LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY HOAKALEI

October 3, 2025

Mariel Galdiano

Q. Joining me after the third round of the LOTTE Championship is Mariel. You played great today. You had your low round of the week with a 68. Take us through your round.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, so I started out pretty solid on my front nine. I had four birdies and no bogeys. And on the back it started to get a little windy so I had some fall-outs here and there. I was able to keep it steady and close out with a 4-under.

Q. Playing a home game kind of, do you think the support of your family and friends out here is helping?

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yes, definitely. Every day my sponsor and his family has been out here and a lot of family and friends who normally would just cheer me on through texts or calls are out here.

So it's great to see them up close and personal. Them always clapping for me always cheers me up.

Q. Good round today.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Thank you.

Q. I think when you had it rolling on the front nine, at times you were maybe around the top 10 or 15 at a couple points there. Not sure what you are at the moment. I think your best finish today, top 20 this rookie season. What would it mean to you to have another good round tomorrow and put yourself in that kind of conversation?

MARIEL GALDIANO: I mean, that would mean a whole lot to me. I've played this tournament in 2023 and didn't make the cut. To play really well here at home means a lot, and possibly my best finish, that would be really exciting for me.

Not going to put too much pressure though. Like it's anyone's game and there is a lot of birdies out there. Just going to try to stay patient and do my thing as usual.

Q. Yeah. The wind you talked about on the back nine today and is still going right now. How would you rate that as far as a normal occurrence on this course or stronger or -- yeah?

MARIEL GALDIANO: I would say on the front nine it was pretty mellow. On the back nine they were blowing about 20 to 30 miles per hour. It can get pretty nasty out here and make it a lot more difficult than it usually is, so I think placing the ball is really important.

I think Allisen touched on that yesterday and I agree. That and getting some putts to roll in helps a lot.

Q. Welcome home.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Thank you.

Q. Glad that you are playing the weekend. Well, one day of the weekend anyway.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah.

Q. So my question has to do with being a rookie but then -- and a lot of other sports by this point of the first year a lot of athletes don't feel like a rookie anymore. Is that the case for you or it's going to take maybe a top 10 here or do you already feel that way?

MARIEL GALDIANO: Definitely I don't feel like a rookie so much anymore compared to when we started in February in Bradenton. I felt so nervous and kind of out of place.

Here I'm able to say hi and chat with other players and caddies and feel more comfortable with like top names hitting right next to me or putting on the same green, yeah.

Q. Maybe earlier this rookie season was there a moment where you're playing with somebody in particular that was like a welcome-to-the-LPGA moment?

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, actually it was -- I played a nine-hole practice round in Boston with Stacy Lewis. I got to the tee first and she kind of walked up. I was like oh, is she going to join me?

She was super nice. Her and her caddie and her whole team out there were really welcoming. I thought that was really nice. Sometimes some players might want to tend to themselves. It's really nice to see veteran players reaching out and giving tips here and there to rookies.

Q. These last few years playing on the Epson Tour for you, I think you touched on it on the first day, but can you give a sense of what those three years were like for you fighting through those qualifyings and getting to the point where you are a full-fledged Tour member?

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, I just remember for the past two seasons like posting some solid rounds and getting close but not really quite winning.

I would get frustrated at times because I know my game is a lot better than that, but I just stayed patient. Even though without a win on the Epson Tour I was still able to get my Tour card through Q-School. That can kind of attest to just being really patient and taking one day at a time, one tournament at a time.

Can't really control what other people do. Only like what you do and how you feel. So that's kind of what I've been sticking to.

Q. I think as a high school player, junior player in Hawai'i, you had a lot of success. Individual HHSA championships, UCLA, All-American status. Do you consider yourself a patient person, like when you had to go through those few years, or is that something you had to learn as you went?

MARIEL GALDIANO: I think it was definitely something I had to learn when I first turned professional. I graduated right during COVID so I had no status anywhere. I was kind of lost for a little bit. Even questioned if this was something I wanted to continue to do in the future. With the support of my family especially, I was able to like just push through and work hard and here I am now.

Q. Was there a singular tournament or moment that kind of exemplified what you just mentioned about finding yourself or breaking through?

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, definitely. I would say Q-Series of last year. Q-Series is always a grind. We play about five rounds and it's freezing, raining, the conditions aren't ideal.

Everything is on the line at the end of the season. That's where everything counts and a lot of pressure is on. So during that tournament when I sunk my par putt on like our very last hole, I was like oh, man, I did it.

So that's kind of a test to all the hard work I put in kind of culminating at that moment.

Q. Follow up on one thing. Since you mentioned Stacy Lewis and this being like I guess her a aloha tournament we could call it, do you remember when she -- you were probably quite young, but she used to play here in Hawai'i in different tournaments. She had some pretty good finishes. Michelle would be in some of those. Along those lines, too, do you know Michelle pretty well? You got to Punahou pipeline going.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, so when I grew up I used to come out to Ko Olina and ask for signatures. It's kind of a full circle moment when I see juniors here. I'm pretty sure Stacy and Michelle were playing at that time.

Michelle and I are a little like farther apart in years. She's always nice, wishing me good luck on social media, so that's really nice.

Q. Saw with you Alexa yesterday. She hasn't met Michelle. Maybe you can set that up someday.

MARIEL GALDIANO: Yeah, possibly.