FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, April 1st, 2017
NOTABLE QUOTES: ANA INSPIRATION, SAT. 3RD ROUND: LEXI THOMPSON LEADS AT 13-UNDER PAR
Golf Channel Notable Quotes
ANA Inspiration
Saturday, April 1, 2017 (Third Round)
Mission Hills Country Club
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
**Golf Channel’s live final round coverage of the ANA Inspiration will air Sunday from 5-9 p.m. ET**
On Lexi Thompson, third-round leader at 13-under par (5-under 67 on Saturday)
Judy Rankin – “She has had her ups and downs with her putting over the years. We talk about composure. I have never seen this young woman do anything but act exactly appropriately on the golf course. That great composure has certainly paid off for her in her golf game. She has a zillion fans.”
Jerry Foltz – “She just looks so comfortable over the ball on the greens now.”
Mike Tirico – “She has held up well here through this long day.”
Tom Abbott – “She has put on a display over the first three days here in Rancho Mirage.”
Foltz – “Other than her drive on 13, she has just peppered the driver all day.”
Foltz – “After having struggled through two rounds with her speed control on the greens, she has been dynamite in round three.”
On Suzann Pettersen, in second place at 11-under par (4-under 68 on Saturday)22
Rankin – “She is going to be sitting in a good place come Sunday.”
Karen Stupples – “She is playing some smart golf today.”
Abbott – “This is the tournament that has gotten away from Suzann in the past. She is hoping to change that fortune on Sunday.”
Stupples – “She remained patient. She put herself in good positions when she got into trouble. Made a few putts coming down the stretch and kept the momentum going.”
On Inbee Park, T3 at 10-under par (4-under 68 on Saturday)
Kay Cockerill – “Almost every putt that doesn’t go in looks like it should.”
Rankin – “She rolls the ball with the kind of speed that allows it to fall in from almost any side of the hole.”
Cockerill – “She stays so patient, even when things aren’t happening. She knows good things will happen right around the corner during her round.”
Cockerill – “Hard to count her out.”
Rankin – “She is the perfect example of what works well in golf. Be even tempered.”
Rankin – “We all know she plays well when she is a leader, but she just all of a sudden explodes with these very low rounds.”
On So Yeon Ryu, T3 at 10-under par (3-under 69 on Saturday)
Foltz – “She dropped a driver on her follow through back at No. 11. That is the equivalent of So Yeon Ryu pulling a Roy McAvoy and breaking 13 clubs.”
Rankin – She has a mental toughness and in some ways, a mental peace, that works when she is under a lot of pressure.”
Rankin – “She is a very hard worker. Very dedicated and she’s very focused on trying to figure out the last piece of the puzzle that has been keeping her from winning lately. She desperately wants a chance to win tomorrow.”
On Mi Jung Hur, T3 at 10-under par (7-under 65 on Saturday)
Rankin – “She clearly is playing well. Just took her until the third round to emerge.”
Abbott – “Tearing through the field today.”
Tirico – “Those who like to use the term ‘moving day’ it definitely applies to Hur today.”
On Michelle Wie, T7 at 8-under par (1-under 71 on Saturday)
Stupples – “It is amazing the difference watching her play right now as opposed to a few years ago where everything was so cautious.”
Stupples (on Wie’s back/hip pain) – “It was the second shot on nine that tweaked her hip just a little bit.”
Rankin – “She works awfully hard at her game and hits a million golf balls.”
Tirico – “Despite the pain, Michelle Wie has had a smile on her face throughout the round.”
Abbott – “We have seen some really good short game shots from Michelle this week.”
Michelle Wie speaking with Golf Channel’s Lisa Cornwell following her third round
Michelle Wie – “Back in Australia I hurt my back a little bit. Been feeling ok, just hit one shot that was a little bit out of sync and kind of threw my hips out of place. But I’m ok. Just hung in there today. It was just a lot of golf. Did two full warm ups, played 28 holes. Just not a young stallion anymore I guess.”
Wie – “It feels good to see my hard work paying off. I have spent a lot of time inside of 10 feet today. With my back, just grinding it out. I made a lot of good par putts and I felt really good about it. I wish I made a little more birdies on the back nine, but I’m still in position and hopefully I’ll go out there tomorrow and shoot as low as I can.”
-NBC Sports Group-
