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LPGA Tour: Gaby Lopez Recaps 7th Hole Playoff Victory at The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 20: Gaby Lopez of Mexico poses with the trophy after winning the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions at Tranquilo Golf Course at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando on January 20, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

LPGA professional Gaby Lopez speaks to the media following her victory at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, coming on the 7th playoff hole during a Monday finish. Lopez bested Nasa Hataoka and Inbee Park in the playoff with a final score of -13 under par.

LPGA Tour: Gaby Lopez speaks with media following the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

Q. What makes this win so special today?
GABY LOPEZ: Today I was thinking thinking of my first win, and I dedicated my first win to my granddad that passed away a month before my first win. Yesterday I called my dad that I wanted to have my grandmom with him and my family this morning so she could see me dedicate this win to her.

Q. Was she watching TV?
GABY LOPEZ: She was watching the TV. I just FaceTimed them, and she was there, and I was like, my first win was for my granddad, and this one goes for you.

Q. What’s her name?
GABY LOPEZ: Vania.

Q. And what’s your granddad’s name?
GABY LOPEZ: Jose.

Q. What did you hit here?
GABY LOPEZ: I hit a 3 hybrid.

Q. Was that what you were hitting yesterday, or did you have to change?
GABY LOPEZ: Yesterday was really funny. The last round, when I first made birdie, it was into the wind, so I had a perfect 3 hybrid. In the playoffs, it was coming downwind, so I had to switch to my 4 hybrid. I wasn’t very sure if I needed a 3 hybrid or a 4 hybrid. I was switching all the time on those six holes that we were playing.

This morning, my coach, my caddie, and I were on the TrackMan, and we were looking at numbers because it’s freezing right now. So we just took the number, and we knew it was downwind, but it was a perfect 3 hybrid.

Q. Saluting the grounds crew, is that something you got from Lorena? She used to do that all the time.
GABY LOPEZ: Yes, Lorena started this tradition, and I think that was the most important thing from her. She was No. 1 on the golf course, but she was so humble, and she was being able to take the time to sit down with all the gardeners, the Mexican gardeners that we don’t get to see, and they’re here since 4:00 in the morning, and they leave at 9:00 p.m.

I think they need more recognition than we actually give them.

Q. And wearing Mexico’s colors on Sunday, winning in them today, just tell us about that.
GABY LOPEZ: Yes, since I’m a little kid, I got in love — in golf, I got in love with representing Mexico outside of Mexico in the U.S. It was always team events, and we were always wearing red, white, and green. I don’t know, it was something that comes with me since I’m a little kid. I’m extremely proud to represent Mexico, especially because we have now two Mexicans on the Tour. For a long time, it was Lorena only, and then it was Violeta Retamoza, and now it was only me. This year Maria came with me on Tour.

So I’m just hoping that it’s not only us two. I’m really hoping that a good ten Mexican girls can jump in the LPGA, and we can all travel together and achieve our dreams together.

Q. You’ve played this hole seven times now, eight if we count the regulation. Are you glad that you’re not seeing this hole anymore, or because you have half the birdies on this hole, it’s not so bad?
GABY LOPEZ: No, I really like it. I have lots of respect for this golf course. It plays extremely difficult when it’s windy and especially when it’s cold. I don’t know, I just feel like being able to feel comfortable here since last year. Last year I was playing great until the last nine holes. I came in fifth, and I ended up top ten, and it was my first top ten of the year. Those memories were positive to me.

To me this year, I’ve changed a lot of things on my swing. I’ve changed a lot of things on my stroke. I’ve changed a lot of things. To be honest, coming into this week, I had no idea if I was going to play well. I wasn’t hitting the ball great in Mexico. It was funky. It was all over the place. I had discussions with my coach if I really needed a change on my swing, but I did because I went to the hospital to get a neck thing.

So, yeah, being able to kind of trust the process and trust in him and being able to believe in myself and in my team, my caddie, I mean, it just takes a team effort. My family in Mexico, they’re a huge part of my team.

Q. To get up this early and the weather changing so drastically, how tough was it to get here and get on the range?
GABY LOPEZ: It was tough to sleep. I mean, yesterday it was calm. It was easy for me to play the six holes in the playoff, or five, but this — I mean, last night was hard. I could not sleep. I was meditating. I was listening to music. I was trying to stay calm.

So as soon as the alarm hit the clock, I’m like, okay, let’s go. Let’s roll. I got here at 6:00 a.m., and I started my warmup like it was a normal day. I needed to get in the routine that I was going to play 18 holes. That was my mindset. I don’t know how many it’s going to take us to make a birdie here. I just asked Dan, I mean, are we going to move from the hole? It’s hard to make birdie here. He said, no, we’re sticking here. So I’m like okay.

So my goal was to hit the green every time I teed up. And I knew — I knew one was going to drop because I’ve been hitting that putt every single time. I guess the seventh time’s the charm.

Q. How did that compare to the putt you had on the last hole in regulation?
GABY LOPEZ: To the last putt?

Q. Yeah, you had the birdie on your final hole to get into the playoff. How were they compared?
Q. Different spots on the green, right?
GABY LOPEZ: Yeah, different spots. I was above the hole on that one. That was actually — when I had that putt, I used to talk with my coach in Arkansas that, if you ever have a putt you want to make, you want it to be downhill because you just need to hit the right line. I mean, you just hit it, and the slope is going to take all the work. So, yeah, as soon as I had the putt, I remember Shauna telling me, hey, we want this, we want this, embrace it.

I’m just happy to be able to pull off the shots under pressure that I needed to.

Q. How long was that putt in regulation? In the final hole, your final 72 holes.
GABY LOPEZ: Yeah, that was 17 feet, downhill.

January 20, 2020

Lake Bueno Vista, Florida

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team USA

LPGA Tour: Lexi Thompson Recaps Her Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions Experience

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Lexi Thompson plays her second shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions at Tranquilo Golf Course at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando on January 19, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

LPGA Tour professional and 11 time winner Lexi Thompson speaks to the media following the conclusion of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions and previews next week’s tournament in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.

LPGA Tour: Lexi Thompson speaks to the media following Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

Q. What was today like for you? You’ve had some awesome playing partners the past couple of days. How do you feel about closing out the way you did?
LEXI THOMPSON: Just this week in general is pretty amazing just to be surrounded by some of the best athletes and actors and just celebrities. It’s a very fun week. At the same time, we want to play well, and we’re grinding.

But I played well, good start to the year. Definitely left a lot out there, but it’s a good start. So I’m going to keep it going.

Q. What is something about this round that you’ll take with you going into Boca, around where you’re from?
LEXI THOMPSON: I think overall just taking from this week that my game’s in the right direction. I worked hard in the off-season in making a few changes. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, but it’s a good start. Just going to try to keep it going.

Q. Is it exciting to be starting a new event there in Boca, to be able to play with a hometown advantage for you?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, it is. Being able to stay in my own bed, I’ve never done that and played in a golf tournament. So it will be different. I’ve only played the golf course twice. So I don’t know it great, but I have a few more practice rounds coming up. It’s a great track. So just looking forward to playing.

January 19, 2020

Lake Buena Vista, Florida

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Team USA

LPGA Tour: Lexi Thompson Talks Return to Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 16: Lexi Thompson plays her shot from the 17th tee during the first round of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions at Tranquilo Golf Course at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando on January 16, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

LPGA professional Lexi Thompson speaks with the media following her opening round -5 about her offseason preparations as well as her 2020 goals.

LPGA: Lexi Tohmpson speaks with the media following opening round of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

Q. (Indiscernible) good playing. I agree. Good ball striking. You seem to be in midseason form.
LEXI THOMPSON: I didn’t take much rest in the off-season. Really seemed like I only had about two weeks off. I took one week fully off, not even touching a club, but that was about it. I slowly got back into it, and I was grinding away.

Q. Do you refresh your goals and aspirations?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I do. Like Olympics being this year, that’s my number one goal. But I go into every tournament wanting to win. That’s the drive I’ve always had. I just want to play consistent golf and keep trying to improve on everything on and off the golf course.

Q. You’ve been out here for a number of years. Do you make changes so that you peak at the right time?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I think overall in the off-season work, it’s a lot of short game work for me, but this off-season was actually a lot of ball striking as well, trying to work on those little swing changes I worked on towards the end going into CME were big changes for me. I think that’s making my ball striking a little bit more consistent now, which will be good for my future.

Q. Lexi, a solid 5 under opening round at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. How good does it feel to get back in competition mode?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, it feels good. It’s a little different of a tournament playing with celebrities, but it’s just an amazing feeling coming back to 2020. This is a great event. It’s a lot of fun. To start off with a nice 5 under start, it’s a good start to the season, just hopefully keep it going.

Full Leaderboard: Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions 2020

Q. Is there something when you can compete with other professional athletes that play at the highest level, just like you do, is there something you pick their brains about when you’re out there with them?
LEXI THOMPSON: Honestly, I just try to respect them and enjoy their presence. This is such a great event for that. I don’t really want to pick their brain because they get that all the time for sure. I want them to go out there and enjoy themselves. I think that’s what this tournament is all about. We want to take it seriously, but at the same time, I want to enjoy being around some of the best athletes that have been in the game or in their sport.

Q. What is it about this course that sets up to your strengths?
LEXI THOMPSON: Overall on this golf course, I can hit a lot of drivers and 3 woods. I can play it pretty aggressively. A good amount of the par 5s, I can reach and go for in two, so I take advantage of that. It’s just in great shape. That’s what we really look forward to in every tournament we go into.

Q. You put a lot of work in in the off-season. What was working well today that you felt like was a direct reflection of that hard work?
LEXI THOMPSON: I think overall having my ball striking being very consistent today. I hit it very solid, committed to my lines a lot out there, and I made some good putts. So a lot of positives to take from today. Just hope I keep it going.

Q. Did Larry pick your brain at all?
LEXI THOMPSON: He asked me like one or two questions, but really not much of anything. We just really had fun out there, enjoying ourselves and saying good shots and just feeding off of each other.

Q. What did you think of his game?
LEXI THOMPSON: I was impressed. He hit a lot of irons off the tee, but he had an amazing short game. I was very impressed. He had great touch around the greens and rolled it very well.

Q. Any theme to this year for you? Anything new to the way you want to approach things?
LEXI THOMPSON: Really I’m just going into this year trying not to get too down on myself and my game. I’ve put in the work in my off weeks, in the off-season, and I’m just going to go into every tournament knowing I put in the work and just letting my game show that I put in the practice. If I struggle and have a bad day, I’m not going to let it get to me. I’m just going to try to have more of a positive outlook on life.

Q. At the end of last year, you talked about your swing and some of your footwork. Have you just built on that? Have you changed anything about that?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I’m doing the same footwork change that I worked on towards the end of last year, just trying to patent it and get it more ingrained in my golf swing. It’s been working pretty well. I feel very confident with it. It’s just a matter of repetition and keep going with it.

Lake Bueno Vista, Florida

January 16, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports