THE MODERATOR: Bailey, you just won the 2024 Blue Bay LPGA. First of all, how are you feeling? What are the emotions right now?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, I'm overwhelmed honestly just from the support from all the fans and all of my friends and family back home. This is just a dream come true.
Q. Talk about your day. You stuck a lot of shots very close. I mean, did you wake up today with the goal of doing this? At what point did it seem like a reality?
BAILEY TARDY: I got off to a little slow start on the front nine, and then just really stayed patient out there. I can't say that I woke up today knowing I was going to shoot 65 or knowing I needed to go that low to win.
I just knew it was going to be a tough day. I thought that everybody was going to play really well. The leaderboard was stacked and the conditions were windy, so just really proud of myself and how I handled myself.
Q. You eagled No. 8, just got on fire. What did that do for your momentum?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, tees were moved up on 8 so really took advantage of that hole and hit two really, really good shots and drained a long putt.
Just, I don't know, it was kind of if I'm gonna make a move I need to make a move now. Yeah, I just started hitting it really, really close and just trusting myself and trusting my swing and all of the practice I've put in, and it's really paid off.
Q. How long was your eagle putt?
BAILEY TARDY: It was 51 feet.
Q. So did you think about which hole you got to (indiscernible.)
BAILEY TARDY: No. My caddie told me to enjoy the walk down 18. I didn't know what people finished, I didn't look at the scoreboard on 17. I knew it was there but didn't look. I was like, not yet. Not yet. My ball needs to be on the green.
And then, yeah, once I hit my approach shot in, that was kind of the moment where I was like, okay, I can relax. It's fine.
Q. How are you going to celebrate when you go back?
BAILEY TARDY: I don't know. Just with my family. I just got a puppy, so play with my puppy. Just relax, hang out, and really recover. I feel like this week has been a lot on my body with the jet lag and I got a little sick in the middle of the week or yesterday, so just recover and relax.
Q. Today you are playing with Lydia Ko. She has 20 LPGA wins. (Regarding playing with Lydia.)
BAILEY TARDY: I was very nervous yesterday playing with her. Never met her before, so teeing it up with literally the top in the world was a little bit intimidating.
But, yeah, especially when she came out of the gates and chipped in for eagle, it's like, what am I doing? Yeah, it was really cool playing with her and pretty comfortable playing with her again today, just seeing how our games stacked up against each other.
Q. Yesterday we asked your expectation and you were saying that you were not going to put pressure on yourself and just go out there and see what happens at the end of the day. So we are wondering next...(indiscernible.)
BAILEY TARDY: Can you help me with that?
THE MODERATOR: Yesterday you mentioned about you weren't going to put too much pressure on yourself headed into today's round. How do you think you kept that the whole day?
BAILEY TARDY: I think my caddie really helped me a lot just stay in the moment, just kind of take things lightly. We didn't change anything from how we worked the last three days, and that's what was working so that's what we stuck to.
Just trying to stay free out there, just do what I was doing the other days.
Q. There are other players of this tournament, you didn't play the Asian Swing. How do you feel? What were you doing well? (Indiscernible.)
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, jet lag is definitely an issue for me. I got in Monday afternoon, so I had to adjust quickly. I don't think I slept past 5:00 a.m. since I've been here, so being first off on Friday was kind of nice for me. I just woke up at a normal time and then tee'd off.
Yeah, adjusting is very difficult, and just your afternoon rounds are the hardest when you're trying to adjust. I'm 13 hours from my house, so, yeah, it was difficult but somehow I did it.
Q. Before you came to college, you're already a professional golfer?
BAILEY TARDY: Before...
Q. Before you came to college, in NCAA?
BAILEY TARDY: No. Yes, I turned pro January 2019, and then I graduated May 2019.
Q. So any suggestions to ones also facing to turn pro?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, college, I think at least in the States, I think it's a great way for you to mature, for your game, and find yourself as a person almost.
I think a lot of the times we get very caught up in golf as it is our identity, but in college you kind of can figure out what do you like to do off the golf course and what I do in your free time.
That's at least what I look at college, and I think that was something super special that I can take with me. But I don't think it's necessarily important to stay all four years. I really played like two and a half years and then turned pro. I was injured through a lot of my junior year.
I wanted to be on the LPGA and the Epson season starts early, and so if you want to play on the LPGA you need to play all the Epson events. I just put myself in the best position to try to get my LPGA card.
Q. (Regarding last year in U.S. Open and also today's win.) You also didn't make the cut. Any improvement to share?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, I think my rookie year was very difficult. I was playing all new golf courses and Epson Tour is three-day events and LPGA is four-day events. One day might not seem like a lot, but it's one less day of preparation.
Then I was in the pro-ams, so another day less preparation. Then Mondays are travel days, prepare Tuesday, and Wednesday pro-am, and start Thursday. Some tournaments I felt like I wasn't 100% prepared and some tournaments I felt prepared and wore myself out and I was really tired.
Your rookie year is difficult I think. If you win your rookie year that's a huge feat within itself. But I was pretty proud of my rookie year. Might not have shown the best results, but the way I grinded through the tough tournaments that was something that I was the most proud of.
Q. I think a lot of golf fans already knew you. I think a lot of golf fans still want to know more about you. Would you like to introduce yourself more?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, I am Bailey Tardy. I love animals. I really like doing things outdoors. I like doing a lot of things off the golf course.
But, yeah, I have a real passion for animals. I love my puppy and I love my golf.
Q. So this is your first time to the Blue Bay Jian Lake Golf Course. Would you like to talk about it?
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, this week has just been amazing, from staying at Westin, walking to the golf course. It's just been awesome. I don't think the LPGA has an event that you don't have to have transportation. At least I don't think I've played in one.
So that's really convenient.
And then the golf course is just in such great shape, from the range to the chipping greens to the putting greens, it's really nice for us to have practice facilities that imitate the golf course exactly.
That's what we had this week. Just the shape of the entire facility were in was just amazing.
Q. You touched on it a little bit, but can you just talk about your road to the LPGA? You turned professional, still had college to finish up, went to Epson. Talk about your journey on Epson and getting to this point.
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, getting to the LPGA wasn't an easy path for me I don't think. You know, I think played the 2019 year and COVID hit. Didn't play great in 2019. So our status was the same for 2021. Ended up playing really well in 2020 and they gave out five cards, and missed the card by one spot. That happened basically the next two years for me.
So, yeah, it was a lot of self-reflecting trying to figure out if I was even good enough to be on the LPGA, if I wanted it enough. The life on the road is not for everybody, and so I just didn't know if this was the profession for me.
Now that I'm an LPGA winner I'm so happy I stuck to it. This is a dream come true.
Q. And you mentioned before in the interview earlier, you doubted if you could ever win out here. Talk about maybe some of the moments you had of doubt and just the realization now that you're sitting here, you have the trophy, and you're a winner on the LPGA Tour.
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, I mean, last year is a great example. I missed a bunch of cuts early in the season. It's expensive being out here. I wasn't making any money. I'm 27, so it's kind of like either you make it or you go get a job.
And so there is just so many nights where you think -- especially when things are going bad, it's like you can't take a week off because that's an opportunity to make money, but then you need to work on your game.
So it's a very fine line of whether or not you stay on the road and you push through or take a week off and try to fix things.
I struggled with that a lot last year.
So, yeah, it's a life that's not for everybody. You have to really love being out here and love golf, and that's what I do.
Q. And just one last question: Talk about the last putt you had and maybe some of that relief that you felt after some of the struggles last year. You called and talked to your mom for a little bit there. Talk to us about some of the emotions you felt in the past hour after everything you've gone through.
BAILEY TARDY: Yeah, I mean, I think you go through every emotion being in contention, especially on the back nine. I mean, it's almost like you're on such a high from being in contention and playing, and playing well.
And then, yeah, my family supporting me, it means the world. I think it was 3:00 a.m. there when I finished, so for them to be awake texting me, it's been great.
So, yeah, it is just overwhelming, the emotions. It's really overwhelming. It's something I don't think I've ever experienced before. This is a special moment I'll remember forever.
THE MODERATOR: That's all I have. Congrats on your win, Bailey.
BAILEY TARDY: Thank you. (Applause.)
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports