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NORTH TEXAS LPGA SHOOTOUT PRESENTED BY JTBCMay 4, 2014Stacy LewisIRVING, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: All right. It is my pleasure to welcome in the 2014 North Texas LPGA Shootout champion, Stacy Lewis into the interview room. Stacy, I'm sure the emotions have settled in a little bit, but I think the last shot of seeing you drop the putter on the green said it all. You said complete relief. Talk about the emotions initially as soon as that putt dropped. STACY LEWIS: Yeah. You know, it played so hard out there today, and I just never‑‑ I had it planned out in my head how I was going to hit and play every single shot. And so I never let up until I hit that shot, that last putt. And it's relief. I've been so close the last few months, and just to do it and to do it here of all places. To have my family and friends here. My college coach flew in this morning for the final round. It's one of those things that I almost felt like it was meant to be. THE MODERATOR: Absolutely. Now, who from your family was here this week? I know they're very important to you. They play a huge role in your life and in your career. Who is here this week supporting you. STACY LEWIS: Well, my parents, my sister, brother‑in‑law and their two kids. And Cole is the one everybody saw running around there. THE MODERATOR: If you weren't the top winner this week, I think Cole might have been maybe a close second. STACY LEWIS: He stole the show. THE MODERATOR: You said there were some frustrations coming into this week, obviously a lot of close calls. How big of a deal is it for you to be able to bounce back off of a runner up finish? I know coming off last week was a hard week. What does that say about your mental game and how strong you are, that aspect. STACY LEWIS: Yeah. I mean it's just me. It's my personality. I don't have it in me to not keep trying and to not come out Tuesday and learn the golf course and work hard again. I just‑‑ I don't have it in me. And I was just really proud of the way I got it done today. I got off to kind of a slow start, but the eagle on 7 just really kind of got things going in the right direction, and then just I never let up. I never let the hammer down, and making par on 15 was huge. After hitting what I thought was a good tee shot and then, you know, going in the water, but still making par, I mean that just kind of summarized the day. THE MODERATOR: That was clutch. Now, I know you said you listened to Cole a little bit when he said make some more putts yesterday after your round. You were pretty awesome on the greens. What was the difference today do you think. STACY LEWIS: I don't know. Honestly, I didn't‑‑ I didn't change anything. I didn't do anything different. I didn't‑‑ you know, I was out there putting for a good 30, 45 minutes last night, and it wasn't‑‑ there's nothing wrong. They just didn't go in yesterday. And even early I missed a couple of putts that I thought I had made, so I was like, oh, here we go again. But then, you know, the ball just started going, and once you see putts go in, it's kind of contagious. THE MODERATOR: Sure. Questions for Stacy. Q. Stacy, you weren't happy after yesterday's round because of the putts. Does having a little chip on your shoulder help you play? STACY LEWIS: Yeah. I've always seemed to play the best when I play that underdog role. And I didn't necessarily feel like an underdog, but I felt like I had something to prove today just because of the way I played yesterday. And I knew if I went out there and hit every shot and every putt where I needed to, I knew I would come out ahead. I had that much confidence in my game that I would be here. And really, other than 10 and 11 didn't go as planned, and everything else went exactly as I had planned it. THE MODERATOR:  I heard one of the commentators say you're one of those players that just has that look in your eye. You were totally in the zone. Did you feel that way right from the get go? Was it something that you just felt it was kind of destined to be this round. STACY LEWIS: I mean I did. I started to kind of feel it on 7, 8 and 9 and then the little hiccup there on 10 and 11. But the putt on 12 really kind of got me back focused again. And I never‑‑ honestly I didn't know where I stood until 17 because the way the leaderboards were running through, I never saw where I stood. And I mean I could tell that nobody ahead of us was‑‑ there were no big cheers or anything like that, so I knew nobody was making a huge run. But I saw Michelle had gotten close. And I don't know, I stayed so focused and controlled what I could control today, and that was my entire goal coming into today was to control myself, control my emotions, and I did a really good job. Q. I think you answered part of my question. Were you aware of Michelle Wie's run. She birdied 6 and 7 at one point and even gotten within two strokes I think at one point. Were you aware of that and if so, did you feel any added pressure? STACY LEWIS: Well, I think I saw Michelle had gotten to 10 maybe, but she only had three or four holes to play. So I kind of got that 14 number in the back of my head early on the Back 9 that, you know, she would have to birdie her last three holes basically to tie me. So I thought if I could get to 14 and stay at 14, that would be a good place to be. So I mean I did know to that extent, but I didn't know how she had finished or where anybody stood really until 17. But that didn't‑‑ you know, I didn't change my shots. I played 17 the way I was going to. I played 18 the same way. Even I I'd had a one‑shot lead, I would have played it the same. Q. Stacy, we've obviously talked constantly about all the close calls. What does it mean to you to win not in a close way but kind of a run away like you did today, the biggest margin of victory in over a year and a half on the tour? STACY LEWIS: Yeah. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I kind of have these mini goals in the back of my mind, like a bogey‑free tournament or certain number of putts, just kind of things that aren't necessarily score related. So one of them was kind of taking a tournament and running away with it, and that's what‑‑ I've wanted to do it now for a year. So to be so close the last few weeks and then to come out and shoot 64, I mean I don't even know what to say. I mean it's just‑‑ it's what I've always wanted to do, and just to do it here at home, in front of all these fans was pretty cool. Q. And specifically on 15 obviously you couldn't decide‑‑ you had the iron in your hand and you went the other. Think about how that could have really turned things around. STACY LEWIS: Yeah. The first two days of the tournament that hole played into the wind, so it played a lot easier. And then we were thinking, you know, 14 we hit hybrid off that tee and it went down there about 270, downwind rolling out. And so I mean it was right in between hybrid and 4‑iron. So I didn't want to be too far back, though, and have a really long iron into that green. It just didn't make any sense. But I hit the shot I wanted to. That's why my caddie was kind of mad. I don't know if he was mad at himself or just that the ball released out that much. But I told him I said, we hit the shot exactly how I wanted to. And that's all I can do. And so we got up there and dropped, and it was a perfect number, I mean for the conditions, I mean it was 136 but it was a perfect wedge. And I mean I executed the shot. You know, I told him walking off the green, I said we wanted to make par on this hole, and that's what we had to do. Q. How much do things change for you now in that you are getting closer to No. 1? Obviously that's where you want to be. STACY LEWIS: Yeah. This is a huge step, but you know, I'm going to work just as hard as if I had finished second this week. It's just my personality. I don't have it in me to quit. I want to win more and more tournaments. That's the goal. So you know, things don't change. It's just nice to close the deal and to see my game getting better under pressure, because we've got some big tournaments coming up this summer. THE MODERATOR: It's never a bad deal when your name's obviously on the leaderboard, and we keep hearing who's writing the scripts for the LPGA these days, and Stacy Lewis winning in Texas. I mean couldn't really scripted it much better. What does that mean to finally get in the conversation of winning on the tour this season and having such a big monumental win I guess in your home state. STACY LEWIS: Yeah. All the winners we've had this year it's been unbelievable momentum for the tour. And I think just the leaderboard we had going into today created a lot of drama, a lot of people paid attention. But it's nice to be included in those list of winners. I definitely felt like my name probably should have been there already. But it's just nice to be there. And you know, the tour, we've got some great momentum going. We've got a lot of‑‑ you know, we've added so many sponsors, so many tournaments. And there's probably some big news coming up soon. So I think, you know, this tour is‑‑ we're moving in the right direction. It's a great thing to be a part of. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? All right. Well, congratulations once again. Thanks for coming in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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