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PORTLAND CLASSIC PRESENTED BY CAMBIA HEALTH SOLUTIONSAugust 26, 2014Gigi StollPORTLAND, OREGON MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Well, you said you felt good after the practice round today. GIGI STOLL: Yes. Q. And I know you said you're not too familiar with the track here, which is kind of shocking, but tell me how you felt after the practice round. GIGI STOLL: Well, it's really similar to my home course, Portland Golf Club. So I have a pretty good feel out here of the course and just kind of‑‑ it's just similar. So the greens are pretty similar, and the rough and things like that. So I'm feeling pretty good about the course. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Take us through just the emotions after you won the Amateur Open. Had to be just a dream come true. Were you just ecstatic, over the moon? GIGI STOLL:  Yeah. I mean the Front 9 I think I shot 2‑over and I was 3‑over after 10, and I had a stretch where I made four birdies in the last six holes. And I didn't know if it was going to be enough to qualify, and when I came in, there was someone behind me who shot 72, and we didn't know what she was doing. And the girl in front of me was 2‑under going into 16. And so just coming in‑‑ and she shot even coming in and 1‑under, and realizing I was the low score was just incredible, and I didn't even know what to say. It was just like‑‑ it was crazy. And just coming out here since I was like eight years old, just watching, it's crazy to be here. Q. How different is that going to be? I think I read that you've been standard bearers forever. GIGI STOLL: Ever. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: A little bit of a change of role. How different is that going to be just from growing up watching these players and now playing next to them? GIGI STOLL: I mean it's going to be just a dream come true. I don't even know how to explain it. But just to be out here and actually compete with all the best players in the world, it's just going to be exhilarating. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Good word. Q. Are you getting your dad to caddie are you getting a pro? GIGI STOLL: Well, we actually have a friend of ours who is a member out here, and he's played here forever; and he's good on the greens, and he's good at where to put the ball. If he doesn't work out, we're going to have my dad caddie. Q. So you said you think this is Portland Golf Club‑ish? GIGI STOLL: Uh‑huh. Yeah. Very similar. Similar to pretty much everything, just a different course. Typical Portland course, I think. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: As this week was approaching, in your head what were you thinking? What were you looking forward to the most? Coming in here on Monday what were you most anticipating? What were you most looking forward to? GIGI STOLL: Just coming out here with really nothing to lose. It was really exciting for me. And just being able to play my game and not really worry, because it's not my first or my last, so hopefully just being able to just come out here and have nothing to lose. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: What's been the highlight so far? I know it's early in the week, but there's gotta be something where you come in and say‑‑ GIGI STOLL: Yeah, I mean just being out here and being able to practice and play on the course and just looking forward to playing on Thursday. Q. Do you have goals? Do you have like a goal? GIGI STOLL: Um, I mean my first goal would be to make the cut, for sure. But I mean my main goal is just to play good golf and see how that goes. Just take each hole one by one is what I've been saying to a lot of people. Just calm the nerves and play each shot one by one. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: And I know you played in the Open, which is as big as it gets. How much will that experience‑‑ how much will you draw from that? What do you think was the most important lesson you took from that and coming into this week, probably feeling a lot more comfortable? GIGI STOLL: Yeah. Just to not overthink it. Just come out here and treat it like a normal golf tournament, normal golf round. And at the Open I think I overthought a lot of things. I had my coach come out, and we were just over‑analyzing a lot, and I just feel like to just come out here and play like it's a casual round of golf and just try and keep my mind and all my nerves really calm. Q. So you probably heard today the U. S. Women's Amateur is the same dates as this next year. GIGI STOLL: Yeah, I heard about that. Q. So it's kind of good you got in this year; right? GIGI STOLL: Yeah, yeah. For sure. And possibly not even being‑‑ well, I guess it's a week before. Never mind. I was going to say going to college, but it's a week earlier, couple weeks earlier. But yeah, just being able to play this year, it's really exciting because I think it was a perfect year to qualify having the tournaments at the same time next year and one of them at my home course. So it's really fun to be here. Q. So you'll probably try to get into both and then decide? GIGI STOLL: Yeah. I mean I don't‑‑ yeah, I guess just‑‑ I don't know when the qualifiers are, but probably just try and qualify for both, I guess. Q. Do you have to go to school next week? GIGI STOLL: I do. I start the 3rd. I start the 3rd. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: No big deal. Quick turnaround. And you've been having a pretty great summer just on the amateur tour. What has been coming together for you, do you think? Do you think just a bunch of different parts or is there something working specifically? GIGI STOLL: My main thing has been putting, for sure. Last year, in August or late June‑‑ late July I switched my putting grip, and just I was kind of unsure about my putting last year, and I think my putting's really come together this year, and a lot of rounds that I've played that I've played well have been good putting rounds. Q. How did you come up with the idea to go left hand low? GIGI STOLL: IÂ’m a predominately right handed player and I just wasnÂ’t feeling comfortable but it's improved a lot. Q. Did you see somebody doing it or did you? GIGI STOLL: I know a couple of amateurs that I've played with have done it and I've kind of messed around a little bit with it in the past, but not too much. But my dad, we were actually in Washington, D.C., and he told me to change it, and I did it for the last round, and I putted great. He just said, flip your hand, see how that helps. I was like, all right. And then I used it the next day because I wasn't putting very well, and it worked, and I stuck with it. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Committed to Arizona. GIGI STOLL: Uh‑huh. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: How did that pan out? How did that decision go as an Oregon girl? Must be a little bit tough. GIGI STOLL: Yeah. I mean–I visited every Pac 12 conference school and I just really liked the coaches and you canÂ’t beat the weather. It was tough. And we actually went to the game where they played Oregon and beat them last year. That was hard to watch. But I mean, it was just‑‑ the decision felt pretty right, and I‑‑ they were actually my last visit. And I just went home and called them up, and I said, I know this is where I want to be. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Cool. Any special preparations you've been kind of having the past week just coming into this week? Anything‑‑ GIGI STOLL: More practice rounds than normal just to get used to the course and have that availability. And I've just‑‑ I mean just treat it like a normal tournament for me. MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Cool. All right. That's all I need. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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