U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR FOUR-BALL

May 17, 2023

Gianna Clemente

Avery Zweig

The Home Course

Press Conference

Q. You guys are USGA champions. I know you have been waiting for this moment, even though you're young, for a long time. Avery, I'll start with you. What does it mean to be a USGA champion?

AVERY ZWEIG: It means the world. As I mentioned before, you USGA intentionally makes their championships and titles very difficult, and I think as a player, if someone has won a USGA Championship of any kind that's a very large feat.

This week we really didn't have any expectations. We didn't talk about winning or match play once. Just stayed present and keep it casual, and I'm just really proud of this whole team. So me, Gianna, but it doesn't just end there. A lot of people have supported us.

And we won.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yep.

Q. Gianna, same. No one can ever take it away from you. You're a USGA champion.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, it's amazing. It's been such a long and grueling week with a lot of really tense moments and a lot of really fun ones in there, too.

I can't even explain it. It hasn't sunk in and probably won't until later tonight.

AVERY ZWEIG: Yeah, until we maybe eat dinner. We're both like really hungry.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah. But yeah, this has been someone the best weeks of my life, and to spend it with somebody that I'm so close with, it's been amazing.

Q. I'm going to stick with you, Gianna. Talk us through 14 when Avery chipped that in.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Yeah, honestly that's probably one of my worst partner moments, because I was not paying attention. I was very busy with the ball that I hit in the water.

But I heard just like a huge roar and I immediately stood right up. I was just like, please tell me that was Avery.

AVERY ZWEIG: Yeah, so she didn't have to take a drop.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: My dad looked over at me and he's like, well, I don't think have to do anything now. That was awesome. That was definitely I think the turning point.

Q. Avery, at that point the momentum had been going back and forth and was leaning their direction. How big was that was moment for you, in your career even?

AVERY ZWEIG: Oh, it was massive. Yeah, 14 has kind of been a nemesis hole for me this week. I love this course and I'm happy I don't have to see that for a little bit.

She's actually been playing super well on it, so when I pulled my shot over the green I didn't even know if it was up. Like we genuinely thought it was in the water, which is not great.

And then she hit it in there, too.

Over that chip I wasn't really thinking much. I just kind of had a general idea where I needed to land it and put a good stroke on it and got some good luck.

That's something I'm going to remember forever. Match play is all about momentum and you try to prevent the other team to get into a rhythm as much as possible.

I think both sides today struggled with the pressure and dealing with all that, so 6not as many birdies as I would've expected out there. That allowed when I did do that to truly take advantage and it was crucial.

Q. Gianna, felt like first eight holes or so you missed eight putts by a combined two feet or less. How are you able to not got down and stay positive and keep grinding?

GIANNA CLEMENTE: I think it just comes from experience. Putts aren't always going to always go in. I had a couple drop that maybe didn't deserve to drop this week. I've definitely had a couple -- a lot today -- that I thought did deserve to drop.

But it but just comes from experience. I know that not everything is going to go the way we want it to. Again, all about momentum, like she said.

It's just a matter of the getting that back on our side, which was a little bit more difficult today. We powered through.

AVERY ZWEIG: And we definitely learned from our experience as a team in the semis a couple years ago to just not let that bother you, like especially in the later matches, I mean, with that much on the line.

It's match play, so anything can really happen and I just honestly like I kept telling her, be patient. Keep going. Finally I said something that stuck and I got her to smile and I was like, Yeah!

In the process of doing that it helps me a lot, too, so very, very much a team effort.

Q. Are you allowed to say what you said to make her smile?

AVERY ZWEIG: Actually, not anything like -- not anything we laughed at, but what made you smile. Because I kept saying like, learn from your past, learn from your past. She was just like completely locked in.

Then I looked at her and took off my glasses because I always wear my shades and I put my arms on her shoulders and I said, Gianna, remember little us. Remember how little you were, how much you loved playing.

Play for that person. Your dad is here, and they were frustrated with each other. We were frustrated with our dads.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: We were all frustrated.

AVERY ZWEIG: Anyway, so our dads are on the bag and we do bicker like teenage fathers and daughters. I said Gianna, you have a healthy dad and he's here and he's supporting you and you mean the world to him and you have so much to be grateful for.

Play for that little girl. I talked about what we looked like when we were younger.

GIANNA CLEMENTE: Made me laugh.

AVERY ZWEIG: It wasn't great. Yeah, so very much feeling the love around us and expressing the gratitude for the moment even though the emotions can get so high.

Q. Last question. This gets you in, Avery, into the Girls Junior and the Women's Am. How big is it to not have to qualify for those?

ANGELA ZHANG: Big. I love the USGA. Love the USGA. Your qualifiers, nightmare. That's what I was thinking to myself. I was like, okay, well, if this is to qualify for the U.S. Girls and the U.S. Am, I would be this nervous anyway so it's fine. Like we're fine.

But definitely a big thing, and I get to lock my summer schedule in so it's awesome.