Q. Joining me today after the third round of the FM Championship, Andrea Lee. Welcome back. We just saw you. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like to play nearly two full rounds of golf in one day?
ANDREA LEE: I'm really exhausted, but, I mean, there is a lot of other players out there that were in the same position as I was, so it was just a grind out there. I was trying to stay really patient and trying to eat and fuel up as much as possible, drink a lot of water.
But I was just trying to take it hole by hole honestly. Mentally it was pretty tiring, but, I mean, we made it through 32 holes today. I was like, this feels like a U.S. Open qualifier all over again. Yeah, we made it.
Q. Obviously golf is an outdoor sport, which is a blessing and a curse. On days like this where there has been rain delays, do you feel like it helps to keep your momentum, in tournament mindset all day long, or do you think that break in the middle and having to make the cut, be in contention, and go play another 18 holes without sleeping hinders your game at all?
ANDREA LEE: I think considering that I played pretty well this morning, it was kind of like a momentum boost a little bit going into the third round.
Obviously the tiredness and exhaustion is there, but it's still -- we still had another 18 holes left to play, so I was just preparing myself for that. I still feel the adrenaline rush when I'm out there so I think that was the only thing keeping me going for the entire third round.
Yeah, just hung in there, and I feel like not necessarily an advantage or disadvantage, but just sticking it out and playing the game.
Q. You mentioned today that you think the maturity you have as definitely not one of the older players on Tour but any means, but as someone who has been here for a few seasons, and played in a group with Aza today, who I would call a veteran on Tour, do you think there is anything you learn from players like that who have been on Tour for years, on the road, raising their kids out here? Is there anything you learn from that?
ANDREA LEE: Yeah, definitely. I mean, Aza, like you said has been out here for I don't know how many years, at least ten probably. What she does out here as a mom, raising her kid, it's really inspiring. Honestly, I don't know if I could do that or any of the other LPGA mom out here.
It's truly incredible to watch them.
But, yeah, just watching Aza, she always stays super positive. She never get angry or upset or frustrated. At least I don't ever see it. I think that's something that I can learn from.
I tend to kind of show a little bit of emotion when I'm upset, but just looking at all the veterans I think they can keep their emotions in check.
Q. So after is 18 holes of golf, you then proceeded to not bogey a hole on your second 18; hit every fairway; missed one green in regulation. Where does that consistency come from? How do you find that within you? What are your strategies to combat that tiredness in your second 18?
ANDREA LEE: I think -- to answer your question about consistency, I guess I am a pretty good driver of the ball. Driving accuracy I think I'm No. 1. At least people have told me I'm No. 1 in driving accuracy. That helps on courses like this keeping it in the fairway. Rough is pretty thick out here.
To be honest, I wasn't super happy with the way I drove the ball today. They were straight but not really going that far, so I did have quite a few long irons in. Had a couple 4 hybrids in to these greens.
I trust myself, trust my game. I'm a really good approach player and I just try to hit to the fat side of the green. If there is tucked pin placements and just take the two-putt for par. Par is a great score out here. Just tried to minimize as many mistakes as I could and just take the birdies when you could.
Q. Certain players have mentioned that when they're battling fatigue, their rhythm, especially when they're taking back the club gets interrupted. Do you experience that? And if you do, how do you combat that?
ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I think I was definitely feeling a little bit tired on the back nine of the third round. Like I said, I did have a little bit of adrenaline and I was playing well so there was that momentum I guess a little bit.
So I didn't really feel the exhaustion hit until now. Now I'm sitting it it's kind of hitting me. Yeah, just stayed super patient. Tried to eat on the golf course and drink as much water as I can, and going to rest up and hopefully sleep like 12 hours tonight and get ready for tomorrow.
Q. What are your plans after that? Is it get some dinner and go right to bed?
ANDREA LEE: Yeah, exactly that. Getting dinner, see my physio for a little bit, take a shower and go straight to bed.
Q. Is this, when you're planning out how this tournament might go, a place you want to be and what are your thoughts on being in the thick of it?
ANDREA LEE: I'm really excited and looking forward to tomorrow. I feel like I've put myself in contention quite a few times this year and obviously I've learned from every experience.
This week will just be another one of those. Hopefully I can finish strong and give myself a really good chance at win thing tournament. But at the end of the day I just have to hit the shots that I need to and hole some putts.
We'll see how it ends tomorrow.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports