. It was strange for me. I struggled in Portland and didn't play well, and that was a place I hadn't been all year. So it kind of made me get more focused with my swing. I've been calling my instructor back and forth over the last week. I think my phone bill's going to be pretty high, but we've been calling back and forth and trying to figure out my swing. I kind of found something yesterday, so I knew this day was coming. I'm glad it showed up today instead of tomorrow. Q. What exactly helped you find your groove? STACY LEWIS: I think my swing I was getting way out in front of it, and I wasn't hitting it very far. I don't know.  I just kind of kept working on a few things and I just got more confidence. I still missed a few shots yesterday, but I saw some better shots, and that kind of gave me some confidence coming into today. I think, I really think the early start, making a couple putts early he helped me a lot. Q. You say you had another chance for an eagle and on 17 you had a good shot at a birdie putt. How far were those putts? STACY LEWIS: 13, I had probably 20 feet for eagle and left it dead short right in the center, and kind of got caught up on the line and forgot about the speed. Then 17, I actually had 8 feet, I hit a good putt, but it just went right over the top edge. So a little less speed, a little less break, it would have gone in. Q. You play in the tournament and everybody says putting is so important. Did that turn out to be the case? STACY LEWIS: I think so. Another key is hitting it straight. Those last five holes, those last par fours, you have to hit the fairway, you have to hit the green. Then you still have to hit some pretty good putts to make par. So I think the last five holes are going to decide the tournament tomorrow. Q. I'm wondering your take on this young girl Lydia Ko who is playing well. Is there any extra motivation for you professionals to make sure that she doesn't win? Is there any extra? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I think ‑‑ Suzann and I were talking about it yesterday, and it is kind of because we're working‑‑ this is our job, and we're working full‑time on it. It's not supposed to be her job, and yet she's beating us. I think it's good for the game. She's obviously playing well. She won an Australian LPGA event earlier in the year, and I played with her actually in Australia. She's solid. She hit it's good, she putts it good, and she's rolling with the confidence. I say why not? She's playing good golf, and more power to her. Q. Unofficially, Stacy, in 2007 you were an amateur when you won, so it's not recognized because that tournament was shortened. But you understand a bit of the mindset of what Lydia's going through if she carries the lead into Sunday. Can you talk about that? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, mine was a little different because it ended up just being one round. I didn't have four days to think about it. It will be interesting to see how she finishes out today and heading into tomorrow. Because that pressure, you start thinking about winning and you start seeing your name more at the top of the leaderboard, and it gets hard. It's hard for professionals. So she's only 14, maybe that helps her because she just gets out there and freezes up. She's got nothing to lose. Q. What changes after a tournament like this for her or what changed for you in terms of expectations and that next step and the pressure that's come with making that decision to make the next step? What was that like for you? STACY LEWIS: For me, I was in college at the time, and I just was going to finish school, so that wasn't really an issue for me. Knowing what she's going to go through the next couple of years, I'd love to see her stay Amateur as long as she can, but that's probably not going to happen as well as she's playing. I don't know where she goes from here. She's won the U.S. Am, so what else do you do? We'll see what happens tomorrow. Q. Can you tell us about the 10th hole and the eagle you got there? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, they moved the tee up about 25 yards, so the last two days, you could get there, but you had to hit it hard. So they moved the tee up and I had about 220 to the flag. I hit a little three‑wood in there 18, 20 feet and made a slider. It broke, probably three feet and went right in the center. Q. As a follow‑up, you were runner‑up here last year, albeit at a different site. Have you thought about this tournament a lot and trying to win it? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, actually the last two tournaments I played in Canada I finished second. I've been right up there or a shot back. I think I shot 66 in the final round last year. I seem to play well in Canada, so I like coming back here and hopefully I can keep that momentum going into tomorrow. Q. You touched on the finish and how challenging it is. I guess the early part of the back nine is where you have to make your birdies and then it's unusual to finish with the pretty strong par‑5s? STACY LEWIS: Yeah, it is. I've never played a course that has that many par‑4s to finish. You've got 10 and 13, and can you make some birdies there. Then 14 on in, you've got to hit fairways and hit your shots. You make a birdie, great. But if you make all four, I think you'll be up near the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week. Q. Seems like you're the one that made the charge today. Some of the other stars that we expect to be up there are bouncing back and forth. Any reason for that, a weather change? STACY LEWIS: I don't know. I think it's just golf. I think some days, Yani had a good round the first round, and Chella Choi played a good round yesterday. So it's the kind of course if you get some birdies early and kind of get rolling on the par‑5s, you can shoot a good number. If you don't, you'll be struggling for pars. I mean, it's a course that you can play well and shoot 1 or 2‑under. So it's just kind of the way the course plays, I think. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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