THE MODERATOR: Welcome inside and in person at The Chevron Championship media center. I am pleased to be joined by former champion and major champion Lexi Thompson. Welcome to The Chevron Championship. The first time we're in Texas for this event, but what's it like to be ready for the first major of the season?
LEXI THOMPSON: Well, overall it's been an amazing week so far. The golf course is in great shape for us, and the hospitality has been top-notch, so Chevron and all the hospitality here at Carlton Woods has really made us feel really welcomed. I'm looking forward to getting started tomorrow, and it's been great, so hopefully the weather holds up for us.
THE MODERATOR: I know you've had some impressive performances at Mission Hills, but now that you've been able to play 18 and get a sense for Carlton Woods, what's it been like for you to get a feel for this golf course?
LEXI THOMPSON: It's definitely a major feel for this golf course. It's playing long, and it'll get windy. It's Texas, so it'll get windy out there and play difficult, so that's how a major should be. Yes, of course I'm missing Palm Springs, but this is a very special place, as well, so I think we're all looking forward to this week.
Q. We talked a little bit with some of the past champions who have come in, but a lot of the legacy and tradition of this event have continued here in Texas, especially the Champions Dinner on Monday night. What were some of your favorite moments on Monday night?
LEXI THOMPSON: Well, it's such an honor just to be surrounded by those women and high-up individuals that night. Such a special dinner, and I got to sit at the table with Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst and they're always a riot together, so we had so many laughs and just good memories. Just to be surrounded by people that have accomplished so much on the golf course but also that have really just impacted the game off the golf course, as well, and have given back.
It was an honor for me to be there that night, and so many traditions to go into this event, so I'm happy to be part of that one.
Q. The first major of the season; just what's the sense of your game and how are you feeling heading into this first major of the year?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I feel pretty good. I've been working extremely hard on my game. I've only played twice so far this year, so I've just been putting in the hours on and off the golf course with training and practicing my ball striking, putting, chipping, everything, so it hasn't been a lack of practice, that's for sure. But I'm really looking forward to coming into this week, hopefully play some strong golf and have that work show.
Q. Can you play aggressive on this golf course, and if so, I guess it all depends on weather tomorrow, but would you play aggressively on the first round or do you play a little more conservative?
LEXI THOMPSON: Well, it's not really a golf course off the tee, especially you can't really lay back because there's a bunch of par-4s that are over 400 yards, so you don't want to lay back and have too long of a shot, especially going into these greens because some of the greens are pretty narrow and there's some hills that you can really interfere with your second shots going into the greens, and they'll be difficult to stop, so you want to get as close of a shot as possible coming into them.
I wouldn't say it's playing aggressively, but you're hitting drivers. But coming into the greens, if a pin is tucked, sometimes you just -- out here if you have a mid iron and you don't think you can stop it, you play to the bigger section of the green so you just give yourself a 20-, 25-footer instead of firing at a pin and short-siding yourself. It's definitely a little bit more of a thought process going into some of the greens, but again, that's how a major championship should be.
Q. Does this course fit your game?
LEXI THOMPSON: I would say it does. It's longer, on the longer side, so I get to hit a lot of drivers out there. I think there's maybe two or three that I don't hit driver on, so I would say it sets up for me, but you have to hit the fairways. It's pretty demanding off the tee, but it's longer, so it's definitely a ball striker's golf course.
Q. I think a lot of people don't know that you're a gear head, so tell us a little bit about the Bentley you got, and have you stretched to the limits of it?
LEXI THOMPSON: I just got it yesterday. I haven't floored it too much yet. But it's an amazing car. It's so luxurious, and very fast.
Q. Which one did you get?
LEXI THOMPSON: I got the sports car one. I didn't get an SUV. I don't know the type. But it's fast. That's all I know.
Q. I noticed tape or something on your wrist there. Can you tell us what's going on there?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I've just been hitting so many golf balls at home, and I've kind of -- I'm not going to say injured, but it's hurting a little bit. But I've gotten work done the last few days and getting it taped up.
But yeah, I think I just overworked it. It's nothing crazy severe, but it's there. But we'll see.
Q. Did that have anything to do with the strategy of your schedule, or I guess how did you determine what you played in so far this year?
LEXI THOMPSON: No, this honestly just started about a week ago. Just fairly new. I think it's just been the amount of practice that I've been putting in. I've been grinding. Probably just a matter of that, but I'm sure it'll be fine. All mindset.
Q. This is rare to have you only make one start on the LPGA before a major. What was your thought process of only having one event so far this year?
LEXI THOMPSON: You know, just enjoying my life a bit more off the golf course. I've taken the off-season, gotten to spend a lot of time with my family and friends, and I gave myself an extra month basically. I played in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year, and then played in Arizona, and just kind of spacing out my events, making sure I'm nice and healthy and not too tired for the events that I really want to play in and the golf courses that set up for my game.
Q. Was there anything you were able to do away from the course that you otherwise would not have been able to?
LEXI THOMPSON: Honestly, well, when I'm out here, I'm never really with my family too much, so just being home. There's nothing like it. I think as athletes we're always used to being on the road and away from family, so just being home and being able to just sleep in when we want, be on our own schedule, I think that speaks wonders for us rather than having to go and plan a trip or go and travel.
Q. How do you think that's changed your mentality coming into this week?
LEXI THOMPSON: I think I'm just a lot more refreshed. I think I'm in a better mindset, more relaxed, just happier to be out here. Not saying that I wasn't before, but just refreshed. I had the time off that I needed. Of course I was training probably harder than ever when I was home, but I made sure to take the time later in the day and the nights to really unwind and get my mind off golf and making sure that I'm excited to come back out.
Q. Were there any points in particular you may have felt burnt out from the sport?
LEXI THOMPSON: I mean, this is my 13th year, so it's not like it's just my first, second year. I've been playing golf since I was five years old. I haven't known any different ever since I was 12.
Not so much burnt out but just maybe in too much of a routine, and I'm not even going to say rut, but I just wasn't allowing myself to go on the vacations and live life more because there's just so much more to it than a game.
Q. It's a very well-known fact that you went pro at a very young age. Can you talk about the road that your parents or immediate family members and friends played in turning pro at such a young age?
LEXI THOMPSON: Well, I'm very close with my family. My family has played a huge role of me just being out here. Just the support system that I've received has been a major part of being able to turn pro and have the support that I do.
But when I was 12 years old, I knew I wanted to turn professional at a young age. I was like, all right, when I played my first Open at 12 I was like, all right, I'm going to work my butt off to be able to turn pro at like 14 or 15 years old.
To be able to have the support that I did from my family and my small circle around me, it made me more reassured that I was able to make this decision, not only because of my talent, but I knew I had my team with me.
Q. And you're obviously chasing your second Chevron Championship. Can you talk about what winning this illustrious championship would mean for you and your career?
LEXI THOMPSON: Winning this one would mean the world to me. It's such a high honor, just to be able to win a major, but to be able to win The Chevron Championship with all the tradition and past champions behind it, there's nothing like it. There's a lot of traditions and history, and when I jumped into Poppies Pond it was such a special moment. I had my family there.
But I know Chevron will do this tournament right here in Texas, and it'll be top-notch, so I'm just going to take it one step at a time and see where that takes me.
Q. Is there a certain point in your swing or certain shots that you hit that bother your wrist more than others?
LEXI THOMPSON: I mean, today it was all right. The last few days it's kind of the hinging on the way back and the release on the way through, just kind of the pressure of putting my thumb on top of the club. But overall it was better today, so hopefully it'll just slowly go away.
Q. You said that you've been grinding really hard in your time away from the Tour. What specifically were you working so hard on?
LEXI THOMPSON: I was hitting my ball-striking. I'm always working on my putting. I spend a few hours a day on that, but I think just the grinding on the range. There's just a lot more that I've been doing the last few weeks. I'm just trying to get my ball-striking consistent because I knew coming into this week I would have to be ball-striking it very well. So I wanted to make sure of that. Like I said, putting is always top of the list, and I've worked on my putting and chipping hours a day.
Q. You kind of had a trade-off of staying home and practicing more versus getting the reps on Tour and the competitive side of it. How would you assess where your game is at coming into this first major of the year?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, I would say it's in a good spot. I know that I've put in the hard work. There's still a few things that I'm trying to get more and more consistent, but I think it's in a good spot.
Yeah, I just took the time off to make sure that I didn't go and throw myself in a tournament when I was working on something in my swing. Of course there's times where you're like, I have to test it and put it to the test, and that's this week, so we'll see.
Q. You talked about working really hard starting at age 12. What preparation could you detail went into you becoming professional at age 15?
LEXI THOMPSON: What kind of work did I put into it?
Q. Yes.
LEXI THOMPSON: A little background, I guess I started golfing when I was five, tournaments when I was seven, but I did online schooling sixth grade through high school, and I was out at the course seven, eight hours a day. Going out there with my brothers that play golf, as well. So being able to have them and a few of their friends that golfed, I was always grinding on the range, putting, but I always had people to compete against and do competitions with, so that was like growing up how I got to where I was at the age of 15, and always playing tournaments and playing in older age divisions, girls that were better than me, so I knew what I had to work on and what I had to improve on.
I always wanted a challenge, and after I turned pro, learning the golf courses out here and dealing with everything else that comes to it.
But I'd say besides that, I'm at the golf course from 7:30, 8:00 in the morning until 2:00 and then I'm training another hour or two.
Q. With back injuries being so prevalent in the sport of golf, how do you maintain your health and prevent those injuries? Do you do any special training or stretching?
LEXI THOMPSON: Yeah, that's a great question. I do. I have a trainer in Jupiter, Kolby Tullier, and I work with him three or four times a week and we do a lot of balance and core work and lower body work, which is really important in the golf swing to build that foundation in. We make sure to do the right exercises for my golf swing and making sure -- he'll always do an assessment on my body to make sure my weaknesses are what we work on to make sure that they level out with my strengths.
It's always a matter of getting stronger, making sure you're doing the right exercises with the proper form and a lot of stretching.
Q. With this being your 13th year, what's the difference in preparation that you take from your first year to now before big tournaments like this?
LEXI THOMPSON: That's another great question. I would say my first year or two out before majors I would say I probably grinded a lot more on the golf course and maybe tired myself out too much with the prep work because of course majors are usually tougher golf courses and a lot more prep work is needed, but at the same time, it's such a long week that you have to make sure that you're physically and mentally ready for the long four days. So really spacing out my practice in the three practice days and not overdoing it.
Q. How are you mentally preparing for a tournament like this, like pressure, expectations? Does that play a part in how hard you train?
LEXI THOMPSON: I would say pressure and expectations are at every tournament, but for me it's just a matter of focusing on my own mindset and surrounding myself like this week, my family is here to support me, so just really being surrounded by them and having the love and support from the people that care about you is the most important part, and just not focus on the outside noise because all I can do is come out here and do my best, and that's all that matters.
Q. What were some things you have done to prepare for this particular tournament?
LEXI THOMPSON: For this particular tournament, it was a different golf course, so it was a bit different prep work, but this one I would say I've gotten a feel for it over the last three days, but really just making sure that my driver and my tee balls are intact because the golf course is a longer golf course, so I have to make sure that my tee balls are spot on, giving myself the opportunity to have a good shot coming into the greens.
Besides that, I would say the prep work around the greens, as well. They're very tough, so making sure I miss in the right spots and go for the hole locations that I can.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Lexi. Have a great one.
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