U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2022

Gianna Clemente

The Club at Olde Stone

Press Conference

Q. Obviously the morning, quite a comeback. Were you 4-down?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah.

Q. A couple of birdies?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah.

Q. What turned that around?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: You know, I just kind of went out on the back nine and I kind of just like really just said, I'm going to play as aggressive as possible, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. You're already 4-down, it can't get much worse.

I went on -- I made two birdies and then she kind of started to be a little bit shaky, and that's when I really took advantage. I got it back to 1-up and I was like, okay, I'm in control now. It was good from then on.

Q. When you win a match like that going into the afternoon, did you feel the momentum carrying with you?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, I mean, I felt good about where I was at, me personally. But I knew Kiara, she's a great player. There's no denying that. I played with her before, and she's great. But I feel good about where I was at, but I knew I was going to have to do well. There's no getting around that.

Q. It was pretty tight. Where was the difference in the last -- you pulled away at the end.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, you know, I'll be honest, Kiara struggled a little bit with her putting on the back nine. If she would have made a couple of those birdie putts -- she was hitting it really well. She had a lot of good birdie looks. If she would have made a couple of those putts she would have edged me out. No complaints here, but we both played really solid golf. Not really much you can do about that.

Q. Into the quarterfinals; you know what that means. You get a spot next year. Is it a little more gravy now tomorrow or do you feel -- you get closer to the end of this thing and you realize what's at the end, as well?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, definitely makes me happy I don't have to qualify next year. Qualifying is a mess. Yeah, I'm still really serious about it. I'm still going to go out and play the best golf I can play, and if it doesn't work out, it's okay, I made it this far, and I'm proud I made it this far after coming back, especially this morning. So we'll see what happens, but definitely excited to play.

Q. What have you found out about yourself this week that maybe you didn't know before the week started?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: I think I really surprised myself with my ability to have short memory, especially in match play. Stroke play is -- I play good in stroke play, but match play is completely different. You can make a triple and she can make a birdie and it only costs you one hole.

It's definitely really different, but my ability to have a short memory this week was extremely valuable, and I'm hoping to go out and do that tomorrow, too.

Q. And this heat, too --

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah.

Q. You're an Ohio girl. I know you live in Florida now --

GIANNA CLEMENTE: It's hot, yeah.

Q. Are you pretty exhausted?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, I'm tired. I'm going to go eat, then I'm going to go sleep, and then we're going to do it all again tomorrow.