THE MODERATOR: Wrapping on Day 2 of the 2024 Solheim Cup, I'm here with Stacy Lewis, Rose Zhang, Megan Khang and Alison Lee.
Stacy, how would you describe how Day 2 went for Team USA?
STACY LEWIS: Thought it was a very successful day for us. I kind of compared it to shooting a 62 one day and then how do you follow that up. I thought the team did a really good job of following that up.
And to come out of the day with the same lead that we started was really big for us, and we had to fight through some tougher matches today.
I thought in the morning that the European matchups were a little bit tougher, and then in four-ball you just never know who's going to get hot.
To take those last two matches to 18 I thought was really good momentum, and they got to see the whole golf course, so it'll be good for tomorrow.
Q. Rose, you're 3-0 at this point, also have had killer matches with Andrea Lee. Talk about what's been going well over the last two days for you?
ROSE ZHANG: Yeah, I think in general, I've just been having such a good time with everyone, really kind of let loose and allowed myself to stay present when I'm on the golf course and competing with the Europeans alongside my partner.
So it's been overall just really fun. Andrea and I ham-and-egged it really well just coming down the stretch, and even yesterday. That's really helped me.
Q. Megan, Alison, from your perspective an amazing match this afternoon, a lot of enthusiasm and awesome golf. Can you talk about the match as a whole and particularly No. 2 where I believe there was a hole-out?
MEGAN KHANG: The match overall was super fun. Anna and Madelene were both making good putts, and for us to make putts on top was definitely a great way to keep the match alive and all the momentum in our favor. But No. 2 is all Alison. She can tell you that.
ALISON LEE: Yeah, it's probably one of the coolest moments of my career, and it was a lot of fun to be able to experience that, especially with crowds like we did this week.
Overall as a match, though, I really give a round of applause to Megan. She made some really, really good putts at the right time. Anna played amazing. I played against her yesterday, as well, and she's been playing really well. She made a couple long putts.
For Megan to make a few really good ones on top of that really kept the momentum going. We had a lot of good mojo in our group today.
Q. I have to ask the obvious question. The caddies, was that just in the moment? Was that planned? Was there a bet on the tee? Take us through that moment and what it meant to both of you to have that big of a celebration with some people that you really care about.
ALISON LEE: Yeah, so Jack, Megan's caddie, he was just pumped up before the day even started. I think it's been really cool to see -- obviously we're really excited to be here, but for the caddies, too, I know they're having such a great time. He was super pumped up for the match today.
Right after the first hole, he kind of looked at us and said, come on, guys, I want to see one of you guys hole out. I want to see a really good shot. He said that if one of us holes out we'll get $500, and I said I don't want your money. I don't need $500. How about you take your shirt off, and he's like, yeah, I'll do it, and he looked over at my caddie, Shota, and he's like, you're going to do it, and they agreed, and it's crazy it happened five minutes later.
Jack was the first person to take his shirt off. He was so quick with it and I saw it from the corner of my eye. I looked at my caddie, Shota, I was like, why aren't you taking your short off? Take it off. He finally took it off. It was a really cool moment.
MEGAN KHANG: We're also just happy that Captain Stacy Lewis wasn't mad at us.
ALISON LEE: We saw her walking towards us a few holes later and we're like, oh, no, what's this conversation going to look like. Is she going to yell at us? Are we going to get fined?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, they thought they were in trouble when I came up on 7, and I just told them that they were going viral. That was all I was coming to tell them.
Q. Alison, you just called that one of the greatest moments of your career. With as hard as you fought and as hard as you have fought to make this team, what did that mean to see that shot drop and have that moment?
ALISON LEE: Yeah, it's super cool. That's why we work so hard. That's why we practice so much and spend hours and hours grinding every day is to try and hit shots like that basically.
For a shot like that to happen at a critical moment and basically give us a lot of momentum at the start of the round today was super cool, and it was honestly so fun.
The crowds this week have been crazy. Like it's so cool to see all these people out here, and from where we were, I couldn't really see up there. I couldn't really see the ball drop.
But you just -- from where we are, you just see everyone's hands go in the air, and it's a cool sight to see.
Q. Curious if you guys saw what Kevin Kisner and Max Homa made and if you have any -- the deal they made and your reaction to that?
MEGAN KHANG: I saw Max Homa's tweet but I didn't see Kevin Kisner's yet. I'll have to look that up after.
ALISON LEE: I saw that he said something about if that happens next week at Presidents Cup...
Q. Yeah, he said he'll do the same thing if Max holes out.
ALISON LEE: He'd better do it. We're going to be watching.
Q. The early part of the back nine, specifically the par-5s, 12 and 14, have treated the team very well this week. According to my rough math, No. 14, the Americans have won nine of the 15 matches that have got ten there. You've closed out a few matches on that hole. Was that something, Stacy, that you guys identified, circled that stretch as this is where we can capitalize on our strength, and how happy are you with that stretch of the course and how the players have played it?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, so it worked out in alternates that if you hit off the odds, kind of that stretch of -- there's a six-hole stretch there on the back nine, kind of that 10 through 14, 15 stretch, I don't even know what it is, but there's six holes in a row that you would be hitting the birdie putts.
So we kind of put that as our focus on putting our better putters on the odds. It allowed us to really take advantage of that part of the golf course, and that's really what our alternates pairings were set up for. (Zoom cut out)
What those players are supposed to be, and we were able to take advantage of it. I had a stat prior to going into this session this afternoon, holes 10 through 14 we had won 26 and Europe had only won 12 and halved 21.
It's been a really important stretch, and I think it showed mostly in alternates.
Q. You've talked a lot this week about analytics. Have you always been a data person, and if not, what has spurred it?
STACY LEWIS: I'm 100 percent a math person. I majored in finance and accounting in college. Math was my thing in school growing up. It was pretty easy for me.
I like it more from just that it backs up what I believe and what I think and what I see. It gives me -- it just helps me be more confident in my decisions.
Q. Can you give us any specifics on the type of data you look at, and did you use any of it to come up with the order for tomorrow's lineup?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, I mean, the order of tomorrow's lineup was kind of based off of how they've played this week. So we have strokes gained data on every match and every round these players have played this week. So that's where the pairings came from.
I mean, what we look at? I can know every part of their games. We look at how their games would fit this golf course. One interesting thing, though, is Megan was not a good fit for this golf course, but she's second in our team in total strokes gained and only played in two matches.
Sometimes you can throw that stuff out the window, and some players just play better than what they're supposed to, and then others for the most part others have just done what we thought they'd do.
I know their games backwards and forwards, and it's allowed me to create some really good pairings the last two days.
Q. Stacy and Alison, you were part of the U.S.'s comeback from the same score in 2015 in Germany. What memories do you two have from that comeback?
STACY LEWIS: Mine were probably better than yours. I was right there though when it all went down. I was right there with Alison. I hate that what happened to Alison happened, but it completely shifted the momentum for that morning. You had an extremely motivated team, and not so much on the other side.
We just had a lot of things go right that day, and it was more the motivation factor. But now we know -- I think the biggest thing is we know it can happen. That's why I did the lineup the way I did. I want to go and try to close this thing out as quickly as possible.
Q. Alison, do you have any memories?
ALISON LEE: Yeah, I definitely have some memories. I mean, it was a long time ago. I just remember being so happy to be there. I'm just -- Rose can understand where I'm coming from. She did the exact same thing last year. When I was on the team, I just remember being so nervous and star struck being around women like Paula, Stacy, Michelle Wie, Morgan.
Just a year before then I was watching them on TV, and then I was basically side by side with them. Even girls I was playing against on the European side.
I just remember being so excited to be there and just trying to soak it all in.
For us to have come and won the Solheim Cup, that was a super, super cool experience, and that's definitely something I will never forget.
Q. Stacy, it's kind of felt like it's been an all-around performance from your group this week. What has it meant to have everyone contributing as you're trying to complete this unfinished business?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, the singles lineup was actually very difficult because we had so many playing good, which is a great problem to have.
It's been a lot of fun to watch. The golf has been amazing. Rose and Andrea the last two afternoons have been unbelievable.
They're playing the way I expected them to play, so I'm not surprised at all. But at the same time, to do it on this stage and in these moments and to pull these shots off and to make the putts and to do it with the joy that they're doing it with, it's the coolest part to me.
To stand back on that first tee and watch them jumping around and dancing and having fun, it's pure joy. It's not fake. It's not pretend. That's been one of the best parts for me is because we've been on the wrong side of this thing for three in a row, there hasn't been that. There's been a lot of the other.
I've enjoyed that more than I enjoy the scoreboard.
Q. Unfinished business has been the motto all week. What's it going to take to finish the business?
STACY LEWIS: We've got to go get off to a great start like we've done all week, go get the energy early, use the crowd, and finish it off as quick as we can.
We go play the way we're playing and the way I know that they can play, we're going to be just fine.
Q. These 10-6 leads, it tends to be the team that's on the deficit side that stacks their players early on. That's what Captain Pettersen has said she did when she was in here earlier. You guys in 2015 kind of did the opposite winning five of your matches in a row at the end of singles to catch up and flip it at the end. Is the messaging to the team up and down the lineup every single one of these can matter, no matter what happens early on, you've got to get it to the finish line?
STACY LEWIS: Yeah, 100 percent. I would love some of those at the back end to go win big and maybe go take a point away from one of these other ones that are going early. I would love that.
I think everybody knows they're going to go try to get their point tomorrow, and that's it.
I think they've taken care of business all week. They've had a ton of fun off the golf course, but every single one of them and the caddies -- as soon as we get on the golf course, it's back to business.
I mean, I feel good with where we're at, and I'm excited about tomorrow.
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