MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 10, 2025

Maria Fassi

Blythefield Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Okay, welcome to the media center at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. I'm joined by Maria Fassi, sponsor invite this week. Just talk about being here and how excited you were to receive the call for this.

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, I mean, I love this tournament. I love the golf course. I think it's very cool any time we come to a place where the whole community gets extremely involved. I think we get one of the biggest crowds that we get all year out here, so it's a lot of fun to come play here. I've got good memories from the past of playing good golf and stuff.

So, yeah, just extremely grateful that I got a call, and the way the call happened was kind of cool, too. Brittany Lincicome helped me out in getting the invite. She initially had the invite for herself, but then with, I believe it's career money or something like that, she was able to get in on her own merit. She was like, I'm withdrawing my invite as 0long as you give it to Maria kind of thing.

Her and my caddie are very good friends and they were just trying to help me out. I know I needed a little more this year, the extra help, and it's nice to know that I don't only get it from sponsors, but from fellow competitors and players.

So, yeah, just very happy that Brit is in my corner and she was pulling for me.

Q. Just can you talk a little bit about your golf game, too, how you're feeling, what's trending for you? Last time I saw you there were a lot of the fist pumps in Mexico and energy there. Talk about your golf game and how it's feeling now.

MARIA FASSI: Yeah, I think the scores are getting closer. They're not necessarily where I would like them yet, but I'm feeling good. I think mentally is where I've really put most of the work the last few months.

I'm just proud that I'm showing up for myself and showing up for my team in a positive way, and not kind of shooting myself in the foot before I even start.

So I'm just, yeah, very proud of the work I'm doing. Very thankful for the group of people that I have behind me that have helped me kind of get to where I'm at.

Yeah, I mean, things are starting to be better. I'm starting to gain some of that confidence back. Playing in Mexico helped a lot, having my family there, playing in front of a home crowd, kind of having a little extra pressure and being able to make a putt when I needed.

Yeah, just overall, just happy that I have another opportunity out here this week. Going to go out, try my best, and hopefully there is plenty more fist pumps to come.

Q. Tournaments like this, you mentioned about you had great memories here. You're also a Dow ambassador, so you play Dow every year, at Walmart in Arkansas, the community-based events. Just talk about from a player's perspective, when the city is shut down for these types of events, how is it playing in front of big, massive crowds like we'll see this week here?

MARIA FASSI: It's everything. I mean, I think it changes our whole approach to the game. I think all of us really enjoy giving people something so cheer and clap for.

Other than the golf, it's cool to go around town and people are like, oh, yeah, I saw you on every hole. It's great to have you guys here. Welcome to Grand Rapids or Midland.

Obviously Arkansas, being a Razorback is even more special. I've been living there now for five years and it's a home game. It's just awesome.

Like I feel like I've always said it: I think the LPGA kind of thrives in those smaller markets maybe where the community are fully get involved. It just makes us feel special. Like I think at the end of the day we just want to be recognized for the work we're doing, and I'm grateful that we have opportunities to do it.

Q. Last one from me: Playing in crowds like this as a competitor, is it sort of a different mindset when you're on the first tee with just seeing the crowds all the way down the first hole? Does it change the mindset a little bit as you play your round?

MARIA FASSI: For me, I enjoy it. I embrace the crowds. I think in a selfish way they kind of keep me out of my own head. You know, I really like to interact with the people. I like to look for a kid to give a ball to or give a high five. Like it really helps my game.

So for me, the more the merrier. I know for some people it might be a little intimidating or whatnot, but I think at the end of the day like people out here are just supportive. Like obviously they have their favorites but they just like to be out here and support women's golf.

On my end I'm just grateful that they do.

Q. You said you're not shooting yourself in the foot. How were you doing that before?

MARIA FASSI: I think I was sabotaging myself a lot. I think, one, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself; and, two, I think I was kind of doing some of the work but not all of the work.

Like the things that were hard for me to like look deep into and really get honest and truthful with myself, I think I was kind of steering away from those and doing surface level fixing.

Obviously that can work for one or two weeks, but not in the long run. I think now obviously at the end of the year lost my card. It felt like rock bottom. I had a choice to make, whether it was to really just be honest with myself or to continue to go down this path that was going to be a lot more painful than the two weeks or two months of hard work.

So I think it was just a lot of that, and now I can truly look at myself in the mirror and know I'm doing the things that I have to do.

Again, like I said earlier, without my team I couldn't have because they say things that I don't want to hear, and I might jump at them and say mean things probably, but they know it's not that I mean it, it's just that I was hurting and it was kind of my defense mechanism.

And now, again, like I feel like I can count on them on a bad day and I can for sure know that I can count on them on a good day to keep it going and not to go back to those just ugly thoughts or ugly -- yeah, things that I would say to myself after a bad shot or after a missed putt or whatever.

Like I think it's very important to keep myself accountable and like I said, without my team I couldn't have done it. I'm just happy that -- I'm just enjoying golf again a lot more and I'm really I think taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to me and just feeling grateful that like I said earlier, sponsors keep believing in me to give me an opportunity to compete in their events.

Q. Are you comfortable giving us an example of a hard truth this someone in your circle said that you didn't want to hear?

MARIA FASSI: Yeah. You are always getting personal with me.

Q. That's the good stuff, though.

MARIA FASSI: No, it's great. I don't know. For example, just with like I'll say with practice, I'll go and practice, and in the fall last year I would go and maybe I would be at the golf course for hours but I don't know how much work I was getting done.

Then I would expect for my golf game to improve or a specific shot to stop happening. If you're not putting in the hours, if you're not doing the things that you have to do and not the things that you want to do, results are not going to change.

I felt like I just kind of kept going down that path of like I've been at the golf course for hours. I am doing the work. Yeah, but if you're, I don't know hitting drivers all day, your putting is not going to get any better.

Yeah, having a couple people on my team be like, stop wasting time, lying to yourself, and look inward and talk to your coach, see the things that you have to work on and do them. They're hard and painful, and drills are very boring. It was not what I wanted to do, but it was what I had to do.

You know, that's more on the golf side. On the mental side, just like stopped lying to myself about things that I was not doing and I was, again, lying to myself saying that I did do them or something like that. Instead be like okay, you can't expect for something different if you're continuing to go down the same hole.

So, yeah, it was just a lot of -- just reflection and looking inward. Like I said, it was painful looking inward because there was a lot of things I didn't like to see and I was very angry with myself.

It was a hard process to find truly what was happening. And now, I'm so glad I did. Again, regardless of the scores, regardless of what happens at the end of this year, I'm just happy I get to enjoy golf again.

Q. What's been the biggest challenge for you this year in having to rely on this sponsor's exemptions to get into some of those events?

MARIA FASSI: Planning. Number one, it's hard to kind of be on the road hoping for a call to come. It's tough being on the road to where you think it could be two weeks but could also be five weeks.

So I think that number one is hard.

But then two, like I don't like to ask for help. It's hard for me to ask for help. So even just doing that has been quite challenging, and at the same time, very rewarding and very nice because people have been amazing to me. Whether it's with an invite or whether it is some other way of helping and encouragement and guidance and stuff.

It's kind of been a cool journey that I didn't necessarily want to be on, but it's where I'm at, so I think that's just tough.

And then too, just knowing it's somewhat up to me but also not up to me to know what is next. Like all I can do is try to come out here and play the best golf I can and hope that it's enough to get me points and stuff like that.

At the end of the day, there is a lot of the very good players out here that are making it hard for me to keep getting more points. So it's just a different type of challenge I guess that we're just having to embrace.

I feel like I've said it a lot already, but just having the group of people I have around me and having them be committed and be in it with me the whole way has also been very cool for myself and my self-esteem and confidence.

Q. You mentioned not wanting help. Brittany Lincicome helped out with getting that sponsor's exemption. What was your relationship like with Brittany through the years?

MARIA FASSI: She's been great to me the whole time. I consider her a good friend, a mentor. I think she's somebody that I have gone to for advice, somebody that I look up to, somebody that I enjoy playing a practice round with, definitely in a tournament with. She's quick, funny. She likes to talk.

For me, it's just all checks. So we've had a great relationship through the years. And like I mentioned earlier, her and my caddie worked for a long time. Shear very good friends. I think they just both of them just really want to see me accomplish what they believe I'm capable of.

It's been pretty humbling again to see people like her have that belief and that faith in my game and know that I'm a lot closer than maybe I even think I am.

Q. What did it mean to you for her to do that and go out of her way?

MARIA FASSI: Everything. I didn't even know they were doing this. It was funny. We were at the pro-am in ShopRite last week and I had my phone out. I was sending a video to my coach and then I get an email, oh, we would like to give you the invite. I look to my caddie, hey, we got in.

She was like, I know. We been working on it. I'm like, what do you mean? Then she kind of gave me the rundown of what had happened. It just means everything.

Like I said, I love this golf course. I think it's a great event. They make us feel right at home. I'm just happy I got the assist from Brit and equity it up on Thursday this week.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, Maria, appreciate it.

MARIA FASSI: Thank you.