Golf Channel Notable Quotes
NCAA Women’s Golf Championships
Championship Match
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Rich Harvest Farms
Sugar Grove, Ill.
**Arizona State defeated Northwestern 3-1-1 in today’s championship match to win its eighth team national championship**
On the championship match between Arizona State and Northwestern
Billy Ray Brown – “The women have played impressive golf today.”
Brown – “When the pressure is on, Monica Vaughn rises to the occasion, and she did today.”
On Arizona State
Steve Burkowski – “What a display of golf Linnea Strom as put on.”
Curt Byrum – “She had a wake-up call when [Stephanie] Lau eagled 11 and like great players do, she poured it on in the last four holes.”
Karen Stupples – “What a great performance by Strom. She knew she wanted to be in this position. She wanted the pressure and when Lau made that eagle putt, all of a sudden there was more pressure. It was like she said, ‘I’ve got to up my game right now.’”
Stupples – “Right from the word go, they came out of the blocks fast. They knew what they had to do and they really stamped their authority on this final day.”
Bob Papa – “Monica Vaughn, who was unraveling late yesterday, had a night to go back and regroup and she has been a different player today.”
Arizona State’s Linnea Strom speaking Golf Channel’s Curt Byrum after clinching the national championship for Arizona State
Linnea Strom – “It has been such a good week. We have been working so hard for this since August. Every practice, every workout. All we have been talking about is this moment right here. We want to win a national championship, and today we did it. I can’t describe this feeling. This is amazing.”
Strom – “As a player I kind of need a wake-up call sometimes to kind of get going. After that I thought, she just made this, I have to do something right now if I want to get this done fast. I did and it felt good.”
Strom – “She [Missy Farr-Kaye] is an amazing coach. I don’t think I could ask for a better coach and Michelle as our assistant. They work so good together and they really make us feel like a family. She is so good on and off the golf course and very supportive. They believe in all of us and that is all I can ask for.”
Arizona State Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye and Monica Vaughn speaking with Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill following the championship match
Missy Farr-Kaye – “I’m so proud of this team and their love for each other and fighting for each other and working so hard. It has not been as easy a year as it looks on the outside. We have had a few ups and downs but we’ve hung in tighter. I’m so happy for them that they get to be national champions for the rest of their lives. That to me is the coolest thing.”
Monica Vaughn – “Obviously this is the best possible way to go out my senior year. I knew at the beginning of the year that this team had it in us to win the national championship. That is all we talked about all year is how we didn’t say ‘we think we are going to win’ but, ‘we are going to win this national championship.’ We knew this was the best shot we’ve got. We’ve got this strong team and we’ve worked so hard every single day. It was all about being in the finals at the national championship.”
Vaughn – “I got a little fired up yesterday. I was getting a little angry. When we called it off it was a right decision. Right them I told myself, ‘I am not going to let this team down. I had three bad holes and I’m not going to give up. It’s match play and anything can happen. I went out this morning and fought until the bitter end, and we won.”
On Northwestern
Arizona State’s Kacie Komoto speaking with Golf Channel’s Billy Ray Brown following the championship match
Kacie Komoto – “I think we have a lot of good to take away from this. We came so far, so much further than we did last year. I just want my team to take away the good from this, be proud of what we did out here and just move forward.”
Komoto – “It was awesome. For the fans to come out and support us it meant the world to us. I knew if I heard a really loud cheer on the course I knew it was for us.”
Northwestern Head Coach Emily Fletcher speaking with Golf Channel’s Gail Graham following the championship match
Emily Fletcher – “So proud. That was hard-fought this afternoon. There was no give up in our kids. They showed up and were ready to play. All of the credit to ASU and Missy and Michelle and that team. They played great this afternoon. We hung with them for quite a while. It was close for a bit. It was just really hard-fought. I’m so proud of our kids.”
Fletcher – “I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet what all that we are going to take away from this. What I just said to the kids was that you don’t get too many chances to play for a national championship. It is the first one we have had in the history of our program. We are going to try to build off of it. It is only going to be a positive. It has been a tremendous week and I’m so proud.”
-NBC Sports Group-