THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Lakareber Abe and Sarah White to the interview room here at the Dow Championship. We'll kick it off with something easy: What's your team name this week?
LAKAREBER ABE: It's Lak and White. Like L A K and White.
THE MODERATOR: Who came up with the name?
LAKAREBER ABE: I did.
SARAH WHITE: She was like texting me, and like, Hey, I would like to formally ask you to be my partner for Dow. And I was like, Absolutely. And she goes, Cool, I've already been thinking about it.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, yeah, I was like, oh man, what do you think. And I was like, I got to be honest, I've been thinking about this and I know what our team name should be, but if you're okay with it then I'm okay with it.
SARAH WHITE: Yeah, it was an immediate yes. I was like, this is hilarious. I asked ChatGPT and nothing came close to what she came up with.
THE MODERATOR: This is a pretty unique event on the LPGA Tour. It's the only official team event that we have. How are you guys looking forward to playing together as a team, and how do you think your guys' games will complement one another?
SARAH WHITE: I can start. Well, Lak is just a solid player all around, and so I'm leaning on her because I can be more aggressive with some of the shots or some of the tee shots. I'm a little bit longer, so having her to just lean on and be like, all right, I'm going to let this rip, so I know that you're going to make par. So that's how we complement each other. Our personalities mesh really well. We both have a very dry sense of humor and I think we're going to just have a lot of fun on the golf course.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, I think I agree. We've had a ton of fun. She's so easy to get along with and so easy to talk to. I think we just like complement each other both in golf and just like hanging out. And around the course we're just joking around, we're having a good tame and staying relaxed and that's been really awesome. We roomed together the first time ever, like, what, two weeks ago? And I was like, wait, no, this is fun.
SARAH WHITE: I had to pre-warn her I snored. Like, if I snore, like, don't stay with me. But if you don't care.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, it's fine, right?
SARAH WHITE: But, yeah, she's just such a fun hang and she's a great player and she's someone you can rely on and you can talk about anything with. So I think so far this week and the last two we've just had a really good time.
Q. You both currently play on the Epson Tour and the Epson Tour is often described by players and staff as a bit of a family out there. How do you think that that closeness and that relationship will help you guys succeed this week?
SARAH WHITE: I would say I would 100 percent agree that the Epson Tour, it's like summer camp. I'm pretty much friends with every girl out there, so is Lak. We get along with just about anybody. And so throughout the week you're always cheering for your friends. But at the same time you're a competitor, so you hope to shoot 64, but you also hope they shoot 65. So going from that mindset to this week, I think just cheering for one another on the Epson Tour is going to really help the team connect. So, with Lak, I mean, I obviously have just full support in her abilities and in her game and I think we're going to have a great time, so it's not really anything different. Like if Lak and I got paired together at the Epson Tour I don't think we would interact any different.
LAKAREBER ABE: No, we wouldn't.
SARAH WHITE: In between holes, in between shots. If Lak makes a 30-foot birdie putt I'm going to be like, Hell yeah, girl. Like, I'm going to cheer for her. I just hope I make my putt too. But this week if she makes it I might be, All right, I'm just going to lag it.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SARAH WHITE: So, I don't feel any different from an Epson Tour event to this week. I think it's just going to be a lot more fun because like it's a team thing. So now I get to just call her in on a putt if I need help. Golf's hard enough, so if I got one more eye on my putt or if we got a team decision to make, then I get to actually rely on her, which is great, because course knowledge, she's played it how many times?
LAKAREBER ABE: Just one other year.
SARAH WHITE: Oh, well one other year, but she still has just insight that I don't have, so I'm excited.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, I think I would echo everything Sarah says. On Epson we get, like, it's, like, a family. We are much more support systems for each other. There are people you lean on, people you can ask questions, people you can ask advice for. I've leaned on Sarah a ton of times out there just for help doing multiple different things, like any array of anything. So I think having someone this week who is -- like, we're doing it just because we're friends and we want to help each other, and you still want to help each other out there, but there's no competition aspect, it's like we're on the same team, same goal. It's a pretty special week.
Q. Sarah, for you specifically, you are from Michigan, can you just talk about the playing here in this event and then the support that you're going to have out here this week?
SARAH WHITE: Yeah, so being from Michigan, I love coming back to Michigan. I will die on the hill that Michigan is the best golf in the country. But with that being said, I'm excited to be back also because I feel like this is like a home event. I get my mom and dad coming. My sister, her three girls and her husband are coming. My aunts and uncles are coming. My parents' friends. People we grew up with are all trying to get out here. So it's going to be a fun time because they're going to cheer for Lak just as much as me, so we're going to have a bunch of people behind us. Where, again, going back to the Epson Tour, you don't see like six people around one player. You might have your coach there for one week, you might have your mental coach or putting coach one week, but it's never six people. So now that we have a community behind both of us, not just me, it's going to be really special just having all of that support. I'm really excited to be back. I used to come to this event growing up and just watch and be like, I want to be on the LPGA Tour so bad. Same with the Meijer event next week. So I love coming pack to Michigan and just kind of living the dream that I set out for myself at the age of 5.
Q. You are a part of Team Dow. Can you just talk a bit about the support that Dow has given you and how important that is to your career?
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, I've been on Team Dow, blessed to be on Team Dow for the past three years, and I just think the group, the organization, Dow as a whole and just as a company is so supportive of women's golf and they have been so supportive of girls on Team Dow. I've met friends, mentors, I've met golf playing partners on Team Dow. It has just been a blessing, their support. It really has helped me continue to play and continue to access resources that I need to keep getting better.
