No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast Episode 448: Stacy Lewis

Episode Date: June 23, 2021

Stacy Lewis joins the podcast for the first time to talk about the KPMG Women's PGA, the current state of the LPGA, statistics and how that holds LPGA players back, motherhood and how that relates to her golf career, the lessons she wants to teach her daughter, and so much more. This one was a lot of fun.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yes! That is better than most. I'm not in. That is better than most. Better than most. Lazy Lewis, who is playing this week of course in the KPMG women's PGA. I'm really excited for this one. It's probably my favorite LPGA when we've done at least in recent memory. She's been on the LPGA tour for a long time now. Great perspective on motherhood, how that's related to her golf career, why she's so adamant

about continuing on her golf career. A disclosure before we get to the podcast, KPMG is a paid partner of ours. If I ask a lot of questions about KPMG for her and I think you're gonna see why I wanna let the audience know those are editorial decisions that I made, I read about what kind of impact her sponsors have had on her through maternity leave and all kinds of things like that, I just wanted to get that out there

that if you wanna get mad at anyone for asking questions about corporate America and sponsorships get mad at me, that is not corporate America and sponsorships, get mad at me. That is not something that KPMG asked me to do. I found it interesting and good content. KPMG has done amazing things to support the women's game. And I would say including included in that is bringing us out to their tournaments to cover what's going on out here.

So stoked to be out here. There's going to be video content this week as well, social content. Also this part is a paid partnership with our friends at Woop. You've heard a lot about Woop. You've heard a lot about Woop. A lot of people come up to me and tell me, look, why do I need to know? I know how well I slept last night. I don't need to know all this data and all that stuff. And I hear this all the time, honestly, from, I'm going to call her out from my wife. I don't know why I'm so tired. I slept so good last night. Well, Woop is going to give you personalized insights on how your body is actually performing,

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I know when I first got it, I was kind of alarmed at how much higher my resting heart rate was than the rest of the guys in the group. I went and got it checked out, kind of changed, learned about some things, changed some habits, increased my water intake, adjusted my breathing techniques as I tried to go to sleep and stuff and it meant it helped a lot. So Woop.com, you can use promo code NoLayingUp for 15% off your purchase again. Woop.com, NoLayingUp for 15% off your purchase again. Woop.com, no laying up for 15% off your purchase there. We thank them for sponsoring the no laying up podcast.

Without any further delay, here's Stacy Lewis. So how difficult is a tournament week for one of your sponsors? You've been with KPMG for a long time, but there's different time commitments. You got guys like me taking up your time. Is this a harder major to prepare for? It is a little bit, you know, the one good thing about COVID is it's cut back on a lot of that stuff, a lot of the extra requirements, but I've learned to see it as a good thing, you know, it's a great thing that KPMG came on board to sponsor this tournament, and I want to, you know, do my part of,

you know, making women's golf better, and I feel like this is a big part of it. Well, we got a lot to talk about on the women's golf front and making women's golf better. And I feel like this is a big part of it. Well, we got a lot to talk about on the women's golf front and making women's golf better. But first up, this is KPMG Women's PGA Championship week. What do you know about Atlanta Athletic Club? Not a whole lot to be honest. Haven't really played it very much. Haven't played it at all, really.

Never really been on site. But obviously hosting men's majors there. And this was one that KPMG was really excited about to get. So I'm looking forward to the week. Do you, for courses that, you know, you mentioned there, that of course that have hosted men's majors, does the challenge feel different when you guys play a major on these events? Do you see what I'm getting at here?

Like, I feel like a lot of these courses are, you know, they're not necessarily designed to play the same for the women as they do for the men. Does it feel any different on the ground? I can tell you one, they're a lot harder. I, you know, the base I can remember Carlota Segonda last year at a Ron mix. She's told me, she said, this is what a major should be. She's like, it's hard, but it's fair. So, I mean, that's the biggest thing, is, you know, we wanna get on these great tests where the best player is truly going to win that week. You know, and while some of these courses,

you look at, you know, Olympic where we played the US Open a couple of weeks ago, you know, there are some holes that weren't designed for us, you know, we had to play them super long, or, you know, or there were bunkers that were in the way or whatever it was, but that's part of the challenge that we face. That's what I really loved Country Club at Charleston, the US Women's Open that year,

just because I found that as a golf course, it was fit the scale of the women's game so perfectly, right? The challenges of those shots were so interesting to watch all week. And personally, I found that to be more fun than saying watching Olympic Club is one of them more fun to play. Um, Olympic Club is just hard. You know, it's one of those just draining off courses where you look at like country club of Charleston, you can be a little bit more creative. I think like around the greens, you can play different types of shots, you can run it up there, where Olympic you're there in the fairway, you're in the rough.

And that's kind of the challenge of it. So very different, but equally as hard, still that you've got the best player, still that one that week. Yeah. So you've competed in a lot of major championships, and I know you've touched on this to start here as though the KPMG women's PGA being a major that you know, it feels like a major and it, you know, it

stresses all the right things. But what makes this one special? It's the only women's major I've been to and I've been to a couple of them now. But so I don't have a ton to compare it to, but every time I'm on site, the women just rave about this week, you know, even well in advance of it. What is it, you know, that really that is that always been the case for this championship? It hasn't. I mean, you look, I look back, has to be what about seven or eight years ago now, and we were, you know, Wegmans took over this major to try to keep it going.

It was been the LPJ championship, and you know, we've just been basically trying to run it and have an event. And so now it's the little things for us. Everybody gets a courtesy car. Their pain are entry fees for us this week. The food on site, they add a run mic because of COVID, they have breakfast, lunch and dinner for us. So we didn't have to go out to dinner, we didn't have to do anything.

One of the things that was really funny from the first year of the tournament, everybody raised, raved about, was the snacks on the golf course. And it's like, that's simple. You know, like that seems like common sense kind of stuff. But, you know, it's for us, it's a little stuff because we don't get that stuff every week. You know, the guys get, there's most weeks they play, they get courtesy cards every single week.

And so, you know, really, we're, you know, it's something that I hope we can, you know, get across all our majors and get more tournaments kind of doing the same thing. Yeah, I mean, there's weeks that Caddy's get courtesy cars out on the PGA tour. It's crazy. It's crazy.

But you touched on it there, like all the simple stuff. That's why I just keep trying to keep digging into, you know, what is it? And, you know, I talked to Angel Yen about this a couple of years ago. I remember and she just said almost the exact same things that you said. It's incredibly easy. Some of these boxes, you would think to tick.

I'm sure there's a lot of logistical things that go into it. But, um, go ahead. Well, you look at like just a great driving range, a great putting green, you know, golf course, you know, they actually close it down a couple of days prior to get it in the shape. You know, I mean, these are challenges that that guys never have to worry about. Of course, they actually close it down a couple of these prior to get it in the shape. These are challenges that the guys never have to worry about. We have some weeks where there's a full T-sheet for members on a Sunday before. That's not to put shame or talk bad about any of our other tournaments, but that's just

purely the challenges that we face. What is, this is going to be a bit off topic and I want to get some of your background here, but I'm kind of surprised that 2014 was the only year that we saw the men's and women's US opens go back to back at Pinehurst. As a viewer, that was fantastic. I thought, you know, you know, the course as you roll into the next week and you're excited to watch a totally different playing style the next week. What was the reaction like on the LPGA tour on the women's side for how that worked

out for you guys? Well, I obviously played well that week. I had a feeling I was a little leaving questions. But it was so cool. I'm honestly surprised the USG haven't hasn't done it again because I thought for us I thought it was unbelievable. I mean, we were worried about what kind of shape the golf course would be and after the guys and everything and it was totally fine.

The USJ did an unbelievable job of making us hit the same clubs into holes. So where the guys all had all their divots, we were way ahead of that. So you necessarily didn't really have to worry about that. And I thought one of the cool things was, especially on 18, they took a lot of stands down from when the guys played to when we played. Just so when we finished there, it looked full, it looked packed. I know we didn't get the same number of people,

but it was still packed around that green and it looked great. The stands were full, but maybe if you keep the stands like they were for the guys, it wouldn't have looked more empty. And not it looked as good on TV. So they did little things like that, but like that week, we got the player dining that the guys have, this big massive room. And so that's what I mean.

It's just little stuff. It's not like, I don't feel like we're asking for a whole lot, you know, but like we got all the amenities that the guys had. We got to see how the golf course played ahead of time, you know, to help us out. So, um, so I thought, I thought it was great. I thought it'd be something that the US Shade would go back to, to be honest. Yeah. I mean, you touched on a lot of the things there. One, people are kind of clamoring for some kind of mix between PGA tour and LPGA Tour events of some kind, but even having the majors kind of draft off of each

of their little bit using, getting all the benefits that you guys are getting out of, all the attention that comes on the men's event, some carry over into the women's game seems to be, I think a lot of people are just kind of clamoring for some synergies there, right? It seems like everyone's kind of swimming in their own direction.

And I think hopefully things kind of start trending that direction. I feel like there's some momentum in that direction. Do you feel that way? I guess you would know better than I would. I do feel like there is. I mean, I think you look at kind of the women's movement in corporate America.

I mean, that's helped us out tremendously. I've just getting some attention brought to it. And you look at P.J. have America has stepped up to help us RNA taken over the British Open. I don't think people realize, like for us, that the RNA hasn't run that tournament until a few years ago. So just having your big organizations like this step up, what the USGA is doing to increase our purse and everything, It's happening across golf. We just need to keep pushing it and see where we can get to.

Well, I feel I was pretty blind to a lot of LPGA. I didn't have big LPGA influence as a junior, as a kid, and as a young adult, but went to the key of classic in 2018. We came back from that just like raving about the experience and just the, the up, the, I don't know, say up close and personal, we got to play the pro-amp. So we got a really up close in personal experience, but fan interaction there with the women is so different than what you would experience on the PGA tour. So I feel like we've been singing the, it really just like boils down to attention,

right? And it's, if people are let in and give it the opportunity to get involved in some way watching on TV or attending in person like that, it's automatic that you're gonna be checking leaderboards and it's just gonna start working on top of each other. But just getting in that door seems to be something that your career spans a couple decades now.

And I wanna say it's still trending the right way, but it still has a long ways to go. I'm wondering if you could, a couple decades now. And I want to say it's still trending the right way, but it still has a long ways to go. I'm wondering if you could kind of weigh in on that. Yeah, I mean, we are far from far from done, you know, I, and our biggest thing is just come watch us play, you know, and that's what COVID has really hurt is, you know, that's what I think our big sell is. It's like you said, is that experience at the golf course and in the Phoenix interaction and, you know, the kids and stuff like, you know, that's what sells our tour.

And so COVID has really hurt that. The pro, like you said, the pro-AM experience, completely different than what you're going to get on the men's side. And so that's our ask to people is just come watch us play. Come have an experience, come watch us play. And you're going to go home and check later boards and watch us the next week when we're in another state. And that's all we're striving for. So going back before we got too far down the rabbit hole, which we may have already done,

for people that aren't familiar with your background, how you got into golf, and what you went through as a kid in the unlikely hood that you would be a successful pro golfers long as you have. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, so I was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 11, which is it's just a curvature of your spine. It's a genetic deal, more common in girls and boys. It's just, but they don't actually know what causes it. You know, some people have it and they live their life and they're fine. It's just a minor curve.

And for me, I was very young. I had a pretty bad curve. And so they put me in a back brace. And it was originally supposed to be for two to three years. Just hard plastic had velcro straps. Ward underneath my clothes to school. The only time I took it off was when I played golf or Swam or like shower or anything like that But because I was little and I didn't finish growing until I was almost 18 years old

So I ended up wearing that back brace for six and a half years Which is the look my doctor says to this day. It's the longest he's had anybody wear a back brace before. But then back brace comes off. It's supposed to hold your curve from not getting any worse. And so once I stopped wearing it, my curve got pretty bad again, got significantly worse. And so right after I graduated high school, I had a rod and five screws put my back.

They fused five bird a prey. And so I mean, at that point, I mean, just playing golf, I thought was out of the picture. Yeah. It's, it's, I think we can look at, you know, with Tiger having his back fused, look at it as a magic surgery. Like, oh, yeah. Well, why doesn't everyone do that? It works out great.

But it also seems like it's not pleasant necessarily and not a fail safe that just a plot can be applied in any situation. But. No, it's, you know, the hardest part, you know, a man doctor said is those muscles in your back, they learned to work a certain way for 18 years. And then all of a sudden, you go in there in five hours

and basically just move everything around. So I had to get strength back in my back. You know, fortunately I was able to still play golf afterwards. I mean, I thought when my doctor said back surgery, I was done, you know. And so for me, it was just to be able to play college golf and have that experience with my team. I mean, I remember my dad saying like a couple years ago

that, you know, he's like, I knew once you played your first college event, I knew everything was going to be okay. Like just being able to play that was it, not play on the LPGA, get to number one of the world, win majors. I mean, that wasn't even in the realm. Well, when does that enter the realm, right? And it's always something I've struggled to pin pros down on when you realize, because there's a certain point where you find the convince yourself that you're the

best player in the world. But it's all a dream for everyone coming up, right? And there's got to be a, you got to ask yourself, like, can I really, am I really, am I really that good? So when did you finally know, you know, did it happen in college? Did it happen once you're a pro that you were as good as you as you were. I mean, it really it was, I was probably my junior year. I won, I won the national championship, my junior year as an individual.

And for me, that was, I read shirt in my first year because of back surgery. So it was technically my fourth year of school could have graduated and been done. And I was like, are you turning pro? And I'm like, I don't even know what that means. You know what, what is that entail? And I'm like, no, I mean, I felt like Arkansas took a chance on me. And I felt like I owed another year to them. But it was that it was then it was like, okay, like, I think I could do this,

you know, you know, coming out of back surgery, I all I could do. I couldn't hit a ton of balls. So I just did a ton of short game. Short game got crazy better. And then as I got stronger, I started to hit a ton of balls, so I just did a ton of short game. Short game got crazy better. And then as I got stronger, I started to hit it further, started to hit it a little better. And, you know, I just think with everything I went through, I had this belief in myself and I had to learn how to face adversity.

I learned how to learn how to kind of get over the hump. And I think that more than anything kind of made me the player that I am. Well, in reading a lot in recent years about your deciding to have a family and what not, and we're going to get into some of that, is your decision at all influencing? You know, you're talking about going back to school for a fourth year versus turning pro. Is your, for lack of a better word, is your biological clock at all way in at that moment in your decision? I'm wondering when you start kind of weighing in, balancing a pro career with your goals

to have a family as well. You know, at that time, it wasn't, I mean, I was not thinking about having a family at all at that point. I mean, for me, I wanted to have an education because I didn't know how long my back was gonna hold up. You know, I didn't know, you know, I wanted to have an education because I didn't know how long my back was going to hold up. I didn't know I could take one swing or I could something could happen. I mean, I just didn't know.

And my doctor didn't really know either. So I just wanted to have something to fall back on. But I also felt like in college and amateur golf, I still needed to get better. I didn't feel like I would just because I won that one tournament. I was ready to go. And I truly think I went back my senior year and I won, well that's summer after my national championship. I think I was, I won the Southern, the Western, and made it to the semis of North South, semis of USAM. And then I won six times the next year in college. And so I personally think that stretch right there, just I learned how to win in all different facets.

I learned how to face adversity. I learned how to travel on my own and do a lot of that. And that's what prepared me for professional golf more than anything else. A quick break here to check in with our friends at Original Penguin. I've told you guys many, many times that I wear their stuff every single day. It is true. If you see me in a pair of shorts, I can almost promise you they at Original Penguin. I've told you guys many, many times that I wear their stuff every single day.

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that stuff I've got piling up in there. So thanks again to them. Again, promo code NOU20 at originalpenguin.com. Let's get back to Stacy Lewis. Transitioning that into you have an unbelievably successful career and we'll backtrack into a lot of those events and those successes, but you had a baby in October of 2018, I believe, your first one.

And I've really enjoyed reading about the perspective that comes with balancing a professional career as a professional athlete with motherhood. And so when did you start weighing this decision of deciding how you were going to, you know, when you want to do this and how you were going to do it? I hadn't really thought a whole lot about having kids obviously until I got married and you kind of meet the right person and you know, I want to have a family with this person.

And you know, fortunately for me, I had had a great career. So financially, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was more just taking the time away, but it just became something that I wanted to do in any, you know, missing five months of golf, you know, at 35 or 36, that's okay. You know, at 25, you're like,

I can't miss a tournament, you know. So just your perspective on life just changes, I think, as you get older. And, you know, you have, you know, if there's something that you want to do, I think you're just more willing to just do it. And was it hard? Yes. Is it still hard? Yes. But I would do it all over again. Do you see, I guess, was it ever a decision for you and whether you wanted to continue playing after having a baby and do you see why, maybe some women decide not to continue playing after entering motherhood?

I do, I mean, I do. I mean, I think it was pretty fitting that I had a girl. I knew I was going to continue playing, but then once I had a girl, I was like, I need to show her that she can do both. I need to show her that she can be a mom and be great at that. And I want to show her that she can be great at golf. Or she can be a CEO of a company,

or she can literally do whatever she wants and do both. And she doesn't know that now, but I think she's going to look back when she's older and say, wow, that's my mom did all of this. Like, I can literally do anything I wanna do. And that's what I want her to learn, and that's why I want her, you know, I just wanna be a good role model for her from that side.

Well, and tell us about daycare on the LPGA tour, because it sounds like it has a pretty big influence on your life, and it's not something I admit. I didn't really know about how vital this system was to other moms out in the LPGA tour. Oh my gosh, it's a life saver. I drop her off when I'm on my way to the golf course and I pick her up when I'm done.

We have it Tuesday to Sundays, whatever you need. And the ladies, we've had it for, I think, about 27 or 28 years now, and nobody really knows about it. We're one of the only women's sports organizations that offer a daycare service where, you know, in the past, people would hire nannies or have to have a parent or somebody else travel with you. But it's been so great for Tosanam.

I mean, she's learned so much. I mean, it's not just a daycare. I mean, it's like going to a preschool. You know, there's learning involved and it's just so fun. She gets so excited to go see her friends every day and it's really cute. Well, did you get any advice or, you know, from other moms out on the LPGA tour on how to handle a newborn and, you know, the balance of your career? I mean, you're not the first one to go through this, but, you know, I'm sure you have some

resources out there. But I just curious to see who some of those resources might have been. Well, I leaned on my sisters a lot. I mean, they both have kids. So I leaned on them a lot, but a lot of the traveling with the kid, it's really trial and error. Googling things and trying to figure stuff out. I mean, I think the one thing I always tell girls

that are going to have kids just like it's hard. And you're going to have days that they don't sleep, and you're really tired, and you're going to have kids just like it's hard and you're gonna have days that they don't sleep and you're really tired and you're gonna go play crappy golf and it's okay. You know, you're gonna have bad days but it's kind of part of it and to just a juliengster told me she's like just give yourself a break. You know, like just don't be so hard on yourself. Like as long as that kid is happy, it's okay. Well, and pro golf is hard enough as it is. And I am not a pro golfer, but I would have to imagine,

you know, if your commitment is even slightly less than 100% to what you're doing, it's probably nobody's winning in that scenario. And I'm just curious how you view your, the perspective of pro golf in terms of importance in your life, both prior to and after having a baby. Prior to, I mean, my golf was everything. I mean, everything I did during the day revolved around me trying to play good golf. And that's why I was able to play as well as I did. That's how I got to

the number one in the world. I just think at my age now and I just didn't want to do that anymore. I mean, being the number one in the world required playing 30 plus events a year, going anywhere in the world to play. Tons of time outside of the golf course. And world to play tons of time outside of the golf course. And, you know, I just, you, I just have different priorities now, I guess, you know, Chesney and my family are first, you know, golf is second now. And, and it's a great thing. It's great to have more balance now, you know, I didn't have balance before, but it was also great to accomplish everything I did.

So they're both okay in my viewpoint. It's just that different points in your life, I think. You know, now the hardest part for me is the off-the-golf course commitments and you know finding time to do them and do I have somebody to watch Tessney so I can go do this sponsor dinner or stuff like that. So it's the off-golf course stuff that's hard now. Well, and it's also, you know, you've won since you won in 2020. You won the latest Scottish Open last year. And is there a way, just kind of, I'll give you an idea of where I'm going with this,

is I've always feel when I need to practice for like two straight weeks leading up to a tiny little amateur tournament I'm playing, right? And if I come in slightly less prepared than that, I have no chance. Whereas I've played some qualifiers recently where I came in not less prepared than that, I have no chance. Whereas I've played some qualifiers recently where I came in not practicing at all and actually played decent. So you've won since having a baby yet your time commitments just aren't, you know, I'm guessing

that's where I'm kind of getting at is your perspective changed on what you need to actually succeed, right? You maybe don't need to be as totally prepared as you maybe were prior to having a baby. Yeah, I mean, yes, from that side for I just say, you know, where before I'd go spend eight hours at the golf course, you know, because I didn't have anything else to do. But now, I mean, if I can get two or three hours in, I'm doing great, you know, so it's just, you're better with your time, you know, my time at the golf course is more purposeful. My swing coach has said that, you know, it's like, I'm going to pick out when I finish the round, I'm going to pick out one thing that's going to help

me tomorrow. And then we're going to leave. We're not going to stay there for an hour and a half hitting balls, you know. And then truthfully, as I've got, you know, with my back and getting older, I can't go be balls forever. You know, it's just terrible on my body. So, you know, my goal right now, I want to see how good I can get my short game. And because I think ball striking is always going to somewhat be there, but if I can get my short game really good, I feel like I can still be really competitive out here. Hmm. Well, explain to listeners from maybe they aren't familiar with just how how endorsement

contracts work and how your situation as it turned it related to your maternity leave ended up being maybe much better than you thought it would and I'm particularly interested in what that you know has done for the precedent I guess in terms of LPGA to our sponsorships. Yeah so that was one really surprising thing that came out of all this is I was nervous as heck to tell my sponsors that I was pregnant you know what was the reaction gonna be that kind of thing? And so I was actually at the Masters doing dinner for KPMG. And so my husband, I kind of pulled Lynn Dowdy aside and told her that we are pregnant.

I mean, she was so excited. It gave us the biggest bear hugs. You know, one in a win-win-win-havana, like, one in a no-everything. And so I guess later that day, she was out on the golf course with the head of sponsorships and she didn't really know how contracts work. And so how contracts work is there's a minimum number of tournaments. And if you say you're minimums 20 and you play 10, you get half of the money that's in your contract. So that year I had Chesney, I wouldn't have played the full minimum number of tournaments

to get paid, but KPMG Lynn, it was basically Lynn decided to pay out my full contract, regardless of how many tournaments I played in. And originally, they didn't want that getting out to the press at all, but I kind of went back to him. I said, this could be a really cool story, and this could change for other girls across the board. And they viewed it as similar to taking maternity leave,

similar to that of you're still paying and covering your employees and that kind of thing. So they said, why don't we treat her the same as we treat our employees? Because that seems like a choice, an LPGA player shouldn't have to make, right? Like, do I want my sponsorship dollars to keep rolling in or do I want to have a child? That seems like something that, you know, it would, this kind of thing is extremely helpful in the decision making process of that. Right. I mean, you look at Sarah Jane Smith. I mean, they waited to have a baby

until she had a great week at the US Open and had enough money. You know, I mean, it's just sad that, you know, these a lot of girls have to put off having a family just, you know, financial, because of financials, which I guess is a lot of people, but I just don't think I, there shouldn't have to be a choice. And Actually, all but one of my sponsors at the time did the same thing, paid out my contracts. I know Brittany Lindsaycomb and Jorina and a lot of the other girls had their sponsors do the same thing. Hopefully this is something that continues and maybe eventually is written into contracts.

It's not something that has to just be done on good faith. As a former employee of KPMG myself, I must say, they were, they, you know, that's where the money went. They didn't give me any of those raises. I don't know where all that, what was going on with that. But,

well, what's, I promise we'll move off pregnancy and motherhood eventually, but I still have so much to ask because, you know, we watched you play golf for a long time while you were pregnant. What's, what's competitive golf like when you're pregnant? It is so tiring. I can't imagine.

Oh my gosh. Early on, you feel great. Like everything's fine. I played my last tournament in Toledo and I literally went back every day and took a nap and I am not a nap person. Like I just, I was hot, it was tiring. But looking back, it was actually probably easier than the coming back process I've after having her. That was really hard. Just your muscles get all kinds of stretched out and all kinds of loose and just getting everything

kind of back to the way it was. Was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. And I noticed you said chipping and putting were harder than you know when you're with a belly than then maybe you're expecting them to be. Yeah yeah it got to the point you know we're had to get the putter a little further away and kind of you know it can't swing underneath you as much as you're used to and you know you'd hit some chip shots where you're like what is wrong with me you know but just kind of to change where golf swing actually got better because it kind of got really flat and more around and Start to hit it pretty good. And then so on the back half though after the baby

You said it was the struggle was it was more difficult than you then you expected how long did it take you to feel like you were back to full strength Probably almost a year to be honest. I mean, I play tournaments in that time frame I played my first tournament at three months after Havana, but I didn't truly feel better till almost a year I would say. Well, all right, on a totally different note, you, I'm super excited to talk to you about this because it's my favorite golf course in the world.

You won the 2013 women's British at St. Andrews. So you had played the Curtis Cup there several years prior to that. Did that, any of that experience translate to the Women's British five years later because of all the golf course I've played in the world, that one with experience seems to be one that you can truly gain course knowledge on and see it in different wins, different conditions. Did that, did that translate at all? It had to have because you won.

Yeah, 100%. I mean, we played the old course 11 times in seven days. With all our matches and practice, I mean, and I just, I went over there, I'd never played Lynx golf before and I literally, I fell in love with it. I had a, I got a great local caddy who I'm still friends with, who I still talk to and I just, he truly taught me how, he taught me how to play Lynx golf, you know, he'd say, hey, take pitching wedge, lean it here and it's going to do blah, blah, blah. And it did. And I'm like, wow, this is cool. This is fun. And so I just, I fell in love with it. And I loved it. And

I just, I just, I think that's a lot of, of winning overseas and winning on a Lincolff course is loving it and enjoying them, bracing the challenge of it. And of it and and it's my favorite golf course in the world too. So I love it. Well, it's just amazing how you can see a bunker one day and be like, why is that bunker there? And then the wind changes directions and you're like, oh my goodness, can I even carry that bunker? That's why it's there. It's a note you could have covered it with eight iron the day before, but now driver might not cover it. It takes playing in a couple of different wins, I think, to fully appreciate the genius behind it all. And yeah, the competing in that kind of environment

has to be just so much fun. And you're coming around, the final round, you're hitting it. What how far in were you in your approach into the road hole that you absolutely stuffed? I don't know, I don't remember yardage, but I know it was five iron. I have the five iron saved. Um, upstairs at our house. It was, uh, we actually played 36 holes that day because Saturday was canceled because of wind. You know, it was a long day. I was out ahead of the, the last groups and I just remember the day prior. I had this shot I was hitting that week.

We called it my low flat shot. And it just didn't have a lot of spin to it. So when was it moving in a ton? And I hit four in the day prior and hit a good shot. It just didn't go to three feet, but I hit a good shot. And so we were about, you know, whatever, 10 yards closer. And I said, it's just the same shot as yesterday

that low flat five iron, my caddy's like, yep. And I mean, it's just the same shot as yesterday, that low flat five iron, my cat is like, yep. And I mean, it couldn't have come off more perfect. I mean, it was to hit that shot in that moment was so cool. And I still had to make the three footer that broke outside the cup. But man, it was really, it was really special to do it that way. And then to make the birdie on 18, we were actually staying at the Dunveg in that week

and knew the owners and I guess the owner, Shina was just ball and crying, you know, when I made birdie on 17. It was just, I had tons of friends over there that week. It was, it was just such a cool week. And the future sites for the women's British Open are just incredible. Car news to you this year, Mirfield next year, Walton Heath, then back at the old course

in 24, then Royal Porth Call. That's got to be so exciting. Oh, it's at me. And that's purely just the RNA getting on board, you know, the RNA calls, these golf courses are at least willing to take the phone call, you know. You know, it's just, it's really cool that we get to play these golf courses and be a part of their history. Yeah, to that point, I found it interesting.

You had some comments around the AVI on championship, which is, I don't know if that is considered the fifth major, but there's five majors on the LPJ tour for those that aren't familiar and saying, you know, it's not an event you're going to play until some things change and it gets treated like a major. What are those things? Are you sensing that things are maybe trending in the right direction there? I, things are not trending in the right direction, to be honest. But I just don't think you can't just throw money on a tournament and call it a major.

The golf course is, is nowhere up to standards of, especially look now at the golf courses we're getting to play with our other champion chips, it's nowhere close to what it needs to be. And, you know, for me, I think the biggest thing I can do is just not go play. It has to get better. And if by me not going to play, things start to change, then that's great for me.

You know, I just, especially with asking KPMG to step up and do this tournament. I'm asking them to spend a lot of money to be a leader. Yeah, to be a leader, to step up, you know, and, and I just don't think the Evian and KPMG are on the same level, you know, and so, but they're called the same thing, which I just, I just don't like that. Yeah, to your point too, I mean, KPMG women's PGA is going to Congressional next year, BalticRoll in 23, and then the PGA of America had quarters in Frisco, Texas in 25.

And then the U.S. women's open is going to pine needles, back to pine needles next year, then pebble, Lancaster, and Aaron Hills. So yeah, if there's one major that's falling behind, it's got to be that one. I just, I found it, because golf is a very tricky landscape to navigate. And I found that you're willing to speak out on that to be particularly interesting. And, but it also, it also kind of seems like as a season veteran, you are hopeful that your words would carry some weight there.

So. Yeah, I'm hopeful that by, you know, by making a statement of not going that eventually, they will want to make some changes to get the best field there So we're gonna be going to our first soulheim cup this year when I say soulheim cup You've played in four of them. What's what's the first memory that comes to mind? Oh the first tea the first tea is it's the coolest Place in women's golf. My first one, I didn't know what I was getting myself into in Ireland and we're in the dark

on the range warming up and I hear like these singing and chantings and I'm like what is that and everybody's like that's the first tea. I'm like oh gosh, I mean it's the coolest thing. It's just it's so fun. It's just, it's so fun. It's the event for women's golf. I mean, it's just, it's so fun. The images from Des Moines are still kind of burned in my, just from watching on TV in terms of how well

the players interacted with the crowd and how ravenous the crowd was in Iowa. Does that stand out? Oh, yeah, I mean, that was one of our biggest, you know, attendance-wise we've ever had. I mean, the crowds were just massive and obviously the US played a lot of good golf so it made it pretty easy to be excited

but I just think, you know, it's our biggest event and we have to go sell this. Like, we need to go get as many people there as kids as possible. We want to make it so, you know, little kids dream of being on this SoulHum cup team. And it's so, it's competitive, you know, you want to win this thing so bad,

but it's such a cool experience, especially in the US. The US is, I mean, Europe's great and everything, but in the US, it's just so fun. Are you checking standings on a weekly date after every week to see where you net out on this one with it being a US Solhum Cup year? Well, I was actually born in Toledo, Ohio,

and I have a ton of family there. And I was basically the one that marathon is one of the presenting sponsors. And so kind of asked them to step up and do that as well. So this one's been on my radar now for five years since it was announced that I want to be on this team. So I've been checking that a lot and you know, you try not to, because at the same time,

you just need to go play good golf, but you're definitely paying attention to it. One another moment of your career that you're well known for is in 2017 when you won the the can be a Portland classic It was your first win in three years and prior to the tournament you had pledged that your earnings for that week We're gonna go to victims of hurricane Harvey and you went out and won that week talks to us a little bit about that decision and what that week felt like Yeah, so kind of a little backstory to it is two weeks prior was demoing.

And you know, while so I'm cup is great fun, I've not never played good golf there. I don't know why. I just I don't feel like I have played good golf and I was playing Katrina Matthew and singles and had a pretty sizable lead and ended up losing the match on 18. And just it was probably one of the lowest points of my career. I was like, can I do this again? I hadn't won in a couple of years.

Like, can I hit the shots when I need to under pressure? I mean, there was a lot of questioning and doubting going on. And so you go play, I played well in Canada the next week and then coming into Portland, you know, all that's going on at home. You know, my husband's there, he's a women's college co-off coach. So he had 10 other girls he was trying to worry about,

whether they had power, you know, as our house gonna flood, he was taking a kayak out to their building to get all of their track man's and stuff out. I mean, it was just really put in perspective, like what I'm doing that week is really not that important. So I just was talking to my husband on the phone on Tuesday night and I said, I was like,

I'm gonna donate whatever I win this week and he's like, I think that's awesome. And that was the extent of it. It wasn't anything else and then, you know, you can call it a God thing, you can call it whatever you want. But it was, I had an unbelievable sense of calmness that week that I can't explain because me and calm on the golf course don't ever go together. But it was, you know, putt started to go in. Balls just got a little closer to hold and they had been prior. And I honestly, I don't know how to explain it. But just to show myself that I could hit the shots

when I needed to under pressure, that was the biggest thing for me that came out of that week. And then also, you know, this is at the past year, Scott has shown up in your most recent win in 2020. You were not shy in calling out some slow play in your group among the players in the group. That's usually not something you see often publicly.

Was there any backlash from that? Or is it something you can do as one of the more tenured players on tour? I think it's, you know, I've learned because I like to speak my opinion at times. And I've learned the hard way a few times in my career. But I've learned that if you go about it, they're right way. There's, you know, there's a right,

there's a way to do it without, you know, really causing uproar and causing someone to send hateful things on Twitter and that kind of stuff and a lot of people in that instance they took they they sided with me and they under they saw how slow the play was and that it needed to be better and you know the big I I let it get to me on Saturday and I told my caddy on the second hole on Sunday I said I'm not allowed to say the word They're slow hurry up like I can't say anything that relates to the slow play and he's like, okay

I'm gonna hold you to it and there were several times where I wanted to say something But I never verbalized it and I truly think that's what kind of that's what helped me, you know Just not pay attention to it and kind of stick with what I was doing. But man, it was, it was dreadfully slow. Well, and it's, it's something that is really, really, really hard to prepare for. It's your turn to hit, you end up kind of going through kind of quickly if you're feeling like the group is getting behind. And it's truly, it's one of those situations where like, you know, I read that, I was like, kind of surprised,

you called them out, but at the same time, it's like, you're not the bad guy here, right? It's the players that play slowly get a pass on this thing. And it, I felt like, you know, it was a thing on the LPJ tour, a common critique was the pace of play, was bad out there. Do you feel like that's gotten better in recent years? I feel we have made some changes to our policy to help speed people up. I feel like across the golf, it's still slow.

It needs to be enjoyable for people to watch. If I'm watching even the guys sometimes on TV, they're always showing the last groups and everybody's taking part in the game. needs to be enjoyable for people to watch. I get, if I'm watching even the guys sometimes on TV, they're always showing the last groups and everybody's taken forever, it's like just hit it. Come on, let's go. It's just, I thought one cool thing that came out of that was that later, like the next week,

author actually came up to me. And she's like, how do you guys make decisions so fast? She just has trouble making decisions. And I just thought that was cool to reach out and to ask for help and to try to be better. That's all we ask. It's like, if you are slow, let's be aware of it and let's try to be better.

Yeah, no, that is really interesting. It's Azahara Munoz that you're referring to there for those reasons. But what are some things that you would say are, you know, we talked at the beginning about, we still got a ways to go with some of the goals that you likely have for the LPGA tour. What are some things that are in the rear view?

As the Mike Wan era kind of comes to a close here, what are things that were maybe an issue when you got on tour that you feel like have been adequately addressed and that we can celebrate? Stability in our majors is huge. Now what we, gosh, when Mike came on board, we or maybe you're only going to be down to two majors

because we have to have sponsors for ours. So, you know, I think we're going to, we might go backwards a little bit as far as per size is and, you know, just with the economy right now and not being able to travel internationally is going to hurt us in the next year or so. So, I mean, I think spilling in our majors

is the biggest thing Mike has done for us. I do think we need to figure out Evian. I think that's something. But I do see us eventually kind of going on the model of tennis, women's tennis, where the major purses are really pretty big compared to your regular events. And they're on network TV, they're on, you know, showcase with the guys.

You know, I think that's where we need to get to. I don't expect, you know, every tournament we have to be on network TV. I mean, I think that's, that's just not possible right now, but I do think our majors can get to there. Yeah, and that makes majors for golf fans, it makes majors feel like majors, right? That's a, what is a great problem for PGA tour players is maybe a detriment to golf fans and that the money is so big there week to week

that the weeks all kind of start to blend together, right? Whereas if there's the majors that stick out as far as on the women's counter, and they currently do stick out in terms of per size and competition, what not, it really does help elevate the event and the attention around it. I would imagine it helps you guys try to peak for something. I feel like the men's side, they're trying to peak at so many different times throughout the course of the year, not that you're not trying to play your best call for a normal LPJ tour event, but just knowing

what the true flagpole events on the calendar are, has got to help you a little bit. For sure. And a lot of it too is just getting people to follow us and follow our tour. I think with tennis, most people kind of know when Wimbledon's going to be the US, the tennis US opens in the summer. You kind of know just because you see it on network TV every single year. That's what makes the venue so important, I think, too. Exactly.

Exactly. You can, golf fans will tune in. Even my viewership of PGA tour events can depend on the golf course, right? If the golf's gonna be entertaining and I really think, and I'm curious you're input on this, like I think, you know, we've gone through a lot of the future venue sites, but I think that something like the Country Club of Charleston

or courses that, you know, maybe don't, I don't wanna say the men can't have majors on, but they're just unlikely due to the scale and size of the operation and the length needed for it, but the courses that have almost been left in the rear view by the distance the golf ball goes in the men's game are so prime for watching Wilshire every year watching the women play that is super entertaining. And I think if the LPGA and the majors can figure out ways to get on those great golf courses that we don't get to see on TV very

often, I think that can only be a good thing for everyone involved. For sure. You think of like a Marion. Yes. Yes. So my goodness. Yes. So I think there's a lot of opportunities out there for us.

Well, one of the things that I think is a big difference maker is just in terms of a huge difference between PGA Tour and LPGA Tour Golf 2 is just the availability of information and statistics. Like, you can say so and so is a great putter, but you don't know the numbers. And as I understand it, there's a huge announcement coming out this week in terms of what the future of statistics looks like in golf. What kind of effect will that have? And what kind of how in tune with all of that are you? So I was back story this is I was actually staying

with the lady that's pretty high up at KPMG now and we are talking about, you know, she asked me, what can make what can make your tour better? And I said stats. I was like, we need stats and stats for not just for players to use, but for the media to be able to use in the TV coverage to use, but for the media to be able to use in the TV coverage, to use, to write stories, just various things, like we need stats.

And so that was in January. And now a few months later, KPMGs come up with this whole plan of stats and how they're gonna help us and we've got partners on board. And for a while, our caddies are gonna have to do stat cards. That's the only downside to it. But, I mean, what's gonna come out of this is gonna be so much better.

I mean, I was, I remember watching a PJ tour broadcast and, you know, they said, the 18th hole is playing the easiest hole on the golf course this week. And I thought to myself, we don't even have that. You know, like we don't even have that to say, you know, our leaders have come down 18. This is playing the hardest golf hole this week. So it's going to be really hard for this person to make par,

let alone make part, you know, like just to enhance the broadcast, I think is going to make, you know, make some more entertaining. We don't have to have about what outfit somebody's wearing or you know, just various things that you know, kind of always get talked about in women's golf. So, so I'm just excited about it from that

side of just, you know, to showcase how good these players are and how good of a putter in B is or how many fairways that so and so is hitting or strokes gain putting. I mean, we don't we don't have any of those kind of stats. I was gonna say, there's a big, big chasm between having a basically every shot

from the PGA tour documented from the past 20 years and not knowing the scoring average on the 18th hole. Like that is an enormous, enormous gap. So, no, that's helpful. Well, I got it right now, our driving distance is, we measure it on two holes, and that's it. That's it. That's so if you had a bad one,

well, your average for the week is kind of messed up, Pino, like, so it's just lacking, you know, and it's, it's, it, and it from a player side, I'm excited because it's going to help us get better. You know, it's going to help us kind of diagnose what we're doing good, what we're not doing good compared to everybody else and You know and make us better players too. And that's what I mean so many people talk about this in the men's side Just the availability of information is to in terms of what you probably think your weaknesses are You know probably whatever you think your stroke's gained is I guarantee you it doesn't line up exactly with how it's going to come out, right?

There are lessons to be learned at every level in terms of where you're gaining and losing shots and what your, your perspective of your game is versus what the numbers say. It's, it's a huge, huge difference. So, yeah, there was a crazy stat like with Tiger that from a, I think it was like a 40 to 50 yard, like he never got it up and down. Like his up and down number was really bad. And so he just started not hitting it to that number. You know, like just simple things like that.

Like he laid back to 60 yards and got up now, May birdie, or he'd hit it up there by the green and be fine too. So it's just like little things like that that people like people watching, they don't realize that but but it made him better. Sure. And yeah, how many 12 footers are you making? Are you you know you losing shots to the field there? Are you losing shots on six footers? All that stuff is is incredibly additive information. So. Exactly. How would you compare the competition level on the LPGA tour now to when you got out on tour? I'm just curious if you describe it as as as deeper as as more top heavy. How would you describe it? I would say when I came on tour, there are probably 30 to 40 players that could legitimately win that week. And I think now you could probably go 70 to 80.

You know, I just I the talent is so much deeper. These girls are so much better. I mean, golf swings are better. The quality of golf is so much better than it was 10 years ago. And they're, the girls are hitting it so far too. I mean, that's amazing. I, I, I just marvel sometimes, you like, you watch a Maria Fassi hit a golf ball and you're like, wow, like that is, I, guy, I know, I didn't see that golf shot, you know, so I just, I, the golf is so much more impressive than I think than it used to be. Well, on that note, what's a skill that, you know, you've seen on another player that you would love to have such a, you know, I love to put it like NB does or drive it like

Angel or Maria. What's something that you've seen out there that especially impresses you? I love asking peros what, what, you know, they see in their fellow colleagues that specifically impresses them. Well, if you don't wanna put it like in being your prince, I mean, the best part in the world, and she doesn't get, it might look a little funky, but if you've ever, I mean,

I've played with her way too much, and just to watch her make putt after putt after putt, you're like, what in the world? So I'd love to putt it liket after putt, you're like, what in the world? So I'd love to put it like her. Don't shouldn't blame me more, but watch an Imi as auto hit wedges. So good. She was the best in the,

I mean, that's why she was as good as she was, was because of her short game. I'd always love to hit it further. I mean, that's just a given, but it make life a lot easier, but I think the short game side is what I would like to have. As I have set out this week, I'm going to be following MB Park for at least nine holes. That's my goal. I've never watched her play.

And I just want to see this on exhibition because so many people rave about her putting. Well, it's just crazy. Like, you'll watch your nine holes and she just shot five under and it was like Nonchalant like just normal day, you know, it's just it's so it's crazy Well, we'll get you out of here on this last question. I love asking people this and I've been forgetting to ask a lot of the pros We've had on recently, but usually makes people think a little bit. So when was the last time you paid for golf? think a little bit. So when was the last time you paid for golf? For myself. Yes. For myself. Man. I'm glad you have to think about it. And the answer is not like, oh, they make the women pay all the time. One, that's a big

relief for me. No. I mean, I'm pretty'm pretty I guess pretty fortunate that my name is out there. So that's helped me out a lot. I honestly I couldn't tell you the last time. That's a great answer. That answers the question. Yeah, that we get that one a lot or sometimes people on 2010 and I went here and I couldn't couldn't believe it. They made me pay $35 for a cart fee or something like that. But I mean other than like a membership at home. Right. You know, I mean, outside of that, I mean, I couldn't tell you. To be honest.

That answers the question. Well, Stacey, thanks so much for joining us. Really enjoyed your perspective and best of luck this coming week. And we can't wait to watch the KPMG Women's PGA this week. So thanks for coming on. Awesome. Thanks so much. Cheers. Get a right club. Be the right club today.

That's better than most. How about it? That is better than most. Better than most. Better than most.