THE LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

January 26, 2024

Isabella Fierro

Bradenton Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Joined now by Isabella Fierro, here after her second round at the LPGA Drive On Championship. Not your first start on the LPGA Tour, but your first start as an LPGA Tour rookie. What's kind of been the emotions and the feels as you prepared for this week?

ISABELLA FIERRO: It's been great. I think my preparation for this tournament was amazing. After the Epson Tour season, the best school ever, I learned so much about myself and my game. I feel really comfortable here.

It was kind of funny because, when we started the first event on the Epson Tour, it was also in Florida. So I'm kind of used to this, the greens and the fairway and the wind. I had a lot of fun in the wind today. Didn't blow as much, but I had so much fun.

Overall, I think we're doing a good job.

Q. About the round today, started off hot, kind of dipped in the middle, and you picked back up with a birdie on 8. What went into the round today, and what were some of the highlights out there?

ISABELLA FIERRO: Yeah, golf is a sport of mistakes. It's not a sport of perfection. I knew that I believe in myself, and I knew that deep down in me that birdies will come, just be patient. We missed a couple shots, just like any other player out here.

I think I kept my head held high, and we knew there was a lot of birdie chances out there sticking to the game plan, so it paid off.

Q. I think I've asked a lot of players this question, but especially as a young rookie, how do you not let a round kind of spiral out here? You went bogey, bogey, how do you not let a round spiral and keep your head down and play your game?

ISABELLA FIERRO: Honestly, it's a sport of mistakes, and for me after this round, I'm going to be hanging out with my mom, my boyfriend, my agent, my coach, my caddie, so it's just another golf round. Just take the best out of it, move forward, and keep grinding.

Q. You played at Punta Mita. Is this any similar with the wind and the grainy Bermuda out there?

ISABELLA FIERRO: Definitely. And I also play in Punta Mita because I knew here there was a possibility we were going to play in a lot of wind. So I play in the afternoon in Punta Mita a lot, and it was very windy, and the greens were very similar. So I got myself prepared for this for sure.

Q. Two birdies out of the gate today. Walk us through those two holes. How fun was that to kick off your second round on Tour as a member with two birdies back to back?

ISABELLA FIERRO: It was great. We kind of blew open the driver a little bit on the 10th hole, but it was fine. My caddie has played such a good role this week. He's given me a lot of confidence. He knows me so well by now. It's our first event. It's pretty cool.

Yeah, starting with two birdies is always good. I think you stick to the game plan and the putts drop. So it was good.

Q. I know he's a veteran out here. How critical has he been to you the last couple days and even the last two weeks trying to get to know each other and get ready for this week?

ISABELLA FIERRO: It's been so smooth. We got a chance to meet each other before this event down in West Palm. It was great. He has such a great personality. So fiery out there but serious at the same time. He keeps me calm, but also we had so much fun. We laugh a lot in the golf course.

I think it's just very important in the golf course when you're trying to stay calm and just have fun. For me when I have fun, I play my best golf. That definitely was important.

Q. Finally, just off to a good start so far. Looking ahead to the weekend, what's the game plan, what's the mindset as you look over the next 36 holes?

ISABELLA FIERRO: Same. Give myself birdie opportunities and stick to the game plan. Trusting that I've had a good process so far, trusting my game, trusting my caddie. It's golf. You never really know what's going to happen. So I'll just keep enjoying it.

Q. How much did the Epson Tour and your competitiveness out there prepare you for this week and the magnitude of being on the LPGA Tour?

ISABELLA FIERRO: It's been great. I asked my coach this question whenever I went through Q-School if I was ready for the LPGA when I didn't get my card, and he said, no, you have to go through Epson Tour. Epson Tour is the best school, best preparation. You play with such high level, quality golfers, and you play amazing golf courses. The purses have increased.

Epson Tour doesn't get the credit that should be. It should be better. They're doing such an amazing job, and I wouldn't be here right without Epson Tour. I'm so grateful to them.

Q. What have you kind of learned about the process of becoming an LPGA Tour member, and maybe what's a goal you have for this season.

ISABELLA FIERRO: Staying consistent, I think is a very important goal. I've been very fortunate to talk to Lorena Ochoa, to Gaby, Maria. I have great mentors out here. So I feel pretty calm. They have answers to pretty much every question I have in mind right now. So I feel pretty calm.

As a goal, I wouldn't say any specific goal, but I'd say be consistent, be patient, and I want to really enjoy and learn out here.

Q. That kind of answered my next question. I was just going to say, we have so many great players from Mexico out here, what have you kind of picked up from them, and what's maybe a fun piece of advice they've given you?

ISABELLA FIERRO: Pretty much the advice from all the players I've talked to, especially from Mexico, have given me is pretty much not play a lot of golf tournaments, to kind of learn how to read my body, understand, and not push too hard.

I think that's such a rookie thing whenever we want to just play, play, play, and go workout hard, and we never get to rest our minds. For me it's really important.

I think I put it a lot into play knowing that it's very important to disconnect from golf after a round and have fun. Go get ice cream, Chick-Fil-A, I don't know. Just to disconnect is kind of really important for me.