Q. Sarah, you talked about this is a home game for you. You're returning home to Michigan. And you have been to this event growing up, so you've seen the fan support here in Midland, Michigan. So what's it going to be like for you two being on the first tee on Thursday and seeing all of the support for not only for you guys, but for all the LPGA Tour players competing this week?
SARAH WHITE: I'm so excited. Midwest people know how to party and they know how to start a crowd and they know how to just be loud and supportive. So it's going to be a really fun week. The people of the Midwest are top tier, so I'm really excited to just meet everybody. A lot of the times they will just come up to me and say, I'm from Michigan. And they have heard my story or my brother's story who is on Korn Ferry Tour, and just people all around kind of are supportive of Michigan people. Because it's a little unheard of when you play golf six months out of the year and then hockey six months out of the year growing up. So it's really fun, I hope I can inspire some little girl out there that's watching on their high school golf team and they're like, I want to play this too. So anybody that wants to come up to me or anyone that supports me from Michigan and Lak and it's just a true blessing. It's a full circle moment for me so I'm going to take it in as much as I can and just enjoy this time with Lak.
Q. Lak, you mentioned that this is your second time competing in this event. So what's the -- so now that you have competed in this event, you competed with Georgia a couple years ago. What's the mindset and mentality now that you have one of these events under your belt playing these different formats?
SARAH WHITE: I mean, obviously it's different, different partner. But I think like we were on the course today and played quick nine and it really was just about let's just find a game plan and then let's have fun. There's really nothing you can do but have fun on the golf course, right. That's the only thing you can really control. So, yeah, I think with Sarah I've had so much fun just getting ready the past few days and I'm looking forward to competing with her and taking one shot at a time, not get too high, too low and just enjoy that we had the chance. I think it's so awesome she's from Michigan and she gets to play close to home. That's something that I think every girl on Tour would dream of doing wherever they're from. So I think it's just a really cool opportunity.
Small fact about me, my dad worked for Dow, my godfather worked for Dow, and I'm from a big Dow town where I grew up. So I was telling someone today, I came here once, it was like the first trip my sister and I ever took by ourselves, we came to Midland to see my godparents. And I don't remember anything about the city. I don't remember -- like, we went to Niagara Falls. I remember being like really scared on the plane. And, I mean, I remember being told that we were going to be going to Midland for two weeks because my parents were doing something else. So it's cool to be back and it's cool to see this town and how much it's grown and how much they support the event. And I think my parents are coming this time, they didn't come last. My dad is like, I haven't been to Midland in so long, can I come? I'm like, Yeah, you're grown, you're an adult, if you want to come, come. So it will be great so I'm really excited.
Q. Annika asked about Team Dow, how much that means to you. This is year three of you being a part of Team Dow, so you're the veteran of Team Dow. So Lauren and Amari are also on Team Dow. So when you get back out on the Epson Tour, as almost the veteran, right, so what are you going to be chatting with Lauren and Amari about, and how cool is that bond going to be as you go through your Epson Tour season with them?
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, Amari actually texted me, it was like a very, like, happy surprise for me that she was going to be joining Team Dow. And she was asking me about everyone involved and how it worked. And I was like, Honestly, it's probably some of the best people I've ever found myself around. They're so supportive, so nice, so welcoming. Like anything you need, they will answer you. They will have everything covered. Being here this week there's some people that I haven't seen in six months and you see 'em and it's like your family, right. And then there's some people like I see Karen and Gary Carter probably a bit more, and if I see them in Houston they're always so welcoming. They have everything we need. I play golf with Gary all the time. I play golf with Gurleen when she's in town a lot. So I just think that almost like, yeah, like a small little family that I've been added into. I'm just really excited for those, both Lauren and Amari to get to experience that and to have that in their corner for the rest of their careers.
Q. You guys are in a fun position this week. What would you define success as for you? When you walk away from this week, what's going to make you feel like you did what you wanted to do?
SARAH WHITE: Laugh a lot.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah.
SARAH WHITE: I want to have fun.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah. I think it's such a cool experience for both of us. I really am really excited that Sarah gets to play at home in Michigan. I know I've had conversations with her over the years about how much she wanted to play in Michigan. So I just think that have fun and enjoy the moment and just really look up and smell the roses as they say. Just really enjoy it. See where it puts you at the end of the week.
SARAH WHITE: Yeah, I'm super excited to play with Lak. Like I sailed, she's such a Steady Eddie and I think we'll both learn a lot about each other and ourselves this week, and in the best way possible. I mean, the love I have for Lak actually has grown throughout the years. She was the first girl I was paired with in my first ever Symetra back then.
LAKAREBER ABE: This is so funny. I was like, I wonder if she remembers it.
SARAH WHITE: We were paired together on a sponsor's invite.
LAKAREBER ABE: In 2020. In Scottsdale. It was so hot.
SARAH WHITE: So hot. So it's really fun. I didn't know her then and look at us now.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah, I know.
SARAH WHITE: And then we were like, I was like, Oh, you live in Houston? And she's like, Yeah. And I'm like, Oh, I'm in Texas. It was just really fun. So we've known each other for a while, so the relationship that we have is just going to be amazing, and people are going to see it out on the golf course. I think that would be success. Just letting people know that golf is fun. This is a fun event and golf is not going to always be serious and if it doesn't go the score doesn't go our way, people aren't going to know it. I think that's our goal.
LAKAREBER ABE: Yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports