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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN


September 11, 2012


Stacy Lewis


WIRRAL, ENGLAND

COLIN CALLANDER:  We have Stacy Lewis, who was battered by the wind this morning; just how difficult was it out there?
STACY LEWIS:  It was really tough this morning.  For me it was I guess the first time seeing the whole course, too.  So to play in it under those conditions for the first time, it's pretty tough out there.  And it's definitely better now, but you know, if the wind keeps up this week, it's going to play tough.
COLIN CALLANDER:  How do you think Hoylake compares to the other three courses on the rota that you've played thus far?
STACY LEWIS:  I think it's definitely the hardest.  You know, only playing one round, it's kind of hard to tell but I think by far the hardest; you have to hit it well off the tee.  You have to hit good shots, and then the greens, the bunkers are definitely a penalty.  So, it's tough.
COLIN CALLANDER:  I think I'm right in saying you've played three times in this Championship before, and you've improved each time.  That must fill with you confidence coming into this week.
STACY LEWIS:  Yeah, it does.  I think this style of golf is just so different from what I'm used to playing but it takes some time to kind of learn the shots and learn how to manage the conditions, and even the swing when it's blowing 30 miles an hour, I'm not really used to.  It's kind of been a learning process for me.
COLIN CALLANDER:  Have you been working on anything specific since you arrived here, punch shots, or ...
STACY LEWIS:  No, mainly just kind of those little bump‑and‑runs around the greens, putting from off the edges.  Although, the greens, they are not running too fast; just because of the wind, they can't be.
So I don't know if you'll see a lot of putters from the edges around the greens, more just of the chips and bump and runs.
COLIN CALLANDER:  You've won twice on the LPGA Tour and I think you're second on the money list; you must be pleased with your form coming in here.
STACY LEWIS:  Yeah, I've played well this year and I think more than anything I've played really consistent and that's kind of what's gotten me there.  I've had a lot of chances to win and been in contention, and you get more comfortable there and it's been fun.
COLIN CALLANDER:  You have to be playing with Catriona Matthew tomorrow, and that's a good draw, I would have thought.  Certainly bring a few crowds in I would have thought.
STACY LEWIS:  Oh, sure, she's great to play with.  She definitely knows how to play this style of golf.  I played her a couple of matches in Ireland last year at Solheim Cup, and this weather just suits her game to a tee.  So maybe I'll pick up a few things from her.

Q.  I saw pictures of when you went on to the green when Lydia Ko won the Canadian Open; can you just give me a few words on her and what she means to the game of women's golf at the moment?
STACY LEWIS:  Yeah, I told my friends last week that that Sunday that I got to play with her was one of the coolest days I've ever had on the golf course; I didn't play well; I didn't win the tournament.  And just to watch Lydia and the way she played that final round, it looked like she had been there before and she knew what she was doing.
Towards the end, the fans are pulling for her and they were cheering louder and louder for her every hole.  It was cool because we got to hang out and we talked quite a bit throughout the round.  I tried to keep her talking at the end and just keep her relaxed.  She just played great.  I was just glad I was there able to watch it.  It was really cool.

Q.  (Do you think she is good enough to win this week)?
STACY LEWIS:  Well, she's won already, so I would definitely say she's good enough to win.  The hard thing about is the British Open like this is the weather and unpredictability, and I think it's something that takes some experience in playing.  But she's proved everybody wrong so far, so why not.
COLIN CALLANDER:  Is she the best player you've seen at that age?
STACY LEWIS:  Oh, for sure‑‑ that I've played with?  By far.  You wouldn't know, just the way she managed her game and the way she kind of got around the golf course, you would never know that she was 15 years old.  I was beyond impressed.  I saw her win the U.S. Am and things like that, but to come to the Canadian Open and to come to a big event like that and play so solid for that many days was pretty impressive.

Q.  Playing the Solheim Cup last year, what was the experience playing team golf, as opposed to competitions like this?
STACY LEWIS:  Solheim Cup it's a lot more different.  It's a lot more pressure‑‑ it's more pressure you put on yourself because you want to play well for your team.  But I mean, you still want to win.  You probably want to win more than a normal event.
So it's completely different.  You try to just go out there and just play golf, but almost it's harder.  You know, you come back and you're play your own ball, you come to a regular tournament, it seems pretty easy compared to that.
But walking on the first tee representing your country, it doesn't get any better than that.

Q.  What was your biggest accomplishment at 15?
STACY LEWIS:  Hmmm, maybe getting my learner's permit.  I don't know, I think‑‑ I remember my freshman year of high school, I don't think I even broke 90.  I was just trying to shoot, break 80 probably, and make my high school's team.

Q.  You overcame scoliosis as a child to make it to the professional game; do you consider yourself an inspiration?
STACY LEWIS:  I don't know, I guess I am, because people‑‑ I definitely get a lot of e‑mails and letters from kids that they look up to me, things like that.  I don't know if I see myself that way, because I just know what I went through with scoliosis, that's something that I had to go through at the time and I didn't have really any option.  I don't know if I am but the other people say I am.

Q.  What do you think will be the key holes this week out there?
STACY LEWIS:  I don't know, it's hard to say.  I think the par 5s, definitely you can make some birdies on, possibly even eagles.  I think three of them are reachable, so I think playing the par 5s well will be a key.
And then I don't even know, I think every hole just seems to have something about it that's hard.  I mean, every hole has some pot bunkers in the fairways and pot bunkers on the greens.  You just have to hit the ball well this week, I think is the key, and stay out of the bunkers, because they are a penalty.

Q.  When you talk about how Lydia manages her game, do you mean the decisions that she makes, or does her sort of nervelessness‑‑
STACY LEWIS:  I would say a little bit of both.  You know, she knew when she could go at a pin.  She knew when she kind of needed to go to the center of the green.  She didn't get nervous all day.  I was waiting for her to get nervous at some point.  But she just got ‑‑ every shot, I looked up, and every shot was right at the pin; and she made the 10‑footer, 8‑ to 10‑footer, whatever she had.  And I think on 18, she finally showed some nerves, which I was glad to actually see that.
So she just‑‑ almost just looked like she had been there a million times and she had won four or five times already and kind of knew what the deal was.  But really she had no clue at all, which was pretty cool.
COLIN CALLANDER:  Stacy, thank you very much.  Good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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