AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

March 31, 2026

Mackenzie Lee

Quick Quotes

Q. You're coming back to Augusta National. What kind of experience do you rely on from last year to help you find more success this year?

MACKENZIE LEE: Not to play the comparing game, but obviously I know where I make my mistakes and where I executed my plan very well. So I think I'm just going to take the good notes from that and then just try to enjoy myself as much as I can, because it's probably my last one that I'm going to be able to play. So, yeah, just really focus on the positives from last year and just enjoy the crowd that's about to be here in less than 24 hours.

Q. What is the leadup for something like this? I mean, you have a full schedule with SMU. So you have to also take care of classwork. How do you mentally get prepared for something like this?

MACKENZIE LEE: I mean, I don't like to treat it differently from other tournaments at all. I think it's just -- the least I can do is just treat every tournament the same. And I don't think mentally it's good for me to be like, oh, my gosh, I have to do really good at this tournament. So I treat it the same as any other, and I just focus on what I need to work on from my previous tournament. Yeah.

Q. How enjoyable is it to share this with Emily where you get to see kind of how a rookie -- I mean, you were a rookie in your day, and now she is. What is it like as teammates just to watch her go through a lot of firsts?

MACKENZIE LEE: Yeah. I know I'm not as like dramatic with experiences as she is. (Laughs). So it's actually kind of funny to watch her like get super excited or super nervous. It's like, oh, do I actually have to go to that event, which she asks a lot. It's actually really funny to like watch her interact with everything that's going on, because there's a lot going on at this tournament, especially more than others.

But at the same time I'm very happy for her, because I know she worked really hard for this. So, yeah, I mean it's nice to have someone here and not just be the only one away from the team.

Q. I'm sure you've had many different coaches and people in your corner that have helped you get to this point. Who's one person from maybe your start in the game that would just be over the moon to see you here on this stage at Augusta National?

MACKENZIE LEE: I think there's quite a lot, actually. I know Patrick, my swing coach, has known me for, like, a while. Like I didn't know about him for that long, but he knew about me for a long time. (Laughs). So I know that he's very proud of me.

And my family is definitely really excited that I'm here again. Unfortunately they're not able to make it, because my mom is going through stuff.

But I think just the Arkansas golfers, like the ones from Little Rock who have watched me grow up, I think they're really proud to see me, and I honestly wouldn't have been, like, here without them, too. So I think I kind of owe it to them in some sort.