U.S SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 1, 2024

Lisa Grimes

Fox Chapel Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Lisa Grimes to the media flash interviewer area, 3-under 68, currently tied for the lead. Can you describe your round for us.

LISA GRIMES: Well, it was pretty solid for the most part. I had a bogey-free round, and I don't have that very often. That's something I like to remember. I was kind of nervous the last few holes thinking, man, not so much my score as no bogeys on this course, which is kind of a feat in itself.

Yeah, consistent, three birdies, a couple in a row, one you saw, and I was happy with my ball-striking. Made some good clutch putts, six- to eight-footers that kind of run out past the hole because they are faster today than yesterday.

I putted pretty solid, didn't make anything other than that one long one.

Q. Talk about the 6th hole. You were off the green and you can tell me how long it was.

LISA GRIMES: It was playing like 168 yards, I think, and it was just too much for my 7, so I hit my 6, and I was just about an inch off the fringe into the heavier stuff, but it was sitting up really nice and then straight downhill.

The pin, what was it, 68 back or something ridiculous. It was way back there. So I just got it rolling on a good line, and it just -- I thought I was going to lose it left, but it hung in there. I think a little clump of mud on it helped, and it hung in there and went in, so that was a 45-footer I think, at least, so that was fun. Those are bonus.

Q. Then you came back right back and birdied the 7th?

LISA GRIMES: I did. There's so many bunkers out here in the fairway that it's a short hole, 280, I believe. It's uphill but I hit 5-wood in front of the bunker. Could have maybe got driver over, but I just didn't want to take that chance. You only have 100 yards in anyway. Then I hit a wedge up there about four or five feet and made it. Good hole.

Q. You've played in every one of these championships. What does that experience do for you when you come here to play here at Fox Chapel?

LISA GRIMES: Well, we play world-class golf courses, and we're treated like queens. We like that. It's just so nice to see everyone. It's kind of, in a sense, a reunion, as well, seeing everybody. I see some of these ladies once or maybe twice a year is all.

Just the honor of playing a USGA event, we're so happy that this is our sixth event. Love every one of them. Didn't play well in all of them, but I love them all.

Q. You played in a lot of U.S. Opens, both as an amateur and as professional.

LISA GRIMES: I did.

Q. Tell us about that time in your golf career.

LISA GRIMES: Well, my husband played briefly on Tour, and we had two kids, so he was traveling, so I played kind of part-time out there, and I always looked forward to qualifying for the Open to get away and play in something. I've probably played in 15, 20 Opens.

I finished 12th in one. That was fun.

But it was a good getaway, and something to look forward to each year.

I'm an instructor, director of instruction at a club, so my days are spent teaching. So I do get out and play maybe once, twice a week. But it's always good to have something to look forward to and keep working on your game.

Q. I was going to ask you about your teaching profession. How may that help your game, working with others during the week?

LISA GRIMES: Well, it probably doesn't help my game, to be totally honest. I have like 208 juniors in my program. I work with a lot of juniors, and I enjoy that. That's just relaxing and fun for me.

Then I do play, work with a lot of good players, so that helps, and do a lot of video analysis and stuff like that.

It does help because I can relate to them some of the things I've gone through and what they need to do in their swing. It certainly helps. But I don't know if it's a benefit or not.

Q. What are you seeing in the younger players that maybe wasn't present in the time that you were going on the regular tour?

LISA GRIMES: Well, the one thing is distance. No one cares where you hit it, just if you hit it far. The equipment now, it's hard to hit it wild. You've got to hit it far. Coaches don't care if you're wild, for the boys, just so you're flying it 300. So that's the biggest thing.

I always put emphasis on the short game. Kids don't like to work on short game, but that's where it's at, and the better players are the ones that work hard on their short game, and it's there when they need it.

Q. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to get them interested in the short game?

LISA GRIMES: With the little ones, we do a lot of -- we use a lot of props, inflatable sharks to chip into mouths and circles. I give away a lot of Dum-Dum suckers. Incentives are good.